Do you use an external monitor? 13" v 15"

[nStyle]

I have a 13" rMBP and I find it a bit too small to use the small screen exclusively. Thus, I have a 27" Thunderbolt Display. In some ways, I'm trading a superior screen for a larger screen (though the net effect seems to be better since 1440p is still fine and the same goes for screen accuracy)

I owned a 15" rMBP but that was back when I still had a desktop PC. I got rid of the desktop in order to consolidate as I really dislike having more than one computer as things get fragmented too easily. Anyway, the 15" was too big for travel which was what I primarily used my laptops for anyway, so I sold it in favor of the 13".

I'm somewhat of a minimalist. I'm thinking now I could *possibly* get by with just the 15". I won't really save any money. In fact, I may end up spending more. But, I'll get a larger screen (than the 13"), dedicated GPU, faster processor, more storage, etc. The 15" retina screen definitely is amazing, even in comparison to the 13" variant. I couldn't justify trading my 13" for the 15" solely as I don't particularly *need* more power, but I just thought I might be able to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you all get by with just a laptop and don't worry with an external monitor?

 

[dagamer34]

I use just a 15" at work. 2012 model can't drive a 4K display at 60Hz so I don't bother hooking anything up to it. At home, I have a retina iMac with far more space.

Can't really answer your question unless we know what you're doing with your laptop. I work fine on my 15" doing coding, but any time I need large screen space for app layout, it's not terribly pleasant (still not bad enough to get a 2nd monitor though).

 

[0983275]

Yep, when I'm not out, it's always connected to a monitor (see sig)

Considering on getting a 2560x1440 or higher monitor, having the extra screen estate would be nice, I just need to look around for a decent and affordable monitor.

I run 1920x1200 on my 13" rMBP (can be done with tools like Pupil or ScreenResX), still looks nice even if it's not scaled/native, pixel density of the screen helps here, and since it's not scaled, the lag associated with the retina scaling settings isn't there.

 

[stu.h]

I've just sold my Late 2013 13" rMBP and Thunderbolt Display.
I've bought the new 2015 15" w/dGPU And an Acer B326HK 32" 4k monitor.
I like the portability and also the real estate of 3840x2160 (none scaled hence me getting the 32") when doing longer pieces of work.
I used to hate working on the MacBook for a while, then going to the TBD, it looked terrible.

 

[yjchua95]

I have a 13" rMBP and I find it a bit too small to use the small screen exclusively. Thus, I have a 27" Thunderbolt Display. In some ways, I'm trading a superior screen for a larger screen (though the net effect seems to be better since 1440p is still fine and the same goes for screen accuracy)

I owned a 15" rMBP but that was back when I still had a desktop PC. I got rid of the desktop in order to consolidate as I really dislike having more than one computer as things get fragmented too easily. Anyway, the 15" was too big for travel which was what I primarily used my laptops for anyway, so I sold it in favor of the 13".

I'm somewhat of a minimalist. I'm thinking now I could *possibly* get by with just the 15". I won't really save any money. In fact, I may end up spending more. But, I'll get a larger screen (than the 13"), dedicated GPU, faster processor, more storage, etc. The 15" retina screen definitely is amazing, even in comparison to the 13" variant. I couldn't justify trading my 13" for the 15" solely as I don't particularly *need* more power, but I just thought I might be able to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you all get by with just a laptop and don't worry with an external monitor?

At home, I have a Dell S2240L 21.5" display for my 13" rMBP. My 15" rMBP is hooked up to a 32" Sharp PN-K322B 10-point multitouch 4K display.

In my office, there's a 27" TB display for each of my rMBPs.

But I could've managed with the 15" rMBP not being hooked up to anything if I wanted to.

 

[nStyle]

I've just sold my Late 2013 13" rMBP and Thunderbolt Display.
I've bought the new 2015 15" w/dGPU And an Acer B326HK 32" 4k monitor.
I like the portability and also the real estate of 3840x2160 (none scaled hence me getting the 32") when doing longer pieces of work.
I used to hate working on the MacBook for a while, then going to the TBD, it looked terrible.

I have the exact same setup (2013 13" and TBD). Do you think you could use just the 15" with a stand or something?

I too think the 13" is a little too small to get some serious work done. It's great for portability though. Tradeoffs!

 

[ckeck]

Considering on getting a 2560x1440 or higher monitor, having the extra screen estate would be nice, I just need to look around for a decent and affordable monitor.

Dell U2715H is an incredible 1440p monitor. Great panel, sleek design and can't go wrong with a premium panel guarantee. Not the cheapest but not too outlandish either.

 

[Toutou]

My 13" rMBP is my one and only computer (college student), so I have a nice 23" FullHD monitor (via HDMI) for movies and browsing, but I find pretty much everything doable on the MacBook (1440x900 scaled). Coding, photo editing, Minecraft, you name it.

 

[maflynn]

I have an apple cinema display that I use with my rMBP. Its at this point more of a "desktop" computer since I use my Surface Pro 3 for my mobility needs. Even before the SP3, I had my rMB hooked up to a monitor.

 

[tyzjames]

Ive got the new AMD 2015 15" rMBP and I use it with a 23" Dell via HDMI. However, when I plug it in, the fans starts to become audible, and somewhat annoying. Is that normal?

 

[McDLT]

Dell U2715H is an incredible 1440p monitor. Great panel, sleek design and can't go wrong with a premium panel guarantee. Not the cheapest but not too outlandish either.

Is there a hub that you recommend to go with it? I am in the market for a display. Love the all in one aspect of the apple thunderbolt but cant being myself to buy it with the old tech in it.