Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Help! Should I downgrade my new 15-inch MBP ???

jennyp

jennyp

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 27, 2007
670
366
Need some advice!

I have a mid-2009 MacBook Pro 13-inch 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. I use it mostly for writing, but also some web dev work which requires Photoshop, and some video editing. It only has 250GB of space, and although I love it, it's generally getting on a bit, so I thought an upgrade was in order.

So I went to the Apple Store and bought a new ("early 2011") MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, with the AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory. I got the hi-res antiglare screen option as well, as I was a bit tired of seeing my reflection when watching movies.

Now I'm in a quandary as to whether I want to keep it, or change it for a new ("early 2011") 13-inch 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 MBP (I'm within the 14-day "change your mind" window).

You might think there's no comparison, but there are some things about the new 15-inch that I'm not sure of.

One is the higher resolution. The text on the OS and on apps seems so small and far away!
Two is the machine size - I find a 13-inch machine "fits my hands", is "grabbable" and portable, but a 15-inch not really so.
Three is I prefer the black bezel round the edge of the 13-inch, as it seems to focus my eyes better on the screen contents. The aluminium surround on the 15-inch is a bit glary.

One thing that makes me hesitate to exchange it for the new 13-inch MBP are the reports of excessive heat and fan noise on that machine. Is this a real issue, and possibly dangerous issue for the life of the 13-inch logic board?

But am I mad to want to swap the new and more powerful 15-inch for the new 13-inch anyway? Would I regret not getting used to the 15 inch?

I only have one day left to make the choice and I'm going crazy with indecision! Aaaargh!
 
Why not go with the standard 15" then? You get the black bezel since it doesn't have the anti-glare screen and dpi isn't as high, but you still get the extra resolution (just not as much as the hi-res) so you can see more on the screen at any given time.
 
Considering the amount of cash you'd get back and how you don't seem to be thrilled at all about that machine, do it.

I'd say either base 15" or base 13".
 
Think I will exchange it for the best 13-inch... I just love that size...
Nexus1Place - do you mean, if I buy the new 13-inch MBP I won't see any performance increase over my old mid-2009 13 inch? Surely there'd be some..?
I am still a bit worried about these reports of the new 13-inch MBPs running hot with loud fans .. my old one rarely if ever does that.

decisions.. :confused:
 
jennyp said:
Think I will exchange it for the best 13-inch... I just love that size...
Nexus1Place - do you mean, if I buy the new 13-inch MBP I won't see any performance increase over my old mid-2009 13 inch? Surely there'd be some..?
I am still a bit worried about these reports of the new 13-inch MBPs running hot with loud fans .. my old one rarely if ever does that.

decisions.. :confused:
Click to expand...

No I think he was comparing the 2011 quad-core 15" MBP to the 2011 Dual-Core 13" MBP . Granted I went from a Mid-2009 Base 13 to a High End 2011 15" MBP, but there is a huge increase in CPU power between then and now even in single threaded applications. The Sandy Bridge CPU's crush the old Core2Duo's.
 
Oh good - I hope the new 13-inch is significantly faster than my old one!

I guess I am still a bit worried that Apple have shoehorned maybe too much power into these 13-inch notebooks, and hence these reports of excessive heat and loud fan noise ... what was it - some issue about thermal paste (whatever that is)? but I guess that's my only concern right now.
 
The excessive thermal paste is only an issue in the 15-inch model. I have the 13" Core i5 and it stays cool unless I'm using CPU-intensive apps like PS. No heat problems so far.
 
rattler said:
The excessive thermal paste is only an issue in the 15-inch model. I have the 13" Core i5 and it stays cool unless I'm using CPU-intensive apps like PS. No heat problems so far.
Click to expand...

Now I'm more confused than ever. I thought the paste issue was specific to the 13-inch models, that it was dependent on the production date of the machine (later machines having the problem rectified), and that the 15-inch models escaped it. Perhaps I've got that wrong!

I'm going to be using PS a lot.
 
Can someone tell me how the Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU (don't know the VRAM total with this) on the new 13-inch MBP would compare to the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB VRAM on my old 13-inch MBP?

Then I think I can make my decision!

Thanks !!!
 
jennyp said:
Now I'm more confused than ever. I thought the paste issue was specific to the 13-inch models, that it was dependent on the production date of the machine (later machines having the problem rectified), and that the 15-inch models escaped it. Perhaps I've got that wrong!

I'm going to be using PS a lot.
Click to expand...

I'd expect the paste issue to be fixed by now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back