Am I just being greedy?

[ptruong31]

Okay, so for the past 2-3 weeks I have been doing extensive research on the 13" macbook pro (going to be new to macs).

My reasons for wanting the 13" was for portability, (my 14inch HP is like carrying a brick around), greater battery life, and all the perks a mac has over a pc.

Also, the 13" only costs around 1000. I was considering spending the extra money that would have went towards a Macbook pro 15" on a gaming PC. I play games moderately...usually starcraft 2 and im waiting for diablo 3 to come out.

Now, I been thinking about going for the high end 15" just to have 1 machine all together. Do you think I'm just being greedy now? o.o Everytime I look at the specs for the high end 15 compared to the 13, I wanna say ******* it everytime and just drop the extra money on the 15.

And as far as portability goes, the 15" is still amazingly lighter than my 14" hp...

decisions decisions....

 

[wingsabr]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ha I've gone from a base 13 to a base 17 in one week. I get my bonus this Friday so we'll see what I come hone with.

 

[HBOC]

I have a 15" (have had a 15" for 2 1/2 years) and the weight really is no problem. People talk about "portability" problems, but they just need to get a better balanced bag!

People say the same things about the 1 series Canon cameras..that they are too heavy, but I notice no such things when I see the results

 

[Jaimi]

It's not being greedy to buy what you want. The high-end MBP 15 is a good gaming rig. Put bootcamp on it, and win7, and you are set. The graphics are almost the same speed as a 9800GT, so that's not too bad at all.
If that's not good enough for you, then you may want to look into separate gaming PC. But you'll need more than a base model to beat your MBP's specs.

 

[SmokeyRobinson]

The 13" with a higher res screen option and a decent GPU would have been amazing huh...

Thats what I was hoping for. instead Im sticking with my HP Envy 14 even though its not perfect.

 

[HBOC]

and I think "greedy' is the wrong word. Perhaps wishful is better.

 

[ptruong31]

Yeah, honestly if the 13" had the higher screen resolution, and a discrete gpu, i would have been instantly sold on the 13"

Sneaky little tricks from Apple really worked They actually got me thinking about forking over an extra thousand for the higher model lol

 

[ptruong31]

and I think "greedy' is the wrong word. Perhaps wishful is better.

I suppose you're right about greedy being the wrong word hahaha I guess I used the word greedy because I consider jumping up to the high end 15" to be like spoiling myself

 

[JodyK]

I have been a MBP 15 guy for years now since the unibody came out. The new specs on the 13 are pretty good but your right once you start looking at the upper end 15 you know what you want.

I picked up the 2.2 quad today! It's lightning fast! I mean true true desktop replacement fast. Hope this helps you.

 

[ptruong31]

I have been a MBP 15 guy for years now since the unibody came out. The new specs on the 13 are pretty good but your right once you start looking at the upper end 15 you know what you want.

I picked up the 2.2 quad today! It's lightning fast! I mean true true desktop replacement fast. Hope this helps you.

lol thanks for the reply!

have you tried gaming on your mbp 15 yet? does it get hot?

 

[dnkbro]

My advice, get two machines. Here's why:

Laptops are non-upgradeable for gamers. The single most important factor for gaming is GPU performance. You aren't going to be able to upgrade the video card in your MacBook Pro.

The high-end 15" MacBook Pro is going to run you $2200. For that price, you can get a low-end 13" MacBook Pro and $1000 left over to build yourself a beast of a rig. That computer you build will be upgradeable and will most likely last you a longer time. In two years, graphics performance will have improved greatly and you'd be stuck with your non-upgradeable MacBook Pro.

The decision weighs heavily on how important gaming is to you. If you're a casual gamer, you can kill two birds with one stone and just buy one machine. I still think it's better to have both though because if you are using your laptop as both your home computer and portable computer, you are consuming more battery and are using the laptop way more. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Blu101]

I have a 15" (have had a 15" for 2 1/2 years) and the weight really is no problem.

I second that. A 15" mbp is not the same as a 15" PC. Portability is not a problem, and the extra screen real estate and graphics card is worth it. Go for the gusto and opt for the hi-res screen. Then, sit back and enjoy

 

[Blu101]

...and $1000 left over to build yourself a beast of a rig. That computer you build will be upgradeable and will most likely last you a longer time...

...aaaaand you can only play at home = useless. If you want to enjoy video gaming at home, buy yourself a PS3 or xbox 360 and a Wii. Computer gaming at home has been dead for years. The experience and costs of a console scheme are far better in the long run, and the graphics are good enough these days, there's really no need for the super duper graphics card every 6 months burn a hole in your wallet thing anymore.

The 15" mbp will give you enough pep to play all the usual casual games to kill time and then some (more serious games), which you can enjoy both at home and on the road. All in one sexy box. My $0.02.

 

[Resist]

I was using a 15" Compaq laptop, so when I decided to buy a Mac I thought the 15" is what I would want. But my girlfriend has a white 13" MB and I really liked how portable it was. So I visited my local Apple store to see the 15" MBP up close and compare it to the 13" MBP. Ultimately I picked the low end 13" MBP for two reasons, portability and price. For this reason my choice made sense, as I can increase the RAM and upgrade the HD down the road and still have a decent machine for not a lot of money. This was my first Mac and I really like it so far. Hopefully I will be purchasing more Mac products in the future.

 

[Looon]

...aaaaand you can only play at home = useless. If you want to enjoy video gaming at home, buy yourself a PS3 or xbox 360 and a Wii. Computer gaming at home has been dead for years. The experience and costs of a console scheme are far better in the long run, and the graphics are good enough these days, there's really no need for the super duper graphics card every 6 months burn a hole in your wallet thing anymore.

The 15" mbp will give you enough pep to play all the usual casual games to kill time and then some (more serious games), which you can enjoy both at home and on the road. All in one sexy box. My $0.02.

This guy knows nothing about computer gaming please don't take his opinion seriously.

 

[bwrairen]

I am another that just doesn't see much of a difference in portability from 13" to 15". I carried the 13" for a year, and now the 15" for a year and they basically seem the same to me. I have an incase neoprene sleeve with handles and a shoulder strap. I never think my laptop is heavy or bulky.

 

[ptruong31]

Hmmm although it is true that you cannot upgrade the video card on a laptop, will I really need to update the 1gb vid card within the next 4 to 5 years? I don't do that much gaming, mainly just starcraft 2 and probably diablo 3 when it comes out.

Even if I will need to update my video card and everything, that still costs money with a gaming pc. With the high resell value, wouldn't it be okay to just sell the mbp in a few years and use that money towards a newer mbp? It seems that is what most people do on these forums.

Also assuming I do get a gaming pc, within a few years, there will be new processors, gpus, and etc. Replacing all that would come out to a cost equal to selling my mbp and buying a new mbp would it not?

I'm not trying to make it seem like im justify my purchase to myself or anything, I just want to see what opinions and advice others have to give.

I appreciate all the inputs

 

[2contagious]

The 15" is the sweet spot between portability and screen size. Personally, I am considering getting a 17" though, as I will mainly be using the laptop at home (something like 80% home, 20% at uni).

 

[paintballswimgu]

Get the 13 inch and a desktop rig, hands down if you are even semi serious about gaming. For $1000 bucks or so you can get a top of the line rig. Also, just because a graphics card is 1 Gigabyte doesn't mean much, after all newegg has a 1 GB GeForce 8400 GS card for $30 bucks. I guarentee you that won't play crisis well.

I was bored, so i built one at newegg.com for you.

Processor/OS: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3,2 ghz comb with Windows 7 64 Bit $275
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Sata 6.0 Gb/s USB 3.0 $105
Ram: Corsair XMS3 8 GB DDR3 1333 mhz $69 after rebate
CPU Cooler: Scythe SCMG-2100 $40
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver $5
Disc Drive: Lite-On bluray reader $40 after rebate
GPU: Radeon HD 6870 $194 after rebate
HD: Seagate barracuda 6.0 Gb/s 1 TB $65
Power Supply: Raidmax hybrid 630 W $50
Case: Cooler master elite $40

totals at $934.88 (if i remembered to add everything to my shopping cart. lol) and will play any game out there at full resolution without any problem. This is a 6 core processor, until the sandybridge desktop chipsets are released, amd is the better bang for your buck imo. You would also need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and surge protector. Way Way better deal then a supped up macbook pro.

 

[FX4568]

...aaaaand you can only play at home = useless. If you want to enjoy video gaming at home, buy yourself a PS3 or xbox 360 and a Wii. Computer gaming at home has been dead for years. The experience and costs of a console scheme are far better in the long run, and the graphics are good enough these days, there's really no need for the super duper graphics card every 6 months burn a hole in your wallet thing anymore.

The 15" mbp will give you enough pep to play all the usual casual games to kill time and then some (more serious games), which you can enjoy both at home and on the road. All in one sexy box. My $0.02.

poor guy. he doesnt know what hes missing out.

 

[ZZANG]

I went from 13" MB unibody to 15" twice now... Get what you need. That's not being greedy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[neko girl]

Lust can be fun, but be careful with your wallet, too.

But honestly, you should go with the 15 if it's something you feel like you would really use (seems like you will).

 

[AdamRock]

greedy? no.

i have 3 computers

my quad i7 mbp 17 cost 3 grand
custom built quad i7 pc cost 2 grand
and pre built quad pc cost 1000$

each computer has a specific reason, my point is, get what you need to maximize performance.

 

[paintballswimgu]

greedy? no.

i have 3 computers

my quad i7 mbp 17 cost 3 grand
custom built quad i7 pc cost 2 grand
and pre built quad pc cost 1000$

each computer has a specific reason, my point is, get what you need to maximize performance.

i feel the same way.
I have 3 computers right now, each with a purpose

i5 15 mbp with hires antiglare (free applecare replacement for 07 mbp)
Old 2.0 ghz white macbook (serves as a desktop in my kitchen for recipes)
Custom built i7 quad core gaming PC (in sig) Spent $2400 or so including monitor.

 

[aznguyen316]

For gaming, yes graphics cards become obsolete rather quickly. Even though the ATI 6750 in the new 15" is pretty damn good, it's on the medium/high end of gaming GPU's. A year and a half ago I had a sager 2.8Ghz C2D + 260M that scored right around the current high-end MBP 15" in terms of gaming benchmarks (done in higher resolution though 1680x1050), and the MBP has the MUCH better i7...

Like a poster said above, a desktop rig is a more sensible option if you're seriously considering gaming. But you have said you're just concerned with SC2 and Diablo 3. SC2 runs fine on my lowly HD3000 haha so the 6750 will do it just fine. I assume D3 will be around the same system requirements. Will it last you 4-5 years? Yeah sure, but what games are you going to want to play in the next one or two years? By year three it may struggle with games, especially if a new console is released in that time frame meaning higher standards for the PC ports haha.

Just think about what you need. I get "greedy" and still feel greedy now, thinking about how bad I want a high end 15" and just want to return my i7 13". But really, I game maybe 15% of my macbook usage, that includes WoW and SC2 and D3 in the future. That's really it. If you can spare the cash, it doesn't hurt. I am debating if I want a larger screen though, and IMO that's not me being greedy, just wondering my uses. Since I'm a yearly reseller, I don't have a problem of buying and then upgrading down the line. No I don't waste money on this as I nearly always break out even or lose just $50-100 after a year...

I felt like I was really in the same boat as you, as I was in the APple store for about an hour and a half on Thursday debating on dropping the extra $400+ on a 15". I ended up getting the 13" obviously. Just think about it.