Macbook pro 15.4 vs 17 with my setup?

[grubstep]

im looking into taking the leap and purchasing one of these bad ass machines
the only differences i notice seem pretty slight

difference in the hi-res(1680x1050 in the 15.4 and 1920x1200 pixels in the 17)

# of USB ports(2 in the 15.4 and 3 in the 17)

with both i have the option of the 500GB ATA Drive at 7200 rpm, 2.66 GHz intel 7 processor and 8GB of RAM

is it worth shelling out the extra $200 USD for the bigger, slightly higher res screen and one more usb port?

will i be fine with just two usb ports with the following set-up?

im planning on using it mostly for djing using serato scratch live 2.0 and production with logic studio and possibly ableton suite

The set up besides the laptop for DJing will include a Pioneer DJM 800, the rane sl3, and two technics 1210s
Im planning on getting just a M-Audio Oxygen 8 controller to help with logic

any words of wisdom?

[collige]

Stick with 15. 17" is a pain to carry around and the resolution won't help with much that's music related since graphics on plugins won't get bigger with your bigger screen.

[gnome]

Yeah and if you use it for live performance a 17" will be a pain in the arse to see properly

[wayoftheworld]

yeah i'd go with the 15

[grubstep]

thanks for the advice, i would much rather spend the $200 on the other equipment i still need to buy.

[wayoftheworld]

i have no idea how much faster the i7 chip in the 17" would be over the i5 in the 15".....either way im thinking about buying a new 13" pro, but ive been considering just buying a used white macbook and using the $500+ left over for software. hmmmm

[grubstep]

i dont know if this makes a huge difference to you but the i7 is available in the 15.4 as well as the 17, just not in the 13

I'm looking at the refurbished macs and there are some pretty sweet deals.

I had one more question if i can get help with an answer... if i get a macbook with 4GB of ram is that good enough for what i want to do? or is the extra 4 that much sweeter? any advice would be great

[grubstep]

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hard ... 48391.aspx

this websit has some good insight as to the i5 vs i7. doesnt seem like it makes too huge of a difference, more of a marketing gimmic

[symmetricalsounds]

if i had the money would go with the 17" everytime, there is no way that more screen space isn't a good idea, if you really need that 200 for other stuff then get the other stuff. always know which one i would prefer though.

[abZ]

I am not a Mac guy but I used a 17" pc for djing for a while. Hated it. I have a 15.6 inch screen much better. Would have liked a 13" even more but I couldn't find one cheap.

[symmetricalsounds]

don't think i've ever met someone who prefers a smaller screen...fair nuff but i just don't get it. i find it difficult to deal with just one monitor never mind a 13" screen.

[chewie]

Just got the latest 15" macbook pro 2.66 i7, had a 17" mbp before this. I'd say get the 15" the hi res version of the screen is sweet. Maybe even wait till the macbooks get an update cos it sounds like you might not need the nvidia graphics card that comes with the mbp unless your doing video SL

[abZ]

don't think i've ever met someone who prefers a smaller screen...fair nuff but i just don't get it. i find it difficult to deal with just one monitor never mind a 13" screen.

I have dual 19" monitors on my desktop set up I don't know why I would need a big bulky battery eating laptop for a mobile device. If you are going to only own one computer then maybe I would suggest a 17" laptop but otherwise it is unnecessary imo.

[symmetricalsounds]

don't think i've ever met someone who prefers a smaller screen...fair nuff but i just don't get it. i find it difficult to deal with just one monitor never mind a 13" screen.

I have dual 19" monitors on my desktop set up I don't know why I would need a big bulky battery eating laptop for a mobile device. If you are going to only own one computer then maybe I would suggest a 17" laptop but otherwise it is unnecessary imo.

i'd have the bigger screen simply so i can see more of my live-set at once. more screen space the better IMO, i don't care about battery power because it will be plugged in 99% of the time, but that's just me.

[Tragic_Gash]

Stick with 15. 17" is a pain to carry around and the resolution won't help with much that's music related since graphics on plugins won't get bigger with your bigger screen.

actually in logic 9 u can resize the plugin interfaces, at least on the logic instruments

[nowaysj]

Who died and left you all these thousands of dollars to spend on dj equipment?

[ninjadog]

If you watch a lot of movies and will also be gaming a 17" makes sense. Otherwise the 15 will be fine. Having said that I have no problems with my 13" macbook. If I need more screen space I can hook up to my monitor or my big ass TV. If I'm making beats on the road I would prefer the smaller screens as well.
Whatever lappy you get the best performance will be from maxed out RAM anyway. Production wise i5 vs i7 both with maxed ram would be pretty much identical.

[grubstep]

Who died and left you all these thousands of dollars to spend on dj equipment?

When I was doin my thang I had strategy man
Sellin' what ? you should have seen me man
You would have been proud of me 'cause I was briliant wid it
I snuck in and snuck out without slippin in it
Get what you need out the game and sit your ass down
Invest your money in some thangs and start clockin' pal

[lazermouse]

http://gizmodo.com/5524473/core-i7-macb ... water-boil

Go for the 15.4" model