12" or 15"???

wesleywesley
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hello everyone,



I am about to make the "switch" and I am unsure which powerbook to get!



I am drawn to the ultra portability of the 12 inch, but i am worried that the 12 inch screen will be limiting for day-to-day use (it would be my main computer)...



the power of the 15 inch attracts me...i bet the 1.5 ghz P4 with 128mg of video and 512mg of RAM would rock my sox, and play UT2004 really well...plus the backlit keyboard is quite simply fantastic.



so my decision has come down to the portability factor...would the 15 inch be tough to carry around everyday? is the 12 inch screen too small and impractical for everyday use?



let me know what you guys think i should do...i am leaning in either direction...
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 56
    mattjohndrowmattjohndrow Posts: 1,618member
    personally, i would get the 15", but that's because i do video editing, and i like a larger screen (too bad i don't have a PB ), and i like it's more powerful, and has a bigger screen, so, that's my vote
  • Reply 2 of 56
    chipzchipz Posts: 100member
    If this will serve as your primary computer, go with the largest screen you can afford and load up the RAM as much as possible. A little money spent now will prevent regrets down the road. If you cannot afford the 17" PB, then go for the 15" PB. The 12" PB is an excellent machine, but can be very limiting as a primary computer.
  • Reply 3 of 56
    greggwsmithgreggwsmith Posts: 523member
    I have a similar situation. I actually have a 1GHz 12inch PB and a 1.5GHz 15 PB right now and have to sell one. I too am torn. I love the 12 for it's portability and I actually like the feel of it for typing. I do love the 15's screen but I am really torn on what to do. I do know one thing....if I don't sell one of them the wife is gonna strangle me and it wont matter.
  • Reply 4 of 56
    wesleywesley Posts: 22member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by chipz

    If this will serve as your primary computer, go with the largest screen you can afford and load up the RAM as much as possible. A little money spent now will prevent regrets down the road. If you cannot afford the 17" PB, then go for the 15" PB. The 12" PB is an excellent machine, but can be very limiting as a primary computer.



    i wouldnt buy the 17"...its enourmous, and not really good for day-to-day portability...



    what about the 12 inch with an external apple display, keyboard and mouse? i cant afford all that stuff right now, but certainly in the future... does that sound like a good idea, or is the 15 inch the best way to go?



    thanks for the imput!
  • Reply 5 of 56
    bnoyhtuawbbnoyhtuawb Posts: 456member
    17" if you can



    15" if you travel a lot (I mean _A_ _L_O_T_)!



    12" no.
  • Reply 6 of 56
    idebaseridebaser Posts: 121member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wesley

    i wouldnt buy the 17"...its enourmous, and not really good for day-to-day portability...



    what about the 12 inch with an external apple display, keyboard and mouse? i cant afford all that stuff right now, but certainly in the future... does that sound like a good idea, or is the 15 inch the best way to go?



    thanks for the imput!



    If you can afford the 15", then get it (the wide screen, FW800, pci card are worth it).

    I own a 12", but i have a Power Mac, for home use. You'll soon want an external monitor for desk use w/ a 12"as your main computer. But you'll probably be carrying around the laptop all the time when you get wireless hooked up in your house (on the couch, kitchen table). So you'll have a monitor/keyboard/mouse you'll rarely use.



    Unless you have real portability/space issues (you have lots of equipment to carry around along w/ your powerbook) then opt for the 15".
  • Reply 7 of 56
    ribotribot Posts: 14member
    I just sold my nice 12 inch little iBook to help relieve the financial burden that my purchase of a near maxed out 17inch powerbook brings.



    I love my ibook - absoluetly perfect, but I feel like I always need a little bit more room for my documents...



    When I get my 17 in the next week, I'll report back and tell all if it was worth the upgrade.



    Regards,



    Ribot.
  • Reply 8 of 56
    sunreinsunrein Posts: 138member
    Don't mean to pick on the new folks, but...



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wesley

    1.5 ghz P4 with 128mg of video and 512mg of RAM would rock my sox



    P4? Hee hee hee. Wow, Apple really slipped this under the radar.



  • Reply 9 of 56
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    I went from a 15" TiBook to a 12" AlBook and never regretted it. If portability matters to you, you might find like I did that the size difference can feel substantial at times. I'm using my 12" PowerBook around the house much more often than I ever used my 15" simply because it's so much nicer to carry around. (To be fair, the AlBook improvement in Airport reception over the TiBook -- which has nothing to do with 12" vs. 15" -- is part of the equation too.)



    Now, I certainly wouldn't want to be limited the 12-incher's 1024x768 display all of the time, so if I had to use my 12" AlBook as my primary system, I'd definitely want to have an external monitor for home use. But for casual use (like lounging on the sofa as I'm doing at this moment, typing this message) I've found the 12" display quite adequate.



    As for performance, a recent MacWorld review said the for most uses the performance differences across the board from the 1.33 GHz 12" PB to the 1.5 GHz 17" were fairly small.



    The main features missing from the 12" vs. the 15" are: no PC card slot, no FireWire 800, no lighted keyboard option, and 100 Mbps ethernet instead of gigabit ethernet. None of these matter much to me, so I don't mind giving them up for increased portability.
  • Reply 10 of 56
    existenceexistence Posts: 991member
    I hate to break it to you, but any G4-based Apple computer cannot play UT24k "really well". The G4 is comparable to a Pentium 3 for gaming. If you want to game, get a PC (even a laptop PC) as they are vastly superior for this purpose.
  • Reply 11 of 56
    wesleywesley Posts: 22member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Existence

    I hate to break it to you, but any G4-based Apple computer cannot play UT24k "really well". The G4 is comparable to a Pentium 3 for gaming. If you want to game, get a PC (even a laptop PC) as they are vastly superior for this purpose.



    not looking for a gaming laptop...



    and i am sure any powerbook will play this game better than my inspiron 4000 (configured with a p3/800mhz, 256mg ram and 8mb video).
  • Reply 12 of 56
    wesleywesley Posts: 22member
    thanks for your suggestions...it looks like i'll be getting the 15 incher...



    So can anyone speculate on what the tech specs are going to be for the next generation of powerbooks??? I plan on getting my powerbook in august (thats when i'll have the dough)...but if overwhelmingly better powerbooks are coming out in december, then i'll certainly wait till then. any thoughts???



    thanks guys.
  • Reply 13 of 56
    mattjohndrowmattjohndrow Posts: 1,618member
    awesome dude, have fun with it, and, uh, be good!
  • Reply 14 of 56
    wesleywesley Posts: 22member
    lol, thanks, but now i am back to square one...



    I can buy a 12 inch powerbook, 80gig, 5400 rpm HD, with a 17 inch flat panel, bluetooth keyboard and apple care for 2500 bucks... (edu discount)



    for 30 bucks more, i can get a 15 inch powerbook with 512mg of ram (1 stick), 1.5 ghz, 128mb video, apple care, and an 80 gig 5400 rpm drive...



    which is the better option???



    lol...i am so torn...
  • Reply 15 of 56
    gsxrboygsxrboy Posts: 565member
    I hear ya Wes, (now did that sound like something Angel or Gunn would have said )..



    I went thru the same thing not so long ago (it turns up hopefully in a day or so!!), I went with the 15" thinking that I would be just happier with the screen when using the pbook portably... wether I should have got a 12" ibook and a g5 imac shall be see yet nono spesh the the price.. my precious will be here soon...
  • Reply 16 of 56
    mattjohndrowmattjohndrow Posts: 1,618member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gsxrboy

    I hear ya Wes, (now did that sound like something Angel or Gunn would have said )..





    nice to find someone else who likes the show



    anyways, i maintain that the 15" is the way to go, what happens if you don't have your 17" screen on ya, you gonna "suffer" with a 12" go for the 15, all the way!
  • Reply 17 of 56
    wesleywesley Posts: 22member
    thanks for the suggestions, but now i am actually leaning towards the 12"/17" monitor combo...



    i will prolly buy the powerbook by the end of the summer, then the monitor by the holidays (maybe newer ones will be out), and i will know by that time whether or not i actually want an external monitor.



    it's the power of the 15 inch that draws me to it...how do the 12 inch and 15 inch compare when it comes to raw power? is UT2004 unplayable on the 12 inch? (this would be the only game i would care to buy...)



    thanx alot,



    Wes
  • Reply 18 of 56
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    I had the same questions running through my head...



    I have a dual 2GHz G5 with a 20" Cinema display, so I decided that the 12" would be best for me. I'm getting the ADC/DVI adapter so I can hook the PB up to my display when I need to.



    I don't have any FW800 devices, so that's not a problem.



    Also, the PB will be hooked up to the wireless network instead of the wired network so the 10/100/1000Mb LAN isn't an issue either.



    The only thing that made me really think about it was the PCMCIA slot and the "coolness" factor of the 15". I decided that I can survive without the PCMCIA slot because I could probably get most devices to work with USB anyway. That only left the "coolness" factor... my wallet said "no" to the "coolness"
  • Reply 19 of 56
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wesley

    it's the power of the 15 inch that draws me to it...how do the 12 inch and 15 inch compare when it comes to raw power? is UT2004 unplayable on the 12 inch? (this would be the only game i would care to buy...)



    Wes



    Someone stated above that notebooks are NOT good for games... I agree! The PB will do ok, but not GREAT. Also, the 12" and 15" are both 1.33GHz, but the 15" also has the 1.5GHz model. I don't really see that much of a difference between those two specs. Of course the 15" has a nicer video chipset, but for day-to-day use, it's not going to make that much of a difference (to me at least). It would help with gaming, but as I stated above (and others have also) PB's are not "gaming machines"...
  • Reply 20 of 56
    idebaseridebaser Posts: 121member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wesley

    thanks for the suggestions, but now i am actually leaning towards the 12"/17" monitor combo...



    i will prolly buy the powerbook by the end of the summer, then the monitor by the holidays (maybe newer ones will be out), and i will know by that time whether or not i actually want an external monitor.



    it's the power of the 15 inch that draws me to it...how do the 12 inch and 15 inch compare when it comes to raw power? is UT2004 unplayable on the 12 inch? (this would be the only game i would care to buy...)



    thanx alot,



    Wes



    if you can afford the 15', then get it!!



    great screen, still very portable and very powerful for a real laptop

    (widescreen,fw400&800,pci card,128mb video card,lit keyboard, more ram possible-2gb , slighty more powerful g4)



    btw,you WILL want an external monitor if the 12" is your main computer...(i have a 12" powerbook, but use a power mac at my desk)



    if you don't plan on much processor intensive work w/ your computer and like the portability, then just save some $$ and get an iBook 12"
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