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stonyc
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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2005-02-02, 15:40



First post AND making the switch... phew.

Trying to decide between the 12" and the 15" is like trying to decide between a Porsche or a Ferrari. The agony... (as a friend told me today: "Whichever one you choose, I'm gonna be jealous..")

Anyways, I have a desktop PC at home which I'll be keeping for a couple more years but I really want something that I can take to/from work and while traveling...

I would do alot of image manipulation (photoshop/gimp), presentations (powerpoint), and research... as well as a little DJing on the side. I already have the software in mind (megaseg)... but was wondering what peoples' opinions were regarding what I need my PB to do, and which of the two (12" or 15") would be a better fit.

Here's my thoughts... throwing out price as a consideration for now, because a) I have the money to spend on either, and b) I feel both are priced well for what they offer.

What I like/dis-like about the 12":
+ size and weight, small footprint
+ battery life
- screen size (this is really my only concern, especially with respect to image editing)
- the soldered 256mb RAM chip, lower memory ceiling than the 15"
- no backlit keyboard (not a biggie, but still)

What I like/dis-like about the 15":
+ screen size
+ vram upgradeable to 128mb
- size (do people having experience with both the 12" and 15" find a big difference in their respective "portabilities"?)

Not really considering the 17" because portability is one of the main factors. Thanks in advance, I'll look forward to seeing what people think..
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Mister Black
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Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2005-02-02, 15:45

As far as portability, I don't think that the 12" is especially MORE portable unless you're a small girl. Unless you're looking for the price break on the 12" (which you don't seem to be), I say go with the 15" all the way. Particularly if you're going to be doing any photo editing, you'll appreciate the additional real estate.
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Franz Josef
Passing by
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
 
2005-02-02, 15:48

OK. Lot's of personal preference stuff here. Why 12" is the beast to have. Small footprint - it's practically a PDA and weighs nothing. I have never thought the screen is small. Upgrade RAM to 1.25GB - v easy, insert single chip. Backlit keyboard - not relevant. And its beautiful.
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Track_40
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2005-02-02, 16:20

I think if your going to be doing anything in Photoshop, you'll be sorry w/ a 12. Screen real estate is priceless, man, PRICELESS. I mean the 15" is less than 3" wider, and weighs only a pound more. Plus the 128mb ATI GPU in the 15 smokes the Nvidia in the 12" -- esp now that the 15" video card is dual link compatible (meaning you could hook the 30" cinema display up to it).

Also let's not forget system ram - the 15 will let you expand a tad more.

Don't be a puss.
Get the 15.
:smokey:
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Paul
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: New York City
 
2005-02-02, 16:59

the 15" is very portable, you just have to convince yourself that it is ok to take a $2500 computer wherever you go. The main draw for the 12" (IMHO) is the price more then anything else. The size is really nice, but it is not THAT much more work to have the 15"... they are both pretty much the same WRT durability. If that is really a concern then maybe a 12" iBook would be a better choice? If you can deal with stuffing an extra grand into the book, by all means get the bigger screen.

The best way to decide would be to go down to an Apples Store and take a look. The 15" and 17" are REALLY close to being the same, but the 15" is a bit more portable and "solid". The 12" is MUCH smaller, but really requires the same amount of care as the 15". So if you can handle the extra pound (shrimp! ) it should be a no-brainer... but again, go test out both at a store.

1215/234215 (top .51875%)
People really have got to stop thinking there is only one operating system, one economic system, one religion, and one business model. -EvilTwinSkippy (/.)
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SonOfSylvanus
Fro Productions(tm)
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: London Town
 
2005-02-02, 17:11

If your "DJing on the side" involves you carrying around hundreds of records, you won't care about the weight advantages of the 12" over the 15".

Concerning image manipulation—you will treasure the extra screen real estate the 15" will bring you. Unless you have a quality external monitor that you can hook up a 12" to while at your desk at home, the 12" is not really suited to Photoshopping et al.

As for RAM—the sweet spot price-performance wise for Panther (the current Mac operating system) is generally considered to be 1GB. 512MB is considered to be a realistic minimum requirement (which the 15" PowerBooks come with in 1 SO-DIMM as standard). Thus, the 1.25GB ceiling for the 12" should not be a problem. If you have the funds to drop 2GB of notebook RAM in the 15"—then the 15" becomes more attractive again.

bouncy bouncy
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stonyc
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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2005-02-02, 20:04

Thanks everyone for their helpful advice... I like that there's a little more room to grow into with the 15", so I'll start lifting weights again to carry that extra ~1 pound.
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