[ticedric]

Hello. I am upgrading my 1.33 17 inch PowerBook G4 in a few weeks and looking at the prices its seems that getting a 15 MacBook Pro with a 20 Inch screen on the side os the same price as a 17 inch model.

Seems like the best of both worlds, you get a smaller laptop on the road and more desktop at the office. I could even use that screen for a quad MacPro down the road.

So, is the 17 inch model really faster than the base 15.4 inch model? I love the 17 inch screen also. Cant make up my mind...

thanks for any feedback!

[RevEvs]

the 17" is not portable. get the 15 and the 20" screen. the 17" is not much faster than the 15.

[iREZ]

17" has fw 800, an uncrippled gpu, and the same resolution as the 20" lcd youre planning to purchase with your 15".

with that all said, get the 15" with the extra monitor...hands down the better combination for most out there.

[aaardal]

+1

15.4" + 20" monitor

[shecky]

Originally Posted by RevEvs

the 17" is not portable.

thats a ridiculous statement. have you actually seen a 17" in person? its only marginally bigger and marginally heavier than a 15; it is light years from being "not portable"

you can use a 17 the exact same places you can use a 15, with the possible exception of needing to be a little more careful when using it on a plane.

[Ela]

I'd say go for the 17-inch MBP. Looking at the US Apple Store, the 17-inch seems to be about $500 less than a 15-inch with external display:

$2599 - 15-inch MacBook Pro + 120GB HDD upgrade
$699 - 20-inch Cinema Display
-----
$3298
$2799 - 17-inch MacBook Pro
-----
$499

And at $499 less you still get the following advantages of the 17-inch:

- Larger portable display (1680 x 1050 instead of 1440 x 900)
- Possibly better cooling due to larger surface area
- Variable speed GPU with better graphics performance (according to BareFeats.com)
- Better speakers (according to Consumer Reports)
- FW800 port
- Extra USB port (3 ports instead of 2)
- Longer battery life (5.5 hours vs. 4.5 hours)
- Faster SuperDrive (8x vs. 4x)
- Ability to burn double layer DVDs.

If you opt for the less expensive 15-inch MacBook Pro to save some money, the 17-inch has an even greater advantage in additon to the items listed above:

- Faster CPU
- Double the RAM (1GB vs. 512MB)
- Double the VRAM (256MB vs. 128MB)

As for portability, I've found the difference to be negligible. In fact, I can't tell the difference when the notebook is in my backpack. Compared to the 15-inch, the 17-inch is only about 1 inch longer, less than an inch deeper, and only about a pound heavier.

[jmgriff]

Originally Posted by Ela

I'd say go for the 17-inch MBP. Looking at the US Apple Store, the 17-inch seems to be about $500 less than a 15-inch with external display:

$2599 - 15-inch MacBook Pro + 120GB HDD upgrade
$699 - 20-inch Cinema Display

Apple displays are still overpriced. Other 20" widescreens (such as Dell) can be quite a bit cheaper then this.

You're gaining a substantial screen area with the 15.4 + 20. That can have a significant positive impact on productivity, especially since two displays are often more versatile then a single larger screen. Add to that the benefits of a smaller, lighter laptop when travelling. Honestly, after using dual-displays I'd be very reluctant to go back to just my laptop LCD - even if it were larger or had more pixels.

[SEkker]

I went from the PB17 to a MBP15. I do not miss the extra bulk, and I plug this into a Dell 23" purchased for less than $850 a year or so ago.

The only reason to get a MBP17 is if you absolutely need the portability of a true desktop and really use the FW800 port for external hard drive storage (as in filmmaking on location).

Otherwise, the extra screen is just a luxory.

[silver]

I like the size of the MBP17 it gives me a bit more room to run some of my apps on the go. For me I dont really like to keep my notebooks tethered to a extra screen that's what my desktop is for. But in the end really it's up to user what they feel more comfortable with.


silver

[benz]

well, i opt for the 17 MBP, as i spend hrs. in watching the screen, and i do think that the larger , the bigger. and also the size and weight diff. is not significant for me to carry the monster day in day out,

[pwolfe1]

Could someone elaborate on the 'uncrippled' gpu thing? I know that the X1600's are underclocked, Are they saying that the 17"'s gpu is not underclocked? I'm planning to purchase a mbp as a desktop replacement, I already own a large monitor, so the screen size isnt that important to me, gpu speed however is paramount.

[toodle pip]

Originally Posted by pwolfe1

Could someone elaborate on the 'uncrippled' gpu thing? I know that the X1600's are underclocked, Are they saying that the 17"'s gpu is not underclocked? I'm planning to purchase a mbp as a desktop replacement, I already own a large monitor, so the screen size isnt that important to me, gpu speed however is paramount.

I believe it comes from this test between the 17" 2.16 MHZ MBP, the 15" 2.0 MHz MBP, and the intel 2.0 MHz iMac (http://www.barefeats.com/mbcd2.html). Basically, the 2.0 MHz MBP and 2.0 MHz iMac were comparable except when it comes to graphics. All three machines have the X1600 graphics card but the 15" scored worse in graphics test compared to the other two machines.



The ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card inside the MacBook Pro is capable of running both its graphics processing unit and memory at about 470MHz, but users have discovered the cards are underclocked to 310MHz (GPU) and 278MHz (RAM). It seems that the 17" can increase the speed of its processign unit and memory when there is demand for it. The 15" MBP can not, presumably because of the additional heat generated.

[slffl]

Man I don't get this 'middle is best of both worlds' stuff (of course unless you need something the 15"MBP has that the MB or 12" PB don't have). Either get the smallest laptop you can with an external screen or largest laptop you can without. The 1lb difference between the 15 and 17 isn't that noticable.

[iREZ]

thats the thing...there is no 12" or 13" mbp...so the op is stuck with 15" or 17" mbp if he wants a portable with a gpu.

[ticedric]

thanks for the links. I have to make up my mind really soon...like today. Actually here is the complete story. I purchase computers at work, and now we need to upgrade some powerbooks. I am buying a 15" MBP for my boss. I currently have a 2.0 15" MBP that I just got, I can keep it and get a 20" screen (or even a 23' HD screen) or get a 17" MBP. So I actually had time to try out the 15" MBP. One of our employees also got a 13" MB...2.0 ghz...honestly, it feels just as fast as the MBP...I know graphics sucks (think photoshop), but for every day stuff it gets my vote.

One thing I hate about the 15" are the speakers...they really suck compared to the 17inch PowerBook I had.

I went to see the 23" HD screen at my local store...very nice. In canuck dollars, the 20" is 800$ and the 23" is 1100$. What to do!

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by ticedric

I have to make up my mind really soon...like today. Actually here is the complete story. I purchase computers at work, and now we need to upgrade some powerbooks. I am buying a 15" MBP for my boss. I currently have a 2.0 15" MBP that I just got, I can keep it and get a 20" screen (or even a 23' HD screen) or get a 17" MBP. So I actually had time to try out the 15" MBP. One of our employees also got a 13" MB...2.0 ghz...honestly, it feels just as fast as the MBP...I know graphics sucks (think photoshop), but for every day stuff it gets my vote.
I went to see the 23" HD screen at my local store...very nice. In canuck dollars, the 20" is 800$ and the 23" is 1100$. What to do!

IMO such a "today" purchase decision should be delayed a week or two (by the corporate decision maker) to see what the upcoming Merom MBPs consist of and what happens to prices, new features, possible new sizes of MBPs, etc. As to 15 vs. 17 think "what will the 2007-08 usage be, and what are each individual user's specific needs/preferences?"

P.S. However I am all too aware that sometimes corporate purchasing policy simply cannot be forced into a logical box...

-Allen Wicks