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Can I go from MBP 17" to MB 13"?

Nubben

Nubben

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 17, 2005
147
6
Hi,

I have a MBP 17" and have recently thought about switching to a MB instead.

My question is if anyone here has done that and how they found the decrease in screen real estate and if it bothered them a lot. I know this is very much a personal preference but thought I'd ask anyway.

Any answers much appreciated. Tx!

Nubben
 
Nubben said:
Hi,

I have a MBP 17" and have recently thought about switching to a MB instead.

My question is if anyone here has done that and how they found the decrease in screen real estate and if it bothered them a lot. I know this is very much a personal preference but thought I'd ask anyway.

Any answers much appreciated. Tx!

Nubben
Click to expand...

I did exactly this a month ago and it worked fine. I also used an external monitor when I needed it which was seldom. I like the portability of the macbook. However I would suggest an external monitor or maybe a second mac like an imac with bigger screen size. The Macbook is a great computer and my wife and I have identical ones with no complaints after selling our 17" and 15"macBook Pros
 
Personally i'd go for a 15" MBP instead. The Macbook is bit too much of a step down. Of course depending on what you use it for this could be a good thing.
 
I went from a 17" iMac to a 15" MBP. It was a tad bit weird at first, but I got used to the smaller screen/higher resolution in a few days. I gave the iMac to my girlfriend and now whenever I look at it it feels a bit oversized and almost clumsy.
 
It might be important to tell us what you use the machine for. I have a pair of 20" monitors at home that I do design work on, and only like to work on my MacBook when necessary, because there just isn't enough room.

However, it is the perfect size for web-browsing, IMing, email, and Word documents. Whether or not it will be "too small" is likely highly dependent on what you use the machine for.
 
a good hack saw is always a good friend.

anyways I had trouble going from 15" to 13" (and ended up going back up), course now I could do it no problem cause I got a pretty 23" apple connect to my PMG5.
 
... and jsut for the record I had to get rid of my 13" Macbook and bought MBP because screen size was too small, specially since I was using it as a primary computer.

Also, the keyboard of Macbook isnt tht great. Its not easy to type.
 
I'm actually going to make the move from a macbook to a 17 inch macbook pro. I severely miss the feeling of aluminum on the palm rests and the keyboard. I blame my 12 inch powerbook for making it so painful to move on to a different computer.
 
I love the size of the macbook and whenever I need more screen real estate I just hook it up to a 22" 1680x1050 display. problem solved. And I still came in WAYYYYY under the cost of the 17" macbook pro AND don't have to tote around a behemoth of a computer all the time.
 
My 2¢

Every iBook (now the macbook) I ever met has been in for repairs, and apple techs tell me- plastic casing is not good for mobile computing. The iBook was 90% of one techs business. It expands too much when hot and parts have freedom to start moving around. Friends, girlfriend, and co-workers alike have all had problems with their ibooks. I'm typing on a 4-year old powerbook that's never been in for repairs (knock knock). I will always advocate the aluminum enclosures. Regardless of what you're doing, I would stay with the MBP if you want the computer for longevity.
 
bennyboi said:
Every iBook (now the macbook) I ever met has been in for repairs, and apple techs tell me- plastic casing is not good for mobile computing. The iBook was 90% of one techs business. It expands too much when hot and parts have freedom to start moving around. Friends, girlfriend, and co-workers alike have all had problems with their ibooks. I'm typing on a 4-year old powerbook that's never been in for repairs (knock knock). I will always advocate the aluminum enclosures. Regardless of what you're doing, I would stay with the MBP if you want the computer for longevity.
Click to expand...

your logic is flawed. Metal expands just as much, if not more than, plastic under heat pressure, and is subject to softening when hot that most plastics are not.

It's also a fallacy that the aluminum helps dissipate heat, the difference is minimal and the MBP runs hotter so any effect is mitigated anyway.

Casing really doesn't make a difference for longevity. It's more likely that more iBooks were broken by careless or misinformed users than because they were made out of plastics. PC laptops infamous for their longevity have never been made of metal, have they?
 
The question is what does the OP use the Mac for??

I went from a 12" Powerbook to a MB and found it painful. I missed the whole aluminium keyboard. When I upgraded to a 15" MBP I was happy again. I could never go back to a MB. They're a nice little laptop and very useful, but for the work I do just not enough.
 
feelthefire said:
your logic is flawed. Metal expands just as much, if not more than, plastic under heat pressure, and is subject to softening when hot that most plastics are not.

It's also a fallacy that the aluminum helps dissipate heat, the difference is minimal and the MBP runs hotter so any effect is mitigated anyway.

Casing really doesn't make a difference for longevity. It's more likely that more iBooks were broken by careless or misinformed users than because they were made out of plastics. PC laptops infamous for their longevity have never been made of metal, have they?
Click to expand...

Not only that but the MacBooks and iBooks have a metal frame and the plastic on the outside is just a second layer on top, the MacBook Pros and PowerBooks have just the aluminum layer. Being that the plastic is a second layer it would make it even more durable.
 
Granted, I didn't switch from a 17" MBP to the 13.3" MB, but I did go from a 16" (not widescreen, I bought the beast in December of 2002) 1600x1200 UXGA to the MacBook, and I have to say - the transition has been much easier than I thought it would be. I can always disconnect my PC rig from my 21" CRT monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose - but that doesn't really allow me much flexibility if I want to use the laptop anywhere other than my office nook - and that monitor really doesn't go with my living room decor anyway. In a month or so I'll probably end up getting a 22" LCD from the Dell Outlet - but honestly, I thought I miss the screen real estate more than I actually do. I'm really, really near-sighted (and I've been stuck in glasses for a month because I had eye surgery and I can't go back to contacts until later this week) - so the only issue I've had at all has been if I'm wanting to monitor something from the couch while the laptop is on the coffee table. And by monitor, I mean, "read text" -- watching video has been fantastic.

Of course, if I'm going to do any serious PhotoShop stuff or even pseudo-serious FCE stuff, I'll plug it into the 21" CRT - but otherwise, the screen space I lost was more than made up for by the gain I got in being able to actually carry a laptop around with me everywhere.
 
filmgirl said:
Granted, I didn't switch from a 17" MBP to the 13.3" MB, but I did go from a 16" (not widescreen, I bought the beast in December of 2002) 1600x1200 UXGA to the MacBook, and I have to say - the transition has been much easier than I thought it would be. I can always disconnect my PC rig from my 21" CRT monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose - but that doesn't really allow me much flexibility if I want to use the laptop anywhere other than my office nook - and that monitor really doesn't go with my living room decor anyway. In a month or so I'll probably end up getting a 22" LCD from the Dell Outlet - but honestly, I thought I miss the screen real estate more than I actually do. I'm really, really near-sighted (and I've been stuck in glasses for a month because I had eye surgery and I can't go back to contacts until later this week) - so the only issue I've had at all has been if I'm wanting to monitor something from the couch while the laptop is on the coffee table. And by monitor, I mean, "read text" -- watching video has been fantastic.

Of course, if I'm going to do any serious PhotoShop stuff or even pseudo-serious FCE stuff, I'll plug it into the 21" CRT - but otherwise, the screen space I lost was more than made up for by the gain I got in being able to actually carry a laptop around with me everywhere.
Click to expand...

If you're thinking about a 22" monitor, I have to tell you, I just bought a 22" acer and actually chucked my 21" samsung LCD because it was worse. I'm really liking my new display a LOT and it was $100 cheaper than the samsung. I think I paid $249 for it.
 
feelthefire said:
If you're thinking about a 22" monitor, I have to tell you, I just bought a 22" acer and actually chucked my 21" samsung LCD because it was worse. I'm really liking my new display a LOT and it was $100 cheaper than the samsung. I think I paid $249 for it.
Click to expand...

Awesome - thank you for your input!
 
stunning question

brilliant question nubben!

i'm thinking of updating my powerbook 15"g4 and thought of the possibility of getting an imac and a macbook for about the same price as one macbook pro.

turns out my powerbook had to have its hd changed and i've been working on a macbook for a week now. for all my emailing/web browsing and casual working, its been fine actually! and i really thought there would be no way i'd be able to go back to a 13" again (previously used 12" ibooks for years).

so i think the macbook may not be too bad a solution. someone i know says he actually prefers the macbook keyboard because he often types the wrong letter inadvertantly on the macbook pro, beacuse the keys are so close together.

course, i'll miss the light-up keys.

no easy answers on this question, but it seems doable.
:)
 
I love my 22 inch acer too. Everyone who sees it is always really impressed and amazed that I got such a good looking monitor for just over 200 (open box best buy) it takes some extra tweaking with the brightness/contrast/color controls then some might out of the box, but it does the job well. Might not be the most color accurate of the lcds, but for the price of the quality it does have, it can't be beat! Plus it's silver and matches my pretty mbp so well :)

Anyway... I would say go for the 15inch mbp if you are downgrading. Less of a jump, and the footprint isn't THAT much bigger than the macbook. Not sure if you have the glossy 17incher either, but if you have matte, you may want that option as well. The macbook is great, but I know I always miss the space when I have to use my classmates mb over my mbp for things and that's just from my 15inch mbp.

However, like everyone said, it's personal preference. I LOVE my 15inch mbp, and don't find any portability problems and the screen is just a nice compromise. The Macbook is a good little computer, but it seems that the screen space jump might be a little bit too much to get used to.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. Defo food for thought.

Nubben
 
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