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Resolved Question

Macbook Pro - 13" or 15"?

Aug 12, 2011 7:49PM PDT

Hi, I'm going into university next year and am hoping to make the switch from an old Inspiron 1420 to a Macbook Pro. My Dell runs fast enough to make browsing and generic multitasking a breeze, but I've had a lot of issues lately (CPU hogging, mostly, and the computer overheats on any graphics card load, like movies or games) and am ready to buy a new laptop. Have fallen completely in love with Apple's designs: I think it's time to become a Mac.

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Aetormin has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Nod to the 15 but smaller is OK too. Why?
Aug 13, 2011 1:05AM PDT

Go look at the display again and while it's small the display quality is very good. It means you can get a small screen with all the benefits of less weight and in my opinion a little tougher laptop.

Most Inspiron 1420s didn't have dedicated graphics and the new MacBook Pro at about the 1K mark is no slouch. I can only guess the gamer wants more. For games I'd stick to consoles and let my laptop be what it is.
Bob

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Thanks
Aug 13, 2011 6:44AM PDT

I did/do have dedicated graphics on my 1420 -- well, if you can call the nvidia 8400 dedicated - but I've never owned a console in my life (no xboxes, ps3s, wiis .. closest thing I guess is an iPod touch). On reflection I probably won't be gaming much ... I find I am the obsessive type, and I eventually come to realize the massive investments of time really don't to have any longterm benefit.

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Oh, that 8400.
Aug 13, 2011 6:50AM PDT

Do me a favor and drop your usual 6 month CANNED AIR ON THE VENTS down to 3 months. The 8400 life span wasn't that good and you can extend them by keeping the vents clean and clear.

Back to the Mac. The model without dedicated video ram should be no slouch compared to that 8400. I bet there's some web pages on benchmarks out there.
Bob

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Answer
The 15" is by far the more portable
Aug 13, 2011 12:55AM PDT

choice.
The 17" is BIG, wider than some airline seats, and in your situation I would definitely go for the 15"

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Answer
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Sep 5, 2011 12:08AM PDT

They are both the same , if you planing to buy and use this computer for
the next 5 years i recommend the 15in in the long run it will be more
worth it Happy