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Is the extra resolution worth it?

J

josh bear

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2010
378
180
Hi all

Thinking of getting a 15inch mbp to do some light photo editing. As you know the 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 1,440-by-900-pixel LED-backlit, glossy display. But You can also choose a high-resolution, 1,680-by-1,050 glossy or anti-glare display that gives you 36 per cent more pixels.

Is this extra resolution worth the £80?

Thanks for any help

Josh
 
Considering the fact that you'll be looking at it for long periods of time, it's def worth it.
 
It's worth the money, but if you like it is another question.

I had no doubt about getting the HR/AG, but now that I've worked with it for a few days I'm sending it back. Too tiny for my eyes, and I really don't like the AG.

Go to an Apple Store or find a reseller that has the different versions on display and work with those for a while. That way it's a lot easier to make up your mind and pick what's good for you.
 
NO question here... I compared my 2008 macbook pro to my friends brand new 15" high res and its incomparably better, it hardly even seems smaller than my brand new 17" high res
 
Unless you really prefer/need high resolution images and a little bit more screen real estate, it's not really necessary. The text can be pretty dang small, lots of people have to use the pinch gesture to resize. I'm sure you can get used to it, but why do you want to get used to straining your eyes?

If you need the extra real estate and pixels for your photo editing, by all means get it. But if it honestly wouldn't make that big of a difference and you read text a lot on your computer I wouldn't get it.
 
owlbabu said:
Unless you really prefer/need high resolution images and a little bit more screen real estate, it's not really necessary. The text can be pretty dang small, lots of people have to use the pinch gesture to resize. I'm sure you can get used to it, but why do you want to get used to straining your eyes?

If you need the extra real estate and pixels for your photo editing, by all means get it. But if it honestly wouldn't make that big of a difference and you read text a lot on your computer I wouldn't get it.
Click to expand...

do yourself a favor and dont listen to this guy
 
mongoose8p said:
do yourself a favor and dont listen to this guy
Click to expand...

Well, he's right if you have bad eyes. My parents run their computers at lower resolution on purpose or increase magnification. If you don't have bad eyes the higher-res is 100% worth it.

For me the right resolution for screen size is

12" = 1280x800
14" = 1440x900
15" = 1680x1050
17" = 1920x1080
 
Thanks all

I appreciate the responses. Looks like it is a go for the hi res. Just had my eyes lasered so perfect vision at the moment :) (and hopefully for a while).

Do any of the London apple stores carry the 15inch with hi res as a stock item or is it order only?

Thanks

Josh

Ps anyone want to buy a MacBook air 2.13. New last December. Not powerful enough for what I want to do with photos and lost its sofa surfing duties to the iPad!
 
Sorry one final question.

I have a multi sync 2690w monitor which has these connectors
Connectors Digital: 1 x DVI-D; Digital/ Analog: 1 x DVI-I; Analog: 1 x D-sub 15 pin

The Mac pro takes the dvi-d. The xbox takes to analog d sub. Will the MacBook pro be able to connect to the dvi-I ?

Thanks

Josh
 
owlbabu said:
Unless you really prefer/need high resolution images and a little bit more screen real estate, it's not really necessary. The text can be pretty dang small, lots of people have to use the pinch gesture to resize. I'm sure you can get used to it, but why do you want to get used to straining your eyes?

If you need the extra real estate and pixels for your photo editing, by all means get it. But if it honestly wouldn't make that big of a difference and you read text a lot on your computer I wouldn't get it.
Click to expand...

That is good advice. I've made similar posts on the topic.

Reading small text for long periods is a strain on your eyes whether they're good or not.

Furthermore, who wants to zoom in text all the time.

The correct resolution for a 15" screen is 1440 x 900.
 
high resolution definitely comes in handy with mulitiple applications open and used at once....i wouldn't be surprised if apple makes the optional "high-resolution" to standard resolution soon enough across the 15" models....
 
josh bear said:
Do any of the London apple stores carry the 15inch with hi res as a stock item or is it order only?
Click to expand...

When the 15" i5s & i7s were released the only hi-res MBPs in the stores were the i7s but I'm not sure whether that's changed since. At least you could pop in just to check out to see if you'll be comfortable with the displays. Both the stores in Regent St and the Westfield are VERY good but the store in Brent Cross is a bit small so not sure if they have the 15" HR on display (alot of space given priority to the recent higher profile releases).

Give them a bell before you visit. Contact details:
http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/regentstreet/
http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/whitecity/
 
About multiple windows: don't expect too much from the 1680 width. You can easily have an app open with an IM window at the side, or a few Finder windows next to each other to drag over files. But there isn't all that much space to e.g. have two browser windows in the front. Both would be 840px max including the scroll bar, and that isn't all that much, especially since most sites nowadays are wider. It's great for things like Photoshop or video editing though. More space for the canvas/video streams and all the tool bars.

Bottom line: 1680x1050 gives you a lot of space for single apps, but if you really want to work with multiple windows/larger apps next to each other, it's still too cramped.
 
I recommend you view both in person. I purchased the standard resolution (which I ended up giving to my partner), then ordered the hi-res anti-glare and found it was giving me too much eye strain. I even went and had my eyes tested. I have now re-purchased a standard resolution and hope to sell the hi-res anti-glare.
 
mox123 said:
high resolution definitely comes in handy with mulitiple applications open and used at once....i wouldn't be surprised if apple makes the optional "high-resolution" to standard resolution soon enough across the 15" models....
Click to expand...

They won't do it, more people are returning the hi-res screens for the low-res rather than vice versa according to our Apple Business Rep ... reason font's too small and eyestrain....
 
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but when doing a side by side comparison of a 15" high res anti-glare MPB with a 17" anti-glare, with both displaying the same screen contents, I found the 17" to be much easier on the eyes when reading fine text, even though it has the finer dot pitch. The easiest high-res small text reading was on the 17" glossy display. I'm wondering if there's something different about the 15" high-res screen, as I haven't seen too many negative comments about the 17" MPB's readability.
 
I love my hi res screen on my 15 inch i5! This is the way to go if you don't have an external display with a higher res to connect your MBP to. I got used to looking at my 24 inch cinema display so I had to get the higher res MBP.
 
josh bear said:
Sorry one final question.

I have a multi sync 2690w monitor which has these connectors
Connectors Digital: 1 x DVI-D; Digital/ Analog: 1 x DVI-I; Analog: 1 x D-sub 15 pin

The Mac pro takes the dvi-d. The xbox takes to analog d sub. Will the MacBook pro be able to connect to the dvi-I ?

Thanks

Josh
Click to expand...

Yes just get a mini DisplayPort to DVI-D adapter. DVI-I just means it works with both analog and digial; you can use either adapter.
 
Thanks all.
Really appreciate the responses. The london apple store does carry them as stock. Will be heading there asap

Best regards

Josh
 
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