[SassyPants]

What's the performance difference between the 12" Powerbook and the 15" Powerbook? Is it noticable at all? I'm thinking of getting either a 12" Powerbook + ext monitor, or getting the 15", *possibly* with an external monitor, so i don't think monitor size should be an issue when i'm at my desk. However, if i'm going to be using the 12" powerbook full time, will i have performance issues? same question with teh 15"

[fisherKing]

need more info...
what are you going to use it for?
video editing? games? rocket science??

seriously, both machines are capable of a lot.

i do audio recording, mixing, webwork...plus the usual surfing etc on mt 12" pb & it's all good...

at the least, go to a comp store & see how they feel to you...

[SassyPants]

hmm...
well i'm going to be taking it to college (NYU most likely), so i'm going to be using it for mostly college junk. I will most likely be using it for music too, and some light gaming, like rpg's and some FPS's like CS.

My only concern is that if i switch to Mac, will there be a performance difference between the 12" and 15" powerbooks?

[SassyPants]

oh, and if this is relevent, i'm going to be using this for NYU's Stern School of Business, so basically, business apps, productivity junk and stuff, along with all the stuff listed above.

[fisherKing]

here u will get a lot of opinions, but overall, the machines are not so different that you can't in fact make a choice based on portability, comfort levels.

go look at both, and choose one!

(btw i love my 12"pb; my girlfriend has the 15" (yes, hers is bigger ).

i envy her screen quality and backlit keyboard, but, for carrying around, the 12' RULES.

[11011001]

For gaming the 15" is better as it has a better graphics card. But in general both have very similar performance in terms of the processor.

Personally, I went with the 15" way back when for 2 main reasons: better GPU, and bigger screen. I program a lot, so screen real-estate is valuable.

[Paco500]

12"- Price and portability
15"- Slight performance edge, screen, bells and whistles (backlit keyboard, PC card slot, Gb ethernet, FW800)

I just had to make this choice and ended up going w/ the 15". I love the size of the 12", but feature-wise the 15" won me over. Of course, I didn't have to pay for it so cost wasn't really a factor.

[brettcamp]

Yes, there's a performance difference, but for "mostly college stuff," you probably won't gain that much by getting a 15". As said above, it depends on what you're using it for, so if you're doing a lot of video or high end graphics work, I'd say go for the 15". If not, but if you're going to be using it a lot away from your desk, like at the library, I'd still say consider the 15", because the screen is higher res and much better than the 12". For travel, especially air travel, you'll appreciate the 12"er's lightness and compact size.

I have a 12" Powerbook and use it with a 17" flat screen Samsung DVI monitor at my desk; the total price for the pair was about the same as the price for a 15" PB, yet I get a bigger screen and better portability.

You might also consider saving a lot of $ by getting a 12" iBook, but then you don't get DVI out, and I personally like the sharper image of a DVI connection. Right now, though, the iBook is a much better value than the 12" Powerbook.

[wilsonng]

For gaming, the 12" is OK. There are other games besides FPS like Doom 3 out there.
For example, I bought a bunch of great games at www.ambrosiasw.com

more games can be had at macupdate.com or versiontracker.com that don't require the latest and greatest hardware.

The realm of gaming isn't confined to FPS.

if you truly wanted gaming, then get an xbox, ps2, or gamecube.

Originally posted by 11011001:
For gaming the 15" is better as it has a better graphics card. But in general both have very similar performance in terms of the processor.

Personally, I went with the 15" way back when for 2 main reasons: better GPU, and bigger screen. I program a lot, so screen real-estate is valuable.

[powerbook911]

The 12-inch is a great machine. Pick up the May 2005 issue of MacWorld. You can see the side by side comparison results between all five current Powerbooks. The 12-inch is not a slacker. It even beat the 15s and 17s on one of the tests. Furthermore, on just about every test, it beat the previous top of the line 15-inch model.

However, do you think you might ever add an external display? If you're going to use this notebook throughout college, you might consider the 15-inch. I think the larger screen and resolution would be beneficial over four years. However, if you plan to use an external display sometimes as well, the 12-inch is great.

[phillryu]

Believe it or not, the 12" actually runs Doom 3 kinda decently at full resolution... I mean, I'm not a hardcore gamer, not a freak about frame rates, but I was really pleasant surprised. The game looks great, and it's smooth in most cases, even with critters on the screen.