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Size difference not substancial - WHAT?!

I

iarejedi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 22, 2007
40
0
So I have been hearing people say the Macbook Pro 15" Isn't all that much bigger then the Macbook. So I was in the Apple store today and put the two side by side. I was suprised at just how HUGE the frigin Macbook Pro 15" looked, even alone and when compared to the Macbook. I don't see how any of you could claim that the Pro isn't that big of a difference!:eek:

Now I am even more utterly confused as to which one I should purchase then I was before I went to the store. What are your guys' thoughts on the size difference. Is the MacbookPro really that huge or were my eyes deceiving me?
 
Its really not THAT much bigger, although I'd choose the MBP over the MB anyday.
 
I went from a MacBook to a new MacBook PRO earlier this month and I don't think it's that big a difference in size at all. EXCEPT FOR, the screen. I'm still wow'd by the increase in screen real estate but part of that is also the higher resolution. It's a gorgeous screen ont he new MBP's.

'm very happy with the upgrade. If I were you I wouldn't be basing this decision on the minor size difference, but whether you need the Pro or not. If the MacBook gets the job done, why spend the extra money? Both are great computers.
 
Sdao said:
Its really not THAT much bigger, although I'd choose the MBP over the MB anyday.
Click to expand...

I dunno, to me the Macbook Pro looked HUGE, even by itself. When I first saw it I was shocked it was the 15" and not the 17"!

Here's a pic from today

832886736_299b5e4ebf_o.jpg


It's definitely a lot bigger.
 
When people say that the MBP is not much bigger, it's usually in response to a concern about portability, about the ease of lugging the thing around. While 15" MBPs are significantly wider and deeper than MBs, they're only .3 pounds heavier, an insignificant difference.
 
Well when you put one on top of the other it isn't that much bigger. But the 15" looks like a behemoth on its own I will admit. But then I start noticing that the 13" inch isn't small either. Especially open the 15" seems bigger cause of the huge screen. Case wise they are within like 5%-10% height, width, depth, weight of each other. And its not always the MBP is bigger! So... I mean usually we say less than 5% is negligible and more than that is not a substanial difference. Makes sense. Even the combined volume or density is probably relatively close in terms of less than 10%.

I went with the MBP cause honestly in a backpack or carrying it around, it feels no different (my brother has an MB). But the screen. THATS A HUGE DIFFERENCE! So unless price is a large concern, I think the MBP is the one to go!
 
Hm, interesting thread. I'm really debating about which one I should get. The macbook is "enough", but I love the features of the Pro - LED screen, cooler design, santa rosa, standard 2 GB ram, backlit keyboard, better graphics card, matte screen, etc.

I'm concerned that the mbp might be too large for taking notes in class...I must decide!
 
queshy said:
Hm, interesting thread. I'm really debating about which one I should get. The macbook is "enough", but I love the features of the Pro - LED screen, cooler design, santa rosa, standard 2 GB ram, backlit keyboard, better graphics card, matte screen, etc.

I'm concerned that the mbp might be too large for taking notes in class...I must decide!
Click to expand...

Im assuming you're a college/university student, but its perfect for taking notes (unless you have those fold out lap desks in your lecture hall). The 15'' is a good size...
 
Chef Medeski said:
Well when you put one on top of the other it isn't that much bigger. But the 15" looks like a behemoth on its own I will admit. But then I start noticing that the 13" inch isn't small either.
Click to expand...
Mm hmm. I'd agree with that.

I went from a 12" PB G4 to a 12" iBook G4 and whenever I saw any 15"er I was just awestruck with how ginormous they looked. :eek: And when I saw the MB in person for the first time, I shunned it for how big it seemed. :eek:

As I type from my MB, I really wouldn't ever go for a 15"er-- it's just too big and given a choice? If Apple had an ultra-portable or even a 12"er, I'd still opt for that over the MB. I love me some smaller notebooks.

So while the 15" MBPs might not be that much bigger than a MB, they're significantly larger than a 12"er which is what I was used to. And seriously? For some folks, the difference between the 15" and 13" is still big enough to stick w/ an MB.
 
Sdao said:
Im assuming you're a college/university student, but its perfect for taking notes (unless you have those fold out lap desks in your lecture hall). The 15'' is a good size...
Click to expand...

yup, university starts this fall for me!

The desks in the lecture hall are quite small, but supposedly the mbp is only a few inches longer/wider than my 700m from Dell, which is quite small. When I go to best buy though, the 15" laptops look like giant bricks. I'll have to see the mbp in person...
 
I guess if size really is paramount then the Macbook is your only option. Unfortunately I do feel that, in terms and size of weight, the 15" MBP really is a very very sweet spot! Ok, so the price might not be so mouthwatering, but for a little extra size and weight you're getting a lot more to play with.

As has been hashed and rehashed many times on here, what would be brilliant in Apple's laptop lineup is an 'ultraportable', something sub 2kg with dimensions that make the Macbook look chubby. Will it ever happen? Meh, we'll see, but with access to Intel's extensive range of low and ultra-low voltage chips it'd be a waste if Apple didn't unleash it's design expertise sooner or later.
 
When i first got a MBP i was shocked at how big it seemed to be. A few days later the size was just right. Ever since i returned it (for early revision problems that are all solved now) and bought a macbook I have been longing for those 2" i lost. The MacBook just seems too small now after a MacBook Pro.

BTW I went from an iBook to a MBP so it was a massive step up.
 
Isn't that much bigger.

And the MBP 15" is still one of the slimmest thinnest computers in its class.
 
I am a PC to MBP (15''/SR/2.2) switcher and my first impression of the thing was: damn, huge! However, if you put the two on top of each other you notice that this seems to be a design issue/feature - the huge trackpad and the gigantic one-button thing made it look huge (somehow these things where less obvious on the MB for me...).

Furthermore the keyboard layout differs enough from my NX7000 or T43 to make the MBP look larger than it acctually is. However, after 10mins I started to notice how freakin' thin the thing is - now everything (inlcuding the MB) looks just bloated. :D
 
I've gone from a 12" PowerBook to a 15" MacBook Pro. I swore I'd never move away from that gorgeous tiny form factor but Apple kinda took that option away from me. Don't like the MacBooks at all and in my eyes they're huge compared to the 12" PB. There's not a lot of difference case-wise between the MB and MBP but the screen difference is pretty apparent. I'm *loving* the resolution of the 15". Means I can have a decent sized iChat video window open alongside Safari or whatever without constantly having to switch between stuff as I was on the PowerBook!

The MBP really is a fantastic machine :)
 
devilot said:
Mm hmm. I'd agree with that.

I went from a 12" PB G4 to a 12" iBook G4 and whenever I saw any 15"er I was just awestruck with how ginormous they looked. :eek: And when I saw the MB in person for the first time, I shunned it for how big it seemed. :eek:

As I type from my MB, I really wouldn't ever go for a 15"er-- it's just too big and given a choice? If Apple had an ultra-portable or even a 12"er, I'd still opt for that over the MB. I love me some smaller notebooks.

So while the 15" MBPs might not be that much bigger than a MB, they're significantly larger than a 12"er which is what I was used to. And seriously? For some folks, the difference between the 15" and 13" is still big enough to stick w/ an MB.
Click to expand...

I would have gone for the 12" too. I just found with the widescreen aspect on the 13.3" the screen was just annoying to look at. My 12" PB was like perfect. But the 13" is just annoying to my eyes.
 
The size is an issue when in the airport, on an airplane, etc. etc.
I only wish the Macbook had the nicer resolution of the MBP. Wish Apple would get their act together on the small/light laptop front.
 
Chef Medeski said:
I would have gone for the 12" too. I just found with the widescreen aspect on the 13.3" the screen was just annoying to look at. My 12" PB was like perfect. But the 13" is just annoying to my eyes.
Click to expand...

Weird... wide screen is supposed to be easier on the eyes... i've always found it that way.
 
If you want to see a "huge" 15" laptop, find a Dell kiosk and check out the new Dell Inspiron 1520........... it's practically a desktop replacement...... .thick, large and weighs almost 7 pounds.

The MacBook Pro is going to have a larger footprint (not sure how else one would expect a 15" screen to fit on a machine and not be somewhat bigger than one with a 13" screen).

But relatively speaking, it isn't THAT much bigger, and the MBP is one of the thinnest and lightest (1" thick, 5.4 pounds) 15" laptops in the world right now.

It all depends on what your needs are, frankly.
 
Yeah and if people always talk about 'bang for buck' the mbp is 'performance per inch' better than the macbook if you get what i mean.

MBP all the way.
 
17" MBP = huge, 15" MBP = perfect. For me, after parting with my MB, it was really only a preference which one I'd get (17" HD or 2.4 15"). I got the 15". It is honestly only a diagonal inch larger than my old MB. And man is this thing sleek. It weighs an indistinguishable amount more than my MB (they're basically the same weight) and the screen, oh my, keyboard, nice. It's all just beautiful. If they had a ~13" MBP... eh no, 15" is great, love the size... it's not fat, just big boned :D
 
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