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15" vs. 17" MBP

I've just sold my 24" iMac, and am going for a MBP with an external 24" Dell monitor. Just not sure whether the mid-range model is worth paying the extra over the entry level machine?

Don't really plan on playing many games on it, and will primarily use the MBP for a little video editing, Photoshop work, Office and web development. I'd upgrade the hard drive in the base model to 160Gb, and I have plenty of external storage. Not really interested in running Windows on my Mac as I've got a recently built C2D 6700 machine for that.

Will missing out on the extra .2GHz and 128Mb of graphics memory make that much difference for the usage I intend? Or should I buy a refurb 17" 2.33GHz model instead? That would probably seem like a slightly faster version of my iMac I suppose.

Lastly, are higher resolution 15" MBP screens likely to be arriving any time soon, and if so, will that not seem more cramped in terms of how things are displayed? (especially as I'll have it hooked up to a 24" monitor running at 1920x1200 most of the time).

Would prefer to wait for Leopard to arrive, but not sure I can be without a mac for another 2 months, and not convinced Apple will change the MBP spec again so soon.
 
i have the 17"hi-res MBP for about a week and i love this beefy machine. BEST purchase ever. i take it to work and back everyday and i dont have any problems lugging it around. I say, go with the 17 inch..you will definitely fall in love with it. 17" MBP ftw! precious, my precioussssss:D
 
I just recently purchased a SR MBP, but I've actually been researching which mbp to get for quite a while, even as far back when they were powerbooks (ya i'm a really meticulous and picky buyer :D). Anyway, what I eventually concluded about the right size is that it really comes down to what works most comfortably with you (as others have mentioned). Anyone can argue what size fits comfortably on what desks and whether one is too heavy or too small, but in the end your best bet is to go into the apple store and spend time with both models. I found that the 15" suits me best for reasons hard to describe. It's basically more pleasing to have in front of me since it isn't too small, but at the same time it doesn't overwhelm me. Yet in your case, since you sound like a much bigger guy than me, the larger 17" may be more to your taste, but I can't say for sure.

Take my advice and experience them both before buying. Have fun with whatever you choose.

-Shepherd
 
I love my 15 inch Macbook Pro. The screen is amazing and is the perfect size. I was working next to my buddy who had a 17 inch dell. that thing was massive you could take otu a wild animal with it. go 15 inch.
 
I am going to be a college student but I went for the 17 inch, mostly because this is going to be my only computer, and I wanted the 250GB Hard Drive and HD screen for video editing.
 
I am a university student and I have been using a 15" for a year now, and come October I will be replacing it with the 17". I use a booq viper case to protect it and I believe these are also available for 17", so no probs getting a case.

The reason I will be getting the 17" is of course greater screen real estate. On the 15", although it is possible to have two windows open side-by-side for working on them at the same time, it is only sometimes possible, and more often that not you need to spend time squashing at last one of them down and using much more sideways scroll than is desirable. On the 17", true dual-window usage will become feasible. It will also be much nicer for watching movies and playing games, which, although admittedly something I do only occasionally, I wish to get the best and most comfortable experience from.

I think you should get the 17".
 
Hello, as a noob (yet longtime lurker), I have decided to give my market share to the Silver Fruit once and for all, and am in the same predicament. I live in Charlotte, NC and have looked at both models side-by-side at the local Apple Store, and still can't decide based on a couple of factors that I could use help with. First, the high-res display on the 17" is beautiful, but everything seems to small for my liking in terms of icons and text. I would love that real estate with bigger graphics and still good resolution (sounds sac religious, I know), yet when you lower the resolution, it seems so blurry. The 15" at 14x9 seems beautiful on the 15", but I know the 17" size would not hinder me as I don't travel often. I basically have a couple questions that I hope someone can answer for me.

1) Does the high-res screen adjust over time (10-15 minutes) to look better when you lower the res from 19x12 to anything else? (I couldn't wait to see in the store with so many there)

2) If anyone knows, how much of a difference in brightness is there between the 17" high-res glossy and the 15" LED glossy? Is it a huge difference seeing as though the glossy screens are brighter in general?

3) Is there a 14x9 resolution option on the high-res glossy? The store model (matte) did not have it (went from 16x12 to 12x8), so I was wondering if there was a setting elsewhere which did have it, or a way to get it? Thank you to anyone in advance for any help. GREAT FORUM!

NOTE: Yes, I have searched and read ad nauseum, and finally have resorted to posting my questions here.
 
Sylar said:
2) If anyone knows, how much of a difference in brightness is there between the 17" high-res glossy and the 15" LED glossy? Is it a huge difference seeing as though the glossy screens are brighter in general?
Click to expand...

Being fairly new as well I can't answer all your questions; however, I believe that there is no difference between the brightness of the non backlight LEDs and the backlight LEDs. It just takes longer for the non backlight LEDs to come to full brightness (could be as long as 30-60 mins) where the new backlight LEDs reach full brightness almost instantly.
 
for me a 17" would be too big. i play wow on my 15" and it is just as nice as playing on my 17" pc monitor. the portability is a factor for a laptop IMO and anything over 15" is too much for me. i really considered the smaller macbook but i decided i wanted the power of a mbp
 
mpr131 said:
Being fairly new as well I can't answer all your questions; however, I believe that there is no difference between the brightness of the non backlight LEDs and the backlight LEDs. It just takes longer for the non backlight LEDs to come to full brightness (could be as long as 30-60 mins) where the new backlight LEDs reach full brightness almost instantly.
Click to expand...

I was at the Apple store and there definitely was a difference in brightness. I saw the 15 and 17 side by side. They were both warmed up since they are on all day long at the store. The 15 is noticeably brighter. Then again the 17 has the advantage of being more solid(a few LEDs are having issues) and an option for high res.

Kan-O-Z
 
Kan-O-Z said:
I was at the Apple store and there definitely was a difference in brightness. I saw the 15 and 17 side by side. They were both warmed up since they are on all day long at the store. The 15 is noticeably brighter. Then again the 17 has the advantage of being more solid(a few LEDs are having issues) and an option for high res.

Kan-O-Z
Click to expand...

by "few" you mean "a lot" right? :D
 
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