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Macbook pro 15"1440x900 vs 1680x1050

V

vslo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 9, 2010
179
0
Hi there guys ,
Need help with some opinions here. I am getting the new macbook pro, but I am really in doubt about the resolution. I was going to get the Hi-Res model, but a friend of mine that got the 1440x900 model told me that 1680x1050 in 15"make the letters too small, and can be hard to read sometimes. Could someone that used both tell me that ? Is my friend correct , or the Hi-Res is just perfect ?
Thank you!
 
It will depend upon the person, some will find the high resolution model to display things too small for them to read, others will be fine. If you have an Apple store near you, try to view them both in person to see which will work better for you.
 
iBookG4user said:
It will depend upon the person, some will find the high resolution model to display things too small for them to read, others will be fine. If you have an Apple store near you, try to view them both in person to see which will work better for you.
Click to expand...

Do Apple store sell 15" Macbook Pro models with the higher resolution?
 
Vihzel said:
Do Apple store sell 15" Macbook Pro models with the higher resolution?
Click to expand...

They sell them, but I've never seen one on display, so I simply asked one of the employees if they could show me one. He then went downstairs and showed me his personal 15" MBP with HR-AR... nice move, and gorgeous display :)

long story short: if they have none on display, just ask like I did! ;)
 
Yeah it really depends on the person. I have a 1900x1200 display on a 17 inch MBP and it's perfect for me, however my mom thinks the text is a little small sometimes. Like some of the above posters said, maybe go to an apple store and check some out for yourself. If not maybe Best Buy or something has some 15 inch laptops with the same resolution
 
Well, I can't speak for everybody, but you can get used to it. I found the high-res matte screen's text to be a tad small at first, then I ended up scooting my chair about 3" closer to my desk and slowly and surely it's grown on me. Sure some things are still a little small for my liking (such as the USER CP, FAQ/Rules etc. bar on the top of this forum) but since I don't really read huge blocks of text that size, it doesnt bother me.

See if you can play around with it some where and possibly decide if you can get used to it.
 
I had a 15" notebook that was 1680 x 1050 and really loved the extra space, even if everything was smaller. High resolutions are sexy. You wouldn't want a 1378 x 768 (I believe that's it) on a 15". :p
 
Vihzel said:
I had a 15" notebook that was 1680 x 1050 and really loved the extra space, even if everything was smaller. High resolutions are sexy. You wouldn't want a 1378 x 768 (I believe that's it) on a 15". :p
Click to expand...

It's not that bad, it's just not as crisp as 1680/1600 resolutions.
 
In the same boat as well. Have to get a laptop for work, and having used nothing less than 1920x1200 for the longest time, not sure if I can live with 1440x900. The 17" mbp is unfortunately out of the question, its too bulky!
 
Either an Apple store or Best Buy... Best Buy only has base models, so you can't compare anti-glare, but they do have the 17" MBP, which has slightly smaller fonts on it than the hi-res 15", so if you look at the 17" you will see a nearly perfect example of the font size that the hi-res 15" will have.

For me, it the decision was made for me, I have to have anti-glare for post-production imaging work. My printer does do color checks as well, but when designing a custom print I want to send them a file that is as near perfect as possible.
 
THank you for you answers !
The fact is, I live in Brazil, and ( Unfortunately ) we don't have Official Apple stores here, only the online one and some independent stores that sell Apple products. There are some Only-Apple based Stores (like one called Macstore Brazil, close to me ), that are authorized stores for repair and etc, and sell only Apple stuff, but they don't dispose a lot of macs in their store. So I might not be capable to see with my very own eyes before I buy it.
In my situation , would you give a blind shot at the hi-res ?
 
vslo said:
THank you for you answers !
The fact is, I live in Brazil, and ( Unfortunately ) we don't have Official Apple stores here, only the online one and some independent stores that sell Apple products. There are some Only-Apple based Stores (like one called Macstore Brazil, close to me ), that are authorized stores for repair and etc, and sell only Apple stuff, but they don't dispose a lot of macs in their store. So I might not be capable to see with my very own eyes before I buy it.
In my situation , would you give a blind shot at the hi-res ?
Click to expand...

If they have a 17" MBP, you will be able to see what the font size will be like on the HR 15", actually the 17" has slightly smaller fonts (not noticeable by naked eye, but it is slightly smaller). This is your best bet for gauging if the fonts will be ok, etc... it is what I had to do, since the closest apple store is about 2 hours away, and I don't have enough free time to make a 4 hour round trip.

As for the anti-glare, what will be your usage? AG does a better job at reporducing colors true to life, as well no glare! I love mine, as does pretty much everyone with an anti-glare. I do preporduction work for my wifes limited run prints, etc. (I also work full time and am in grad school full time, she just sucks at CS5).
 
I got the high res on mine, glad I did, actually really like the screen dimensions on the high res, if im reading a lot of text will use the zoom sometimes, for $100, I think its well worth it.
 
You can also just go to any store that has computers on display and find a 15" notebook that has high res. I know it wont be the same but it's as close as you can get.

I like my High Res 15" I was worried I wouldn't at first.
 
pjcforpres2020 said:
As for the anti-glare, what will be your usage? AG does a better job at reporducing colors true to life, as well no glare!.
Click to expand...

Isnt it the opposite ? The Glossy display is better in displaying vivid colors , isnt it ?
 
vslo said:
Isnt it the opposite ? The Glossy display is better in displaying vivid colors , isnt it ?
Click to expand...

The glossy "looks" better (very subjective), but is way over saturated. The AG is near perfect reproduction of what the colors truly look like if they were printed or viewed in real life... ie, a picture on the AG will look more like it does in real life, where as on the glossy it will be more vivid, which is a distortion of reality.

For me, and many that do professional design work, they have to get the AG because it doesn't distort reality nearly as much. The last set I sent off to get printed were .1% under in terms of saturation. When I was doing my work on an iMac, that is glossy, it was usually about 10% under saturated (meaning the screen was 10% over saturating the image).
 
The letters are HUGE on the high-res screen!

But, I switched from a 15" ThinkPad that was running at 1920 x 1200 (no, not on an external monitor). :)

And sometimes I do miss the extra pixels
 
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