<p>I'm trying to decide which one I want to get when the new ones come out, which should be soon. They will be about as thin as the air so weight is not a problem. I want to know if the larger screen size and greater power is worth the loss in portability and whether people think this will change with the thin Macbook pros. </p>
<p>I'm going to major in materials engineering at cal poly and I don't know what sort of stuff I'd need a laptop for exactly.</p>
<p>I’d go for the fifteen inch.
It’s not that much larger, and I tend to find larger screens are usually more eye-friendly.</p>
<p>Nearly everyone I know with a Mac has the 13", including myself. After trying out the 15" for about a week I went with the smaller size because of portability reasons and found that I hardly noticed a change. Plus, most cases are commonly found for the 13".</p>
<p>The 15 inch models have quad core processors, while the 13 inch ones are stuck with two cores. Depending on how you use it (such as if you do lots of multimedia work), this could make a significant impact on performance. Thinness doesn’t necessarily mean lightweight - due to their aluminum construction Macbook pros are as heavy as other laptops.</p>
<p>The 2012 13 in might also have a quad core, but if not, that would be a drawback. How does it compare to have multiple windows open in 13 or 15 in? In what situation do you notice the portability? How do you carry around your laptop? I think I would probably use a backpack or a laptop case so I’m not completely sure where there’s the greatest inconvenience. I have noticed more or less equal proportion of the sizes among the few people I know with Macbook Pros. @aldfig0 Comparing the 13 in Air and Pro, the Air is about 30% lighter and the new Pros should have a similar thin form without HD or optical drive. I think maybe I should make a model of each one out of cardboard or something and carry each around for a week to get a better of impression of the portability than from other peoples’ experience or trying them in the store. Is this a good idea?</p>
<p>I got the 15" so that I would be able to run SolidWorks (CAD program) on my laptop. Well worth the extra money. It’s a bit heavy, but that (and the $) is the only drawback. Also, if I were to get a new laptop, I would definitely invest in a matte screen.</p>
<p>As a materials engineer I don’t think I will need any CAD software. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2012 13 in is more powerful than the 2011 15 in. I don’t know if materials engineers require software that is very computer intensive.</p>
<p>Maybe try asking this in the college life forum. I think there’s even a subforum for laptops specifically. You could also ask in the cal poly forum to see what people there are doing.</p>
<p>Go for the larger screen, take the 15". I’ve had a 13" MacBook before but I found it too small.</p>