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Did I make the right decision?

F

FruityComputer

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 23, 2009
1
0
i have recently bought a new 15inch Macbook Pro (June 2009) with the 2.53ghz processor.

i will be going to college next year.

i want to know if the higher end 13inch model would have been a better choice.

what do you guys think?


i quite like the screen real estate on my 15inch but i feel as if i should have bought the 13inch because it is the same exact power/specs but increases portability and i could have always bought an external display for watching movies or other things of that sort.

i feel like i have the awkward model out of the bunch.

the 15inch 2.53ghz is big but has no added power to show for it over the 13inc 2.53ghz whereas i would have been able to justify the 15inch had i bought the 2.66ghz with the better GPU.

however, i have no use for such a GPU. so it makes no sense to spend another 300 bucks. (i plan on being a business major and i don't really need a powerful GPU).

i don't know.

what do you guys think?

did i make a good decision with buying the 15inch?

i mean, 2inches isn't that much difference in portability right?
 
That's up to YOU.

The advantages to the 15" 2.53GHz model is basically more screen resolution, not much of anything else.

If you feel like you need portability over the screen resolution, switch to a 13", otherwise just stick with it.
 
No, 15inch is fine, seriously, worrying this much about what computer you got is pointless, the 15inch will be perfect, I have a 15inch for uni and I love it, the screen real estate on the 13" is just too cramped for my liking. Stop needlessly worrying, go enjoy college.

Kids these days :rolleyes:
 
This is the exact opposite of me!

I've got the 13 inch pro and always have been wondering if I should have just gone with the 15.

Funny how these things go.
 
Unless you plan on taking the machine to class everyday, I say stay with the 15".

I am a student as well and prefer the 15" screen for the extra work space. I also don't think it makes much sense to bring your laptop to class in most cases because it is distracting and taking notes can be accomplished more efficiently with a notebook/ slide print outs.

You will be spending (hopefully) a lot of time with this thing in the library putting in some serious work. There are many times when I have two documents or windows side by side that make me glad I don't have a 13" screen. I think all of those situations outweigh (no pun intended) the small difference in portability.

Schtumple said:
No, 15inch is fine, seriously, worrying this much about what computer you got is pointless, the 15inch will be perfect, I have a 15inch for uni and I love it, the screen real estate on the 13" is just too cramped for my liking. Stop needlessly worrying, go enjoy college.

Kids these days :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

If I was a college student on a budget and just dropped over $1500 on the machine I will be using for the next 4 years, I would want to make sure I got the right one. If you think the OP worries too much about his/her Apple laptop, you are on the wrong forum! :rolleyes:
 
Jay42 said:
If I was a college student on a budget and just dropped over $1500 on the machine I will be using for the next 4 years, I would want to make sure I got the right one.
Click to expand...
You mean like asking questions and making sure it's the right one before you actually buy it?

To the OP: I think the 15" was a mistake. Given all things are equal, portability and a small desktop footprint should be at the top of the list for any student.
 
+1 on Schtumple's comments.

-1 on Jay42 - the time to have sorted this out is BEFORE you bought the thing - not after - especially on something as basic as the size of the screen / portability.

Also - the OP thought that he could have justified the 15" on the on cpu clock speed difference (2.66 vs 2.53) is - well, I'll let the more informed describe it.
 
If you don't need the GPU, then the 13" MBP makes more sense in my opinion. Its easier to take to class. Its lighter, gives you more room on the desk. You're saving a good amount of memory by going with a 13" MBP over the 15" with little appreciable performance increase.

Overall I think the deciding factor for the 13" vs. 15" is screen real estate (I'd not want to use Photoshop on a 13") and GPU. If both of those are not a major concern then the 13" makes too much sense in the short and long run.
 
i had the 13" umb and while it was incredibly portable..i still thought the screen was a little on the small side when it was disconnected from my external screen.
now i have the same 15" 2.53 model as you and the size is perfect for ME. when i decide i want to be portable i don't feel cramped at all.

since this decision should be based off of your preferences, do you think you'll be happy when you're going portable with a 13"?
a lot of people are, but i'm not one of them.
 
i just switched from a (June 09) 15" MBP to the 13" MBP and couldn't be happier.

- it's smaller and lighter so I'll tend to take it with me more often
- much more comfortable to use on your lap, in a cafe it, it's a great size, I found the 15" heavy and clunky
- for photo's sure screen real estate/detail is better on the 15" but not by much imo. For web pages, doc's etc they don't fill the width much more on a 15" over a 13" compare the two side by side, use the home page of this forum for example you really only notice a gain in an inch or so vertically.
- when I grab my 13" and go I smile, it's a pleasure to work on, when I grab the 15" every time I think to myself it's heavy/clunky and for what gain ... if I want screen real estate I'll hook up to my ACD ....
- also you get less reflection from the glass 13" display, it's smaller, less glass :)

Hope that helps ... it took me a long time to decide .... but I'm very happy with my decision I have finally decided on my main (portable) computer ... I have an Air I use as a netbook, or when I need to travel light, otherwise it's the 13" MBP all the way!
 
In the same position...

I'm in the same position, on the way to Uni, stuck between 13 or 15" HOWEVER i'm choosing between 2.66GHz (Hence discrete graphics) 15.4" and the top 13".
Budget between these two is not an issue, however for general use (doing civil engineering, so not massive strain) be worth it?
 
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