15.4 or 17 inch notebook for college.

<p>I have a 14" widescreen and it is perfect for me.</p>

<p>I just find the 17" way too huge. I have the dell 15.4" and have never regretted it.</p>

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I have the 15.4 inch Macbook pro and i love it...also anyone notice that there are macbook pros in 24 season 2 which was a couple years ago?

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<p>Those are probably the 15" powerbook G4's which look remarkably similar to the macbookpros</p>

<p>Re: 17” laptops</p>

<p>Battery life for 17” laptops typically run around 2-3 hours on a FULL charge. Getting to the library and finding you have a 50% charge and no electrical outlet nearby isn’t a good thing. And then there’s the weight which runs around 8+ lbs. Add in a spare battery or your charger and that adds up to 10 lbs. Now 10 lbs. doesn’t sound like that much… Take the following test: Put on your high school backpack with your typical daily load of books and paper. Next, have somebody put in two five lb. bags of flour or sugar. Go outside and walk around the block. No big deal? A 17” laptop could be in your future.</p>

<p>The question is: Do you want to carry around all that additional weight on a daily basis on the off chance that you’ll be going to the library or to the local coffee shop? You could just leave it in your dorm room and go back to pick it up should you decide you need it. Get a map of the campus and see how far your dorm is to other laptop friendly locations.</p>

<p>Re: 15” laptops</p>

<p>Battery life can be closer to 4-5 hours and the average weight is around 5-6 lbs. You may not need to carry around an extra battery or charger. With less weight, you’re more likely to carry it around on a regular basis. And many 15” laptops have the option of better graphic cards.</p>

<p>Re: 24 (TV show)</p>

<p>For the last two seasons, Chloe has been carrying around a Tablet PC (both HP and IBM/Lenovo have been sponsors). You can’t miss the upturned Tablet screen when she walks into the CTU conference room. Other cast members might be using Apple laptops, but remember, this is TV. In real life, governmental agencies run on the cheapest Dell or HPs that the lowest bid system integrator can provide.</p>

<p>I have a 15.4 HP. I found it, at first, ridiculously large and cumbersome.</p>

<p>I've gotten used to it for the most part, but I can't imagine carrying around a 17".</p>

<p>I have a 15.4" widescreen notebook that I don't take notes with. I use it for class presentations though & getting together with friends to work on reports & group assignments. At least 5 times per quarter I'd lug it around... took me forever to find a non-bulky case for it. The laptop won't fit in my regular backpack (I didn't like the look of those laptop-backpacks). Personally I would have prefered to get a smaller notebook because every size up weighs more (but this one was on sale)</p>

<p>I use a 15.4" widescreen now. The only "hardcore" thing I do on it is web design and image editing (Macromedia suite, Photoshop, etc). </p>

<p>I LOVE it. It's a gorgeous screen (it's the HP dv4000 if that matters to you), but it's plenty of room for what I do. I can hook up a graphics tablet or mouse and I'm set for whatever, though I do most of my work with it in bed.</p>

<p>When I go to college next year, however, I'm planning on getting a superlight, long battery 12" or so computer just for school stuff. (I'm assuming my seven-month old laptop will still be working next year). That way, I can have both and just use a wireless network to share files. I will probably leave the 15.4" in the room and take the light one with me everywhere.</p>

<p>There is NOT that much difference in weight between a 15.4" and a 17". They're both already heavy. So, you might as well get the 17".</p>

<p>If you're getting the e1505, opt for the 1405. Obviously, you're not going to be playing games, so you want portability and battery life. </p>

<p>Get the 14 inch one.</p>

<p>There is not much time to play games? I like the 17 inch because of the bigger screen and better graphics, but the 15 has more portabliity...should I even go smaller?</p>

<p>go take a look at the screens. for me a 17" seems awkwardly too wide.</p>

<p>Basically, no matter which you get you will be happy with. When you're going to the library, you'll wish you had the 15.4. When you are sitting in your dorm, you'll wish you had the 17. You really can't go wrong. I have a 17 and really like it. Only downfall, as already mentioned is battery life, you only get a couple hours on full charge. Finding a bag is not a problem, I have a nice one and yes it is a little bigger, but it isn't inconvenient for me to carry. I have a Targus bag. You can find the Targus 17" bags on eBay for 15-20 dollars less than what they are at Best Buy, if that's the way you go.</p>

<p>I'm telling you man. Look at some 14 inchers. It gets beautiful 1280 x 768 resolution and it just a joy to look at. My laptop gets upward of 6.5 to 7 hours on ONE battery with non-intensive usage. If I am running photoshop or playing a game, it gets about 5. Still, amazing.</p>

<p>And to whoever said the laptop backpacks look funny, check out the Targus Groove. I got it as a grad present and I like it's looks better than my LL Bean.</p>

<p>I'm totally rocking my 15.4 HP</p>

<p>Hey testudotheturtle, what kind of laptop do you have? SEems like the 14 inch is becoming popular...aww man decisions.</p>

<p>I'm happy with my high resolution 15.4 (it's an hp nc8430, native res is 1680x1050)</p>

<p>the hp nc8430 looks like a great notebook! Good graphics and 15.4. But, I do not think I can get student discounts on that one can I?</p>

<p>I am still trying to decide my screen size first though.</p>

<p>I have the HP dv1000. I got it last August, so the new ones have better options and what not, but mine is still running as good as it was the first day I got it.</p>

<p>I haven't been to fully optimize it's unique media features too much.. YET. I am going on a planeride to Florida Saturday so I will definitely be watching a movie and then in college it will be my DVD player thanks to an S-Video cable and an RCA converter.</p>

<p>you can play games on your dv1000? It has good graphics?</p>

<p>Ummm.. slightly I guess. I don't really play games too much, but right now I am really into WE9 and I have played AOE2 on it with success. It has a GMA 900 chipset, no video card, so it isn't going to be amazing.</p>

<p>The media features I was talking about are the remote control and the ability to play a movie without booting up.</p>

<p>I have a 17" Powerbook that I absolutely love. It's large but the smaller versions of laptops we had in high school always drove me bonkers. It's not extremely heavy so I plan on carrying it to class/the theatre, especially when I don't have many other books to bring. My tote bag is the perfect size to carry it and I can also store my dance shoes and such.</p>