The new 15" vs the 17"
Hey everyone.
If you have been following my other posts (har
), then you would know that I am on the brink of switching to the the Mac (in the form of a MBP) for college.
However! I am in a nasty pickle... I do not know whether or not to get the 15" or the 17" after WWDC 2009; up until then, I was planning on the 17" - no questions asked. Now, I'm not sure...
I have done a considerable amount of research, and there are a couple of key differences that will make or break one or the other...
(MISC NOTES: I do the usual college stuff... Internet, word, occasional 3D gaming... I also am a h.264 enthusiast)
The 15" has:
In side by side comparison, the 17" naturally wins. However, when in use, the situation changes:
I am still leaning towards the 17" as a total desktop replacement. I am VERY interested in hearing the opinions of the AppleInsider community. You guys have been so helpful and informative during my short stay here, and I just want to see thoughts on this topic. If you were in my position, which would YOU get?
Thanks!
If you have been following my other posts (har
), then you would know that I am on the brink of switching to the the Mac (in the form of a MBP) for college. However! I am in a nasty pickle... I do not know whether or not to get the 15" or the 17" after WWDC 2009; up until then, I was planning on the 17" - no questions asked. Now, I'm not sure...
I have done a considerable amount of research, and there are a couple of key differences that will make or break one or the other...
(MISC NOTES: I do the usual college stuff... Internet, word, occasional 3D gaming... I also am a h.264 enthusiast)
The 15" has:
- a 7 hour battery life
- a standard resolution screen
- 15" of screen real estate
- an 8 hour battery life
- a high-resolution screen
- 17" of screen real estate
In side by side comparison, the 17" naturally wins. However, when in use, the situation changes:
- The 15" weighs in at 5.5 pounds while the 17" weighs in at 6.6 pounds. While both are significantly heavy, when being carried in a backpack, I'm not sure if I would notice the weight difference.
- I will be spending most of my time on campus, making the 17" battery life and screen resolution more desirable.
- Would the fact that the 17" is so monster mean that the backpack that I would use would be very large and bloated too? ANY SUGGESTIONS (opinions on Booq)?
I am still leaning towards the 17" as a total desktop replacement. I am VERY interested in hearing the opinions of the AppleInsider community. You guys have been so helpful and informative during my short stay here, and I just want to see thoughts on this topic. If you were in my position, which would YOU get?
Thanks!
Comments
Screen: Do you really need a high resolution screen? The 15" has a beautiful monitor, and is more than good enough for the VAST majority of people, unless you are doing stuff that needs really really HD graphics the 15" is fine.
Weight: Your correct that the weight difference shouldnt be an issue, I've used a 15" quite a lot and then played with a 17" for awhile and could hardly notice the increase wieght. Infact since the 17" looks a lot bigger but is only a bit heavier you actually get a bit of an illusion of it weighing less.
Size: I will say now, the size is a big difference, I personally have no need for a 17", 15" is plenty big enough for anything I could ever need. The 15" fits in any bag easily, fits on a table with room for a normal sized text book and notebook. The 17" really crowds a normal sized table, and if you place it on a bench table used in some university lecture halls the people on either side of you will hate you. It absorbs most of "your" space on the bench. The 17" is just to big IMO to be used as a everyday university laptop.
Battery: If your anything like me and most university students you have several hours between lectures, thus you can run it off AC power and charge the battery while spending time in the library and in tutorials. There are plenty of chances to recharge you laptop on campus, thus the maximum battery life you need is the time you spends in back to back lectures. There is also the option of external battery packs if you plan to travel with it. Battery life should not be a factor for you.
My opinion, go 15", it is big enough to be very user friendly while not crowding you. the 17" is frankly just to big to be used around campus. Battery isnt an issue, the screen of both are beautiful and I doubt you will notice the difference. And obviously the specs are the same.
Save your money and your back, go 15".
15" = Width: 14.35 inches
17" = Width: 15.47 inches
Looking at those figures, I would venture to say that if the 15" disturbs my neighbor, the 17" would too, although I could be mistaken.
Past that, you make a very convincing argument, although I am still debating heavily which to get.
I'm in the same situation as you pretty much, although for me the battery life isnt so much an issue as I can recharge fairly often.
Screen: Do you really need a high resolution screen? The 15" has a beautiful monitor, and is more than good enough for the VAST majority of people, unless you are doing stuff that needs really really HD graphics the 15" is fine.
Weight: Your correct that the weight difference shouldnt be an issue, I've used a 15" quite a lot and then played with a 17" for awhile and could hardly notice the increase wieght. Infact since the 17" looks a lot bigger but is only a bit heavier you actually get a bit of an illusion of it weighing less.
Size: I will say now, the size is a big difference, I personally have no need for a 17", 15" is plenty big enough for anything I could ever need. The 15" fits in any bag easily, fits on a table with room for a normal sized text book and notebook. The 17" really crowds a normal sized table, and if you place it on a bench table used in some university lecture halls the people on either side of you will hate you. It absorbs most of "your" space on the bench. The 17" is just to big IMO to be used as a everyday university laptop.
Battery: If your anything like me and most university students you have several hours between lectures, thus you can run it off AC power and charge the battery while spending time in the library and in tutorials. There are plenty of chances to recharge you laptop on campus, thus the maximum battery life you need is the time you spends in back to back lectures. There is also the option of external battery packs if you plan to travel with it. Battery life should not be a factor for you.
My opinion, go 15", it is big enough to be very user friendly while not crowding you. the 17" is frankly just to big to be used around campus. Battery isnt an issue, the screen of both are beautiful and I doubt you will notice the difference. And obviously the specs are the same.
Save your money and your back, go 15".
It is up to you but see if you can borrow a 17" off someone for awhile and use it around campus, it feels massive.
Other thoughts, anyone?
If it's occasional gaming as in casual games, the cheapest MBP with the 9400M should suffice. If you just occasionally play games like Crysis then get the next one up with the 9600M GT.
I would say get the 15" and a high resolution 24" external display. It will cost the same as getting a 17" but you get a more portable machine on the go and a larger screen when you are in your room for movies, gaming etc.
If it's occasional gaming as in casual games, the cheapest MBP with the 9400M should suffice. If you just occasionally play games like Crysis then get the next one up with the 9600M GT.
Recommendation for external display?
24" Cinema Display would be one stop shopping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049
$230 bucks for that Asus 1920x1080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001275
This Samsung is 280 after rebate. 1920x1200
Recommendation for external display?
If you want a decent quality screen, the Dell Ultrasharp 24" is a good choice:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-6272
Cheaper displays are TN panels so you don't get very good blacks and the viewing angles can be poor. I find Samsung's TN panels to be bad in this area. Viewsonic displays seem to have ok viewing angles but it's hard to say and you will still get lower quality blacks and gradient banding, which is especially noticeable on higher resolution screens.
The 2.66GHz MBP is $1999 but I'd recommend this refurbished one for $1349:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
You can easily upgrade your Ram and hard drive if you need to and you get the ExpressCard slot, which although I agree with Apple's decision to replace it with an SD slot, is a more versatile port to have.
Those machines come pretty much brand new, just not in an Apple box and they are covered by the full warranty.
The total would be $1838, just under the price of the cheapest new MBP with the 9600M GT but you are getting a 24" display. You would also be able to get Applecare so your laptop gets a 3 year warranty and the display is also covered by Dell's 3 year warranty and they have a zero dead pixel policy too.
Actually, this one would probably be better:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
It's just $100 more but is slightly faster, has 4GB Ram already and 320GB HDD vs 250GB.
If you want a decent quality screen, the Dell Ultrasharp 24" is a good choice:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-6272
Cheaper displays are TN panels so you don't get very good blacks and the viewing angles can be poor. I find Samsung's TN panels to be bad in this area. Viewsonic displays seem to have ok viewing angles but it's hard to say and you will still get lower quality blacks and gradient banding, which is especially noticeable on higher resolution screens.
The 2.66GHz MBP is $1999 but I'd recommend this refurbished one for $1349:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
You can easily upgrade your Ram and hard drive if you need to and you get the ExpressCard slot, which although I agree with Apple's decision to replace it with an SD slot, is a more versatile port to have.
Those machines come pretty much brand new, just not in an Apple box and they are covered by the full warranty.
The total would be $1838, just under the price of the cheapest new MBP with the 9600M GT but you are getting a 24" display. You would also be able to get Applecare so your laptop gets a 3 year warranty and the display is also covered by Dell's 3 year warranty and they have a zero dead pixel policy too.
Actually, this one would probably be better:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
It's just $100 more but is slightly faster, has 4GB Ram already and 320GB HDD vs 250GB.
The Batteries are not removable from the new laptops. That sucks.
The Batteries are not removable from the new laptops. That sucks.
They aren't as easily removed but you just have to unscrew the bottom of the machine and you should be able to pull it out and replace it:
http://www.9to5mac.com/ifixit-macboo...-apart-15-inch