Buying a MBP - 13 or 15????

[v2kea412]

I currently have an early 2.5 ghz dual core 15" MBP, which I got with the 250GB 7200 RPM drive, 4 GB of RAM, and the Antiglare LCD. This was my first Mac and since, have bought an iMac in 2009 for the house. I can't seem to get enough of them.

My question is this. My AppleCare expires on my MBP next month and my employer told me to buy a new one next week. GREAT! Just what i wanted to hear! This is what i use my MBP for currently:

Bootcamp Win7 installation
VM Fusion from Mac side with concurrent Win7 up and running
Adobe creative suite for web design
PHP programming
In the Win7 side, hardcore Excel use and SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc.

I am currently happy with my current MBP to handle all of these items, except for the limitation of 4GB of RAM. I will be getting 8GB in the next one so that i can run some linux VM's along side my Win7 VM.

Which should i get? A 13" MBP or 15" MBP? I like the portability of the 13", but have a hard time not getting a quad-core over a dual-core... Also, I could get an SSD in 13" for the price of the 15" that I was spec'ing out...

If I go non-SSD, does the 7200rpm really make a difference over the 5400rpm?

I know I have 2000 - 2150 to spend....

 

[Neolithium]

I currently have an early 2.5 ghz dual core 15" MBP, which I got with the 250GB 7200 RPM drive, 4 GB of RAM, and the Antiglare LCD. This was my first Mac and since, have bought an iMac in 2009 for the house. I can't seem to get enough of them.

My question is this. My AppleCare expires on my MBP next month and my employer told me to buy a new one next week. GREAT! Just what i wanted to hear! This is what i use my MBP for currently:

Bootcamp Win7 installation
VM Fusion from Mac side with concurrent Win7 up and running
Adobe creative suite for web design
PHP programming
In the Win7 side, hardcore Excel use and SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc.

I am currently happy with my current MBP to handle all of these items, except for the limitation of 4GB of RAM. I will be getting 8GB in the next one so that i can run some linux VM's along side my Win7 VM.

Which should i get? A 13" MBP or 15" MBP? I like the portability of the 13", but have a hard time not getting a quad-core over a dual-core... Also, I could get an SSD in 13" for the price of the 15" that I was spec'ing out...

If I go non-SSD, does the 7200rpm really make a difference over the 5400rpm?

I know I have 2000 - 2150 to spend....

If you find the 15" screen good enough I'd stick with that. The resolution on the 13" MBP leaves something to be desired, especially when considering spreadsheets and visual studio. The 5400RPM vs 7200RPM though is a noticeable difference, and you can get them nice and cheap aftermarket, leaving you plenty of space for what you need to do.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Get the 15" HR MBP, as it offers much more screen real estate than the 13" MBP (1680 x 1050 pixel vs. 1280 x 800 pixel).
Also consider getting RAM after the purchase from Newegg and MacSales, as it is cheaper and you can still sell the 4GB already in the machine.
An SSD can be also bought aftermarket and put inside by you.
You can also looking into the "OptiBay" option - MRoogle is your friend.

And 7200RPM is faster than 5400RPM, it is noticeable, but not by much. An SSD is a much better improvement.

 

[v2kea412]

Get the 15" HR MBP, as it offers much more screen real estate than the 13" MBP (1680 x 1050 pixel vs. 1280 x 800 pixel).
Also consider getting RAM after the purchase from Newegg and MacSales, as it is cheaper and you can still sell the 4GB already in the machine.
An SSD can be also bought aftermarket and put inside by you.
You can also looking into the "OptiBay" option - MRoogle is your friend.

And 7200RPM is faster than 5400RPM, it is noticeable, but not by much. An SSD is a much better improvement.

Also forgot to mention that 8 hours a day at work, I have the MBP connected to a 24" Dell monitor....Really only use the LCD away from the desk, ie at home, on the road, or in bed... Just want to make sure that I spend the $$$ on what makes more sense, since I don't play games on it....work machine only...

 

[KittyKatta]

Which should i get? A 13" MBP or 15" MBP? I like the portability of the 13", but have a hard time not getting a quad-core over a dual-core...

Its funny because I held off on buying a 13" Macbook Pro for so long because I hated the idea of buying an old Core2Duo when the 15" had i5's. But now that my brand new 13" has an amazing Sandy Bridge i5 then I'm jealous that the 15" has a Quad-Core i7. See how this game works?

The 13" really is all I need and I'm very happy with it. But I'm heavily considering upgrading to the 15" because I'd love to do my Aperture work on a quad-core.

 

[r0k]

I'm leaning toward the same setup. I can pick up a 13 in MBP and an external 23 in 1080p monitor for another $200 or so, still well below the $1800 cost of even the base 15 in MBP.

 

[FuNGi]

I'd still go with the 15" MBP given your budget allocation and despite your use with an external monitor. I think you'll find using the 15" screen alongside your external, as well as later afterwork, will be a real joy. You get a better processor, cache, graphics, screen, audio (yes the sound is even weaker as it passes through the keyboard vs. grill), blah, blah, blah....

Plus, the real reason for you is that you won't live in a world of quad-core envy

 

[v2kea412]

Thanks for your responses! Actually went the 15" route... The 'quad-envy' got to me... Was having a hard time justifying the new purchase if i was simply going from a 2.53 core duo to an 2.7 core duo... Especially with the screen that i have currently... I am placing the order later today!

 

[v2kea412]

What!?

OMG....Employer didnt purchase the 15" MBP today... Have a quote for the 2.0GHz/8GB RAM/500GB 5400RPM/AG at $2100 from Macmall today... Going to be ordering tomorrow apparently...

But..........I hate indecision.....

Are you sure that I wouldn't be better of with the lower 13" with 8GB RAM/256GB SSD?

 

[KittyKatta]

Are you sure that I wouldn't be better of with the lower 13" with 8GB RAM/256GB SSD?

I decided to stick with the 13". As cool as quadcore is, the i5 Sandy Bridge is very capable. Plus, I'm a bit tired of the current design so since it's due for a big makeover next gen then I'll take the 13" + cash towards next year.

BTW. What do you need SSD so badly for? I use a 7200rpm 500GB and dont seem to have a need for anything faster (or less capacity)

 

[v2kea412]

I decided to stick with the 13". As cool as quadcore is, the i5 Sandy Bridge is very capable. Plus, I'm a bit tired of the current design so since it's due for a big makeover next gen then I'll take the 13" + cash towards next year.

BTW. What do you need SSD so badly for? I use a 7200rpm 500GB and dont seem to have a need for anything faster (or less capacity)

I don't....Just been reading WAY TOO MANY forums here! lol... I suppose i should just be happy about the 15"...