Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

So tempted to "downgrade" to the 13"...

S

srexy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 19, 2006
566
34
Bought a 15" refurb in June right after the last MBP upgrades were announced.

Got a good deal on a 2.53ghz w/4gb ram 320gb drive, 512mb graphics and removable battery. The thing is that I never use the discrete graphics, am often on battery power and like to pick up and move around the house. I work part-time doing web mock-ups but typically will be plugged into a 20" ACD when I'm doing so. The ONLY thing I think I might miss with the 13" would be the display size if I'm unplugged from the monitor trying to do a layout.

I think I could probably sell for enough to purchase a refurb 13" and not lose any money - just time and hassle.

Anyone else made the "downgrade" recently?
 
Meh, honestly if I were you I would just keep whatcha have. I moved from a 15" screen to a 13" screen a while back and I have to say I'm regretting it. You don't really save on the weight side of the equation, and it's nice to have options (as far as having the switchable graphics)...

Unless you're just itching for a brand new machine I'd stay with what you have.
 
I have been buying the small machine since the iBook :). Powerbook G4 12", MBP 13". I love my 13" and wouldn't give it up for the world. When traveling or moving around, the 13" is just right :).

Would I downgrade if someone gave me the 15"? Nah probably not.
 
melman101 said:
I have been buying the small machine since the iBook :). Powerbook G4 12", MBP 13". I love my 13" and wouldn't give it up for the world. When traveling or moving around, the 13" is just right :).

Would I downgrade if someone gave me the 15"? Nah probably not.
Click to expand...

My feelings exactly :D
 
Jpoon said:
Meh, honestly if I were you I would just keep whatcha have. I moved from a 15" screen to a 13" screen a while back and I have to say I'm regretting it. You don't really save on the weight side of the equation, and it's nice to have options (as far as having the switchable graphics)...

Unless you're just itching for a brand new machine I'd stay with what you have.
Click to expand...

Weight isn't that big a concern - living in small town Florida I don't have much of a commute from my office to my garage/in and out of my car. I guess I'm jonesing for the battery life and size/portability. Right now I'm getting approx 3hrs with bluetooth off and screen dimmed all the way. However, outlets are not a problem usually.

Thanks for the (reassuring) conservative advice - I probably would miss the screen real estate.
 
melman101 said:
I have been buying the small machine since the iBook :). Powerbook G4 12", MBP 13". I love my 13" and wouldn't give it up for the world. When traveling or moving around, the 13" is just right :).

Would I downgrade if someone gave me the 15"? Nah probably not.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. My cousin and best friend both got me into macs about 4 months ago and im on my second 13''. They think im crazy for wanting the smaller screen size. Coming from a big 17 inch HP gaming laptop, I would not buy anything bigger then the 13'' now.

Then you run into the issue about what your doing on the laptop. as I mentioned, my cousin who got me into Macs is a photographer and he made his point to me by pulling up a full size picture in photoshop on my 13''... Its hard to do some work on a 13''.

That being said it all depends on what you are mainly doing with it. You said web layouts, so that may be a good reason to stick with the bigger screen.
 
I have been doing lots of research between a 15'' and a 13.3'' MBP, so farr 13.3'' FTW! :) I think its more my style and really im not a gamer as I downsized to a small PC laptop right now and now thinking of the high end MBP 13.3'' model. U can still play games and if need larger screen, hook it up to a larger TV.
 
If you're only moving around the house then I think you'll miss the 15" screen size more than you'll appreciate the lighter weight and size.

On the other hand if you where carrying it out of house in a bag or using in cafe's etc then I'd think the 13" would be the best bet.

I have a 15 and a 13" MBP ... right now I'm sitting on my couch typing with the 15" on my lap ... it is heavier than the 13" MBP for sure, you notice the difference on your lap, but I prefer the larger screen over the lighter weight, also the footprint of the 15" is larger, and for balancing on your lap a wider notebook is more comfy to use.

It's a tough call, I change my opinions often, but after a lot of back and forth I think it's always best to choose the largest screen size you can handle.

Hope that helps.
 
srexy said:
Bought a 15" refurb in June right after the last MBP upgrades were announced.

Got a good deal on a 2.53ghz w/4gb ram 320gb drive, 512mb graphics and removable battery. The thing is that I never use the discrete graphics, am often on battery power and like to pick up and move around the house. I work part-time doing web mock-ups but typically will be plugged into a 20" ACD when I'm doing so. The ONLY thing I think I might miss with the 13" would be the display size if I'm unplugged from the monitor trying to do a layout.

I think I could probably sell for enough to purchase a refurb 13" and not lose any money - just time and hassle.

Anyone else made the "downgrade" recently?
Click to expand...

I've pm'd you regarding this mate

EDIT: just re read the thread, never mind!
 
srexy said:
Weight isn't that big a concern - living in small town Florida I don't have much of a commute from my office to my garage/in and out of my car. I guess I'm jonesing for the battery life and size/portability. Right now I'm getting approx 3hrs with bluetooth off and screen dimmed all the way. However, outlets are not a problem usually.

Thanks for the (reassuring) conservative advice - I probably would miss the screen real estate.
Click to expand...

battery life for the latest uMBP models:

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3672&p=6
 
I would not downgrade if I were you. I will most likely be purchasing a 15" for my next system simply because of the extra graphics card. If the 13" were to get a separate card or even a single higher powered GPU, than I would stay with it. But its always nice to have that extra power just incase. Stick with what you have.
 
I'd also say stay with your 15". If you don't use the 9600M video card, that's fine, just be happy the option's there... cause someday in the future, when you do need it... well... it won't be there anymore
 
Hey, this is exactly what I did with my classic non-uMBP Penryn 15" (the last refresh of the last design). I bought the MBP, not with the intent of utilizing its discreet graphics, so I found "downgrading" to the 13" MBP to be a good deal for me.

But the difference here, is that its less of a downgrade from my machine than your situation. I didn't think of it as much of a downgrade since I was getting more RAM upgrade options, as the older MBPs only went up to 4GB of RAM. But I also loved the smaller footprint and the extra portability of the 13" too, which all led me to get the 13". And in the end, I couldn't be more happier. I too, also have my machine hooked up to a 20" display. I love this little system and hope to max it out with upgrades over time.

But in your case, since you're not essentially gaining anything, yea I don't know. I think it just boils down to personal preference now. Basically, do you want the smaller, lighter, more portable system? If so, then perhaps?
 
Wirelessly posted (Nokia 5800 Tube XpressMusic : Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

IMO, there are two different ways to think about portability.

First, you can worry about size and weight. The obvious choice is the 13" MBP (and MBA). If you're constantly moving around and want something to pick up and go, then a 13" is a great idea. If you need a larger screen res and desktop, just plug into an external LCD. However, I don't think it's a good idea for people who want to do serious work while on the road.

The other "most portable computer" is the 17". Why? Because for those people who need to do a lot of work on the road and need a desktop solution to work most efficiently, the 13" isn't going to cut it. The 17" gives you more desktop space, faster processor options, and even the best battery life. Screen pixel density is highest, making everything look clearer, albeit smaller. The 13" is more portable, but for those who really need screen size and muscle, there's no point buying something that isn't any of the above, even if it's smaller.

The 15" is a compromise on both size and function, but it's great for most people.....people who want a bit of everything.

I think you should keep what you have. ;) You're more like my 2nd description.
 
After using my friend's 13" MBP, I was so relived to have the extra screen space of my 15"... DON'T DOWNGRADE IT MAY JUST BE A FEELING THAT YOU HAVE BUT YOU WILL REGRET IT.
 
You've all helped to remind me of why I bought the refurb in the first place:

2.53ghz
4gb ram, 320gb hdd
expresscard
6mb L2 Cache
512 Discrete Graphics
Easily replaceable battery
etc etc


At the time it was a steal and it still holds up well against the 2.53ghz that's now available.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back