A solid drive is far more important than an i5 for someone that isn't going to be needing even all a C2D offers. Look at videos on youtube.... it's far more than just turning your computer on faster
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any 13" owners who regret not getting 15" or vice versa?
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thanks all for chiming in. robotmonkey's last photo of the different sized MBPs stacked on top of each other really put the size in perspective for me. i could never really tell at the Apple store b/c there's just too many people playing with the MBPs and i couldn't do a size comparison like the photo.
i'll be going with the 13" as i am a girl of small build and i can't imagine having anything bigger than the 13" sitting on my lap for long periods of time
I need to stop referring to everybody as "he"
thanks all for chiming in. robotmonkey's last photo of the different sized MBPs stacked on top of each other really put the size in perspective for me. i could never really tell at the Apple store b/c there's just too many people playing with the MBPs and i couldn't do a size comparison like the photo.
i'll be going with the 13" as i am a girl of small build and i can't imagine having anything bigger than the 13" sitting on my lap for long periods of time
Your friend is totally right about the display, you should really listen to them. The display is your window into the user experience, as for footprint you wont even notice the difference while using the computer, what you will notice is how much you have to scroll around your images in photoshop and on web pages, it is really really annoying. Hope you make the right choice
Just because I like a small sexy computer and others like large behemoths of machines doesn't mean you will know for sure which one you would like better just because we say we like our form factor better. Try to run the same programs at the same time on both in a store before you dump all of that money on something you should be sure you like the most. No reason to be hasty.
And I apologize for the size of the images
Thought I'd reply to this rather than the gigantic image, have yet to work out how to post pics as thumbnails as well lol.
I'm not arguing that the 15" is larger, don't have to be a physics major to work that out, what I'm arguing is against the idea that the 15" isn't a portable machine. Yes the 13" is smaller, more lighter and takes up less space. But not by any significant amount.
You argue that the 15" screen isn't that much larger than the 13" to make any appreciable difference, well then surely then by that same logic would mean the size of the 15" isn't that much larger than the 13" to make any appreciable difference in terms of portability?
I have to say that I still cannot decide what size Macbook Pro to get. It's been almost two years now that I've been "deciding".
I almost got a 17 MBP (previous, non-unibody) for $1599.00 last summer on close out. That was the one I probably should have gotten. It had the hires pre-glarebook glossy screen, which was very nice, but the fonts were uber small.
Luckily, my old 1ghz G4 17 iMac just keeps on humming along. I would like to have a portable Mac though.
The bottom line on the price difference to me seems to be $700.00
13 incher, 2.4 ghz , $1199.00, plus $249.00 apple care
15 incher, 2.4 ghz, $1799.00, plus $349.00 apple care
I almost got a 17 MBP (previous, non-unibody) for $1599.00 last summer on close out. That was the one I probably should have gotten. It had the hires pre-glarebook glossy screen, which was very nice, but the fonts were uber small.
Luckily, my old 1ghz G4 17 iMac just keeps on humming along. I would like to have a portable Mac though.
The bottom line on the price difference to me seems to be $700.00
13 incher, 2.4 ghz , $1199.00, plus $249.00 apple care
15 incher, 2.4 ghz, $1799.00, plus $349.00 apple care
Agreed, might have opposing views with you on this one but that's the most sensible thing that's been said in this entire thread, apart from the behemoth thing
I guess for me is that if he has a chance to get the 15" with the i5/i7 I would take that route as the regular hdd would still be more than sufficient enough for everything. The only downside is that applications wont launch as fast or osx startup time wouldnt be as fast either.
Also my point is that he can always add the SSD drive later on. I'm just letting the OP weigh in all his options.
SSD drive can always be an easy add on later but the core 2 duo cannot be replaced by the i5/i7 in the future. Just something to think about.
You're right. The SSD improved the performance of my VM's so much so that it feels as if I'm running a native Win box.
That's a great price, too bad
Read this and many many many other forums on this issue. The fact is, only you will know which size to get, so spend some extended time in a store and run many programs on both
Oh and one more thing in favor of a 13 inch
I didn't notice that you're a student... I personally couldn't fit a 15 inch comfortably while in a carrying case (aluminum without a carrying case+backpack with pencils= no bueno) in my jansport. I don't know what type of bag you typically use, but that might be something to consider.
I didn't notice that you're a student... I personally couldn't fit a 15 inch comfortably while in a carrying case (aluminum without a carrying case+backpack with pencils= no bueno) in my jansport. I don't know what type of bag you typically use, but that might be something to consider.
The picture robotmonkey posted is of the 1440x900 15", which has the lowest resolution of any of them, lower than the 13" (110 PPI vs. 113 for the 13"). I agree that it's not a huge difference. But going to the hi-res is a very big difference, and I can now place two windows side by side easily, which is very useful in a lot of situations. Having had both 13" and 15" HR, I have to say that if you plan to do a lot of work on the machine, you'll be glad you got the 15".
I regret the 15" but at the time the 13" aluminum was still a "MacBook" without firewire which I needed. I'm super mobile and wish I didn't have to lug this thing around. My wife does tons of graphic design work and is trading in her 2007 15" for a new 13" in the next couple months.
Like a lot of people have been saying, if you're planning to have an external monitor there is hardly any reason not to go with the 13" and an SSD.
Like a lot of people have been saying, if you're planning to have an external monitor there is hardly any reason not to go with the 13" and an SSD.
What about for those who spend a lot of time away from a desk, couch surfing for example.... what would you choose 13, 15, or 17"?
i don't think this is a matter of regret. i believe its the feeling of getting bored of your new toy. i can imagine after the wow factor fades off, you would begin thinking of owning a different size model since its DIFFERENT. i got a beastly 15" mbp and i dont regret it one bit. BUT i will say that it would feel cool to have the 13" just to feel how light and small and cute it looks but thats all it is, just like everything else you buy, you get bored of things eventually and look elsewhere for something to occupy your mind
but thats all it is, just like everything else you buy, you get bored of things eventually and look elsewhere for something to occupy your mind 
17+lap=no
A 15 would still work, but a 13 is just so much more convenient for that sort of thing
I had a 15inch MacBook Pro for the last two years. Just 'upgraded' to a 13inch, because I travel a lot and really need something portable and light. I am more happy with it than I thought I would be, but will definitely purchase an external drive for doing any graphics work. If I worked primarily from home I would have stayed with the 15inch because the larger screen was easier to use, particularly when switching frequently between applications. I never felt the need for an external drive with the 15inch.
something you may not have considered yet that is very important is which one is better used if you find yourself dealing with an intruder with only a notebook computer to defend yourself.
the 13 inch computer would be very easy to pick up and the swing speed would be superior, but would deal only a glancing blow due to it's small size and low weight. you'd have to straddle the intruder and start bopping him on the head with reckless abandon if you wish to defeat him. the 15 however, has more weight, and would therefore be harder to swing, but it would deal fairly high damage. for you, i would go with the 15, because if you connect, you'd probably knock the guy out straight if you got him good.
the 13 inch computer would be very easy to pick up and the swing speed would be superior, but would deal only a glancing blow due to it's small size and low weight. you'd have to straddle the intruder and start bopping him on the head with reckless abandon if you wish to defeat him. the 15 however, has more weight, and would therefore be harder to swing, but it would deal fairly high damage. for you, i would go with the 15, because if you connect, you'd probably knock the guy out straight if you got him good.
I'm just wondering, what is it specifically that you LOVE over the C2D?
I've heard people say that but not once have I heard a valid reason. From a pure performance view point, you pay 40% more money but effectively get about less than 20% more performance overall... probably more like 5% except for the few times that the average user is really hitting the CPU hard. Even then, the problem is that when the CPU is being hit hard the same memory and IO subsystems are feeding the data.
You want an ATI5650. The ATI5650 gives much better performance than the 330M, while it also is far more energy efficient.
But for that same power usage the 330M has, Apple could have used the ATI 5830 even