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Macbook Pro 13 or 15??

JoeUk

JoeUk

JoeUk

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Joined
2 May 2006
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137
Hi guys,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma - I have to sort out a laptop for going to Uni with, pretty much set on getting a Macbook pro as I really like the idea of being able to walk into a apple store and get it looked at if everything goes pear shaped.

I'm going to be on a comp science course in London, I don't have a 'budget' but I do have a student loan (:D) so got to be a bit careful either way. The way I see it is I'll be using it on both the mac and windows side - it will be my sole entertainment in my room. I really like the price of the Macbook pro 13 - £850 doesn't seem over the top and I think the machine would be able to handle programming, web browsing, movies and the odd bit of WoW (when the expansion hits) & SC2 -right?. The thing I'm worried about is the resolution, 1280x800 seems pretty small for doing anything overly practical. My other choice is to go for the base 15" - obviously getting the newer processor & higher rez (Would love to pay even more and go for the antiglare/rez option but.. got to be a bit sensible really).

Anyone been in a similar situation and made that choice? I'm not a heavy gamer these days, just blizzard games really - and I'll be pretty busy doing other stuff. I have no clue how much I'll be carting it about - probably less than I think since computer lab's have so many pcs but I'm sure I will have to sometimes. I noticed the size isnt actually that different and that the 13" is only .5kg lighter - not that much.

So I guess really the question is - 13 or 15!? I do have the option of taking my old 19" monitor to hook up in my room. It'll probably be it for 3 years - going back to being a broke student isn't going to be much fun

Cheers!
 
I chose the 13" because I wanted it to be mobile, with good battery life but I didn't care about gaming.

The 15" has the dedicated GPU, but obviously battery life will be lower and it won't be as portable.

So you need to decide what you want from it. In terms of your OP, I think the 13" would favour you as you don't mention wanting to game, and you have another monitor if you need more screen estate.
 
I was torn between the 13" and 15" and glad I went for the 15". It does cost more, but the extra space is brilliant - especially with the high-res screen.

The new MBPs have two GPUs and OS X automatically switches between the on-board Intel and the dedicated NVidia depending on what you are doing. However, the switching isn't very good sometimes [stuff like Skype can trigger the NVidia]. I get around that by using gfxCardStatus - a small utility that lets me force OS X to use the Intel and not switch to the NVidia.

As for portability, the 15" isn't huge and doesn't weigh particularly much. If you have a decent size laptop back-pack you should have no trouble getting your books in along with the MBP.

As Tute says, if you really aren't sure just go for the 13". You can always buy a dedicated monitor down the line.
 
i was in the same situation as you, and i went for the base spec 15" in the end.

i figured the 15" would be slightly more futureproof (lol) as it uses the newer i5 processor.

also as it would be my only computer (and form of entertainment) for the next couple of years i thought the larger screen would be a bit more useful as i cannot take a large screen back home with me.

i got it last week and i absolutely love it. i have even installed windows via bootcamp and tried some crysis, s.t.a.l.k.e.r, fallout 3 etc and am very impressed... although i hope i will not have time for games at uni!
 
I would definately go for the 15". We've had the 13" before and while it's a really nice laptop (as all MBP's are), I felt the screen was definately too small.
 
The CPU was a bit of a sticking point for me too in the 13". £800+ is a lot of money for what is getting to be an old CPU. Definitely more than capable of driving a 13" laptop, but it is nice to have something current when you lay out lots of money!

True it is a bit odd to then go spend 1400+ quid on the 15" but I know I wont need another laptop for about 5 years!
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! I agree with a lot of it - I'm the type of person who always ends up regretting things .. hmm should have got that - etc etc

Thing is it goes like this..

*decides on base 15"*

oooh.. what about the antiglare! etc

it never stops haha.

I think since it's my only entertainment I'll go for the 15"er .. I'll be glad of the extra space and won't have to cart my old monitor up to London. I have a feeling it will be sitting in my room the majority of the time anyway.

Now has anyone ever bought one from that trading site? (not sure if i'm allowed to mention it??) A lot of powersellers there seem to be selling the base I5 model for £1200 inc postage, thats £80 off apples price.. seems a bit too good to be true?
 
I'd rather pay the extra £80 to get it from Apple personally, plus if you're buying it from the HE store website (rather than in a retail store), you get 3 years of hardware warrenty too for free.
 
I used to have a 15" MBP, one of the first C2D ones, and now I have a 13" MB (pre unibody) and I have to say I did like the extra screen estate on the 15 but the 13 does everything I need it to when I'm on the move.

However, if it's going to be your main computer and you don't mind carrying it around, then definitely go for the 15.
 
aargh.. Now I can't stop from thinking I could just take my 24" dell monitor and get the 13" - £400 is a fair chunk of change which could be used for a whole bunch of things, really wish I wasn't such a technology ho :(

Always thinking - I can be minimalistic and only take what I really need! pfft who am I kidding.. if I take the monitor I'll end up bringing the xbox!
 
JoeUk said:
aargh.. Now I can't stop from thinking I could just take my 24" dell monitor and get the 13" - £400 is a fair chunk of change which could be used for a whole bunch of things, really wish I wasn't such a technology ho :(

Always thinking - I can be minimalistic and only take what I really need! pfft who am I kidding.. if I take the monitor I'll end up bringing the xbox!
Click to expand...

LOL

I'm just like you man, always second guessing my technology purchases.

I bought a 13" MBP 2.66 GHz last week, strangely with no remorse so far (other then I missed out on H.E. discount which I will be sorting out this week). It will be perfect for you at uni because it is very small and so well made so you can carry it around with ease. Just take your screen and connect it up when you require most real estate and save that extra money for when you need it.
 
I went for the high spec 13" back before Apple brought in the Core i5 processors because I had an iMac as my main machine and didn't think the price difference for the 15" was worth it for what was essentially only a larger screen. However, if I was deciding now I would definitely go for the 15" because there is a pretty major difference between that and the 13" MBP machines. Plus, if it's going to be your main computer it's worth it going for the 15".

edit: sorry if this sounds nosey but is this going to be bought using student loan? If so I'd save the money and go for the 13", even with HE discount a 15" MBP is a lot of money for a student to spend!
 
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Hi,

Have you thought about getting the mac through the education store? Can't quite remember what it's called (I can check when I'm in work tomorrow) - but it essence it give people (staff and students, as long as they have a .ac.uk email address) decent discounts on mac hardware.

It's how I got my MacBook a couple of years ago (staff). Think you need to log in via a Higher Education IP address (so you might have to wait until you get to uni - but the discount is worth it).

I'll try and get you some sample prices tomorrow.

Hope this helps,

Richard
 
I myself have owned a 13 inch macbook pro and it was a good piece of kit, although I never attempted gaming on it. Just bought myself the i7 macbook pro 15 inch which obviously cost a small fortune but the reviews I've been reading show very impressive results compared to the competition. 7 hours 54 minutes battery doing web browsing via wireless connection being a big ++++ for me as when your at uni all day, you don't want to be messing around trying to find a plug socket in a quiet area if you want to crack on with some study.

Definately buy through the HE discount store through your uni's campus or take your uni card into a store and buy it directly from them. If you get it delivered its normally next day if you order in the morning to most places in the UK!

If I was looking at the 13inch ones atm I'd have to be sure I wanted apple as there are some very well priced laptops from other brands with newer technology in them without incuring the costs of office for mac etc.
 
I've got a 13" MBP and I'm glad I went with it over the 15" model. It's very portable and when I need the real estate, I plug it into my 24" monitor. Best of both worlds. The only problem you then have is that you need a mouse (essential for gaming anyway) and a keyboard.

It's gaming performance under Windows is surprisingly reasonable. I've been playing a bit of Company of Heroes on it and it works great. However, none of the Source games run at an acceptable frame rate in OSX. If you get the 13" model, stick to Windows if you want to do any gaming.
 
macfanuk said:
I'd rather pay the extra £80 to get it from Apple personally, plus if you're buying it from the HE store website (rather than in a retail store), you get 3 years of hardware warrenty too for free.
Click to expand...

It isn't free. When I bought my 15" MBP last month via HE the 3 year Applecare was £54. Still, an absolute bargain as it is over £200 normally.
 
I've had both.

Had a original type 15" MBP, now have a 13" MacBook. (It's the same as the 13" MBP apart from the Firewire port).

13" wins hand down for portability, and I've not really missed the extra bit of screen resolution over the 15". That said I've also got a Mac mini and PC desktop, so the laptop is used purely as a portable device. For an only machine I'd be tempted to go for a 15" if you can put up with the extra size and weight.


SiriusB said:
It isn't free. When I bought my 15" MBP last month via HE the 3 year Applecare was £54. Still, an absolute bargain as it is over £200 normally.
Click to expand...

I thought 3 years hardware was included with all Edu purchases, and the £50 top-up was only for software support?
 
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