<p>I'll preface this by saying that it's a priority that I get a Mac for college. I've had a 13 inch white MacBook for about 3 years now and I will never go back to PC, period. I'm going to CSU to major in Computer Science and like many other students, I'm debating on getting either the 13" model (portability) or the 15" (performance). For some of my CompSci classes, it's pretty safe to assume that i'll have to run VMWare Fusion/Parallels to debug other OSes (Linux, Windows) and run apps like Python. What concerns me most is that the 13" model still sports the Intel Core 2 Duo chipset which is long outdated and Intel has already moved on. The 15" model would be more time-proof since it features the i5 chipset but it's also 2 inches larger. And yes, I've heard about the rumors of Apple announcing a new lineup of MBPs around April but it was also recently announced that Intel has recalled their Sandy Bridge chip architecture, which the new MBPs were supposedly going to utilize. I should also mention that this laptop will be my primary computer and most likely my only computer throughout my four years of college which really makes that i5 more appealing since it's newer tech than Core 2 Duo, but the portability is also a concern for me.</p>
<p>Would 2 inches really make a big difference in portability?</p>
<p>You wouldn’t think so, but I’ve looked up various other threads about my exact same question and a lot of them said they’ve downgraded from 15" to 13" simply for the sake of portability. If it wasn’t a real concern, I would just settle for the 15" and not even think about it but since so many people have addressed it, it’s made me think more.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that there was nothing at all wrong with the Sandy Bridge CPU, it was just one of the support chips that had a hardware ‘design problem’. It is apparently a simple fix and would probably only delay the introduction of new MBPs by a couple of months. </p>
<p>If you could, I would suggest waiting until the next MPB refresh, because the 13" versions would probably sport more modern CPUs. A 15" screen is nice if you have a lot of debugging windows open, but it is harder to lug around.</p>
<p>Those two inches definitely do make a difference. If you’re going to be doing major compsci work on your laptop though, definitely get the 15". The extra computing power will make your life a lot easier, bot to mention the bigger screen will let you work more comfortably.</p>
<p>For goodness sake, just get the 15’'. Yes, it’s noticeably larger, but 5.6 lbs isn’t that bad! If you’re a guy, man up. If you’re a girl… then man up. ^__^</p>
<p>The biggest thing about Sandy Bridge is the quad core processors. They have more power and they give about 2x more battery life. However, I dunno if Apple can fit quad core into the current 0.95’’ chassis and not have it melt. Maybe…</p>
<p>The extra 2 inches definitely make lugging it around a bigger pain. But on the other hand…the difference between a Core 2 Duo and an i5 is not small. I personally think the i5 is worth the extra weight, with the caveat that I agree with the sentiment that you might want to wait and see what this year’s MBPs are like.</p>
<p>The new MBPs came out, and the 13"-ers come with either an i5 or i7. The previous 13" MBPs only had Core 2 Duo processors, making them inferior to the processors in the 15" models. With these new models, I would personally go for a 13", which feels more portable to me. Of course, the 15"-ers still have better processors, quad-core i7.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with ALF. The new 13" is /much/ better than the old one. For ordinary use, you really don’t need the quad core from the 15". The 13s are more than powerful enough now.</p>
<p>It’s totally worth it to get the 15" if your only concern is portability. It’s really not an issue at all imo unless you want to carry it with you everywhere you go</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the 13-inch has more GHz</p>
<p>“Keep in mind that the 13-inch has more GHz”</p>
<p>Pretty much irrelevant, to be honest. The 15" is quad core (vrs the 13" dual core).</p>
<p>If you’re going to a campus where you need to walk around a lot to go from class to class, I would suggest you go with the 13" because its lighter. I go to NYU, and I have a 15" which is great in terms of its power and whatnot, but it sucks to carry around sometimes especially when it’s raining or snowing.</p>
<p>I chose the 15 over the 13, purely because I like a larger screen to look at.</p>
<p>I think the 15" is generally a better size. My wife has a 13" MB, and she’s often opining that the 15" MBP work gave me is easier to work with. More pixels, bigger area, easier to do stuff that requires a lot of text.</p>
<p>The weight difference is big, but interestingly, the battery life is not. For the price, the 15" is the winner of the MBP in my opinion. </p>
<p>Also, this is a friendly suggestion: skimp on Apple-installed RAM. Get the cheapest amount, order more on Crucial, save big bucks.</p>
<p>Spend more on the CPU. Apple is fair with CPU prices.</p>
<p>HD? I’d go 7200 RPM or SSD if you don’t mind the price. </p>
<p>Overall? 15" for my money.</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendation on the memory upgrade. For a 13" MacBook Pro, will there be a noticeable enhancement in performance with the 8 GB vs. 4GB? Is the upgrade worth a hundred bucks?</p>
<p>^ Mine originally came with 2 and when I doubled it, I found a HUGE difference in overall speed and performance. That was working with a Core 2 Duo 2009 Model though. I would only really upgrade when i felt my system start to overly lag which should be quite a while with these newer systems. If you’re running some high level programs that lag on you, more ram wouldn’t hurt. I find it to be more of a need thing. I despise any type of lag so for me the extra RAM was a must, but if you can get by with some slower running apps then you’ll be able to save yourself some cash.</p>
<p>res ipsa,</p>
<p>It really depends. Generally, 4 is going to be in that range where you can do most things you want to do without a problem, but 8 will be noticeably better.</p>
<p>I tend to believe that you’ll diminishing marginal returns on RAM around 12-16GB and more.</p>
<p>Big Cat,</p>
<p>2 GB is just anemic though. Going from 2 to 4 is a much bigger jump than 4 to 8. Good call on upgrading!</p>
<p>Does anyone have any thoughts on the 2.3 GHz vs. the 2.7 GHz chip on the new Macbook Pro 13" model. There is a $300 price difference. Is it worth it for typical use by a liberal arts student? Has anyone compared the two computers side by side?</p>
<p>res ipsa,</p>
<p>Yeah, I would spend the extra. We’re talking i5 vs i7, which is an astronomical leap in performance per dollar. You’ll get a lot of future proofing out of the i7, which is a phenomenal chip. </p>
<p>My advice for buying a Mac?</p>
<p>Buy the least amount of RAM, the smallest HD, and upgrade those two on your own. You can get 8GB on Crucial for $95. You can get a nice big HD on Newegg for around $100 or so. </p>
<p>Then you also get the much better CPU. </p>
<p>Win-win.</p>