Wow, must be nice to be able to do that. Not all of us have the luxury of such an open budget.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why Did You choose 13 Inch MBP?
- Thread starter macNewbie02
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Wow, must be nice to be able to do that. Not all of us have the luxury of such an open budget.
I went with the 15" after much consideration. All my buddies had the 13" and I loved it but for me, the 15" was the right one and here's why:
So between these reasons, especially the "future-proofing" aspect of it (meaning it should last longer before it becomes outdated, or lags with current software and programs, thanks to the quad core i7 @ 2.2GHz), I found that the 15" would be a better choice for me. But I still love the portability and power of the compact 13" and would love to have a 13" MBP or MBA one day as well just for fun, but being as the 15" didn't really hinder my portability at all, I thought it was a good decision as I didn't really have to compromise, except when it came to price.
Anyway, best of luck to all of you and I look forward to reading more on this thread.
PS. The 13" is still awesome.
-The 15" had the quad core: I wanted to do some gaming (MW2 in Bootcamp) and I thought that the 15" would be much better suited for that. I also do music production and mixing in Traktor, as well as video editing in FCPX for my YouTube channel.
-The discrete graphics: This was a must-have (Ok well I just really wanted it...) for editing my YouTube videos on my technology YouTube channel.
-15" display: I decided that although the 13" was plenty big enough for normal use, for my DJing and producing and with the amount of time I spend on the computer per day, the 15" would be a much better choice. For live gigs I would be able to see much better and it wouldn't hinder my mixing abilities. For normal use I could do more on one screen, view text bigger, and save my eyes a little bit.
-15" display: I decided that although the 13" was plenty big enough for normal use, for my DJing and producing and with the amount of time I spend on the computer per day, the 15" would be a much better choice. For live gigs I would be able to see much better and it wouldn't hinder my mixing abilities. For normal use I could do more on one screen, view text bigger, and save my eyes a little bit.
-Future-Proof-ness: I found in my research that the 15" would be much more future proof. The quad core processor will not be outdated any time soon and even when it is, it will still run pretty much all apps terrifically. If I need more speed I can throw in an SSD (or two in a RAID setup) for super speed and 16GB RAM. I just didn't think the dual core i5 would keep up with current technology for as long as I plan on keeping this computer.
So between these reasons, especially the "future-proofing" aspect of it (meaning it should last longer before it becomes outdated, or lags with current software and programs, thanks to the quad core i7 @ 2.2GHz), I found that the 15" would be a better choice for me. But I still love the portability and power of the compact 13" and would love to have a 13" MBP or MBA one day as well just for fun, but being as the 15" didn't really hinder my portability at all, I thought it was a good decision as I didn't really have to compromise, except when it came to price.
Anyway, best of luck to all of you and I look forward to reading more on this thread.
PS. The 13" is still awesome.
I love the 13'' MBP, I have owned 4 different 13'' Apple laptops and for me it is the size, it's perfect for a laptop. The 2011 13'' MBP was a big step as that particular machine started to have a lot more power than previous models, all that was missing was a dedicated graphics card.
I have never owned a 15'' MBP and I know that they tend to have more power, though for me personally its a little large but we will see in the 2012 updates if the design is nice I may look into it.
For me the price isn't to much of an issue because I feel that if the product is very good and I like it I am willing to pay the current prices. Any higher and I would consider the price, I know other companies are making some pretty cool ultra books which will match apples specs for less.
I have never owned a 15'' MBP and I know that they tend to have more power, though for me personally its a little large but we will see in the 2012 updates if the design is nice I may look into it.
For me the price isn't to much of an issue because I feel that if the product is very good and I like it I am willing to pay the current prices. Any higher and I would consider the price, I know other companies are making some pretty cool ultra books which will match apples specs for less.
I have a 13' because I travel a fair bit. I have an iMac at home, so it's more about the portability for me. The 13' is very fast as well!
I'm a web design student and I bought the 13" MBP. The first reason was because of portability. I think the 13" is heavy enough and I wouldn't want to carry a 15" to, from and around Uni everyday.
Second reason was the price. I spent £860 on this thing with my student discount and I honestly couldn't afford any more than that.
I've also installed a 128gb SSD in the Optibay and upgraded my RAM to 8gb. This little machine is perfect for me now. It will run Photoshop, Coda, iTunes and multiple browsers all at the same time with no lag so I can just crack on with my work. I would have liked a bigger screen resolution but surprisingly I haven't really struggled with Photoshop on the 13" so far.
I think my next one will be a 15" though. I'd appreciate the resolution and a little more power. By then hopefully I will be driving to my meetings instead of having to walk around with the MBP in my bag all day so the weight won't matter.
The 13" is really perfect for students though. I've seen some students carrying a 17" around with them and it's ridiculous. Those things are meant to sit on a desk all day, they're really not very portable.
Second reason was the price. I spent £860 on this thing with my student discount and I honestly couldn't afford any more than that.
I've also installed a 128gb SSD in the Optibay and upgraded my RAM to 8gb. This little machine is perfect for me now. It will run Photoshop, Coda, iTunes and multiple browsers all at the same time with no lag so I can just crack on with my work. I would have liked a bigger screen resolution but surprisingly I haven't really struggled with Photoshop on the 13" so far.
I think my next one will be a 15" though. I'd appreciate the resolution and a little more power. By then hopefully I will be driving to my meetings instead of having to walk around with the MBP in my bag all day so the weight won't matter.
The 13" is really perfect for students though. I've seen some students carrying a 17" around with them and it's ridiculous. Those things are meant to sit on a desk all day, they're really not very portable.
Asus has a new 13" Zenbook coming out in a couple of months with a discrete nVidia GPU on board. So clearly your argument and those of dozens of other fan boys that Apple doesn't have a discrete GPU on the 13" because of "thermal constraints" is 100% false as most of us know.
It's all about keeping a distinction between the 13" Pro and the 15" that sells for $600 more.
nyc. subways, walking.
the 13" JUST fits (in a sleeve) in my backpack; light, fast. am happy (or happy until the new mbp's come; then change 'happy' to 'jealous')
I'm in complete agreement. Originally I had the al_uMB of 2008 then upgraded to the MBA_13" ultimate. I liked the high resolution yet didn't think about storage since my al_um also had 250GB HDD. I figured a straight trade for a 2010 MBP 15" HiRes with 256GB SSD would suffice. Man that resolution was sick!! However I didn't like the footprint/size (volume).
I finally settled on the late 2011 MBP 13" with 750GB HDD. It's faster than the 2010 machine in a late of everyday and pro tasks (Xcode & Logic Express), I can still have 16gb of ram (but at 1600mhz) on the cheap, and that slow 750GB spindle is going to be replaced with 512GB Vertex4 SSD. I'll keep the optical for a while since I have a LaCie TB 1TB external. All in all even after the refresh I'll be quit modern for my needs; jealous of the new model hellz yeah.
Hmm. I can purchase an external TB bay to use an up to date PCIe video card and connect it to external monitor to get the video graphics performance that I require. Let's face it - most video intensive tasks are done while stationary at a desk, lab, or the office yet at times when visiting clients that is where the 15/17" shines. For the latter scenario I'd rather present the finished product on external medium as a preference anyway (opticall, HDD, and as card/USB key just in case). Sony is going this route with their high end vaio lineup as well so I'm thinking right.
What really bothers me is the Mac Mini has a LOT smaller volume than the 13 MBP yet the midrange with option for same high end CPU has an AMD 6630 dedicated mobile graphics card. I honestly believe Apple shafted us, yet will allow the next, final MBP 13" mobile to feature a similar discreet card - very similar to what was done with the 12" PowerBook aluminum. Is there a similar performing mobile you with even less heat output under heavy load that could make this a reality!?!??
I'd gladly pay 1649.00 to 1950.00 range for such a model with 1440/800 resolution if the low end 15" had more ram, faster CPU, SSD across the lineup, and the high end can quit reasonably phaser out the 17" MBP.
17" MBP
1 extra USB port
1 extra FireWire port (some still need at least one port, 15" supply's this)
Resolution is slightly higher but who must have it vs 15" Hi-Res?!! Really.
The 15" Hi-Res is more than capable and quite literally performs fantastic as a desktop replacement.
The Zenbook is one the computers I've been looking at for my sister. Still not sure what would be right for her needs. Bottom line is the 13inch is a really nice form factor and isn't too big or too small. The 15inch is nice too.
It is much better.
If you use less than 4 GB of RAM, then the max capacity doesn't matter. If you use more, the performance of the Air drops significantly because even with the SSD swapping is slow. And I use, on average, 8 GB, sometimes even 13-14 if i run two VMs.
The same thing with the storage options. If you use a maximum of 256 GB, the Air is fine. Currently, i have 96 GB on the SSD used and 695 GB on the HDD used. The Air is useless for me and the MBP is in a league of its own.
I have no need for a GPU. Never run anything 3D or GPU accelerated.
And the 2.8 GHz CPU is much better than a 1.8 GHz
----------
It is not. Zenbook doesn't have an optical drive and it's much easier to do it. Also, the cooling solution on the macs is very 'hidden'. Up till now, putting a GPU inside of a 13'' MBP would mean more airflow, meshes on the bottom or something similar. One of the reasons i like mac laptops so much is precisely that they don't have air meshes all around.
This fits with the Apple mantra of form over function. Problem is, as the market changes, Apple can't be left stagnant. Form over function has worked well for them in the past as long as the sacrifices weren't too severe. This was especially true due to the fact that they could incorporate Nvidia integrated GPUs with all of their chipsets.
Since this isn't a possibility anymore, Apple will have to either change their outlook on computer design, or face the possibility of losing some pro users.
I have a 15" MacBook Pro but I used to own a MacBook Pro 13" (9400M/2.53Ghz Core 2 etc.) and the main reason was for portability - basically I have an iMac for power and grunt with my laptop being primarily there fore portability first and foremost.
Why did I stick with a 13.3inch until now? I always thought that the 15inch was good big/bulky based on my experience with PC laptops of a similar size but since having a look/feel/etc at the local store I moved from 13.3inch to 15inch. My main concern regarding the Intel GPU is its longevity when compared to what Apple has in store in the future and that some of the things I want to do are GPU dependent (utilise OpenCL) so it all come down to what you main used is for.
Why did I stick with a 13.3inch until now? I always thought that the 15inch was good big/bulky based on my experience with PC laptops of a similar size but since having a look/feel/etc at the local store I moved from 13.3inch to 15inch. My main concern regarding the Intel GPU is its longevity when compared to what Apple has in store in the future and that some of the things I want to do are GPU dependent (utilise OpenCL) so it all come down to what you main used is for.
Price
We were considering a refurbished 15" and a new 13", and decided on the 13. The reason was price.
We were considering a refurbished 15" and a new 13", and decided on the 13. The reason was price.
Neither. 13" air.
But if I had to pick, 13" pro. 13" is just a nice carry around and actual lap size imo.
I picked up the 2012 13" MBP, but before it got here, I changed my mind and switched it for the 13" air. I can't see why I would get the pro over the air at the 13" level.
Pros Air: The air will run parallels fine, 8GB ram for not too much, lighter, better resolution.
Pros MBP: DVD - $30 usb dvd off amazon. I've used the superdrive only a couple times in the last year. Small HD - some need more than 128/256 and don't want to drop 2199 on a computer for the 512. External, or clean house. I've been on a 128 for the last year (ssd in the pro), and always have around 40-50 gb free (58.2 at the moment).
But if I had to pick, 13" pro. 13" is just a nice carry around and actual lap size imo.
I picked up the 2012 13" MBP, but before it got here, I changed my mind and switched it for the 13" air. I can't see why I would get the pro over the air at the 13" level.
Pros Air: The air will run parallels fine, 8GB ram for not too much, lighter, better resolution.
Pros MBP: DVD - $30 usb dvd off amazon. I've used the superdrive only a couple times in the last year. Small HD - some need more than 128/256 and don't want to drop 2199 on a computer for the 512. External, or clean house. I've been on a 128 for the last year (ssd in the pro), and always have around 40-50 gb free (58.2 at the moment).
13" Pro
I went with the 13" Pro based mainly on price. It was $100 off with a free $100 iTunes gift cards. The base model was $1099.00.
I love the air but really I need a 500 GB hard drive and its cost prohibitive right now with the SSD's. You can expand the HD and RAM on the Pro as well. I would have loved even a small resolution bump to match the Air -
I would have loved to have seen them into a Retina 13" Pro, but they didn't. I'm assuming one will come along soon enough. My thought was the $1099 spent on the 13" Pro isn't so much that I can't upgrade in a year or two. A similar spec'd Air was about $1500 with what I wanted (had to add memory its non upgradeable). At the $1500 price point we're only another $500 from the 15" retina Pro -
I never use the CD/DVD drive. I'm certain when and if a retina 13" sans drive comes out I'll upgrade.
Really, for the base price of a 13" MB Pro you' can't go wrong. It's pretty affordable and infinitely upgradeable.
I went with the 13" Pro based mainly on price. It was $100 off with a free $100 iTunes gift cards. The base model was $1099.00.
I love the air but really I need a 500 GB hard drive and its cost prohibitive right now with the SSD's. You can expand the HD and RAM on the Pro as well. I would have loved even a small resolution bump to match the Air -
I would have loved to have seen them into a Retina 13" Pro, but they didn't. I'm assuming one will come along soon enough. My thought was the $1099 spent on the 13" Pro isn't so much that I can't upgrade in a year or two. A similar spec'd Air was about $1500 with what I wanted (had to add memory its non upgradeable). At the $1500 price point we're only another $500 from the 15" retina Pro -
I never use the CD/DVD drive. I'm certain when and if a retina 13" sans drive comes out I'll upgrade.
Really, for the base price of a 13" MB Pro you' can't go wrong. It's pretty affordable and infinitely upgradeable.
What about the poor resolution? I consider buying the 13inch Mbp but that 1280x800 really scarEs me.
I personally like the 13" MBP for the portability. It has plenty of power packed into a small form factor, and is easy to transport. The great thing is, if you want a larger screen, you can mirror or dual display with an external.