Bit of advice regarding MBP

[Six6siX]

Hi guys

I am looking to get a MBP but I am having issues deciding which model to go with. I have narrowed it down to the following choices, each has pros and cons though and I'm interested in people's input.

1. 15" i5 with high resolution screen option
2. 15" i7 with high resolution screen option
3. 17" i5
4. 17" i7

Usage: I do a lot of web based work, CAD, photo and video editing and occasional gaming. I intend to set up Boot Camp/Parallels with Windows 7 as well and use an external monitor as a secondary display.

In all cases, I will be looking to use a SSD to boot OSX (looking at the prices of these from Apple, I will buy and fit my own!)

Now as I understand it, the 17" has two drive bays which would be quite useful as I could use the SSD as the OSX drive and the stock 500GB as a storage drive?

Question: Is the 17" difficult to live with day to day due to it's size, weight etc. Are there any other advantages/disadvantages to going for the 17" (besides price )

I looked at the 15" options as they seemed a bit better size wise but I would have to live with having only one internal drive and use an external HDD for storage. The high resolution screen for the 15" (which I think is essential - looks so much better with this!) is about the same price as going from i5 to i7

Question: Is the i7 worth it over the i5? What do I lose if I stay with the i5 in either the 15" or the 17" case? Power consumption? Battery life? Performance?

All advice welcome! I'm just trying to figure out what the best way to go with this is!

 

[Hades]

I think it depends on how much travelling you will be doing. It's really a decision over portability (15") or speed (17" second drive to allow for ssd). Out of those two I would choose portability so get the 15" with a hard drive and upgrade to ssd in the future when capacities increase.

 

[Six6siX]

Thanks for the reply!

I have been to an Apple store and weighed up the two models and the difference seems relatively slight? I'd image this is much more noticable if you're carrying it around for a while.

I travel but generally not with a laptop with the exception maybe once a week.

What about i5 / i7 and screen res? I am a bit out of touch with relative performance. Currently have an E6600 in my desktop which is ok but find laggy sometimes, and some sort of C2D in my current laptop (Acer Timeline) which is a bit slower.

 

[Spyhop]

Remember, it's 15.4" vs 17", so the size difference isn't as much it's often made out to be.

Unless I'm out of date, the 17" doesn't have two HDD bays. The only way you can fit a second HDD is by removing the DVD drive. This is a kitchen table mod, has nothing to do with Apple, and can also be done to the 15.4".