MBP 13 vs. 15 help me decide my FIRST Mac

[2high2aim]

Yeah I just sold my 15" 2009 for a 15" 2010 i5. I just went for the lowest model, for what I need it for its fine.

There is a way in system preferences to turn off discrete video card for battery life decrease.

I do notice slight difference between the discrete GPU from my 2009 model and the new 2010 model for the worse.

It's nothing I would moan and complain about however, and as stated in another post, it works like a champ watching videos, browsing the web and even online games like Facebook games ect.

Care to elaborate?

 

[swish2351]

Get the 13"

 

[swish2351]

Care to elaborate?

That is false, the new graphics are MUCH better. That is just a troll

 

[jdaniel]

from a person who had a nov 09 15" 2.8 and went to the new 13" 2.4

I can tell you the obvious differences:

Watching downloaded movies on the 15" was a tiny bit more fulfilling bigger screen and all. But the 15" is really not a laptop as in it never quite comfy on your lap in bed. And the weight diff is HUGE, if you actually carry this thing about in airports and use it on places. I think you would find the 13" to be much easier to deal with.

I find the colours a tad bit more vibrant for some reason.

Hope that helps anyone that is wondering..

I bought the 15 top of the line coz $ is not an issue and i wanted the best but frankly after using it for 6 mths and lugging it around for a few airport trips alone can be a bit much..

 

[wisty]

Make sure you set aside enough money for:

A good, cheap 24 inch screen. A big screen is great for productivity. Your definition of "good" and "cheap" will depend on what you use it for A 13 inch laptop with a 24 inch monitor absolutely kills a great big 17 inch laptop without a second monitor. And it's cheaper.

Additional storage. Your hard drive *will* crash. Every hard drive crashes eventually, and you probably won't be able to get your precious photos off it. Backup to an external drive, a web site, and a time machine if you can

Peripherals.

Both the 13 and 15 will have enough grunt, but the 15 will be a faster, especially if you need a GPU.

Do you intend to move around a lot in your 2 month holiday? If so, the 13 inch might be easier to carry. Or will you have a base station? If so, the 15 inch will be easier to work on.

 

[2high2aim]

from a person who had a nov 09 15" 2.8 and went to the new 13" 2.4

I can tell you the obvious differences:

Watching downloaded movies on the 15" was a tiny bit more fulfilling bigger screen and all. But the 15" is really not a laptop as in it never quite comfy on your lap in bed. And the weight diff is HUGE, if you actually carry this thing about in airports and use it on places. I think you would find the 13" to be much easier to deal with.

I find the colours a tad bit more vibrant for some reason.

Hope that helps anyone that is wondering..

I bought the 15 top of the line coz $ is not an issue and i wanted the best but frankly after using it for 6 mths and lugging it around for a few airport trips alone can be a bit much..

Thanks your input is very much appreciated

Make sure you set aside enough money for:

A good, cheap 24 inch screen. A big screen is great for productivity. Your definition of "good" and "cheap" will depend on what you use it for A 13 inch laptop with a 24 inch monitor absolutely kills a great big 17 inch laptop without a second monitor. And it's cheaper.

Additional storage. Your hard drive *will* crash. Every hard drive crashes eventually, and you probably won't be able to get your precious photos off it. Backup to an external drive, a web site, and a time machine if you can

Peripherals.

Both the 13 and 15 will have enough grunt, but the 15 will be a faster, especially if you need a GPU.

Do you intend to move around a lot in your 2 month holiday? If so, the 13 inch might be easier to carry. Or will you have a base station? If so, the 15 inch will be easier to work on.

I currently have a 20.1 inch Display that I use with my computer and so whenever I am done with using my PC and need my MBP I can simply plug in the cable also I am going to be getting a Griffin mini display Port to HDMI & DVI

I have a 750GB external WD Passport Essential SE hard drive for extra storage purposes such as my music videos and some important documents but besides that I have not used it.

Also what do you mean by my hard drive *will* crash. Do you mean that its common for hard drives in the MBP to crash vs. other computers because I have been using my desktop and Never had any of my hard drives crash (thankfully )

 

[jdaniel]

from a person who had a nov 09 15" 2.8 and went to the new 13" 2.4

I can tell you the obvious differences:

Watching downloaded movies on the 15" was a tiny bit more fulfilling bigger screen and all. But the 15" is really not a laptop as in it never quite comfy on your lap in bed. And the weight diff is HUGE, if you actually carry this thing about in airports and use it on places. I think you would find the 13" to be much easier to deal with.

I find the colours a tad bit more vibrant for some reason.

Hope that helps anyone that is wondering..

I bought the 15 top of the line coz $ is not an issue and i wanted the best but frankly after using it for 6 mths and lugging it around for a few airport trips alone can be a bit much..

btw i meant on PLANES and the colours more vibrant on the 13"

 

[bentley]

I'm an owner of the new 13" (and have been for 5 hours).

Prior to this I owned a 13" 2006 BlackBook 2.0ghz and before that a 12" 1.33 G4 Powerbook.

For me 15" isn't portable enough. I have an external monitor/keyboard/mouse for my home desk set up but I love to be able to stick my laptop in my satchel and go out with it. It fits nicely on things like train tables, coffee tables, airline tables.

Just like to add that wow! I love this machine. The screen on it is incredible compared to my 2006 Macbook which looks yellow and about half as bright in comparison. Love the unibody build and new trackpad.

 

[2high2aim]

I would be satisfied with the 13 if they offered higher resolutions and antiglare. ive used computers with glare problems are a pain in the ass and seen MBPs have more reflection and it would be really troublesome

 

[Puqq]

My way:
-Get base 13" MBP
-If you feel like gaming MORE than MBP 13 can, then get a PC desktop (or gaming-like laptop from Asus, Gateway, MSI etc.) for the price difference (~$600)

You will get:
-very good mobility
-MUCH better gaming system (faster+simple access to Win games)

In addition, you can get a decent monitor to use with both computers (or just MBP 13).

 

[mikeo007]

That is false, the new graphics are MUCH better. That is just a troll

He's not trolling, he just made a mistake. He said discrete, but he meant to say integrated. He's saying that the Intel HD solution is slightly worse than the 9400m in a few situations, which is true. He was responding to a question about the integrated graphics, but mistakenly said "dedicated".

 

[riotgear]

As you can see from all the replies, this is a decision that varies from person to person.

The pros and cons are very clear IMO, so decide what is important for YOU and make your purchase.

 

[2high2aim]

He's not trolling, he just made a mistake. He said discrete, but he meant to say integrated. He's saying that the Intel HD solution is slightly worse than the 9400m in a few situations, which is true. He was responding to a question about the integrated graphics, but mistakenly said "dedicated".

Oh that makes sense

As you can see from all the replies, this is a decision that varies from person to person.

The pros and cons are very clear IMO, so decide what is important for YOU and make your purchase.

This is very true. I found that I really want the 15 MBP now I have just one problem....WHEN should I buy? Also when is Apple back to school Ipod touch special start? Right now the soonest I can purchase my laptop is May 10th but I might consider to wait for the Ipod touch special if its not too long of a wait.


Thank you guys for your opinions and knowledge and I humbly apperciate all of you in helping me find my idea laptop

BTW I never have owned a laptop nor Mac therefore this is going to be my first time using OSX and looked into some of the most recommended apps omg there are so many great apps available (i have been looking at youtube's my top 10 app videos to get more familiar.

A side note these apps I am into (have never tried any but sounds interesting and useful) would also appreciated which apps you guys would use or NOT use do to some issues.
heres the list:
1. Hand Break
2. Img2Icns
3. KisMAC
4. Senuti
5. Transmission
6. VisualHub
7. ScreenFlow2.1
8. Blender 3D
9. iMovie (idk the difference between 09 3 and HD)
10. iShowU HD
11. Coconut Battery
12. Lab Tick (lets you manually adjust backlit key brightness)
13. SMC Fan Control
14. gfxCardStatus: see which GPU your i5/i7 http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus/
15. VLC media Player, (Flip4Mac [plays WMV], Perian) or some other multi-reader program
16.

how do you guys have the date, time and temperature displayed on your desktop...sry never have used a MAC, and i'm going to be purchasing my first MBP during the BTS special (free ipod touch)

Most people use a program called Geektool.
Here is the description from the Geektool website:

GeekTool is a PrefPane (System Preferences module) for Mac OS 10.5. It let you display on your desktop different kind of informations, provided 3 default plugins :

File plugin to monitor MacOS X activity with /var/log/system.log, or any file that you want to follow. Shell mode to launch custom scripts or commands like "df" to check space left on filesystems, "uptime" to monitor load of your machine... Finally, Image mode helps you monitor bandwith usage, CPU loads, memory availability of your server, via tools like MRTG or RPD.

If you want to get into it I would suggest looking at some of the shell scripts for geektool and checking this geektool thread out. It's been going on for a little over a year!

A way to get sick looking calendars



17.

This is actually pretty straight forward.

You need to download 3 programs: GeekTool 3, LiteIcon & BowTie.

You can get Icons & BowTie Themes i.e. at http://www.deviantart.com
You can get fonts for the GeekTool scripts i.e. at http://www.dafont.com



(Click on the picture for original size)

Code 1: This is for german Weekdays. I suppose you could just replace them with any other language.

date "+%A" | sed -e 's/Monday/Montag/g' -e 's/Tuesday/Dienstag/g' -e 's/Wednesday/Mittwoch/g' -e 's/Thursday/Donnerstag/g' -e 's/Friday/Freitag/g' -e 's/Saturday/Samstag/g' -e 's/Sunday/Sonntag/g'

Code 2: You'll need find your own WOEID (search for your location & look at the end of the RSS Feed address on that page) on the yahoo weather page to get the temperature of your own location. Copy it and replace my WOEID (GMXX0064&u=c) for fahrenheit replace the c in the end with an f.

curl --silent "http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=GMXX0064&u=c" | grep -E '(Current Conditions:|[A-Z]<BR)' | sed -e 's/Current Conditions://' -e 's/<br \/>//' -e 's/<b>//' -e 's/<\/b>//' -e 's/<BR \/>//' -e 's/[A-Z a-z]*, //' -e 's/\(.*\) F/\1 °F/' -e 's/\(.*\) C/\1 °C/' | sed 's/ //' | tail -n1

Code 3: see above

curl --silent "http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=GMXX0064&u=c" | grep -E '(Current Conditions:|[A-Z]<BR)' | sed -e 's/Current Conditions://' -e 's/<br \/>//' -e 's/<b>//' -e 's/<\/b>//' -e 's/<BR \/>//' -e 's/<description>//' -e 's/<\/description>//' -e 's/, [0-9]* [A-Z]//' | tail -n1

Code 4

Part 1 Shell Script

curl --silent "http://de.weather.yahoo.com/deutschland/schleswig-holstein/kiel-665684/" | grep "forecast-icon" | sed "s/.*background\:url(\'\(.*\)\')\;\ _background.*/\1/" | xargs curl --silent -o /var/tmp/weather_image.png\

Part 2 Image Script

file://localhost/var/tmp/weather_image.png

Thanks for the help

 

[2high2aim]

"(which Apple typically does the first week of June all the way through August)."

This is what I found from a google search...So first week of June starts the deal.

May 10 (soonest I will be able to purchase my MBP 15)

June 1 (4 more weeks of waiting and get a free Ipod touch)

 

[jmcclain145]

He's not trolling, he just made a mistake. He said discrete, but he meant to say integrated. He's saying that the Intel HD solution is slightly worse than the 9400m in a few situations, which is true. He was responding to a question about the integrated graphics, but mistakenly said "dedicated".

Yes thank you. I wasn't trying to be a troll or a jerk, I'm new to mac and got my lingo mixed up.

But I have noticed a difference between what must be the integrated video card on the Mid 2010 and the intergrated on a mid 2009.

What I mean by that is the dock graphics as well as other graphics of the same nature seem choppier.

Just my opinion.

 

[Maverick713]

for my first MBP

First I bought a 13" MBP and I was waiting for delivery so I was visiting this website amongst others and before I even got it I decided that I would exchange it for the 15" so now I have to wait a bit longer so that I can get the newer processer, such is life. I figure buy the newer tech now and it should last me a few years providing the world doesn' end in 2012 probably buy a new one in 2013 or so.

 

[2high2aim]

Damn it, I just did a 360 on my decisions....

I wish I could just try out the MBP 15 in the case of mobility.

I had my mind set on the 15 but am questioning its ability for mobility.
Also was wondering if there is a noticeable difference between the 265mb 330m vs. the 512mb 330m in performance. I know I will be able to play Counter Strike Source but hope to play other steam releases too. Besides games I do use photoshop and will be using it more often in the future and plan to do some minor filming/video editing (maybe like one every 4 months r so). Basically is there a noticeable difference between the 256 v. 512.

One more question where is the best place to purchase a MBP from...I have heard of Amazon and Apple store but which one will save me some cash? Also I qualify for the educational discount (price in above pic w/ discount [prior to taxes ])

 

[Maverick713]

Damn it, I just did a 360 on my decisions....

I wish I could just try out the MBP 15 in the case of mobility.

I had my mind set on the 15 but am questioning its ability for mobility.
Also was wondering if there is a noticeable difference between the 265mb 330m vs. the 512mb 330m in performance. I know I will be able to play Counter Strike Source but hope to play other steam releases too. Besides games I do use photoshop and will be using it more often in the future and plan to do some minor filming/video editing (maybe like one every 4 months r so). Basically is there a noticeable difference between the 256 v. 512.

One more question where is the best place to purchase a MBP from...I have heard of Amazon and Apple store but which one will save me some cash? Also I qualify for the educational discount (price in above pic w/ discount [prior to taxes ])

I have been carrying my 15" for about a week now, and with it I also have been carrying my 13inch dell XPS as portability goes my dell fits into the notebook compartment but the MBP fits into the regular pocket of my backpack just fine. I just put a sleeve around it to keep it shiny and new.

 

[Opstech]

Get the 17"

 

[2high2aim]

I have been carrying my 15" for about a week now, and with it I also have been carrying my 13inch dell XPS as portability goes my dell fits into the notebook compartment but the MBP fits into the regular pocket of my backpack just fine. I just put a sleeve around it to keep it shiny and new.

So you dont find the 15 to be a hassle to carry around? I wish other people can chime in and help me out.

Also is there a difference between 330m 256mb v. 512mb in daily use such as games and PS

 

[mikeo007]

So you dont find the 15 to be a hassle to carry around? I wish other people can chime in and help me out.

Also is there a difference between 330m 256mb v. 512mb in daily use such as games and PS

Short answer: NO

Long answer: it really depends on your situation and exactly what you're doing, what settings you're playing games at, etc. For the most part though, it won't make a difference.

 

[Serv]

I just wanted to comment that we have very similar usage habits. Currently, I have a 17" HP dv9700t (2.5 GHz C2D/3GB RAM) with uberly crappy battery life that I've basically turned into a desktop along with an HP Mini 2140 (1.6 GHz Atom/1GB RAM) that I use when I'm out. I'll be getting my first mac on the 8th, and, just like you, I was hoping for a 13" i5 MBP. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, as of this post, I'm leaning on getting the base 13" model. I did consider the 2.66 version just for the faster processor over my current dv9700, I could care less about the extra hard drive space since I have an external hdd I backup to. But in the end, I just couldn't justify the extra $ for the marginal speed increase. And I sincerely hope that if you do get a 13", do yourself a favor and just get the base model and upgrade the hdd yourself if you really need the extra space. I myself am planning to get an SSD once the prices go down.

I'm not gonna lie to you, earlier today I had second thoughts about getting the base 15" just for the extra power (doubt it'll make much of a difference for our daily usage though). I don't want to convince you to get a 13" just because I most probably will be getting one but instead I'd like to share something with you that I learned after getting my dv9700 two years ago iirc. At that time, I wanted the "best" tech that I could reasonably buy. Thinking just like Maverick713 here that spend the $ now to "future-proof" my investment. Boy was I wrong, a year later I learned that future-proofing means absolutely nothing at all (at least imo). I realized that really the only important thing is you get the system that works great for your intended use within the near future (1-2 years). When it can't do that anymore then start saving up for another upgrade.

Having said that. Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm sure both models (from what I've gathered lurking around here) will fit our needs just fine. Thank you and have a nice day ^^.

 

[2high2aim]

I just wanted to comment that we have very similar usage habits. Currently, I have a 17" HP dv9700t (2.5 GHz C2D/3GB RAM) with uberly crappy battery life that I've basically turned into a desktop along with an HP Mini 2140 (1.6 GHz Atom/1GB RAM) that I use when I'm out. I'll be getting my first mac on the 8th, and, just like you, I was hoping for a 13" i5 MBP. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, as of this post, I'm leaning on getting the base 13" model. I did consider the 2.66 version just for the faster processor over my current dv9700, I could care less about the extra hard drive space since I have an external hdd I backup to. But in the end, I just couldn't justify the extra $ for the marginal speed increase. And I sincerely hope that if you do get a 13", do yourself a favor and just get the base model and upgrade the hdd yourself if you really need the extra space. I myself am planning to get an SSD once the prices go down.

I'm not gonna lie to you, earlier today I had second thoughts about getting the base 15" just for the extra power (doubt it'll make much of a difference for our daily usage though). I don't want to convince you to get a 13" just because I most probably will be getting one but instead I'd like to share something with you that I learned after getting my dv9700 two years ago iirc. At that time, I wanted the "best" tech that I could reasonably buy. Thinking just like Maverick713 here that spend the $ now to "future-proof" my investment. Boy was I wrong, a year later I learned that future-proofing means absolutely nothing at all (at least imo). I realized that really the only important thing is you get the system that works great for your intended use within the near future (1-2 years). When it can't do that anymore then start saving up for another upgrade.

Having said that. Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm sure both models (from what I've gathered lurking around here) will fit our needs just fine. Thank you and have a nice day ^^.

I totally agree with you that get what you want/need RIGHT Now and its nearly impossible to future proof your purchase. So I am leaning towards the 15' b/c 1. I like the larger real estate for PS, plus gaming will be better. 2. 330m 3. Already bought a Invisishield from Zagg LOL... I have done some extensive research and feel that the 15 will be better but one question is its mobility due to the fact that I travel quite often and am a college student going from class to class and will be using it for note taking and the desk/seats have a small place to put the laptop but now feel more confident that it will serve my purpose well. Finally I am completely with you on the upgrade to SSDs when price become more affordable and Firmware becomes better (right now newer FW updates come out quite quick n you have to go through the big process) but in my configured 13 MBP thought I should might as well jump in with SSD b/c it will be covered under the applecare but the 15 in pushing my budget towards its LIMITS. B/c I initially planned on getting a 1200 notebook but since then have raised budget to under 2 grand and now its even going above that....I hope I can resale the notebook in 2-2.5 years w/ applecare so I can buy the newer generation of MBP (hopefully they keep the super drive as I use CDs often) and if I am not satisified with the resale value I will jump up to an SSD (256gb or above @ a better price and better hardware/FW)

 

[Serv]

Change of plans. I might not be that updated but from what I hear Steam is coming out on the 12th so I'll probably wait it out until then before making my final decision. From what I gather, I'm probably more of an avid gamer than you are so maybe saving up for the 15" wouldn't be too bad of an idea. I also do quite a bit of photo editing myself and my plan if I go with the 13" will be to use the extra $ saved up from getting the 15" to purchase an external monitor. I have seen quite a few "reasonably priced" ones so I'd probably be left with a little more dough for software.

I have seen and know people who use the 15" as their primary machine. They tell me that while there are times when they wish they got the 13" - usually after a long day spent running between classes - if given the opportunity they still would have stuck with their decision. Weight isn't really the issue, a pound is nothing. It's the bulkiness of the machine that bothers them at times. And as fellow uni students, it is annoying how the machine is usually bigger than the fold-up desks we have on lecture halls.

Thanks and have a nice day ^^.

 

[2high2aim]

Change of plans. I might not be that updated but from what I hear Steam is coming out on the 12th so I'll probably wait it out until then before making my final decision. From what I gather, I'm probably more of an avid gamer than you are so maybe saving up for the 15" wouldn't be too bad of an idea. I also do quite a bit of photo editing myself and my plan if I go with the 13" will be to use the extra $ saved up from getting the 15" to purchase an external monitor. I have seen quite a few "reasonably priced" ones so I'd probably be left with a little more dough for software.

I have seen and know people who use the 15" as their primary machine. They tell me that while there are times when they wish they got the 13" - usually after a long day spent running between classes - if given the opportunity they still would have stuck with their decision. Weight isn't really the issue, a pound is nothing. It's the bulkiness of the machine that bothers them at times. And as fellow uni students, it is annoying how the machine is usually bigger than the fold-up desks we have on lecture halls.

Thanks and have a nice day ^^.

Thanks , I am studying for an exam but thanks for your kind comment...I was really into gaming a few years ago and spent hours behind the computer on CSS (lol) besides that I played COD but not as often as CS then I purchased an Alienware Laptop but returned due to it overheating and burning my flippin hands also it was very bulky and so I returned it (with a 15% r something restocking fee) instead I built my own desktop and am glad with it and still use right now. So I did play a lot of games but found out I need to live life...but currently MacForums is taking up my time lol constantly reading ever little thing. Finally I am was pretty sure its was the MBP 15 HR AG but another product has caught my eye which is the Envy 14 going to be released next month but hope to get a better idea how they compare it well spec'd and priced at 999 google it but in due time I will be able to make a good decision and not have to deal with buyers remorse.