15" vs. 13" MacBook Pro?

Has anyone used a MacPro 15" laptop on a plane? Does it fit on the tray table? I'm upgrading from my 14" G4 iBook which is too large. 15" is a lot more usable than a 13" and much better hardware.B ut this is a second machine and portability is pretty important. Good deals on 15" refurbs from the Apple Store.

I will be doing a lot of image processing while on trips.

Jack

Has anyone used a MacPro 15" laptop on a plane? Does it fit on the tray table? I'm upgrading from my 14" G4 iBook which is too large. 15" is a lot more usable than a 13" and much better hardware.B ut this is a second machine and portability is pretty important. Good deals on 15" refurbs from the Apple Store.

 

I will be doing a lot of image processing while on trips.

 

Jack

I have used and iBook G3, a couple of 15" and a 17" on an airplane. The 17 inch is a bit large, the 15" is usuable, and can fill the tray but is usuable, or some knuckleheads push back the seat in front too much. I picked up a 15" refurb to carry instead of a 17" to drop some weight, and I like the machine, though sometimes miss the 17" screen. The weight of the 17" is about a pound more than the 15", which is an okay reduction. I am kicking around the idea of a 13" (new one since they added FW) to drop some weight. Really depends, if you are going to do alot of computing on a trip, and weight is not an issue, 15" is a good one to get. (In other words when I go away for 2-3 weeks, having more power and screen, even if there is a bigger footprint and weight, is worth it to me to have, even if not perfect on the plane.)

Keep in mind that the 13" MBP has a low-resolution screen: 1280 by 800 pixels. That has never been enough for me to work with, so the 15" is bare minimum. Would you give up that screen real estate for your 1-2 week trip, just so you can work during your 1-2 days on the plane?

My old 15" PowerBook G4 has been on many flights. Great size for a screen. Not as portable as a 13", to be sure, but as others notes, the extra screen real estate is very nice to have.

They DO fit on an airplane tray, although some planes/seat configurations are tighter than others, especially if the person in front tilts their seat back. I've always been able to compensate from bringing it a little closer to me, though.

Hmm, ok, screen real estate, faster processor and better resolution has won the day. Just was sort of looking forward to something much smaller, and actually my iPhone wins hands down!

Got a great deal on a fairly loaded 15" refurb. for what it's worth:

Apple Store 15" refurb

Yeah it's last week's model and doesn't have the SD slot, but the specs are better for less money. New, even with rebates these puppies are going for $21-2200.

Sold the iBook very quickly on CL for $550, so it's a reasonable upgrade.

Jack

Yeah it's last week's model and doesn't have the SD slot, but the specs are bette for less money. New, even with rebates these puppies are going for $21-2200.

I have the model right before that model and no complaints whatsover (though I do need to get some more RAM in it at some point, mine is with the stock 2 Gigs.) You may want to look into an ExpressCard (they make ones for FW and ones eSATA) good to have for externals. I have a couple of the small drives to carry along and it is nice for capturing/backing up etc. Also a back up of the boot drive. In fact you can get a back up of the boot drive and Applications on a USB stick now (can't get all of the Final Cut Studio Templates etc on it, but enough so you can restore the computer and do what you have to do, or even boot and work from it, slow of course, but in a pinch it is good to have. Just be careful with apps like Adobe where you can wipe out authorizations..)

I have the model right before that model and no complaints whatsover (though I do need to get some more RAM in it at some point, mine is with the stock 2 Gigs.) You may want to look into an ExpressCard (they make ones for FW and ones eSATA) good to have for externals. I have a couple of the small drives to carry along and it is nice for capturing/backing up etc. Also a back up of the boot drive. In fact you can get a back up of the boot drive and Applications on a USB stick now (can't get all of the Final Cut Studio Templates etc on it, but enough so you can restore the computer and do what you have to do, or even boot and work from it, slow of course, but in a pinch it is good to have. Just be careful with apps like Adobe where you can wipe out authorizations..)

The mere thought of cloning the OS and basic apps onto a 16gb SDHC card and booting a MBP from it simply makes me giddy.

The mere thought of cloning the OS and basic apps onto a 16gb SDHC card and booting a MBP from it simply makes me giddy.

Go with the USB, Intel Macs boot from them

I'm trying to figure why you'd use an express card/sata instead of a USB ext drive?

Jack

I'm trying to figure why you'd use an express card/sata instead of a USB ext drive?

 

Jack

Hey Jack,

I ran some tests on my PC last year using both and the express card was about 3 or 4 time faster. Here is the quote from the May post last year.

quoting from old post

OK, ran some tests and in my Vaio and the ExpressCard wins hands down. I ran the test on my laptop, Intel 2 Duo CPU 2.0 GHz processor, running Vista (what a pain in the a$$!) I uploaded a Sandisk Extreme III 4 GB cf card with 1.5 GB of images. Used a mixture of about 90 raw and the rest JPEG.

Using a new GE USB 2.0 CF adapter Load time was 9 min 30 sec. ($18.00 at Circuit City)

Using a new Verbatim Expresscard 34 CF adapter Load time was 2 min. 15 sec. ($35.00 on Amazon)

I used a current updated version of CS3 Bridge.

end quote

You'd have to check with your current drives and system but the express card at least has the potential to be much faster.

Steve

I've been thinking about switching over to Apple for some time now. However, I've got a Windows desktop at home AND my trusty little 13" Fujitsu Lifebook (S-Series) AND the machine I use for work (company issued) is a Dell. The Fujitsu is an older machine with only a 1028x780 screen and that is slightly annoying and my desktop is also four or five years old, but they work fine. My only real beefs are with Microsoft and with the small hard drive (60GB) on the Fujitsu, which has become limiting only to the extent that I have to keep most data files on a USB hard drive unless I want to swap out the laptop hard drive for a larger one. Basically, IF I switch over, I need to have the new machine be my one-and-only. I don't see myself dropping the coin to get a Mac desktop and the MacBook both. But the 13" MacBook Pro is limited (no dedicated graphics, etc.) for use as a desktop and I'd prefer to have less weight to travel with. Plus there is the issue of switching over all of the freakin' software I have (actually not all that much, I suppose, as long as some data files are transportable between Mac and Windows versions of certain popular software. I'd also not be able to load any more of my own software onto the work machine. So, what to do . . .

When I use to travel with a 15" powerbook I would have said that it was easy to travel with.

Now that I have a MacAir I would say traveling with the 15" is like traveling with a tank. The kind with treads on it.

FWIW my friend just got the 15". Nice, but I would never travel with it now.

The express card slot is definitely NOTICEABLY faster. Perfect example with my 17" MBP, I download my the SDHC cards for my EX1 through the Express card adapter, and the 16GB card takes approximately 3-4 minutes to download all clips. When using USB 2.0, the same cards take 12-15 minutes. I wont even download the cards into my Mac Pro desktop, I do all the transfers to my external drive while its plugged into the MBP, then switch the drive to the Mac Pro for main editing.

I've been thinking about switching over to Apple for some time now. However, I've got a Windows desktop at home AND my trusty little 13" Fujitsu Lifebook (S-Series) AND the machine I use for work (company issued) is a Dell. The Fujitsu is an older machine with only a 1028x780 screen and that is slightly annoying and my desktop is also four or five years old, but they work fine. My only real beefs are with Microsoft and with the small hard drive (60GB) on the Fujitsu, which has become limiting only to the extent that I have to keep most data files on a USB hard drive unless I want to swap out the laptop hard drive for a larger one. Basically, IF I switch over, I need to have the new machine be my one-and-only. I don't see myself dropping the coin to get a Mac desktop and the MacBook both. But the 13" MacBook Pro is limited (no dedicated graphics, etc.) for use as a desktop and I'd prefer to have less weight to travel with. Plus there is the issue of switching over all of the freakin' software I have (actually not all that much, I suppose, as long as some data files are transportable between Mac and Windows versions of certain popular software. I'd also not be able to load any more of my own software onto the work machine. So, what to do . . .

The Apple's are usually going to be more pricey, but iof you spec them out on a more comparable level, the difference is not that much (meaning often the ads, like the current ones where people are going in and buying a PC and get the money are machines that are not quite the same features, when features are matched up more apples to apples, as it were, the difference is not as much.)

Usually most files are switchable between PC and Macs. Of course not all are, but most standard apps work fine. Some things are PC only. I do run run some PC programs in Paralells which works pretty well for the things I use, but nothing major on the software side. I love Macs, but I would not rely on a Air (or any laptop of any brand) as my sole machine for working based on what I need to do. I have a 15" and 17" which I really like, and have used them for extended periods of time when travelling to do work, but when I can back to my newest tower there is alot more Power. Of course when I got my 17" Laptop, I did find it better than my older tower that I was still working on. Even a refreshed (Applspeak for Refub) iMac may make life alot easier. A refreshed Tower and you will be pretty happy. Alot of it also depends on what software you are running. Obviously Photoshop, Lightroom or similar things(?) You could list what you use to get a better sense.

I wouldn't worry too much. I think Apple will put back the Express slot in the next iteration. They already have the matte display back (albeit at $50 more!). They did the same with FW800 and were forced to put it back. On rare occasions, they actually do listen to customers when sales are on the line.

On the ExpressCard discussion, you have to be really careful on what you purchase. The ExpressCard slot offers PCIe AND USB connections in the same form factor, the majority of "ExpressCard" devices (other than eSATA) are actually USB....so the performance is going to be the same.

I have a 2007 15" MBP 2.4Ghz that I travel with on a very regular basis, I wish I could find a way to carry the 17" around...but unless you fly first class, don't expect to ever use it on the plane. The 15" can still be a bit of a squeeze in general coach seating, but then so is just sitting there. In a perfect world, I'd have a MB Air for most of my work (or a new Apple tablet?) and the MBP for the heavy hitting. I have mine decked out with a 5400rpm 500GB drive, but may swap that for the 7200rpm version once the bugs are resolved. I also have 6GB of RAM in it, and I use all 6GB on a regular basis.

Just to note; I love the new 17" MacBook I bought and am glad I opted for a better screen and computing power over a smaller form factor.

I'm actually finding I mostly use my iPhone on flights anyway.

Jack