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Mind made up! 13" or 15"

M

mesalin.j

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
15
0
Due to the restricted budget. I have to choose bewteen the new 2.53Ghz MBP
13" and 15":D
I use need to use Adobe Photoshop,Fireworks,......etc and some simple video editing..:rolleyes:
Which of them should i buy? Or neither one i should buy?:confused:
Help me out,guys!:)
 
why the **** would anyone ever EVER ****ing EVER use fireworks? that program is the biggest waste of space ever. Get Illustrator and Photoshop and your set for any type of graphics you could ever need to produce.

Also get the 15". the 13" screen is impossible to work on with photoshop and (god-forbid) fireworks.
 
15" is better to Ps with (imo). My friend has a 13" and she had to buy an external display because she couldn't handle the "tiny" screen when editing.
 
With the 15" you get 26% more screen real estate in resolution and the 4GB of RAM.

For Photoshop that might come in handy if your process big RAW files.

I use the 2.53GHz 15" model (but the 2008 edition) and I couldn't get back to 13", even though I come from an 12" iBook and a 13" MacBook.
 
o2xygen said:
why the **** would anyone ever EVER ****ing EVER use fireworks? that program is the biggest waste of space ever. Get Illustrator and Photoshop and your set for any type of graphics you could ever need to produce.

Also get the 15". the 13" screen is impossible to work on with photoshop and (god-forbid) fireworks.
Click to expand...

I will simply install the whole Design Premium only:)
 
spinnerlys said:
With the 15" you get 26% more screen real estate in resolution and the 4GB of RAM.

For Photoshop that might come in handy if your process big RAW files.

I use the 2.53GHz 15" model (but the 2008 edition) and I couldn't get back to 13", even though I come from an 12" iBook and a 13" MacBook.

If
Click to expand...
Big Big Quest: Will there be much difference of having a single display of 9600m gt?:(
 
mesalin.j said:
I will simply install the whole Design Premium only:)
Click to expand...

You said you were going to use it!!! If you use it i will hunt you down.

In saying that, its still fine to get a 13inch and use the extra to get an external monitor. The 13inch is more than capable of handling 90% of work you need to do (exc. games). Ive even got desperate once, and used Premiere Pro on the 13inch screen (p.s dont try it, unless you want your eyes to squint permanently)
 
mesalin.j said:
Big Big Quest: Will there be much difference of having a single display of 9600m gt?:(
Click to expand...

I use the 9400m most of the time (to keep the machine colder) and I have to say, it works pretty well with 12MP RAW images in Photoshop v.11.

Or what do you mean by "having a single display of 9600mG GT"?
 
spinnerlys said:
I use the 9400m most of the time (to keep the machine colder) and I have to say, it works pretty well with 12MP RAW images in Photoshop v.11.

Or what do you mean by "having a single display of 9600mG GT"?
Click to expand...

Sorry.Amendment it should be 9400M with 9600M GT...sorry.....
 
I work in web design / development and used to have a 13" before ordering my new 15" last week. Honestly for any creative work (performance wise) the 13" will be fine and it feels nice to code on, but I always found myself thinking I needed more screen space. Working on PS on a 13" is a pain in the ass unless you mind constantly scrolling around the screen to see your work.

And also, FIREWORKS!!! WTF!!! Stay away from that, there is a reason why 99.9% of all creative professionals use PS.

To sum up, go 15" all the way, I would, oh and I have :) (Coming now on 25th-26th June)
 
The 9400m cannot be used with the 9600m at the same time. One has to log out to use the other graphics card (the WindowServer has to be restarted), but chances are, that with the arrival of Snow Leopard using both adapters concurrently will be possible.
 
Humey said:
I work in web design / development and used to have a 13" before ordering my new 15" last week. Honestly for any creative work (performance wise) the 13" will be fine and it feels nice to code on, but I always found myself thinking I needed more screen space. Working on PS on a 13" is a pain in the ass unless you mind constantly scrolling around the screen to see your work.

And also, FIREWORKS!!! WTF!!! Stay away from that, there is a reason why 99.9% of all creative professionals use PS.

To sum up, go 15" all the way, I would, oh and I have :) (Coming now on 25th-26th June)
Click to expand...
You've ordered the high-end 15",i am a poor guy who can only buy a low end one.:(
 
If you're looking to use PS on the the 13" model w/o any external monitor you may find the 13" screen rather limiting.

FWIW, I find myself in the 9400m the majority of time,so I don't think you'll be giving up too much either by purchasing the 13" model or the low end 15" model.

I've been recommending to people here to get the 13" model but in this case, I think you'll find the 15" model to be a better fit for your needs.
 
Looking at the low end 15" it isn't a bad model just a tiny jump from the high end 13". All depends if you think the 15" base model is worth (in the UK) the extra £150 for a bigger screen etc.
 
I just sold my original 13" 2.4 Alu MB as I liked the idea to have a better battery.

Now I can not decide to go for 13 or 15" as I am mostly doing web browsing (70%), Gaming (15%), Photo-Editing (15%).

Now my question:

If I go with the low end 15" without 9600, wouldn`t it be an even worse performance as with the 13" as I am working with a higher resolution?

At least on games, it should make a huge difference. So, I guess going with 15" should mean to go with the mid-15", right??
 
(Copy paste from another 15 v 13 thread)

My little story of the 13 vs 15 MBP dilema. I originally bought the new model 15, took it home, didn't open it and decided that I wanted to go smaller and save some money. I sold my 15 MBP 2 year old model a few days ago.

At first I liked the 13, it was small and fast, but the screen size just felt so small. I felt like I was on a netbook vs the majestic Macbook Pro I just sold.

So I called my local Apple store, told them I made a mistake and instead got the 15" previous model with the 9600m GT. They were VERY generous letting me return a second Macbook Pro.

I couldn't work on a 13 without feeling like it was a little task, it just all felt very cramped. I was even getting a little eyestrain headache trying to adjust. I'm sure it's not like this for everyone.

I even tried a display port adapter into my 24" display, which was awesome, but I bought a laptop to be a laptop. When I am laying on my bed, I want that extra workspace. I didn't want to have to sit at my desk just to get some screen real estate.

Now that I am back on the 15 I feel at home. I feel like I have the amazing laptop and then some that I sold, I wanted a little more meat for my money.



A 17 would probably be the best but that is too large and expensive for what I need.

Believe me I spent 2 days going back and forth and I tried to love the 13, but it didn't work out for me. It may not seem like that much extra space but it really is.....

If you are even considering a 15, I would say go for it. When you get that little 13" screen home you may regret it and whats a couple hundred dollars when you have already spent over a grand anyway.

The only thing I miss from the 13" and 15" new model is the slightly better battery, but I'm usually home with my laptop so that's really not a concern.
 
I bought the 15" 2.4 Unibody (Late 2008) the same day it was released. When Apple released the new 13" MacBook Pro's last week I bought one of those also. I now have the best of both worlds. :D
 
tekmoe said:
I bought the 15" 2.4 Unibody (Late 2008) the same day it was released. When Apple released the new 13" MacBook Pro's last week I bought one of those also. I now have the best of both worlds. :D
Click to expand...
and money to burn
 
just do it like me, get the smalltest of the line and buy a big external monitor :)
 
Thank you guys helping me out.
I am just a student and that i couldnt afford that much, also i cant bring a display into my dorm.
15" would be the best for me,right?:)
 
mesalin.j said:
Thank you guys helping me out.
I am just a student and that i couldnt afford that much, also i cant bring a display into my dorm.
15" would be the best for me,right?:)
Click to expand...

Yeah, get the 15". It's a good compromise.
 
Ferris23 said:
(Copy paste from another 15 v 13 thread)

My little story of the 13 vs 15 MBP dilema. I originally bought the new model 15, took it home, didn't open it and decided that I wanted to go smaller and save some money. I sold my 15 MBP 2 year old model a few days ago.

At first I liked the 13, it was small and fast, but the screen size just felt so small. I felt like I was on a netbook vs the majestic Macbook Pro I just sold.

So I called my local Apple store, told them I made a mistake and instead got the 15" previous model with the 9600m GT. They were VERY generous letting me return a second Macbook Pro.

I couldn't work on a 13 without feeling like it was a little task, it just all felt very cramped. I was even getting a little eyestrain headache trying to adjust. I'm sure it's not like this for everyone.

I even tried a display port adapter into my 24" display, which was awesome, but I bought a laptop to be a laptop. When I am laying on my bed, I want that extra workspace. I didn't want to have to sit at my desk just to get some screen real estate.

Now that I am back on the 15 I feel at home. I feel like I have the amazing laptop and then some that I sold, I wanted a little more meat for my money.



A 17 would probably be the best but that is too large and expensive for what I need.

Believe me I spent 2 days going back and forth and I tried to love the 13, but it didn't work out for me. It may not seem like that much extra space but it really is.....

If you are even considering a 15, I would say go for it. When you get that little 13" screen home you may regret it and whats a couple hundred dollars when you have already spent over a grand anyway.

The only thing I miss from the 13" and 15" new model is the slightly better battery, but I'm usually home with my laptop so that's really not a concern.
Click to expand...

I went through similar testing and dilemma as you did. Except my decision was to go for the 13" MBP.

For me, using the 15" prior to that I didn't like it, I felt for the screen real estate you gain, which vertically is about 3/4" it wasn't worth the extra bulk and weight. I mean just not weight in a bag but rather how cumbersome the 15" is to use on a daily basis over a 13"...

I feel a 13" can't be beat when away from a desk, on your lap, couch, cafe, bed, back yard etc the 13" is more 'handy' and 'fun' to use in these circumstances, for example, type on a 15" MacBook Pro on your lap for an hour, then switch over and type on a 13" on your lap, do the same at a cafe, outside etc etc.... I think most in these cases will for sure choose the 13".

At a desk it doesn't matter, that's where 15 or even 17" notebook screens even seem small because most of us are used to 20, 22, or 24" monitors on the desk.

So for me, the 13" was the best blend of power and portability, I may miss 3/4" of vertical screen space very rarely, but I'll never miss how convenient it is to bring and use everywhere.
 
entatlrg said:
I went through similar testing and dilemma as you did. Except my decision was to go for the 13" MBP.

For me, using the 15" prior to that I didn't like it, I felt for the screen real estate you gain, which vertically is about 3/4" it wasn't worth the extra bulk and weight. I mean just not weight in a bag but rather how cumbersome the 15" is to use on a daily basis over a 13"...

I feel a 13" can't be beat when away from a desk, on your lap, couch, cafe, bed, back yard etc the 13" is more 'handy' and 'fun' to use in these circumstances, for example, type on a 15" MacBook Pro on your lap for an hour, then switch over and type on a 13" on your lap, do the same at a cafe, outside etc etc.... I think most in these cases will for sure choose the 13".

At a desk it doesn't matter, that's where 15 or even 17" notebook screens even seem small because most of us are used to 20, 22, or 24" monitors on the desk.

So for me, the 13" was the best blend of power and portability, I may miss 3/4" of vertical screen space very rarely, but I'll never miss how convenient it is to bring and use everywhere.
Click to expand...
I see what you mean.However,the new Macbook(Pro) 13" only has one audio jack that also a reason why i want a 15" better:(
 
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