I am also having trouble deciding between the two. I will be using photoshop (non intensive purposes), some video editing, and some minor gaming now that Steam will be available. Should I get the 15" or should I get the base 13" upgrade the RAM and get an SSD? thanks ahead of time.
Maybe. Since you give zero helpful information, my guess is as good as yours.
im having trouble deciding between the 13" macbook pro with the core duo and spending the extra 600 bucks for the 15" macbook pro with the i5. I download a lot of music and sometime movies while surfing the web. Is the performance difference on the 15" i5 big enough to be worth 600 bucks more.
For what you listed, you will see essentially zero difference between core 2 duo and i5. The hindrance to tasks of those nature is the HD. So if you really want a performance boost, get the 13" and spend some of the extra 600 on an SSD. You would see much more benefit from that.