[Mac User #001]

I'm not really planning on buying one soon, though I want to desperately. But I do want to figure out now which one I'm going to get, so I know how much to save.

The 15" can be upgrade to the same specs I would want on the 17", and the 17" is $300 more. So I'm getting 2" of screen for $300, but thats quite a bit of real estate. And I could upgrade to the higher resolution and get a whole lot more real estate, which is of course $100 more.

The 15" would presumable have a better battery life than the 17" simply because of the smaller screen.

The 15" should perform better on games at native resolutions.

The 15" would be smaller, obviously, but I don't think I'll be doing too much traveling, so this really doesn't matter.


Are there any other factors I should consider?

Which did all of you choose, and why?

[JoshuaZ]

Get the 15in and spend the $300 in a nice LCD screen. Having a second screen is far better than having an extra 2in of screen space.

I'd only say get the 17in if you never planned on taking it anywhere.

[jamil5454]

If you don't plan on traveling much, get the 15" with a decent LCD screen and wireless mouse/keyboard. It will be way more comfortable to use on a day to day basis and you'll have the added portability as well.

I had a high res 17" and ended up downgrading to the base model 15" and spending the saved $1000 on a bluetooth Keyboard and mouse and a nice 24" LCD. I don't notice a speed difference at all and I don't really miss the screen real estate either. I do mostly programming work however so YMMV. Unless you're doing intense photo or video editing you wouldn't want to use such a high DPI screen on a normal basis if you could avoid it. With laptops becoming more and more powerful it makes sense just to get a small portable one and have it tethered as a desktop while at home.

All this really depends on what you'll be using it for, of course.

[tmelcher]

I agree with JoshuaZ and Jamil, as, if you're really concerned about the extra screen real estate, it makes much more sense to buy a 20"+ monitor, which will give you a phenomenal boost. I, like Jamil, have a 24" external LCD monitor, which does the trick well.

[Mac User #001]

15" across the board, alright. 15" it is.

I was definitely planning on getting a wireless mouse, but probably not a keyboard. The MBP's is fine.

As for the extra screen, I'm not sure. I'll probably just end up buying the MBP, and if I find I need more screen, get an external then.
Just how small does everyone feel the 15" screen is? I'm so used to always using an iBook's 12" screen, so it will definitely be a boost, but how much?

[BigBadWolf]

I just recently got an MBP 15". Before this, I had a 17" Powerbook for a few years and had a few problems with it. My main problem was with its portability. Flying with it was a bear, especially if I had to fly coach. In those little seats, the computer was unusable. Even sometimes (in the older planes), 17" was a little cumbersome in first class. Plus lugging it around with other things tended to get heavy. Another ptoblem with mine was, due to the size, my casing would bend specifically if I pucked it up by one corner. I had to have the dvd drive replaced twice due to the case bending. I know that was my fault, but it still shouldn't have happened.

As far as losing 2", it really is not that big a deal to me. I haven't really noticed it.

[JoshuaZ]

Originally Posted by tmelcher 

I agree with JoshuaZ and Jamil, as, if you're really concerned about the extra screen real estate, it makes much more sense to buy a 20"+ monitor, which will give you a phenomenal boost. I, like Jamil, have a 24" external LCD monitor, which does the trick well.

Woot woot! Someone agreed with me! I win this thread! I'm going to blog about this now!

A wireless keyboard and mouse are always a good combo. I love my BT mouse to no end.

[Rio_mang]

I'm thinking going 15" just for the price...

[SierraDragon]

If your intention is to run a fixed workstation with second display and are not going to travel with it, why get a laptop? Mac Pros are far more powerful and have much longer life cycles, lower total cost of ownership.

What size works best has a lot to do with usage. I went from 15" PBs to a 17" C2D MBP and will never downsize again; the reason being that I am a pro photog and need to view images with clients in the field. The substantial extra screen real estate and additional pixels are a huge benefit over the 15" size for anyone doing graphics in the field. I don't notice the difference at all as regards transporting it, except that 17" is overly tight on airline seats (which is not an issue with my usage).

If one does not deal with images very much then 13"-15" is a great size range.

-Allen Wicks

[Simon]

Get a 15" MBP and if you use it at a desk for longer periods of time get a large external monitor. IMHO that combo's far better than a 17" MBP.

[Mac User #001]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

If your intention is to run a fixed workstation with second display and are not going to travel with it, why get a laptop? Mac Pros are far more powerful and have much longer life cycles, lower total cost of ownership.

What size works best has a lot to do with usage. I went from 15" PBs to a 17" C2D MBP and will never downsize again; the reason being that I am a pro photog and need to view images with clients in the field. The substantial extra screen real estate and additional pixels are a huge benefit over the 15" size for anyone doing graphics in the field. I don't notice the difference at all as regards transporting it, except that 17" is overly tight on airline seats (which is not an issue with my usage).

If one does not deal with images very much then 13"-15" is a great size range.

-Allen Wicks

Here's why its a MBP and not a Mac Pro:

Money.
I will occasionally lug it around.
Space.