13", What do you guys think?

I just recently bought a 13" MBP for college (programming) in the fall.

I will be bootcamping win7 for classes, so il be ok. But what do you guys think of the screen size? I personally think its good enough, but you?

 

Screen size prob won't be an issue but the resolution is kind of low. You probably want to get an external monitor for your dorm to do most of your programming on.

 

you can make do on small screens.. not too bad for doing small simple class projects. Later on, or if your doing very large things... you'll LOVE having a really big screen with a high resolution.... but you'll want something bigger than a 15" or 17" so its best to have an external monitor. getting a 15 or 17 just for screen size for programming is still just a compromise, better off spending the extra money on a monitor.

 

My wife has been a programmer for 12years and does everything on work provided dell 14in laptop. I would get use to it, cause you never know what your work wil provide for you. Im in school also, just pre reqs, but i havent found any need for win7.

 

I used a netbook for most of my grad career (engineering) and it was fine. I did really want to buy an external monitor for it but I just couldn't afford the $100 at the time. So you don't actually need the resolution ... not to say it doesn't help.

I would grab an external monitor off of newegg if you are concerned.

 

13" is a bit too small for my taste... and the 17" is just a little bigger than I could take (even though I'd love to have the res on my 15")

So I think the perfect size for me is the 15".

Congrats on the new computer!

 

You might want something with a higher res later on. If you can afford it, and external monitor might solve that problem.

If not,

I suggest returning and looking at the MBP 15. And if your primarily going to be using Windows, I would look into buying a PC. Running Windows through Boot Camp is nice and all, but it does have some negative perks, like the huge shot in battery life.

Alternatives you might like:

Lenovo T510 or T410, HP DM4, HP Envy 14, Sony Vaio Z, Asus UL30JC or U30JC.

 

Sometimes I wish my 13" had a better resolution, but its ok for most situations. Photoshop and Logic would be most beneficial and I have an external 19" monitor for that purpose, so I'm good.

 

I am happy with the 13, but bigger and more resolution is always good. I travel a lot, that and the cost were my main considerations and I am very happy with my choice. If money was no object I probably would have gotten the 15. Especially now that my Ipad lets my macbook pro stay at my desk when I don't want it with me.

 

Personally I prefer 1366x768, but my old 13in unibody was great for college programming classes. When I can get an i3 or i5 13in MBP I'll move back to one.

 

For coding? 13" is definitely tiny. Any serious programmer would prefer an external monitor.

For all other tasks I find 13" alright, but that's probably because I'm willing to compromise for the portability.

 

For any laptop of any size, an external monitor is essential for serious programmers. I'm one of them. While I have the MBP 13", it suits me pretty good when I'm on the go for software development. I do agree that the resolution could be beefed up a bit, to 1440x900.

 

Perhaps using the search function would turn up this recent, extended discussion - http://forum.notebookreview.com/apple-mac-os-x/492242-13-15-anyone-feel-same-way.html