17 inch or 15 inch? Glossy or Matte? >.<!

So like, i decided i'm willing to unload close the 3k on a MBP and i decided i should be extremely happy with my decision when it costs this much.

So first off, 15 inch or 17 inch?

I will be using it for a moderate amount of gaming, not much traveling, using for college ( probaly take it to some classes) and it will be on a desk more then half the time.

Second, Glossy or Matte?

I will be using in side most of the time, i wan't a good picture yet i dont wan't to see lights bouncing off it. I don't work in an office considering im 17. Not sure which is better for gaming considering matte doesn't look as good as glossy but then the light can screw you up if you get glossy...GARR!!!!>.<

Please help <(^-^)>

 

It's like this: matte works best for outdoors, glossy for indoors. I think the matte in the MBP is great, same goes for the glossy screen. I'd pick matte.

 

15inch matte. considering the money leftover can buy you a 24inch WUXGA external screen.

I like the colors on matte better. photographers and graphic artists all swear by Matte and we are awsome..........so there

 

Matte or glossy is a personal choice. My laptop is matte, my wife's Macbook is glossy. It doesn't make much difference to me, but given the choice I'd probably go matte again.

15" or 17" is a bigger decision. Go to the Mac store and look at the 17 inchers and imagine trying to take notes on it in class. I see people with 17" screen at cafes working, it looks pretty awkward to me. Mine is 14.1" and I wouldn't want it any bigger on an airplane or carrying around.

I look at it this way - a 17" screen prohibits some people from moving the laptop around very much, so most of the time it ends up staying on the desk. If that's the case you may as well have a 20" iMac. The point of a notebook is to be mobile. But some people have no problem lugging a 17-inch machine around.

 

If you like a high-resolution screen then you can't go wrong with a 17". WUXGA is too small for a 15" and the screen usually sucks.

 

24inch WUXGA external! people............buy it and you will thank me.

15inch MBP with student discount + a dell 24inch WUX+GA for dorm will be less than $3000

 

And you can use that screen for other things than connecting it to your laptop.

 

I went with the 15" matte.

I have a 17" HP glossy (only option) so i wanted something more portable and i've always preffered a matte screen.

Seeing the matte i'm 100% satisfied i picked it .

 

Macpod is right. I travel with my 14" laptop a lot, but when I'm home I also have a 20" LCD. Best of both worlds! LCD monitors are CHEAP, $189 at newegg for 1680x1050.

 

i am so ****ing jealous of you


movies on that 24inch 1080P display will be SOOOOOO much better than a 17inch laptop display...................you will spontaneously wow the first time you see it.

get some nice altec lansings speakers and you have th ebest dorm in the college

 

Awesome... I'd like one of those.

 

im thinking of postponing working overseas just so i can buy one of these to wach DVDs on. It is that good.

 

1080i rules out the DVD.

 

Keyo, those were two very good questions for us getting ready to take the plunge on a MBP. I wondered about both things as well. And thanks for those who responded. I think I will go for the 15 inch matte screen when Penryn processor comes out.

 

who cares............ right now im using a 15inch WXGA acer craporama watching 700mb Axxo rips off bittorrent....

 

The 15" matte has no weakness!

 

Except not being glossy (joking). There are more downsides of using glossy than matte.

 

15" glossy for me! Hook it to the 21" Dell widescreen every now and then.

 

Well, i want things to look good but i might be in an area with light now and then. It sounds like the 15 inch would be the best choice with matte screen? Lol, i hope it is the right decision cause i'll be really mad at myself if it isn't >.<

 

O btw, something else confuses me. If i buy an apple today ( thursday ), will the leopard OS come free with the computer? What's all the stuff happening tomorrow on the apple website? help... -_-

 

Leopard comes out tomorrow. I think it'll take a while before the laptops are shipping with Leopard instead of Tiger. If it's not critical to have it now I'd wait. Or if they offer a free Leopard upgrade if you buy now, you may as well go for it. I'd check the details on the offers.

Here you go - on a tiny corner on the Apple site store:

"If you buy a qualifying Mac between October 1, 2007, and October 26, 2007, you’re eligible to get Leopard after it’s released for just a $9.95 shipping charge, plus applicable taxes."

 

Since the 15 inch screen isn't HD like the 17 inchers, what does this mean for games, movies, and general use overall?

 

Guys!!>.< I need to figure out if the display of the 17 inch is worth getting it over the 15 inch!

I would use this comp for a moderate amount of gaming, some dvds, and serfin the internet and watching youtube videos. What should i do!?!?

 

Well, it seems that if you get a Mac at an Apple Store tomorrow, with the launch of Leopard, if the box doesn't have Leopard pre-installed, they will throw in a Leopard disc. So no loss, just you have to install by yourself (which necessarily isn't a bad thing; if you don't like Leopard, you still have the Tiger discs inside the Mac box).

 

Well, its worth noting the 17-inch MBP doesn't have LED-backlighting yet, but it does have a much larger resolution (up to 1920x1200, compared to 1440x900 on 15.4-inch MBP).

But for the tasks you list, I don't think you'll need (or necessarily even want) 1920x1200.

 

Ok. I used to have a 17" notebook, now I have a 15" notebook.
Although the 17" screens are really nice to look at when you have it living
on your desk, it adds a considerable amount of size and weight to your notebook. I found myself reluctant to take my notebook anywhere because it was inconvenient due to its size (which completely defeats the purpose of a laptop).
The 15" I have now feels much more portable. I now find myself even carrying it around the house throughout the evening because it is so easy to do.
Although you sacrifice screen resolution with the 15", it can easily output higher resolutions to an LCD monitor.

As far as gaming, I just played Bioshock from beginning to end on my 15" MBP (matte screen), and it looked AMAZING!! At no point did I find myself wishing I had a bigger display (nor a glossy one).

DVD presentation isn't even an issue since DVD resolution (720x480) is not even that of the 15" (1440x900). You would be limiting the quality of a HDDVD or Blueray movie (1920x1080), but you wouldn't even have that option with the current SuperDrives. And most HD content available online is still only 1280x720.

And IMO, having the lower screen resolution is better for internet use (surfing, youtube, ect...)

 

I'm NOT changing the subject here but it would be awsome if someone could answer this question to-

Can i hook my ps3 up to my macbook pro for blue ray capabilites? If so, would that be worth getting a 17 inch model for that or do the Pros of getting an 15' out weigh the cons of getting a 17 inch?

I feel ya about making it harder to carry. What makes this decision so hard is the fact that i've never had a laptop before. All i know is that i'm using it for some college work (in classes), watching some dvds, gaming and internet surfing.

What i'm getting out of this is that the screen technology of the 15' is better (LED) then the 17' technology but the 17' has a higher resolution and its heavier. This is SUCH a hard choice!!!

 

Well, HD movies don't look that great on a 17-inch screen anyways...there's been studies that say you won't enjoy watching HD unless the screen is at least 32-inches.

So I'd say, get a 15.4-inch MBP. Lighter, LED-backlit screen. If you want a larger screen, just plug in an external display.

 

a PS3 is intended to be displayed on a much larger HD display. It would look stupid on a 17" MBP. go with the 15". I'm pretty sure we've made this decision easy for you by now...

 

Thanks guys, great as always! I'd give you some type of an award if i had one

 

Well, there actually is . Its known as reputation points, and you can give reputation points to members who have been helpful to you. Not sure if you know this already, but doesn't hurt to explain again. To add reputation to a member, click on the balancing scale icon at the bottom left corner of every post, next to the Report Post (the triangle) icon.

Now, don't rep me for this post, as I'm just explaining . Rep is a pretty "minor" thing (doesn't cost or anything), but it really lets others know that you appreciate their help .

 

Glad we could help.
Rep Power will suffice

 

By the way, I gave you both rep points for your help

Also, would it be worth it to get iworks considering i will be buying vista soon and possibly works student edition? Or should i buy iworks instead of student edition?

 

I'd play around with the trial version of iWorks that comes preinstalled on the MBP, and then compare it to NeoOffice. If you like iWorks, you can pay to activate it once your trial period expires, but most people like NeoOffice better (which just so happens to be freeware).

 

Hum, and a major point is the price... the 15" as LED and is 2000$
the 17" doesnt have LED, yeah higher res but you have to pay extra for it.
So basically its 3000$ for the 17". 1000$ diff just for the screen.
I got the 15" MBP (glosssy of course ) and my brother as it in Matte.
We fight over who's Notebook is cooler..but well...

Back to the point, I got the 15" and got an external screen.

I paid around 3200$ for my macbook pro.
that includes (Macbook pro basic, 4gb upgrade, 7200rpm HDD upgrade, Vista, 20inch LCD, and of course AppleCare)

Or you can get the 17inch with applecare for the same price.

(*PS. the extra memory of the video card doesnt actually help in games *except if you connect multiple screen or a huge screen, tests show that the difference in games is due to the CPU being better in the most expensive one)

Well, in the end you'll just do whatever pleases you.

 

It really helps in new games when you want to play at high resolutions.

 

wehats so hard. buy the 15inch and an external monitor? ITS SO OBVIOUS.1 yOU;R NOT GOING TO GAME AND WATCH DVD IN CLASS!

 

Id go with a black macbook glossy, and a 17" hd MBP...

Some say 2 laptops is crazy.. But i like having dualies on the go

 

Then you'd be carrying 10+ pounds worth of Apple all over the place!

 

Apples are yummy