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iphone joe

Suspended
Original poster
Feb 10, 2011
275
22
NY
I'm getting my Macbook Pro this week and still deciding if I should get a 13-inch or a 15-inch, what are the pros and cons of each? Thanks.
 
Please, I'm just looking for friendly advice. I am new to the world of Macs, I've been a PC guy for all these years so it's a learning experience for me right now.

Obviously I know the screen is bigger but what else can you tell me. Thanks.
 
This depends on what you want to use it for...

13" is easy to have with you, not so heavy and it an ok computer for most task.
Gaming and heavy performance on it isn't that great.

15" a bit bigger, more screen with the option to get even more resolution on it.
Hardware are a bit stronger there fore better for more heavy use.
Can pull more in games and stuff

if you don't know you need, and can't put it in to one of these then we can't help much more.

Personally i will go for the 15" every time, i am a sucker for a great resolution.
My mom are using a 13" and i get annoyed each time i use that since there isn't the same screen realerstate on it.

----------

Also, if you only need something for internet, listening to music and write maybe think on a 13" air
 
Yeah, IMO, the only dissappointing part of the 13" MBP is even the MBA13 has a higher screen resolution now... Well, that and the 15" MBP has a hefty GPU that pulls no weak punches :eek:
 
I'm getting my Macbook Pro this week and still deciding if I should get a 13-inch or a 15-inch, what are the pros and cons of each?
Depends on your needs/wants/etc which you have omitted from your OP. Include that info if you want help. Help those attempting to help you. If this was a one-size-fits-all thing then we'd all have either the 13 or 15 and there would be no need for other one.

Otherwise, compare the specs and read up here.
 
I would first like to apologize to the op. Some members on this forum feel superior and therefore come back with smart ass comments. This is most likely to compensate for their pathetic lives away from this forum.

Thr 13 inch and the 15 inch are very different machines. The first thing I would have you do is go to the store and see if the 13 inch screen is big enough and if the resolution is good enough. If you use it for half an hour and feels great now consider your tasks. For day to day use. Email, Facebook, movies, even PhotoShop. Video editing is a bit slower but unless its your professioni don't think the speed difference is a problem. One of the biggest selling points of the 15, or what people try to tell you is gaming. The 15 won't be running the newer games like battlefield very well. All in all unless you're doing heavy video grab a 13 inch and use the extra $500 to grab an xbox, psp vita, 3ds.
 
13''
dual core
small screen
integrated GPU
2 kg

15''
quad core
larger screen, with high-res option
dedicated GPU
2.5 kg

Bottom line: the 15'' is bigger, heavier, and faster. You have to decide where your priorities are
 
I would first like to apologize to the op. Some members on this forum feel superior and therefore come back with smart ass comments. This is most likely to compensate for their pathetic lives away from this forum.

Thr 13 inch and the 15 inch are very different machines. The first thing I would have you do is go to the store and see if the 13 inch screen is big enough and if the resolution is good enough. If you use it for half an hour and feels great now consider your tasks. For day to day use. Email, Facebook, movies, even PhotoShop. Video editing is a bit slower but unless its your professioni don't think the speed difference is a problem. One of the biggest selling points of the 15, or what people try to tell you is gaming. The 15 won't be running the newer games like battlefield very well. All in all unless you're doing heavy video grab a 13 inch and use the extra $500 to grab an xbox, psp vita, 3ds.

Thank you so much.
 

And here is a comparison Apple put on its official MBP website:http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-compare.html

And to help you, we also need your computational needs.

i am simply amazed that you have these great looking images on hand for the seekers.

How long does it take to crop an image like that? You must do graphics for a living?
 
I was actually in the exact same situation 7 months ago when I first bought my mbp. I really wanted the 15" because I was amazed at the specs and all that, but then I went for the 13" because I honestly wanted a decent sized laptop. I never looked back since! I was at a friends house last time and she had a 15" MBP and wow is that thing big compared to the 13", after using it for a while I wasn't very comfortable with it and missed my 13". Maybe its because I'm so used to this laptop but I don't know I guess you can say a mac will always be a mac, whichever one you get your'e gonna love it anyway
 
15" accept no alternative, 13" offers too many compromises, GPU, resolution you would be as well to buy a 13" Air for day to day tasks and they offer the same higher resolution of the 15" Pro bolstered by the speed of the SSD.

The 15" is virtually a desktop replacement, with the high end model pushing some very impresive numbers
 
I was actually in the exact same situation 7 months ago when I first bought my mbp. I really wanted the 15" because I was amazed at the specs and all that, but then I went for the 13" because I honestly wanted a decent sized laptop. I never looked back since! I was at a friends house last time and she had a 15" MBP and wow is that thing big compared to the 13", after using it for a while I wasn't very comfortable with it and missed my 13". Maybe its because I'm so used to this laptop but I don't know I guess you can say a mac will always be a mac, whichever one you get your'e gonna love it anyway


Was there a big difference in screen resolution?
 
If I was forced to choose between a 13" and a 15", I would go with the 15" for the better performance it offers.

Having said that, I honestly went with the 17" for myself.
 
I would first like to apologize to the op. Some members on this forum feel superior and therefore come back with smart ass comments. This is most likely to compensate for their pathetic lives away from this forum.

Thr 13 inch and the 15 inch are very different machines. The first thing I would have you do is go to the store and see if the 13 inch screen is big enough and if the resolution is good enough. If you use it for half an hour and feels great now consider your tasks. For day to day use. Email, Facebook, movies, even PhotoShop. Video editing is a bit slower but unless its your professioni don't think the speed difference is a problem. One of the biggest selling points of the 15, or what people try to tell you is gaming. The 15 won't be running the newer games like battlefield very well. All in all unless you're doing heavy video grab a 13 inch and use the extra $500 to grab an xbox, psp vita, 3ds.

disagree, common questions like these have been asked numourous times and thus can be easily searched.
 
disagree, common questions like these have been asked numourous times and thus can be easily searched.

I agree that people should search more. BUt at the same time, the forum shouldn't all trample over the OP. I think one reminder to search is good. I'm just not seeing why several people have to jump on him telling the same thing.
 
i am simply amazed that you have these great looking images on hand for the seekers.

How long does it take to crop an image like that? You must do graphics for a living?
Thanks for the compliments.
It doesn't take that long, normally five to ten minutes, depending on the complexity.
But as I use DropBox to store and link to the images and TextExpander to have predefined text easily put in, thus I can access and modify the images and store new ones under the same name and they show up in all threads I used them in, and in TextExpander I can modify my text samples.

2011_12_01_pA1_TextExpander_example.png
PS: I am a video editor and have nothing to do with graphics, except in my free time, though I don't know how to make money out of my graphics.
 
Was there a big difference in screen resolution?

This question is not very useful. Some people feel that the difference is huge, others don't care so much and will tell you both are fine. In the end, it depends on how you feel about it.

Pixels:

13'': 1.024M pixels
15'' base screen: 1.296M pixels
15'' high resolution: 1.764M pixels
17'': 2.304M pixels
 
I just "upgraded" from a late '08 15" Core 2 Duo to a late '11 13" i5. I swapped my Momentus XT drive and 8gb straight into the new machine upon purchase and it flies!

I use it primarily for supporting a web app and my advertising business. I pretty much always have Safari, Firefox, Parallels, Mail, Mailplane, iCal, Skype, Adium, Pages &/or Word, Excel, iTunes, preview, & Billings open. More often than not I'll have either Photoshop and Dreamweaver open too.

It's definitely harder to do this if I'm just using the display on the 13" BUT - when I'm in my office I'm plugged into a 23" external monitor and it's great.

If I spent my whole life on the road it might be hard to swing a 13" but as I'm primarily a home desk jockey I love the fact that it's super portable when I am.
 
Please, I'm just looking for friendly advice. I am new to the world of Macs, I've been a PC guy for all these years so it's a learning experience for me right now.

Obviously I know the screen is bigger but what else can you tell me. Thanks.

the same principles of laptop size vs specs apply to pcs and macs. Generally, the larger the laptop, the more space for better specs but the greater the weight.
 
Thanks for the compliments.
It doesn't take that long, normally five to ten minutes, depending on the complexity.
But as I use DropBox to store and link to the images and TextExpander to have predefined text easily put in, thus I can access and modify the images and store new ones under the same name and they show up in all threads I used them in, and in TextExpander I can modify my text samples.

PS: I am a video editor and have nothing to do with graphics, except in my free time, though I don't know how to make money out of my graphics.

You're incredibly helpful a d it is appreciated. The graphics I think do really help the newbies out. Thanks
 
The warranty for the 13" laptop is $249 while the warranty for the 15" laptop is $349. Just pointing that out in case you were planning to extend the warranty.
 
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