2011 MacBook Pro 13" vs 15" Pros/Cons

Just sold my high end custom i7 tower PC, decided to go with laptops for now on for my main and only PC. Looking around briefly at Leveno/HP/Sony products, considering those options, but I pretty much know how this is going to end: A MacBook Pro purchase with OS X Snow Leopard / Retail Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit boot camp booting. I like both OSs, so it's fun to have both, plus I already have the Windows mentioned.

On the MacBook Pros, 3 models interest me:

1. Base MacBook Pro 13": While possessing the least computing power with a mere 2.3MHz i5 Dual Core Sandy Bridge chip, it should run cooler than the 15" one, is more portable, and it's a releative bargan which leaves me plenty of money for big SSD and RAM upgrades. Thinking about Corsair for RAM and Intel 320 series for SSD. Downside is the graphics suck reletivly on the intergrated Sandy Bridge chip, and it's not quad core, which I read is good for simulating the multitasking power of the desktops I'm used to.

2. Upper End MacBook Pro 13": Ups the CPU to a 2.7MHz i7 Dual Core Sandy Bridge chip, is still not quad core, but ups the cpu to i7 status and higher speed, still intergrated graphics, but still is cooler running and more portable. Less of a bargan as for a few hundred more, you could get a 15" one, which is a lot more computer power for your money. A bit more future proof though, a bit less money for SSDs and RAM upgrades, so perhaps instead of a 300GB Intel 320, I might have to settle for a 160GB one. For the record, I could use the 300GB easy with my media file collection, either way I'm rocking some form of second drive, but the more space the better on the SSD I'm finding in my work flow.

3. Upper End Macbook Pro 15": Desktop like multitasking power with the 2.2GHz i7 Quad Core Sandy Bridge CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5 for gaming in windows and mac, but also comes in handy for pro creative programs which I dabble in, I'm an artist by hobby, not to mention in driving external displays, which is something I will be doing from time to time. However it runs hotter, is bigger, but has a better default more useable resolution, less portable, but has a bigger screen for movies though with better speakers (getting a Bluetooth JamBox Speaker for my phone anyway however), and perhaps most disturbingly has possible freezing issues when using the dedicated GPU (has GPU switching), but this appears to be a software issue that most likely will be resolved at one point, hopefully. I want to order from Amazon for the lower Delivered price points, but it's not clear if custom configs from the AppleStore insures the latest produced batch from China with all the possible unannounced tweeks and fixes. The chance is Amazon's stock might be older, but it's not proven all of them have freezing issues, or if it was just a first batch, or whatever, cus Apple is predictably silent on any hardware issues, and just fixes them behind the scenes. Another GPU issue is that when bootcamping, the dedicated GPUs are forced on, you are unable to use the intergrated gpu with windows ( I take it the 13" does not have this issue as it only has the intergraged one), so thats less battery and more heat if you just want to browse the internet in windows, but bootcamp power management sucks anyway, so you will not have as long a battery life in windows no matter what you do apparently. I would use the Mac OS with it's excellent battery management/life for most tasks, but boot up in Windows to rip movies (I have windows software for that), play games, and other Windows tasks, but keep to Mac for general use, and the iLife suite is sweet. So not a huge issue, just things to note.

Yes, I didn't include the base 15", I kinda feel once you are in that price territory, already adding the heat from the second GPU chip, the more advanced GPU on the upper model is more worth it. Current Specs for the MacBook Pros are here:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-compare.html

Overall, I think the 15" is still what I want CPU and GPU power wise, the size increase of the laptop is tolerable if not ideal, but it's far more tempting to just get the 13" for the advantages there (and they have lower watt CPUs to boot, so with no second GPU, it should run much cooler). But I might regret the lack of power in the end, it's hard to say. Though It would be sweet to be able to afford that 300GB SSD with the cheaper 13" models. I thought about removing my optical drive bay too, but I dunno, I kind of like having disc access too. I would rather just get a firewire 800 external drive possibly, and take that with me. I am going to get the Firewire 800 enabled external OWC Pioneer 206 Blu Ray Burner as well, to rip my Blu Rays to iPad format. Speaking of which, since I will be getting a 64GB iPad 2 at some point, kinda makes me want the 15" laptop just to have a bigger size difference between screens, but that's just a random thought, those products are both worth having/using for different reasons, the 13" MacBook Pro will not change my iPad habbits, I don't think... at least not until the MacBook Pro comes out with a IPS LCD in it. That makes all the difference in movie watching like.

Lots to consider, any thoughts, post away, I'm sure I'm not the only one with these thoughts

Just looking at SDD Prices, I might be better off in that upper end 13" with a 300GB SSD, it's pretty much the price difference between the upper 13" and the upper 15" too. So the choice is basically GPU vs SSD capacity.

Amazon Pricing:

Base 13" (i5 2.3GHz Dual Core Sandy Bridge) is $1139 Delivered

Upper 13" (i7 2.7GHz Dual Core Sandy Bridge) is $1425 Delivered

Base 15" (i7 2.0GHz Quad Core Sandy Bridge, ok Dedicated GPU w/256 VRAM) is $1710 Delivered

Upper 15" (i7 2.2GHz Quad Core Sandy Bridge, much more powerful Dedicated GPU w/1GB VRAM) is $2060 Delivered


Intel 320 Series 160GB SSD is about $300 Delivered

Intel 320 Series 300GB SSD is about $550 Delivered

BTW, while I have a Sata 3 port on these MacBook Pros, Intel is only Sata 2, but I don't thing that's worth getting a non Intel SSD Controller. I like Intels controller the best.

I'd get the Base 15". I think its the best performance for the money (for mac laptops).

The funny thing is I made up my mind more by typing this all up, lol. I'm close to a decision, but I would still like to hear what you guys have to say.

I hear you on the Base 15", you are right, that is the best deal for the money, but I still kinda feel if you are going to pay the heat/price cons of adding a separate GPU chip, you might as well get the good GPU on the Upper 15" that has like 3x the performance or something. Is the GPU handy transcoding video (I'll be doing that alot)? If not, one more win for the 13" version. I have a PS3, so if I don't game here, that's ok, it's not the absolute decision maker like.

Plus any other non Mac Laptops to consider, post em up, I'm not Mac only, I just like me some Mac Products once in a while. However, to Apple's credit, I think I like the MacBook Pro Keyboard/Trackpad combo too much to give up at this point. It would take a very special machine to make me give up on the MacBook Pro purchase. I think only Leveno with an IPS screen could do that for me now, as those keyboards are just as nice with the trackpoint sticks. But OS X Lion will add tons of touch gestures, I really don't want to miss out on that.

I've got the higher-end MBP 15" (2.2GHz, 6750, 500GB 7200) and it's a fantastic laptop. However, I would not have spent the $$ necessary to buy it. I got it through a warranty exchange. My i5 MBP died, Apple Store didn't have 2.0GHz w/hi-res LCD in stock so shipped the 2.2GHz hi-res to me.

I strongly recommend the 15" because of the hi-res LCD option. It's awesome!

I bought the base 15" and ended up returning it for the 2.2ghz 15" with the upgraded GPU. Oddly, Apple Retail Store was more than happy to take an opened computer back without a restocking fee when I was getting a more expensive model with Applecare.

The "running cooler" factor of the 13" is not an issue at all. You will not have a problem with heat or battery life on the 15". Really you have to decide if losing two cores and a discrete GPU, and a considerable amount of screen resolution is acceptable for just a few hundred bucks in savings. Hint: it's not. If the added weight and size is a problem, splurge on a gym membership.

The 13" is really lacking in screen real estate, that's the major drawback, especially if you're replacing a desktop with it. If you're not buying the base 13" (MC has $200 off as well), I'd go for the i7 15" with the 1680x1050 screen and the upgraded graphics. Like you're planning on doing, upgrade the memory and ssd yourself. I'd have a 15" myself if they offered a 1920x1200 version, my wife uses the base 2011 13" as her main machine, but she's always used ultra portables in the past and came from a M1330.

15" with the 1gb gpu it is then, however I'm not yet sold on the 1680x1050 screen yet, as it really adds to the price. I have to pay taxes on the whole laptop in addition to the screen upgrade price, where as before, I could just order up on Amazon with a small discount in place.

My prices delivered:

Apple Store (with my work related discount): $2285 with 1680x1050 glossy screen

Amazon: $2060 with 1440x900 glossy screen

Leaning towards glossy as I don't think the matte would be my style, I watch movies and I like the protective glass, not to mention when apple finally goes touchcreen OS X Lion on us, capitative glass with glossy screens will be the order of the day anyway. Anyone voting for the 15" 1680x1050 in Matte?

So is that resolution really worth $225 more? I've seen it in the store and it was a bit harder to read, but it did have more elbow room and I did like using 1680x1080 before I moved up to 1920x1080, but that was on a 22" monitor, not a 15" laptop.

Interestingly, I could get the 17" with 1920x1200 resolution off of Amazon for $2356 delivered, which is only $71 more than the my price including taxes for the 15" with 1680x1050 resolution off of the Apple Store. But that does not mean I want a 17" to lug around, I'd rather have the 15" for portability and when at home I'd use my superior e-ips u2311h Dell display, with my Filco cherry brown tenkeyless keyboard. But this just goes to show why Amazon rocks. Prices are for glossy screens of course.

Mr. Wolf said:

I've got the higher-end MBP 15" (2.2GHz, 6750, 500GB 7200) and it's a fantastic laptop. However, I would not have spent the $$ necessary to buy it. I got it through a warranty exchange. My i5 MBP died, Apple Store didn't have 2.0GHz w/hi-res LCD in stock so shipped the 2.2GHz hi-res to me.

I strongly recommend the 15" because of the hi-res LCD option. It's awesome!

Click to expand...

Did you have glossy or matte? Might be a good way to get a free upgrade if mine goes bad lol!

@Zinn, I think the iPad 2 is good companion option for the 15", for portability options, so I'm sold on the 15" size, but man is the 13" the sweet spot for single device portability and possibly power, if only it had a better gpu and screen resolution for it's 13" screen.

Of course no one directly commented on the SSD budget, meaning is my money better spent on the huge SSD over laptop power? That was the draw, a 13" super portable device to jam at college with a huge ass SSD. Sure I could get both the 15" and a huge SSD, but that will take that much longer budget wise, which I can stretch for anything, but only so many things at once and the MacBook Pros are rumored for a new body style next revision, and that might be the better time to go all out, while getting the 13" to hold me over like. I should mention that the plan is to always upgrade at the 2 year mark, so I can I can pass on some AppleCare, making resale easier, and stay current with technology.

But in the end, I guess the resolution is worth going 15" now, getting the SSD a bit later or next year, which I'm sure was Apples plan all along with gimping the 13" in this area. The upside is that by then, trim will be supported in OS X Lion. I should wait for Lion, but who wants to go that long without a Computer?

SylarPowers said:

But in the end, I guess the resolution is worth going 15" now, getting the SSD a bit later or next year, which I'm sure was Apples plan all along with gimping the 13" in this area. The upside is that by then, trim will be supported in OS X Lion. I should wait for Lion, but who wants to go that long without a Computer?

Click to expand...

Apple can't beaf up the 13" MBP too much or they would take sales away from the 13" MBA. If the Air gets refreshed in June like is speculated, you may want to wait a month and see what options it gets. It'll have a higher resolution screen and an SSD standard, the only drawback may be it'll most likely be using SB graphics, like the 13" MBP.

I had an SSD in my previous MBP. It was definitely faster but I thought it would be better used in my desktop. I might get another for my MBP in a few weeks. If it comes down to SSD or hi-res, get the latter. You always can add the SSD later. I got the glossy version which only adds $100 to the price. I don't know where you got that $225 for the hi-res upgrade.

I've not heard any rumored body style changes in the next version. I hope we'll see a 15" MacBook Air by next summer. I'd be all over that!

These are the best delivered prices regardless of store (but still the ones I trust), taxes, some discounted pricing I can get, etc, simple as that. Since applestore is the only place i know of to get the resolution upgrades, it does not compete well with Amazons prices. The real savings on amazon is that you skip the taxes and generally get a 6% discount. I just now saw the micro center price is good on the base 13", only $1060 out the door, but the taxes add up for their upper 15" one, so amazon beats them out. But if u are just going for the base 13", a local microcenter is making it very tempting with the best price I've seen yet. But so does 6 months no interest from my amazon card, so purchase is down to the apple store online/amazon/micro center locations The new redesign is apparently in the works, if you follow the rumors and veiled quotes.

You will have to decide between glossy and matte on your own. Some people love glossy, other's love matte. I myself prefer the matte screen. The glossy would have driven me insane.

KENNYB said:

You will have to decide between glossy and matte on your own. Some people love glossy, other's love matte. I myself prefer the matte screen. The glossy would have driven me insane.

Click to expand...

I dig the iPad 2, so I guess glossy for me. I wear glasses though, so reflections are a part of life for me, I'll take the vivid colors and protection of glass.

I dig the iPad 2 also. I wouldn't judge the MBP by looking at the iPad though. I think the iPad doesn't bother me because it's held much closer to my face. Ironically, testing the MBP at an Apple store is pointless because of the massive number of lights flooding the store.

I did my testing on a friend's MBP. He used to swear by the glossy screen and this and that bullshit. He eventually applied an anti-glare screen protector. Massive laughs were had.

SylarPowers said:

I dig the iPad 2, so I guess glossy for me. I wear glasses though, so reflections are a part of life for me, I'll take the vivid colors and protection of glass.

Click to expand...

I wear glasses too. No glare for me though... I have an anti-glare coating on the lenses.

I have the base 15 inch MBP, i don't really play games on it so it's perfect for me, the sandy bridge i7 is a monster. The 1440x screen resolution works for me, if the resolution was any higher i would barely be able to read the forums. On the 17 inch model i would 100% get hi-res screen, but i couldnt afford to dump another few hundred bux for that little bit more at the time.

I just picked up my new 15" MBP yesterday. Hi-res anti-glare, 8GB, 6750, 2.3GHz i7 (pointless, I know. But that was all the Apple store had and paying Tennessee sales tax to have it shipped to me almost makes up the price difference when you factor in my student discount). If I didn't actually need the higher res display I would have been happier with the standard res, easier on the eyes. As it is, this is OK and hopefully Lion will bring some fine grained DPI adjustment.

This is by far the most expensive computer purchase I have ever made. Not only that, but I ordered the OWC Mercury Extreme 6Gbps 240GB SSD. That should be getting installed next weekend.

Ordered up 8GB Crucial RAM with their RAM selector for my future MBP, still the easiest process of finding the right specs IMHO. I considered OWC, but OWC was more money and I like Crucial more I guess. Next is the SSD purchase. I decided I don't want to use the HD that comes with the MacBook Pro, so it's down to 3 options:

1. Seagate solid state mechanical hybrid drive here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...es+-+Notebooks+/+Laptops-_-Seagate-_-22148591 it's cheaper than a real SSD, faster than a HD, esp on boot times and app launches, but still slower than a true SSD.

2. Intel 320 Series 160GB SSD, middle of the road on price, still tight on storage space.

3. Intel 320 Series 300GB SSD, good amount of storage space, fast, better reported compatibility with macs, intel reliability, will be a stretchon budget, but man do I want it.


I always did WD Caviar Black HDs in my desktops, but I am not impressed with the WD Passport portable drives, so to change it up I was thinking of trying the Seagate Go Flex Slim, as it's made of aluminum, and is super thin, kind of a bummer on price and 320GB limited capacity, but I think they are cool and you can get a custom swappable interface as new tech comes out. Or I could do the plastic higher capacity Portable HDs.

Edit: the more I see on these goflex products, the more I like them. I like the hot swapping between network drive and portable mode, it's just so flexible! Goflexable.

Check out my blu ray hardware and disc burning software solution for the MBP

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MRF8BDSD12XT/

Actual blu ray movies will be watched in bootcamp mode for one reason, AnyDVD HD will allow me to skip the advertisements, and I will slowly work on a plan to get all my blu ray movies ripped to a Mac Hard Drive jukebox setup.

Another way to add more MBP battery life caught my eye:

http://www.hypershop.com/HyperMac-External-Battery-for-MacBook-iPad-60Wh-p/mbp-060.htm

Dew said:

I just picked up my new 15" MBP yesterday. Hi-res anti-glare, 8GB, 6750, 2.3GHz i7 (pointless, I know. But that was all the Apple store had and paying Tennessee sales tax to have it shipped to me almost makes up the price difference when you factor in my student discount). If I didn't actually need the higher res display I would have been happier with the standard res, easier on the eyes. As it is, this is OK and hopefully Lion will bring some fine grained DPI adjustment.

This is by far the most expensive computer purchase I have ever made. Not only that, but I ordered the OWC Mercury Extreme 6Gbps 240GB SSD. That should be getting installed next weekend.

Click to expand...

Beyond pointless, but I did note that it has more cache.

On SSDs, I just ordered up the 300gb intel 320 for $550, it's not Sata 3, but I want the peace of mind of compatibility and reliability over cutting edge speed, and there is a trim patch hack that reportively works well with this drive. Everything I read points to this drive being my best bet overall.

Personally, I went with the Base 15" with the highres screen. For most of my applications a(any!) discrete video card is enough, and it does run cooler then the high end. It also allowed me ~400 to upgrade the system, which I did with an Optibay and an Aftermarket SSD. Got me enough SSD to store programs, and a 750gb HDD in the optibay for all my files, and the Optibay came with the enclosure to turn the ODD into a USB external, which is nice.

If it's going to be your only machine then the 15" seems like a no brainer. Beyond that I also think the high-res anti-glare display is a must. Mine doesn't have it and I wish often that I'd gotten the uprated display.

As for specs, I'd go for the higher end option if you 1) might want to game in Win7 and/or 2) use creative software that will take advantage of the upgraded specs. To save some money you could buy RAM aftermarket and upgrade it yourself. It's a simple task.

The best advice is don't skimp on screen real estate. Also, I travel with my 15" MBP all the time and it's not bad at all.

I just sold my 13 incher to get the new 15, and have been very happy. I would highly recommend the bigger screen.

Thanks everyone, the deed is done, now I can cuddle in the aftermath with my new laptop in bed. I skipped the SSD for now sadly, canceled that order, used the funds towards a bigger laptop budget, perhaps in a month or three I will find a killer SSD deal. I did order the crucial 8gb ram kit for just under a hundred, and I got the stock upper 15", no screen upgrade, 1gb vram, 2.2 i7 Sandy bridge quad, stock all the way, no choice here as its VIA amazon. got 1 day shipping with a amazon prime trial, end cost was $2064 delivered including 1 day shipping. Not too bad. It will be here thursday, I can't wait, sold my iPad 2 and tower pc for this, I think it was worth it so excited

I liked the iPad 2, but I think next to the power of this laptop I may not buy another after all, but it took the iPad 2 to make me want the portability factor, it was so liberating to move around, can't say I want to be stationed only at my desk anymore.

So I went standard res 15" glossy, eh, does not seem to bother me, but if it does, there is always next upgrade cycle in two years for me. And I still have my matte dell u2311h 23" 1080p e-ips screen. This is the best display I've Eva bought, affordable, quality, Displayport for MBP, dvi/hdmi for PS3, VGA/component breakout for Wii, works perfect

Honestly you might as well go 15". Better graphics card, bigger screen, more performance. I read through your post and didn't see a budget. Since you are also going for a longer term purchase here, as I can tell - and bootcamp - go big or go home. I would configure your own mac from apple.com. Go with a 15" and if you know someone who is a student - you can get a discount.

The thing is, you might as well go with a higher end graphics card, because it's easier to upgrade RAM and hard drives in laptops than it is anything else, IMO.

DJ Big T said:

Honestly you might as well go 15". Better graphics card, bigger screen, more performance. I read through your post and didn't see a budget. Since you are also going for a longer term purchase here, as I can tell - and bootcamp - go big or go home. I would configure your own mac from apple.com. Go with a 15" and if you know someone who is a student - you can get a discount.

The thing is, you might as well go with a higher end graphics card, because it's easier to upgrade RAM and hard drives in laptops than it is anything else, IMO.

Click to expand...

Didn't custom-built anything, but thats what did, i guess budget was about 2 grand-ish for now, ssd will have to wait for a spell.

nice to see to love for all the 15 inches though makes me feel better

SylarPowers said:

Didn't custom-built anything, but thats what did, i guess budget was about 2 grand-ish for now, ssd will have to wait for a spell.

Click to expand...

Oh sorry didn't see your earlier post. Sounds like you got a solid rig. My mom just got a pretty decked out 17" with 4gb of RAM. Honestly if you have 8gb in there you're gonna be impressed. I have 8GB of DDR3 in my 13" MBP and it only has a core 2 duo, so you should be blown away by speed and reliability. Throw in bootcamp or VM Ware and you'll have a sick gaming rig, too!

Not quite as sick as the pc tower I just sold with the 6870, but I'm sure it'll run mass effect & star wars the old republic just fine.

As someone who purchased the base 13", can I just say... Well done, choosing the 15". My 13" is damned near worthless for 3DS Max and Maya. Screen space is just too important.

Step up to the 17'', its great computing up here. The most mobile, comfortable, and capable workstation all in one package. Massive screen real estate, top notch speakers, and like you mentioned, barely more expensive than the upgraded 15''(a must). 17'' all the way!

Do not cheap out over a few hundred bucks on a computer you will have for the next 3+ years. Thats why you are paying the premium for these machines.

Good choice, SP. Gotta go with the hi-end especially if it's gonna be your only computer. Mine plays Risen and Brink quite well, even on my 30" LCD. I set it at 1280x800 and game on!

Patman said:

Step up to the 17'', its great computing up here. The most mobile, comfortable, and capable workstation all in one package. Massive screen real estate, top notch speakers, and like you mentioned, barely more expensive than the upgraded 15''(a must). 17'' all the way!

Do not cheap out over a few hundred bucks on a computer you will have for the next 3+ years. Thats why you are paying the premium for these machines.

Click to expand...

I see the appeal I really do. however, I firmly believe that the 15 inch plus an external display is the best combination of power, portability and desktop stationary resolution . if I can get the power of the 15 inch inside the 13 inch I would ,external displays post portability is the way to go for me .

just outta curiosity are the speakers on the 15 inch weaker than a 17 inch? not that it matters, I plan on using a jawbone jam box.

I'm perfectly fine with my 2009 upper-end 13". When I need to use CS5, it handles it well, although I can't say that I play lots of 3D games….
The portability is really what makes me fall in love with the machine.

yeah I'd like the 15 inch but I want an ipad 2 for quick browsing on the couch. 15 inches portable yes but not convenient. totally diggin the power though. not as fast as my old pc tower, but I think it's the lack of a ssd holding me back, I already miss my ssd

I quickly located gfxcardstatus app, as I prefer browsing with less heat via intergrated.

We've had 2 2011 i7 MBP at work where the trackpads have gradually stopped working, this was due to the batteries bulging against the bottom of them.. replacement batteries have resolved this.

Just a heads up to those who may experience the same. Apart from that, they've (4) been great