What laptop display size works for me?

[matthew]

i was wondering, does anyone here study architecture? cos am about to enter my studies and will need a notebook yet i am a bit affraid that 13 inch macbook might be just a little too small for work. and the macbook pros start a bit too higher on prices. also i have a 20 inch intel iMac, would it be then possible to connect the macbook to it to attain a bigger screen?

//Thread Title Edited. Sorry everyone! -NC

[dreadnaut]

I've got a sister in the field, and I'm charge of the "informatic" side, so I'll tell you: you will not use you laptop for cad. It's going to be tiny and unconfortable, or bulky and annoying to carry around. CAD on a desktop, and the bigger the screen the better. Same for photo retouching, if you are into that, but it's less "extreme".

You'll use your laptop for the usual stuff, so 13" could be enough - because it's enough in general ( I work on a 12", and I'm fine with it - but no graphics for me)

edit: btw, can you get rid of the uppercase words? they look... dunno, they actually just annoy me

[aashish13]

wow the thread title is totally misleading...

I'd say not good enough. The 15-17 are pretty portable if you ask me.

Plus they have a bigger res.

[metallicamaster3]

15" & 17" ftw. I never purchased a MacBook for the simple reason the screens are just too small.

I also own a 15.4" Dell Inspiron 1501 and sometimes that gets too small.

[Markoz]

I think 13 inches is good enough for me.

[g8trtim]

Architecture Student domain:

No good for CAD

Fine for anything else

I'm a grad student and mac + webct is a nightmare. Most webclasses, streaming video, etc is designed around windows, ie, and wmp. using a mac is a giant headache.

[SbuxBlaze]

It depends on what you will be doing with it. if you want it for architecture program things then I'd say 13" is a little too small.

[Ellada]

Most are happy with 13 inches, but remember, size doesn't matter if you don't know how to take advantage of it.

[Ken]

I also need plenty of screen space for work (web design and multimedia applications), but it's hard to find a laptop with adequate screen resolution. Especially now that MacBook (Pro or not) have widescreen displays, they tend to be a little "short".

Personally, I would only be satisfied with the screen resolution of the most expensive 17" MacBook Pro (1920x1200 pixels), but my budget only allowed for a white MacBook (1280x800).

Working on certain applications is just bearable sometimes but, plugging in a second monitor is a great productivity boost. It reduces the need to frequently zoom in and out in your document/page, or to use expose in order to switch windows & applications.

I'd say that you can get a MacBook, only if you keep a second monitor in your base station (home/office/anything).

Good luck

[liquidplasmaflow]

Most are happy with 13 inches, but remember, size doesn't matter if you don't know how to take advantage of it.

Congratulations, you win the Post of the Year award

[metallicamaster3]

Most are happy with 13 inches, but remember, size doesn't matter if you don't know how to take advantage of it.

Of course, trust Ellada to know all about that .

jp

[Seckoa]

Actually, I have a 19'' Flat Widescreen Monitor by SAMSUNG and it is perfect. If I'm getting a macbook it will be atleast 15''

[CubanPete]

i was wondering, does anyone here study architecture?

I study Architectural Engineering...

[Levi- The perfectionist]

I sell Apple products for a living.

...and I must say, im dissappointed in the Macbook's 13" display. the colours are dull and the sceen isnt very bright... specially when compared to PC counterparts (eg- the Sony Vaio series)

I own a Macbook Pro 15", so perhaps im biased, but if you're studying architecture, where attention to detail is a must, definately go with a MBP either 15" or 17" ... they have nice bright and clear displays...

you can always hook up an external monitor tho, if u do want the smaller MB, but im not sure about the iMac. Im pretty sure its only got DVI video out.

[anyadiva]

Absolutely you will need a Macbook, 13″, decent choice you get a free nano (Which you can sell of course). Nice! So good luck!

[kjohnson]

If Apple makes a MacBook with a 17", I'll buy it. 13" screens, even if it's an Apple is pretty silly. Anything (Windows/Mac) is pointless, especially if you actually want to see anything on the screen.

Get at MacBook Pro with 15" screen, or get a grownup machine with a 17" screen. You'll never go back.

[beef]

A 13in is a perfect size, unless you take the laptop to work and watch movies or you play video games on it. But if you don't care about caring a larger laptop and you have the money then get one than do you won't be disappointed.