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If you used a 15" MBP for general surfin' and bummin' around.....

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macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 9, 2008
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England
Ok, honeymoon's over with an iPad, sold it today. Time to go back to a MBP;)

Had two 13" previously, 2ghz Unibody and 2.26 MBP. Thinking I might make the move up to 15" this time to grab me some i5 goodness.

I only use my laptop in the house for like 95% of time and only for general messing around online & very light photo work, so figure the base 15" will be more than good enough for my needs.

The only bit I can't decide on is the screen res. I can't get to an apple store to compare and I can't decide if the extra £70 is worth spending on the high-res option (glossy, hate matt). It doesn't sound like much of an increase on paper and like I said, my use for the laptop is pretty basic.

Anyone bought the regular res and wish they had gone with the high?
 
Unless your eyes strain on Hi-res, I think the upgrade is completely worth it. Seeing more at once never hurt anyone (with good eyesight).
 
Me and 3 other co-workers have had our 15" MBPs with HR-AG screens for about two and a half months now. Personally, I haven't experienced any eye strain (and I do a lot of reading in a day on this thing); haven't heard any of the coworkers complain about small text or eyestrain either. 1680x1050 is the perfect resolution for a 15" screen, 1440x900 is just to small.
 
I don't get eyestrain but I found 1680x1050 to be too small. I used to have a 21" monitor at that resolution which I liked and found to be just right so to have to squeeze the same number of pixels into a 15" screen was too much for me.

Your best bet would be to see both screens and compare before deciding. Everyones' eyes are different.
 
I originally purchased the standard resolution 15". That same day, I gave it to my partner and upgraded to the hi-res antiglare model. After getting sore eyes for a few weeks I went and had my eyes tested (they were fine). Anyway, I went out and purchased a new 15" standard resolution on the weekend and listed the hi-res antiglare on eBay. For what I do, the standard resolution suits me better. If I need a higher resolution, I will add an external monitor to my setup.

For anyone considering the hi-res model, you really need to view both in person.
 
demonsavatar said:
Unless your eyes strain on Hi-res, I think the upgrade is completely worth it. Seeing more at once never hurt anyone (with good eyesight).
Click to expand...

It's not a matter of good or bad eyesight. Not whether you like or don't like hi-res or standard res screens.

It's a matter of strain on your eyes, whether you think your eyes are straining or not on a hi-res screen if the text is small then your eyes are being strained.

You may find your hi res notebook quite adequate while sitting at a desk with good natural/office lights. Go into a setting such as evenings at home under all artificial light an your eyes are already at a disadvantage for reading due to lighting conditions. Add in the fact the text on the 15" hi-res and 17" is very small and you have the recipe for putting unneeded stress on your eyes.

The point is because you can read small text for long periods from a computer screen doesn't mean you should. Doing so is unhealthy for your eyes.

Before you yell and flame me, please check with an Optometrist first, thank you.
 
I bought the base model 15" (320GB HD, standard resolution screen) and couldn't be happier. I'll probably get flamed for this, but I even do my photo editing on the standard resolution screen (mostly, because I'll need to upgrade my external monitor).
 
I'm in a nearly identical situation with my only remaining decision being whether or not to go HR. Is HR only advantageous if you're going to be doing a lot of photo editing? I understand that you can get more info. on the screen, but what else would you use it for? Are pictures on websites going to look the same?
 
If needed couldn't you just turn the resolution down to 1440 x 900 on a High-Res display?
 
Thanks for the comments so far peeps. Think I am gonna wait til next time I can get to an Apple store to compare before making my mind up. No rush;)
 
entatlrg said:
It's not a matter of good or bad eyesight. Not whether you like or don't like hi-res or standard res screens.

It's a matter of strain on your eyes, whether you think your eyes are straining or not on a hi-res screen if the text is small then your eyes are being strained.

You may find your hi res notebook quite adequate while sitting at a desk with good natural/office lights. Go into a setting such as evenings at home under all artificial light an your eyes are already at a disadvantage for reading due to lighting conditions. Add in the fact the text on the 15" hi-res and 17" is very small and you have the recipe for putting unneeded stress on your eyes.

The point is because you can read small text for long periods from a computer screen doesn't mean you should. Doing so is unhealthy for your eyes.

Before you yell and flame me, please check with an Optometrist first, thank you.
Click to expand...

I would have to concur with you, sir.
 
I was debating b/t the 13" and 15". I went w/ the 15" Hi-Res and love it!! I don't regret my decision at all. For me, the deal breaker on the 13" was the lack of an antiglare option.
 
If you use screen spanning with an external screen, get the std res.
My Eizo 22 inch is 1680x1050, and the 15 inch still has higher res pr inch.
Having 1680x1050 on both the 15 and 22 inch would make screen spanning awkward.
 
13" with a SSD might be a better option for you OP.

It'll run circles around the 15" even with the fastest processor and maxed out ram for the stuff you want to do. And it'll have better battery life and portability.
 
81Tiger04 said:
I'm in a nearly identical situation with my only remaining decision being whether or not to go HR. Is HR only advantageous if you're going to be doing a lot of photo editing? I understand that you can get more info. on the screen, but what else would you use it for? Are pictures on websites going to look the same?
Click to expand...

I considered it because I work alot with multiple word documents and I often need to work on two (or more) side-by-side. Having a higher resolution lets me have two word documents open at readable sizes.
 
Meever said:
13" with a SSD might be a better option for you OP.

It'll run circles around the 15" even with the fastest processor and maxed out ram for the stuff you want to do. And it'll have better battery life and portability.
Click to expand...

this is how I roll, it's sick. I have no regrets after experiencing it.
 
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