15.4" or 17" MBP?

I am buying a MBP very soon.
I originally was going to purchase a 17", no questions about it.
Now, I am not so sure.

I'm a graphic design student, so a bigger screen is great.
I was going to get the 17" with the higher resolution and upgrade to 7200 rpm HDD.
The total cost including AppleCare is $3,063.00

I've just considered that I could get the 15.4" with the 7200 rpm HDD.
Being unable to upgrade the screen, it is an LED backlight.
Total cost of this including AppleCare $2,673.00

Then you add the $200 for the iPod nano (I have an iPod but I'd like a nano for the gym).

Then add tax....and the 15.4" starts looking good. But then again, I will be starting and the screen A LOT. I hear the high res gets a little hard on the eyes, is this true?

Is there anyone who can compare the hig res 17" with the 15.4" LED backlight?

Am I getting tainted buy money and greed? Generally, I'm kind of stuck again and I'd like to know all of your thoughts on this.

 

Hi-Res really gets to the eyes in the long run, but that's probably only because I wear contacts and am near-sighted.

If you're going to get serious with design work does a dual monitor rig sound interested? You can use saved ~400 dollars and get a nice 21" monitor from Dell.

 

I'll be in college for the next 3 years, so dual monitor isn't really an option for my dorm. However we do get our own iMac in our studios....hmm.

I wear glasses and I am near-sighted also. I don't want to have constant headaches and eye aches.

How long does it take for the high res to get to you?

 

Considering that it'll be the only resolution you'll be seeing all the time, I'd say pretty soon

For what it's worth, I've always strongly advised against buying the 17" MBP. Several reasons:

1. It's more expensive.
2. It's flimsy. The thing is incredibly thin, but at these dimensions, the lid flops like a rubber chicken. Hinges are fine, but the center flexes like crazy compared to the 15" MBP.
3. No LED screen. Sure the screen is nice, but compared to the 15", it's just one more thing it lacks.
4. Inferior GPU. 8600M GT on an incredibly thin 15" = best tech has to offer today on the market. 8600M GT on a 17" = inferior GPU.

 

I strain my eyes while reading large amount of text on normal webpages and etc. I find myself zooming in a lot. On firefox the text size is a tad larger than normal and on PDFs I always end up zooming up a whole lot. I get lots of PDFs from my professors and am reading them constantly. I cannot read them at actual size with this resolution.

Anyways, zooming up and all isn't really that bad. It's just all about what's comfortable. And large text is comfortable for my eyes. :]

 

id go with 17 cause u dont have to deal with crappy led screen , 17 has god ol lcd screen , plus resolution, if u decide to add hd dvd down the road u can enjoy a full resolution.

 

Sorry, how exactly is the GPU inferior? It's the same exact part...

Number 2 is a bit disconcerting though. Never heard that.

 

No, you aren't being tainted by money and greed. You're coming to your senses. If your a student, I'm assuming you're going to be carrying this thing around campus. The bigger the computer, the bigger the pain in the ass it is to lug around.

The 17" MBP is thin and light... for a 17" notebook. But, the fact remains, it is a 17 inch notebook with 17 inch notebook dimensions. Other than the thickness, it's still a large machine.

 

Well, I don't mean it's inferior relative to the 15", since it is the same.

But relative to its own size, a 8600M GT is not exactly top of the line for a 17" laptop. 17" laptops on the market quite often boast of enthusiast and high-performance range GPUs, such as the NVIDIA Geforce Go 7950GTX (sometimes 2 of them!). Of course, at the time the MBP got refreshed, the 8600M GT was the best DX10 card, but it still pales in comparison to the 7950GTX in terms of performance. Also, currently, models with the 8700M GT are beginning to appear, and the 8800M GT is right around the corner. Of course, how such a thin laptop as the MBP would handle those, even on a 17", is open to debate.

One reason people want 17" laptops is for desktop replacements - to fit hardware that you couldn't otherwise fit in smaller, more portable laptops. So if that's important to you, then a 17" laptop with the exact same specs as a 15" laptop is relatively inferior

 

What's wrong with the crappy 15.4 LED screen? I love mine! I have four LCD laptops in front of me now (HP, Asus, Fujitsu, Dell) and the LED is by far the best. Just my two cents.

Teacher

 

How easily manageable the 17" Macbook Pro is open to debate.

I know a girl who is around 5' who carries around a 17" - at first I asked whether it was the 15.4" because it looked a bit too big for that, but too small for what I expected to be a big 17".

I recommend going to a shop if possible and taking a look at the display models for yourself - then (hopefully) you can poke them and prod them as much as you want.

 

I used to carry a Macbook everyday, and thought it was a little on the wide-side.

You'll never convince me that a 17" is just as manageable as a 15", which I wouldn't lug around either. I've never seen a 17 inch computer that I would consider regularly portable, even the amazing MBP. I do like to keep my machines extremely portable, though.

 

How is the LED backlit screen crappy at all? Its much brighter than the 17" CCFL backlit one in the MBP 17; if you have ever seen the 17" and the 15" (both new) next to each other, the difference is like night and day.

Go with the 15", its cheaper, smaller/lighter, has the LED backlit screen, and you don't give up any performance.

 

I think he was referring to the current yellowing issues, and previous grainy issues, that the 15" models have had.

 

I'm not too worried about portability. Honestly, I might bring it to a few different places, but I'm not too concerned about it's size.

I am concerned about the flimsy mention.
Is it really flimsy? Most reviews say it's very sturdy for how wide and thin it is.

I think I'm going to have to step into the Apple store and really compare for myself.

Do the employees generally let you compare, touch and grope?
Do they have the lastest models out for trial with the different screens (glossy or matte)?

 

Yes they let you compare, touch and grope, within reason. Obviously they're not going to let you try any sort of heavy stress test that might damage the machine though.

Here's my experience with the 17" MBP screen. The center wobbles and flexes like crazy.

The Apple genius actually closed the lid, and then pressed down on the center of the lid with his finger and the entire center caved inwards (picture a really thin aluminum tray). I swear I was going to hear the screen grinding against the keyboard. The genius just suggested I add a piece of microfiber cloth between the screen and the keyboard for transportation...but, that kind of flex just puts me off.

But stop by the store and see for yourself. Not everyone may mind.

 

Yeah, that doesn't sound good at all. I don't really like it when people suggest buying other things for an already expensive product to make up for it.

If I got for the 15.4" I suppose I am gaining portability/solidity and losing resolution.

Gah, Apple why do you do this to me?

 

I'm in the same boat my friend. Jobs, get cracking on a 15" with WSXGA+!

 

(Yes, yes I know, I'm recommending something on top of it, but it's an option if you're interested.)

If you're not that concerned with size or weight, and if you really want the 17" you can get one of those plastic covers on top of it, unless you really hate the idea. It gives better rigidity, and minor bumps are safer. Another plus side, how people were going on about warranty, there's less likely to be exterior damage with one on if there is an accident.

I'm planning to get one myself since I don't trust myself not to do at least least some minor aesthetic damage straight away. Some NBR Reviews (there are other cases as well):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=90708
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=115544

 

Boy, I was about ready to buy the one in the first thread until I got to the list of cons. "May scratch notebook case when taking off shell". WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ABOUT?!

 

Exactly, I'm wary of those cases because they may scratch your casing.

I'm not willing to risk that, even though otherwise, they sound great.

 

If anyone cares, I went into the Apple store today.

Comparing the 15.4" LED to the 17" high res matte screen (both with 7200 rpm).
I was pleased to find they carry this exact 17" model in the store.

I asked if they had a high res out and on display and I happend to be staring right at it and couldn't tell. Besides, I can go right in and change the res if I am reading/writting vs. doing graphics and the screen still looked great at the lower res.

The 15.4" just felt tiny compared to the 17".
And it was clear right away, the glossy was too much for me.

As far as the flimsy-ness of a 17", it really wasn't noticable, it felt very solid.

So I still have thinking to do, but I'm 90% sure.