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Advice please 15" or 17" MBP?

J

jschaad

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 31, 2011
3
0
Trying to decide which to get. I don't need too much portability. But I definitely need a bigger screen than 13". I will mainly use it to develop web applications and to write math papers using laTeX. I'm worried about two things:

Is the 17" to big / heavy / hot to work on with it on my lap?

What is the battery life of the 17" MBP - I've heard horror stories about only 1-2 hours of life (but these were on older 17" MBP).

Thanks for your advice :)
 
the 15 and 17 have more or less the same guts, and the 17 has a decently bigger battery so i'm thinking battery life will be about the same, maybe even favoring the 17?

the 17 would have better cooling cause it's bigger.
 
I went from a 13 to a 15 hi-res antiglare screen - the difference is tremendous!

If you go with the 15 I would suggest the hi-res screen
 
Had my 17in 2011 for about 6 months and lovin it.

Yes it gets hot but better cooling system.
They will be uncomfortable when it gets hot on your lap but the only way that happens is when you block the vents with your legs, cloths, etc.

Not too big at all.
If there were a bigger MBP, Id go for it.
1920x1200 display is nothing but amazing.

Weight, 3Kg. not heavy but not fun to carry around in public with your hands.
I prefer a backpack.

But what you have to be careful is, is that once you start using your 17in, you can never go back ;)
 
if i was buying either one, I would probably stick to a top 15". I am not too sure about the newest specs, but 15" and 17", like the person above stated, probably have very similar insides.

However, 15" is still pretty portable in case you do need to move it around/travel. And you can always add an external monitor to it.

17" is, IDK, it's not a big screen yet, but at the same time its not a really portable laptop anymore. Somewhere in between.

Long time ago I would always buy 16" Sony laptops, and then would also b*tch at myself when I had to take it somewhere. So nowadays I try to stick with the 15".
 
I'm sort of in the same dilemma. I've got a 15" and 17" sitting in front of me right now and need to get rid of one of them. I'm leaning towards keeping the 15" high-res. It shouldn't be a big deal but the 17" seems much bigger to me. Even with the extra pixels having two applications onscreen at once is not really ideal. I'd add one suggestion; if not going for the high-res screen on the 15 then get a 13" MBA.
 
i would go with the 17", you're already not getting something super portable either way because you're not going with the 13", so you might as well get the better screen(higher res, and higher ppi).
 
I have a 17 and it chills on my lap all the time. and i do say chill; i can be doing all sorts of things and as long as i don't use anything too intense it doesn't really heat up... at all. :D
 
I'm going to put the 17" in the marketplace if anyone is interested.
 
I have a 15" MBP, it suits me fine for writing. I'm sure I'd love the extra screen size of the 17" but it seemed a tad big for me when I saw it in the store. When I'm at campus, I take my iPad every day, and my MBP when I need to do serious writing.

While I did see it on display at the Apple Store, I didn't get the high-res version w/ the matted display--I didn't see a need for it and the matted option didn't impress me. Instead, I opted for the 2.2 i7 (over the i5) and upgraded it to 8GB RAM. I was going to get an Air but I really can't see using anything less than a 15" for what I do--a 17" would be nice but the added size of the machine would be cumbersome to carry around campus. Cost didn't really factor into the decision, instead it was more about buying what I need + a little of what I want. I purchased AppleCare as well as a Magic Mouse. I also picked up a new printer which ended up coming in handy before the semester started (my Samsung laser printer died after 2.5 years....piece of junk and lousy support).

As an anecdote, I know some ppl use the printer rebate to get a new printer when buying their new Mac--I've always had great luck with Epson, they seem to make the best inkjet printers. I'm using my first HP Deskjet at the moment and I've been really happy with the wireless printing. I plan to get another Laser sometime in the next few weeks, it'll either be a Brother (good printers) or an HP. The only reason I didn't get an Epson this time around was they were out of the model I wanted, the HP was free so I went with that.

Anyway, I've had the 15" MBP for about three months and it's a dream for writing.... I normally have several windows open (Pages, Endnote, iTunes, Safari, Mail, lots of Stickies, Preview, etc.) and find that Mission Control (in Lion) handles them well. :apple:
 
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I recommend the high res 15" - otherwise the 13" MBA has the same resolution as the 15" MBP. If you need more screen size, the Cinema Display is always an option. Best of both worlds.
 
i was deliberating between the 15" and 17" and decided to go for the 17".Bigger battery,SCREEN IS LITERALLY GORGEOUS,Better cooling system.1Lb more to me is not heavy and i carry it up and down my house everyday.It's comfortable on my lap.
17" ANTIGLARE ALL THE WAY!
 
I sold my MBA 11" 2011 and ordered the MBP 17" 2,2 quad refurbished yesterday. Just love the 1920x1200 screen. Had the 15" before....sold it.
 
jschaad said:
Trying to decide which to get. I don't need too much portability. But I definitely need a bigger screen than 13". I will mainly use it to develop web applications and to write math papers using laTeX. I'm worried about two things:

Is the 17" to big / heavy / hot to work on with it on my lap?

What is the battery life of the 17" MBP - I've heard horror stories about only 1-2 hours of life (but these were on older 17" MBP).

Thanks for your advice :)
Click to expand...


I recently purchased 17" MBP and no doubt it's got a better resolution however its way to big.. and after 3 days I was really having bit difficulty carrying with me and on lap 17" just not right ... 17" is okay for desktop replacement ...

end of the day its your choice...I return mine 17" and got 15" .. glad i am so happy with 15" as I'm planning to keep this machine for about next few years and carrying 17" just not a good choice....
 
17" all the way it is my little workhorse and goes everywhere with me. I keep getting smaller machines and them selling them off for the 17".
 
shoppy said:
17" all the way it is my little workhorse and goes everywhere with me. I keep getting smaller machines and them selling them off for the 17".
Click to expand...
Does the 17" handle video conversion/video editing/photo editing well?
 
ive just been wondering the same thing but I ended up getting a 15". Im mainly going to be using it for photo editing so went for the hi-res antiglare. When using it on the desktop it will be plugged into a 24" dell so no problem with the screen there and for mobile Id prefer to carry the 15 rather than a 17".

Still waiting for it to arrive but ive got the 8Gb upgrade and 256Gb SSD ready to go in :D

PS, its my first mac as im moving over from a PC :D
 
stuworrall said:
ive just been wondering the same thing but I ended up getting a 15". Im mainly going to be using it for photo editing so went for the hi-res antiglare. When using it on the desktop it will be plugged into a 24" dell so no problem with the screen there and for mobile Id prefer to carry the 15 rather than a 17".

Still waiting for it to arrive but ive got the 8Gb upgrade and 256Gb SSD ready to go in :D

PS, its my first mac as im moving over from a PC :D
Click to expand...

congrats! and i was gonna say, should have done the upgrades yourself, then i read it again and realized you are gonna do them yourself. good choice!
 
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