15" or 12" w/ ACD

[Rob587]

ok, I recently sold my 17" powerbook because it was just to big and awkward even for the once in a blue moon that I would take it places. Now I dont know wether or not to get a maxed out 12"pb with 20" acd or a maxed out 15"pb. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[BrandonSi]

If it was my decision, I'd go with the 12" and 20" ACD. The bigger the screen, the more enjoyment I get out of OS X. 15" is nice, but I'd rather have the portability and the big screen than just a medium sized laptop.

 

[Rob587]

wow, usually alot more people respond to my threads.. hmm? I think I am mainly just really impressed with the awsome widescreen and speed of the new powerbook but will I eventually feel like I did with my 17"? thanks

 

[macEfan]

yeah, get the 12/20. It will look sooo cool!

 

[kingcrowing]

Well, depending on your set up at home, I'd say get the 12", they are really nice, and super portable, and then when you are at home, a 20" will be amazing...

 

[itsbetteronamac]

I would go with the 15" mainly because of the Powerbook it self. I am a lot more comfertable typing on a 15" compared to the 12". Also, the sound is better, and I don't know. I guess I just like the over all feel of the 15" better. But I must admit have a 20" isn't bad when your sitting at a desk. Oh, and when working on the 12," I feel as if I just don't have a high enough resolution in order to work efficently

 

[FFTT]

I'm kinda stuck on this too.

I really prefer the portability of the 12" but would hate to miss the extras of the 15" at the new price.

The images I've seen show the 15" now much crisper and brighter, so
if you spend considerable time on your portable , that would certainly
be a consideration.

You said that you don't carry your portable around too much
so the 15" wouldn't be such a burden.

Not long ago a 12" SuperDrive was $1699 retail.
Now you can get the 15" 1.67/ 128 VRAM with far better specs
for $1799 education.

If it won't destroy your budget, I'd go for the 15"
and then consider the ACD and the Dell 20" and 24"

 

[crazydreaming]

You need to decide which is more important; portability or desktop usage. How often do use actually use your laptop on the go, and what do you do with it?

If you hardly use the portability of your laptop, then I'd say go for the 12" option. That will give you a better setup for the majority of your usage.

If you do actually plan on using your laptop on the go, I'd say 15". For me it's the perfect balance between desktop and portable usage. It's fine for use at a desk just the way it is, and it's awesome when using portable. And you always could add the 20" display later if you decide you need it.

 

[Rob587]

Ive never been more flat dead in the middle on something than I am on this. Its really unbelievable because I am usually pretty decisive about most things. I guess with the 15" Id have more speed and less portability and screen space, and with the 12" id I have more screen space and prtabilty and less speed. This is going to be a tough one.

 

[aesth3tic]

12" pb + 20" ACD all the way!!!

Ive never been more flat dead in the middle on something than I am on this. Its really unbelievable because I am usually pretty decisive about most things. I guess with the 15" Id have more speed and less portability and screen space, and with the 12" id I have more screen space and prtabilty and less speed. This is going to be a tough one.

To everyone who has ever asked this question, go with the 12" pb and the 20" display. I currently have this setup (see sig) and it works beautifully. I get the most portable (and very powerful) apple laptop for travel, classes, recording sessions at friends houses and of course going to the cafe for some coffee. But when I get home I am able to plug the display (i would highly recommend a keyboard and mouse, i tried it a couple of days without and its awkward). The display seriously kicks butt, high contrast ratio, plenty of screen real estate for photoshop and illustrator. The only downside I have with the setup is looking from the 20" to the 12" screen because of the LCD quality difference. Looking at the 20" all day, makes the 12" look like poo. But realistically, I only use my 12" screen to keep iTunes open 24/7 and do all my work on my ACD.

Another thing to consider is the future. I plan on getting a mac mini when frontrow enabled minis come out or maybe even a dualcore powermac, but there is no way I would consider doing it if I had to buy a display as well....

I hope that this helps. Good Luck with your decision

 

[iEdd]

Ive never been more flat dead in the middle on something than I am on this. Its really unbelievable because I am usually pretty decisive about most things. I guess with the 15" Id have more speed and less portability and screen space, and with the 12" id I have more screen space and prtabilty and less speed.0 This is going to be a tough one.

Rule speed out of it. 170Mhz won't make a noticable difference as far as I know.
The portability is nice. If a few things have to wait until you're home with your display, so be it. As long as you can do a few things (check email, surf web, light photoshop, take notes) comfortably away from home, it's all good.
12" + 20" ACD sounds like the plan to me. I hope they update the 12" soon. The small price drop was surely just to suck a little more juice out of it. If you go 12", wait as long as you can.

 

[panda]

been my dilema too

i am used to the size of the 12" and have used ibooks for the longest time... as my main computer!

they have been terrific and i have even been happy with the screen. as a designer, the only times i feel i suffer, is using something like illustrator or archicad. (my eyes are going a bit wonky, but that is not just a screen size/quality problem, but also a factor of the amount of time i use the computer):

even quark, photoshop and formz are fine on the 12". no problem with ms office, myob, safari etc.

i do not do any video editing etc, so no views there.

as this seems like it will be your 'only/main' computer, i would say from my experience, that the 12" with acd will be amazing and the best solution by far.

unless:
-as said by someone prior, you will be away from home a lot, then the 15"er could make sense.
-or if you are like me and like to be mobile around the house and not feel like being stuck to sitting in front of a stationary screen, then, the 15"er could also make sense.

i am probably going to buy a new pb now. i am pretty set on getting the 15"er, as i enjoy using the computer all over the place at home. i am also someone who does not like having the 'traditional' desk arrangement for my work.

i am just so used to the convenient size of the 12" that i am terrified of having a more cumbersoome 15". however, the new specs of the 15" for me, look terrific - primarily the improved brighter and shaper screen (about to see it in the flesh later today).

and the speed will be just wonderful, as i am coming from a 500mhz.

...and that should help answer your second question about speed. will you notice a speed difference between the 12" and 15"? NO!

so basically the bottom line could be viewed this way:
as you main computer, i would suggest the 15", as the screen and specs are a step up from the 12". UNLESS, you are using the 12" together with an acd, then the 12" makes great sense.

whaddyathink?

 

[dcv]

Here's an idea...

I've got a 12 inch PowerBook and it really suits my needs... I love the portability of it and I'd never choose a 15" over it. Personally I'd find it just that little bit too bulky to carry around.

I did toy with the idea of buying a 20" ACD to accompany it, for occasional use. So far my PB has been fine for everything and I haven't been too bothered by the 1024x768 resolution. In Photoshop you just have to zoom perhaps a bit more and move palettes out of the way etc. So this is one of the reasons why I was contemplating the external display. Also, I'm thinking of buying a camcorder and would like to try my hand at some video editing... so again, for that, a larger screen makes more sense.

Anyway... I seem to be turning into more of an Apple geek day by day .... I have now ordered a 17" iMac !!!

My thought process was.... for £549 I can have an ACD. But that is ONLY a display. For £899 you can get a 17" iMac which is a larger (than PB) screen AND it's a whole new computer AND a fair bit more powerful than the PowerBook... yet would take up near enough the same desktop space as the display only.

I found a 17" iMac SuperDrive in the UK refurb store (originally £999, now £719) and with some extra Egg card discounts I should be getting it for £621, so it's not much more than the cost of the ACD but you get a whole load more for your money...

Perhaps something to consider, if you don't mind paying just that little bit extra? Of course if you do go down this route, you could choose a 12" iBook and an iMac.