FLIP FLOPPING between the 13" and the 15" MBP

[slycke]

I'm driving myself crazy over here. I know there are a bunch of other "Which MBP should I get?" threads out there, but obviously reading them didn't exactly help me make my decision.

I am a college student, and will be primarily using my MacBook Pro for word processing, surfing the web, watching videos, listening to music... Stuff that will typically be easy on the processor. But I will probably play the occasional game of Left 4 Dead 2, nothing hardcore. The MBP will also be my only computer.

I was initially set on the 13" 2.66gHz MBP, but decided that the difference between 2.66 and 2.4 is too small and I just couldn't justify the price increase.

But C2D is already 3 year old tech, and the whole point of waiting for this update was to get a new MBP with the latest Core i5 architecture that will hopefully last me longer. I was thinking that I could probably upgrade the HDD to a SSD and maybe increase the RAM somewhere down the line when the machine starts showing signs of age.

So, which should I get, considering my needs?

Cheers.

edit: also worth noting that the price difference between low end 13" and low end 15" is $600, and the high end 13" is exactly in between.

 

[chopper dave]

The MBP will also be my only computer.

Staring at a screen with that small of a resolution drives me crazy, especially when I'm trying to create content. Either get an external monitor with the $$ you save on the 13", or get the 15" and plan on being able to put off the next upgrade for another year or two.

 

[slycke]

Staring at a screen with that small of a resolution drives me crazy, especially when I'm trying to create content. Either get an external monitor with the $$ you save on the 13", or get the 15" and plan on being able to put off the next upgrade for another year or two.

Yeah I will definitely be getting an external monitor. How long do you reckon the 15" MBP will last? 5 years?

 

[neteng101]

Get the 13" 2.4 - its portable and convenient. 4GB is probably all the RAM you'll ever need for a long time but a faster drive will definitely help. Get a cheap 500GB 7200rpm drive for now, as SSDs are still too expensive. Gaming is less intensive on the GPU due to the lower resolution of the 13" screen.

I don't get why everyone's so upset over the C2D, its not that big a deal, and the low-end 13" is now actually perfect for most all things day-to-day computing. Just not for serious graphics/video editing or hardcore gaming.

 

[Hellishness]

Honestly, for me at least, the 10 hour battery was worth more for me than a better processor, and the screen size was kinda a neutral since i would be sacrificing weight and portabality (not carrying it around, but stuff like using it on the couch while laying down and stuff)...so it was definitely not worth $600 more.