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is the 13 enough

T

thesweeps

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 27, 2010
50
0
I'm getting a macbook pro and I have the money for the 15 inch i5 with 500g hard drive but I'm wondering if the 13 inch will be enough for what I'm doing I do a lot of browsing a lot of music downloading and some light audio editing and video editing, as well as a lot of runing keynote and multitasking.

I know this gets asked a lot but my situation is different I think..keep in mind I have the money for the 15 inch i5...
 
Personally I've found the 13" screen to be a bit small for normal computer. I used the MacBook Air for about a year, but was glad when I went back to the 15" MacBook Pro because of the extra screen space it had.
 
Well you really haven't given us your preference of screen size, however in terms of what the 13" is capable of, it will be more than capable for your uses. If you want a larger screen like the 15" then just go for it. In terms of power the 15" Core i5 would satisfy most power users that do encoding or heavy photoshop.
 
The 13 would be enough for what you wanted to do, although you might see a slight increase in performance with the i5 in the audio/video editing, however if it is light duty, then you won't see too big a difference. Personally, I would get the 13, because I love the portability of mine, plus I have an external monitor for when I want more screen space. However, if you think the bump in performance would be worth spending more money, and you like the 15" form factor, then by all means, get the 15. If you do get the 15, I would recommend the base model, and if you want the 500 gig drive, buy your own and install it yourself.
 
Right, I'm not too worried about the screen, as much as I am it being able to handle multitasking power with keynote and audio editing and some small video..I do a lot with music downloads to...

Another question if I buy in store and get the base 15 inch model with 320 gig hd can I ask for a 500 and will they have it or do it? Or can I only customize online and order?

I'm not brilliant with computers either is 320 gigs a lot of space? With that hold a lot of music pictures, music and programs?
 
thesweeps said:
Right, I'm not too worried about the screen, as much as I am it being able to handle multitasking power with keynote and audio editing and some small video..I do a lot with music downloads to...

Another question if I buy in store and get the base 15 inch model with 320 gig hd can I ask for a 500 and will they have it or do it? Or can I only customize online and order?

I'm not brilliant with computers either is 320 gigs a lot of space? With that hold a lot of music pictures, music and programs?
Click to expand...

You can only upgrade the computer online. No customizing in stores. Its probably cheaper to buy a hard drive your self and install it anyways.
 
SOMETIMES the retail stores will have preconfigured CTO models in the store with upgraded hard drives, if they don't then you'll have to order online if you want an Apple upgraded hard drive or you can save some cash and buy a hard drive upgrade from New Egg. The Core i5 has Turbo Boost and hyperthreading technologies that will give a substantial boost in CPU power which will greatly benefit you for video editing. In this case since you can afford it, go for the 15", I'm very happy with mine, I just bought the base model 2 weeks ago with Hi-Res Antiglare screen and love it.
 
thesweeps said:
Right, I'm not too worried about the screen, as much as I am it being able to handle multitasking power with keynote and audio editing and some small video..I do a lot with music downloads to...

Another question if I buy in store and get the base 15 inch model with 320 gig hd can I ask for a 500 and will they have it or do it? Or can I only customize online and order?

I'm not brilliant with computers either is 320 gigs a lot of space? With that hold a lot of music pictures, music and programs?
Click to expand...

As far as multitasking goes, that uses more memory than processor, and the 13 and 15 both come with 4 gigs, which is a good bit.

As far as hard drive space goes, 320 is a decent amount. That will hold around 80,000 songs as a rough estimate. If you are worried about space, it wouldn't hurt to up it to a 500GB drive. The install is easy to do yourself and won't void your warranty. Plus you can pick your new drive, get it cheaper, and have the old one as an external for extra storage.
 
Cool, thanks guys for the help,right now I'm sort of leaning twards the 15 but sounds like the 13 is a just as good choice I will be getting it shortly and will let everyone know thanks for the help

And ps I'm not sure if I feel comfortable changing my own hard drive but I'll look into it haha
 
thesweeps said:
Cool, thanks guys for the help,right now I'm sort of leaning twards the 15 but sounds like the 13 is a just as good choice I will be getting it shortly and will let everyone know thanks for the help

And ps I'm not sure if I feel comfortable changing my own hard drive but I'll look into it haha
Click to expand...

pretty simple, plenty of tutorial videos on youtube
 
I have another question I see you get a ipod when you buy it do they give that to you in store? And also how big is the student discount they give?
 
i am not sure if i would buy a c2d machine at this point. maybe the low end 15 with i5?
 
I find the 13" too small for my liking if it's going to be your main computer. Even if it's not your main computer, I'd still recommend the 15".

I work on a 24" iMac and only use the 13" at home and when travelling, and still I wish I'd bought the 15" model
 
I went from a 13" Macbook to a 15" base model MBP about a month ago, and haven't looked back. Even with the glossy screen, I've had no problem with photo editing, little problem with glare, and have truly enjoyed having the extra couple of inches on the screen for occasional movie watching. If I need something bigger, I use the mini-display adapter and hook it up via DVI to my 20" LCD screen (which isn't as nice as the laptop screen), or if I wanted to go truly overboard, I can hook it up to my 40" LED tv :)

A lot of people told me the 13" would be fine for me, but I'm glad I spent the extra money for the 15". Given what I was lugging around before, the weight is negligible ;)
 
i LOVE my 13", its my main computer. i will be buying the new 27" display that comes out next month along w/ keyboard+trackpad to use my laptop as a "desktop".
 
a.jfred said:
I went from a 13" Macbook to a 15" base model MBP about a month ago, and haven't looked back. Even with the glossy screen, I've had no problem with photo editing, little problem with glare, and have truly enjoyed having the extra couple of inches on the screen for occasional movie watching. If I need something bigger, I use the mini-display adapter and hook it up via DVI to my 20" LCD screen (which isn't as nice as the laptop screen), or if I wanted to go truly overboard, I can hook it up to my 40" LED tv :)

A lot of people told me the 13" would be fine for me, but I'm glad I spent the extra money for the 15". Given what I was lugging around before, the weight is negligible ;)
Click to expand...

my issue is the core2duo. apple is moving away from core2duo with the imac line. also iam not sure how much longer intel will be making core2duo. apple is going to have to decide what it is going to do with the 13 inch since its current size does not fit a discrete graphics card. I do like the fact that the 13 has a 10 hr battery life. i wonder when apple will change the cpu in the 13, i think a 2.4 core2duo was in mbp back in 2006.
 
thesweeps said:
I'm getting a macbook pro and I have the money for the 15 inch i5 with 500g hard drive but I'm wondering if the 13 inch will be enough for what I'm doing I do a lot of browsing a lot of music downloading and some light audio editing and video editing, as well as a lot of runing keynote and multitasking.

I know this gets asked a lot but my situation is different I think..keep in mind I have the money for the 15 inch i5...
Click to expand...

My son has a 15" MBP and a business friend uses a 13" MBP. I put both on my countertop and played with each on. I like the 15" the best. The little extra real estate is beneficial but 13" is simpler to travel with and cost $600 or so less. I ended up with the 13" and am happy. But.... if I did not mind paying the extra for 15" I would buy that size. Higher rez helps with more work space. I don't use the MPB everyday so this and less cost is why I picked 13". At my home office I have a 24" iMac and at work we use PC with dual monitors.
 
thesweeps said:
I have another question I see you get a ipod when you buy it do they give that to you in store? And also how big is the student discount they give?
Click to expand...

If you get the educational pricing, then you get a free 8 GB iPod Touch. If you decide to get an iPod Touch with more capacity, you will get a rebate for $199. The iPod will be given to you in store, and you will go home and fill out the rebate form online.

You can go to the Education Store online and get the pricing for the specific unit that you're looking to buy.
 
SPX said:
If you get the educational pricing, then you get a free 8 GB iPod Touch. If you decide to get an iPod Touch with more capacity, you will get a rebate for $199. The iPod will be given to you in store, and you will go home and fill out the rebate form online.

You can go to the Education Store online and get the pricing for the specific unit that you're looking to buy.
Click to expand...

Really? Well I plan on buying in store but I don't want to fork out another 200 for a ipod lol even though I'm getting it back..they should just give it to you
 
I'd like to tag on to this question: I actually like the form factor of the 13". I have a 15" MBP Older, 2007) and love it, but prefer something more portable.

My question is this: Is the HDD on the 13" MBP replaceable? I want to replace the stock HDD with a 7200rpm 500GB drive.
 
mapexvenus said:
I'd like to tag on to this question: I actually like the form factor of the 13". I have a 15" MBP Older, 2007) and love it, but prefer something more portable.

My question is this: Is the HDD on the 13" MBP replaceable? I want to replace the stock HDD with a 7200rpm 500GB drive.
Click to expand...

The hard drive on the 13" MBP is easily replaced.
 
I like the 13" & you can upgrade the drive if you want.

I have 13" Nov 2009 MBP and love it. I really like the smaller form factor. To maximize screen space I auto-hide the dock and I use Firefox which has a full screen option to get a larger surfboard for the web. ;)

Also, to answer the previous poster. I put a 1TB drive in mine and it is sweet! Probably not as fast as the 7200 you mentioned but I wanted the extra space! :D
 
SPX said:
The hard drive on the 13" MBP is easily replaced.
Click to expand...

I wonder why Apple does not give you the option to configure the 13" MBP with a faster, larger HDD while buying it, like it does with the 15". My initial assumption was that the 13" didn't support the power requirements of a larger / faster drive. This is interesting.

thank you both for your feedback.
 
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