Differences between 15" & 17" MB Pro
First of all, let me say that I used to be active on this forum but according to the last visit box on the page, I haven't been here (logged it, I guess) in just over 4 years. 
Any old characters still around? (MichaelM8000 or whatever his name was?)
I am in the market for a desktop replacement. I figure I can easily replace my 2x1.8 GHz PowerMac G5 with a new Mac Book Pro. I already have a MacBook Black? that I use to take places, work outside, etc and want another machine to be "the house machine" with all photos and such.
I am going to buy a MacBook Pro. The question is, which one?
Are the only differences between the 2.8 GHz 15" and 17" inch the:
$200 price, screen size (obviously), extra USB port, and the ExpressCard slot?
Or am I missing something?
Is the anti glare screen worth it? I did a side by side comparison at an Apple Store a few weeks ago and their lighting is not kind on the glossy screens so the anti glare looked better. Any opinions out there? Which is easier to clean? Anything more fragile about the anti glare screent?
Any old characters still around? (MichaelM8000 or whatever his name was?)
I am in the market for a desktop replacement. I figure I can easily replace my 2x1.8 GHz PowerMac G5 with a new Mac Book Pro. I already have a MacBook Black? that I use to take places, work outside, etc and want another machine to be "the house machine" with all photos and such.
I am going to buy a MacBook Pro. The question is, which one?
Are the only differences between the 2.8 GHz 15" and 17" inch the:
$200 price, screen size (obviously), extra USB port, and the ExpressCard slot?
Or am I missing something?
Is the anti glare screen worth it? I did a side by side comparison at an Apple Store a few weeks ago and their lighting is not kind on the glossy screens so the anti glare looked better. Any opinions out there? Which is easier to clean? Anything more fragile about the anti glare screent?
Comments
I think you got all the differences between the 15 and 17. Only thing I can add is the 17'' has better battery life due to it's physical dimensions.
I have the 17'' Anti-Glare and my wife has an older 15'' MBP (replaceable battery version- MacbookPro5,1). I absolutely love the 17'' anti-glare. Biggest consideration I think is your vision. I can see how people with poor vision may have trouble reading text on the 1920x1200 display. My 17'' seems to run a little cooler than my wife's 15'' under a heavy processing load, but that could be due to the 17'' being a newer version (MacbookPro5,2) and not the increased physical dimensions.
The battery life in the 17'' is incredible. I can easily get 8 hours out of it when doing basic e-mail, web browsing, ect... As for the cleanliness of both machines, the anti-glare is much easier to keep clean since finger smudges are much less prevalent. The glossy seems easier to clean since you can use windex on a paper towel, I have only used the microfiber cloth that comes with the computer the clean the anti-glare. I would not say the glossy is any more fragile than the anti-glare. In fact the glass may actually protect the screen better.
Bottom line, if you are not planning on using the battery often and will be using an external monitor, go with the 15''. If you have no trouble reading text on the 17'' and not planning on using external monitor definitely go with the 17''. The anti-glare issue is now moot since it is an option on both the 15'' and 17''. That being said, anti-glare boils down to personal preference. You'll find equally enthusiastic advocates for both. If your going to be using this at home most of the time, glare might not be an issue since you can control the environmental lighting. I travel with my MBP and absolutely love the anti-glare.
Hope this helps!
Doug
Since you are looking for a desktop replacement system, will you be using an external monitor and how frequently will you be using the battery?
My current screen (Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 900u CRT, yes CRT) does 1600x1200 @ >85hz, so the 1900x1200 resolution will be just fine. I picture the wife using this machine at the dining room table or on the couch in the living room to organize and edit photos, so we'll be using the battery quite a bit.
I have the 17'' Anti-Glare and my wife has an older 15'' MBP (replaceable battery version- MacbookPro5,1). I absolutely love the 17'' anti-glare. Biggest consideration I think is your vision. I can see how people with poor vision may have trouble reading text on the 1920x1200 display.
Both the wife and I have eagle eyes, so the 1900x1200 won't bother us.
The battery life in the 17'' is incredible. I can easily get 8 hours out of it when doing basic e-mail, web browsing, ect... As for the cleanliness of both machines, the anti-glare is much easier to keep clean since finger smudges are much less prevalent. The glossy seems easier to clean since you can use windex on a paper towel, I have only used the microfiber cloth that comes with the computer the clean the anti-glare. I would not say the glossy is any more fragile than the anti-glare. In fact the glass may actually protect the screen better.
Thank you for the mini-review. I'm leaning anti glare because the glossy just doesn't do it for me and I HATE seeing fingerprints or cat nose prints prominently on computer screens.
Bottom line, if you are not planning on using the battery often and will be using an external monitor, go with the 15''. If you have no trouble reading text on the 17'' and not planning on using external monitor definitely go with the 17''.
Going with the 17" -- thanks again for the input.
Hope this helps!
It definitely did. Thanks!
Oh, and for MichaelM8000 -- I think his name was Michael Matas and was one of the developers at Delicious Monster before leaving there to work at Apple for a number of years.
--Mike
Sounds like you'll definitely want the anti-glare. I was pretty torn between the two as I knew I would mainly be using it at home under pretty soft lighting conditions and I thought the glass might be easier to clean and make the screen more durable. I've had both and the glossy is definitely quicker to clean since the anti-glare has lots of micro-crevices designed to dissapate incoming light but can trap things like oil from fingerprints or dried saliva from caughing. Remember, just because you can't see them as easily, it doesn't mean they're not there! It used to take quite a bit of elbow work to buff out some marks on my older anti-glare and I used to worry I was damaging the screen in the process (I never liked to see the liquid-y image distortions).
Having said all that I'll probably end up getting the anti-glare again next time because the glare is pretty annoying sometimes when I take it to a café or to work. It's nowhere near bad enough that I feel I need to sell and change to anti-glare right away. If I compared both under soft no-backlight conditions in my room I'd probably end up sticking with my choice of the glossy. I plan to upgrade annually anyway so I figured it's not too long to live with if I didn't like it.
Hope that helps.
Considering the relatively minor price differential, the 17" does represent substantially better value in my opinion.
That's what I was thinking as well. $200 difference for the larger screen made me think there was a catch somewhere -- call me paranoid. After review and this thread it seems like there's no catch. In fact, the 17" has the Express card slot (which I will never use) instead of the SD slot.
The 17" prices hold up pretty well too. If you plan to upgrade regularly this can be a factor to consider.
I keep my Macs for a while. The ones I need to get rid of are a 2x1.8 GHz G5 from November of 2003 and a 20" (or 17"?) iMac G5 from Christmas 2004. Any takers?
Sounds like you'll definitely want the anti-glare. I was pretty torn between the two as I knew I would mainly be using it at home under pretty soft lighting conditions and I thought the glass might be easier to clean and make the screen more durable. I've had both and the glossy is definitely quicker to clean since the anti-glare has lots of micro-crevices designed to dissipate incoming light but can trap things like oil from fingerprints or dried saliva from coughing.
And kitty nose prints...
Remember, just because you can't see them as easily, it doesn't mean they're not there! It used to take quite a bit of elbow work to buff out some marks on my older anti-glare and I used to worry I was damaging the screen in the process (I never liked to see the liquid-y image distortions).
Good to know.
I plan to upgrade annually anyway so I figured it's not too long to live with if I didn't like it.
Wow. Why is this, out of curiosity only, of course.
Hope that helps.
It did. Thank you.
--Mike