Macbook Pro dilemma

[ericksgotmac]

So currently I own a Unibody Macbook Pro 15"

Specs-

CPU 2.4GHz C2D
RAM- 4GB MHz
HDD- 320GB 7200 RPM (Hopefully upgrade to SSD when bump in space)
GPU- 9600M GT + 9400M

So I'm going to college soon and can't decide to either hold on to it or...upgrade/downgrade to a Macbook Pro 13" of course I'll have to sell this one for a loss but I'll gain more portability and I never really used the graphics card that much. So I need some advice should I sell this one and buy the smaller, more portable 13"?

Pros/Cons of getting the 13" as I see.

Pros-

13" still has
-FW800
- USB 2. x2
- Mini Display Port
-Super Drive
-Ethernet
-Backlit Keyboard
-Glass trackpad
-Is lighter
-Is smaller
- Dedicated Gain SD Slot
-Longer battery life

Cons-
I'll lose-
-Inputs for headphones/mic are merged
- Lose Express slot
- Speakers are in the back
-Lose dedicated graphics card
-Lose my eSata card
-Lose my ability to read MS Duo


So one more question I have is that if Snow Leopard will really give me any type of performance boost by using my 9600M GT? Will this be in anyway a noticable performance difference from a 2.53GHz 13" with 9400M? o.o someone help...

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

I'd stick with what you have, most definitely.

There's nothing THAT advantageous with the 13", especially with what you have now. The 2" difference in diagonal shouldn't affect portability THAT much.

Having the 9600M GT opens up the ability to utilize CUDA as well.

 

[NikFinn]

If I were you, I'd stick with the 15".

 

[miles01110]

Why downgrade? The machine you have is better.

 

[Jamesthatcher]

are you seriously considering this?
Your machine is better, I 'm sure the 15 inch is quite portable enough.

 

[EggrollShop]

I have to agree with everyone else. Your 15" is more than adequate. It's only 5.5lbs, you won't notice the difference in weight carrying either one around but the 15" just has better specs and later on when you do decide to sell it for say the next Macbook Pro. The 15" holds its value better than the 13" will.

 

[kid rock]

i agree as well, stay with you what you have, MUCH better machine that will make more use of SL!

 

[vertigo78]

like everyone else i don't see the advantage of the 13" especially if you are losing money on the deal. the difference in processor speed will be negated with your graphics card once snow leopard comes out. save your money for that ssd. everything ive been hearing about them has me thinking that should be my next purchase as well.

 

[Scartissue]

I'm finding my 15" a bit of a pain to carry around to libraries at the moment; not to mention a terrifying risk in a bag. On the other hand, I couldn't live without it on my desk in my room.

I'm trawling ebay myself looking for a cheapcheapcheap Macbook that can handle snow leopard, and not much else, as a portable for the library circuit. But then, I spend about 5 hours a weekday in the library (yeah, I'm a geek, the workload demands sadly...).

In summary - don't downgrade. If you're planning to work all over the place, I'd scout for a 2nd hand laptop of somekind. If you're not, consider just writing notes. You'll need fingers that aren't gnarled by keyboards for exams anyway, so its a good way to keep in practice.

Hope that helps!

Dave