Macbook Pro 13" too small?

[ghosty86]

Hi,

Im looking for some opinions from people on the Macbook Pro 13" vs the 15".

I'll start off with what i'll be using it for mainly:

• Web Browsing
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access)
• Possibly some web development
• Not many games, possibly only things like Football Manager or older games
• Some light video editing but nothing serious
• Possibly some programming
• I'll also be dual booting with Windows 7
• iTunes
• Watching some movies or streaming them onto my 32" tv via my PS3

The laptop will mostly be in my room and used as a desktop replacement because I will be getting rid of my desktop PC, but I would also like to do things like taking it into other rooms and using it in bed on occasion to read some PDF's.

I've pretty much decided to get it from the refurb store and it seems the 15" would only be £100 more expensive than the 13" (without the discreet graphics as I don't think my usage would benefit greatly, if at all, from the extra graphics card).

So, do you think the 15" is worth the extra £100 since i'll be using it as my only machine, or is the 13" screen and resolution big enough for the tasks i've listed above?

 

[belvdr]

For the basic stuff, the 13" is fine. However, with some of the editing you'll be doing, I'm thinking the extra screen real estate may be worth it.

 

[brenden]

I have a 13" macbook pro and absolutely love it! The size is perfect for your normal day to day task and the hardware is pretty nice for a little advanced web editing and development. One piece of advice i can give you is dont order the laptop with the 4gigs of memory. Upgrade it yourself after you receive it for quite a bit cheaper, but 4gigs is a must.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Hi,

HI.

The laptop will mostly be in my room and used as a desktop replacement

The 13" will suit you very well. However, due to some of the editing, as you pointed out, screen real estate would be good; as belvdr pointed out. As such, I would highly recommend the 13" for the uber portability and a 20-24" external display. I had a 15" PowerBook for 3+ years driving a 20" then a 30" ACD. It was my perfect setup.

 

[rowsdower]

I moved from a 15" PowerBook to the 13" MBP, and I do most of the things that you do except for video editing. I think it's a pretty even tradeoff between the 13" and the 15". Sometimes I wish the screen were larger, but a lot of the time I am happy that the computer is smaller overall. £100 gets you most of the way to an external display for your room.

 

[Mlrollin91]

I had a white macbook and yesterday I purchased a MBP 13 inch and the screen seems so much bigger because of the extra brightness from the LED. 13 inch is the perfect size, its more portable and it has the same power as the base 15 inch.

 

[bass93]

Get the 13". This monitor http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat....asp?EdpNo=3977547&sku=S203-2420&srkey=t240hd seems to be a really nice one for the price. It also has TV inputs.

I have the 13" and I love it. Perfect size and plenty of power.

 

[JRoDDz]

Get the 13" and then get an external monitor like a 19" or better for cheap when you're doing stuff that needs the extra screen real estate.

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

get the 13 and when your editing, hook it up to the monitor you use to watch films