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13 all the way. 15" doesn't offer significant resolution at all. 17" or 13" are the best options.

If you have an external monitor - get the 13". Else, get the 17". The 15 sits in the middle and doesn't have either of the 13s or 17s advantages.
 
13 all the way. 15" doesn't offer significant resolution at all. 17" or 13" are the best options.

If you have an external monitor - get the 13". Else, get the 17". The 15 sits in the middle and doesn't have either of the 13s or 17s advantages.

We could argue all day about this, but the 15" does have an advantage: it's the middle one. It gives the best of both worlds in portability: a relatively big screen and less weight/price than the 17". Enough said; our points have been made. iJabreen said he was going with the 15" and that's totally his choice ;).
 
heat does not shorten the life of a mac. they are designed to withstand high heat for extended periods. for it to get so hot it hurts it, it would be so hot it could not be touched.

I agree...but n this case..it did shorten the life of the 8600..no?

the 8600 had a defect from the factory, the heat propetuated the defect into breaking. the heat was not the cause it was merely the means that allowed the defect to materialize.

I thought that the heat was the cause?? For an user who did not use the MBP intensively...no problems. But for an intensive user...it usually meant curtains mainly because the GPU diode hit 100+ C, which in turn screwed the soldering mechanism? I am no expert here...but I thought I read somewhere this was the case...
 
If you don't plan on getting the 9600gt then I'd say pick up the 13' with some aftermarket parts (4 Gigs of Ram, SSD/7200 HD).

I honestly don't think 2 inch and a higher resolution is really worth it unless you get the graphic muscles to put it to good use.
 
For what it's worth, I had the 13" and returned it for the 15"--- the two inches really makes a difference -- the 13" was a little claustrophobic for me.
 
I agree...but n this case..it did shorten the life of the 8600..no?



I thought that the heat was the cause?? For an user who did not use the MBP intensively...no problems. But for an intensive user...it usually meant curtains mainly because the GPU diode hit 100+ C, which in turn screwed the soldering mechanism? I am no expert here...but I thought I read somewhere this was the case...


for an intensive user the heat would cause it to malfunction QUICKER.

every 8600 was a ticking time bomb. whether you used it alot or a little, it was going to break. the question was not if but when. but those who used it intensively, the prolonged heat would cause the symptoms to appear sooner than a casual user.


point is, it was a bad component. if the component had been good to begin with the heat would not have had any more affect on it than flourecent light.
 
If you don't plan on getting the 9600gt then I'd say pick up the 13' with some aftermarket parts (4 Gigs of Ram, SSD/7200 HD).

I honestly don't think 2 inch and a higher resolution is really worth it unless you get the graphic muscles to put it to good use.


i disagree, have you ever used a 15" macbook pro? not in the store, but at home. at your leisure. where you can have it in your lap and carry it around the house?

If not, with all due respect, i dont think you have any business telling someone it is not worth it.

the 13" is great. I had a 13" whitebook & blackbook. i had the uMB last oct. and when they announced these in june i bought a 2.53GHz 13".


I do not due graphics work and could not justify an extra 7-800 to jump into 15" since they have always carried discrete graphics.

however, when they reconfigured and came out with a 15" model that was a little more feasable i thought maybe. I went back and forth for a long time and finally decided to try it.


I love it. it is a great size and not too big. you really appreciate the screen size after using it a day or two. in fact if i go back and try to use my uMB i am very dissapointed and find it undesirable to use.

the weight difference is not bad. don't get me wrong, you can tell there is a little more heft in the bag. but it is not like the difference between feathers and bricks. it's do able.

I love my 15" and would have a real hard time trying to go back to a 13"

and anyone who has not owned both, should be careful about making statements about things not being worth it and so on.
 
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