[stevekstevek]

Okay, so the moment of truth has finally arrived.

Good news: Everything got a nice bump, USB2, good video, etc.

Bad news everywhere: No more L3 caches.

Bad news for 15": Thicker, heavier, _and_ smaller battery!

So, now, I can't decide on the 15 vs 17.

Differences:

1.25 vs 1.33: Not a big difference.
Battery Life is probably now a wash (46W-h vs 58 W-h)
The size and screen: I have a iMac 17, and I know the screen is fantastic.
Price: Only $320 difference (with 20% ADC discount)?
All other features now equal?

I guess I'd need a new case for it.. my old WWDC 2001 backpack won't fit the 17.

[AssassyN]

Unless you are only going to be carrying the laptop back & forth to a stationary workplace, get the 15" AlBook. The 17" PB is simply too big to truly be used as a mobile machine...it's just a really portable desktop. The 15" is actually small enough to tote around and USE as a notebook computer. That alone would make my decision.
BTW, WELCOME to the MacNN Forums!

[stevekstevek]

Originally posted by AssassyN:
Unless you are only going to be carrying the laptop back & forth to a stationary workplace, get the 15" AlBook. The 17" PB is simply too big to truly be used as a mobile machine...it's just a really portable desktop. The 15" is actually small enough to tote around and USE as a notebook computer. That alone would make my decision.
BTW, WELCOME to the MacNN Forums!

heh, I read them occasionally, but never wanted to post enough to register.

I currently have a TiBook/500. And I'm pretty happy with the form-factor of it. And either way, I'll be getting a pretty good speed-bump.

[AssassyN]

Yeah, nice speed increase for sure!

As stated, if it'll be more of a portable desktop, grab the 17", the screen is amazing. If you really wanna be mobile, get the 15".

[higuy83]

I would like some advice on this topic too... however, for me it comes down to 1.25 vs. 1.33.

I can do the math and figure that each new processor is 25% and 33% faster than my 1GHz TiBook. But does anyone know what that means in terms of real world performance (i.e.: will apps open faster, windows resize better, startup time quicker, etc.) with the 17? Besides the processors (and screens), the 15 and 17 are identical, right.

Thanks for your advice, guys,

Brian

[AssassyN]

Now that the 15" and 17" are using the same front side bus (167Mhz) and same speed RAM (DDR333), the only speed difference is the 1.33Ghz and the 1.25Ghz. In all honesty, you'll never notice a real-world difference between the two in 99% of the situations you'd encounter. Benchmarks may show like 4 frames per second more in Quake III, or .4 seconds faster in a Photoshop render, but unless you can honestly manage the 17" size, the 15" will be just as quick in everyday usage.