need advice from people who know better: mbp 13" vs 15" etc

S

sulgioh

macrumors newbie
Hi, I am a junior at an art college and I study communications design.
My school has labs with up to date adobe suite and imacs.. which is great but the labs close so early that I need a macbook to continue working after 12am..
I only had a PC until now and I am fed up. I need a mac book pro today.

I will be doing most of my work in the school labs and I need this laptop to work on minor details at home.. to bring it back to school the next day. I mostly use Indesign, illustrator, and finalcut. Considering I'll be working in this field, I'm probably going to purchase the imac when I become a professional.
For now I need to consider portability, Money***, and decent graphics.

Please let me know your thoughts, thank you.
 
For what you're doing I think that you would benefit with a larger screen size as well as a decent dedicated graphics chip. I'd recommend the 15-inch. I used to have a 13-inch MBP and I sold it to buy my 15-inch. I'm very happy with mine.

Best of luck to you!
 
Stephen Dowling said:
For what you're doing I think that you would benefit with a larger screen size as well as a decent dedicated graphics chip. I'd recommend the 15-inch. I used to have a 13-inch MBP and I sold it to buy my 15-inch. I'm very happy with mine.

Best of luck to you!
Click to expand...

I agree, for your needs the 15in seems more suited for you.
 
If you are video editing, the i5 in the 15 would be helpful (although not a huge difference), as would the hi-res display option for photo editing. Overall, it would be a better option, but if money is a big concern, the 13 could do what you wanted too, just not quite as easily.
 
Well, if you can afford it, I suggest a 15" I5 2.4Ghz model but, I would qualify that by saying that a 13" would suite your needs just fine. I recently got mine a few days ago and was in the same dilemma. I am the design developer for my schools newspaper along with being its editor and a lead writer. I, after much toying and testing with my new 13", feel that it operates pretty quickly with all the programs listed. It is a, possibly erroneous, mentality to always have the "latest and greatest" in our technology but, I find the 13" to be snappy and responsive no mater what I throw in its way. The 15" would be definitively adequate and maybe a little bit to adequate but that is not a bad thing by far. So I will break it down in a scale of 1-10 based on your stated needs.
(all ratings are set off the Base Models in each size category)
Portability:
13"- 10
15"- 7 1/2

Money***:
13"-10
15"- 5

Graphics:
13"- 7
15"- 10
 
I'd second the other responses you've received. The 13" MBP is an ideal full-featured on-the-go machine, but the screen size will quickly seem cramped to you. I've flitted back and forth between the 13" and 15" over the past year or so and finally came to realize that the 15" - despite the added weight and size - was a necessity if you're doing any sort of graphic design or video editing work.
 
I think getting a 13" MBP with a nice 23" monitor (it doesn't have to be a apple monitor) might be a better option. The 13" has the portability and I think if you are working on a huge imac display then going to a 15" or even 17" might be a bit irritating.
 
No problem, thats what the Forum is here for!

Also, I don't see any real problem with a cramped feeling and I am a 5'11" 250 pound guy but, that is just me! Everyone has different opinions!
 
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