Which would you choose - a 17 inch laptop 2.95 lbs vs a 15.6 inch laptop 2.41 lbs.?

[cyber888]

Then it doesn't matter, as you could get a 27" or larger on your desk and plug the laptop into the nice big screen.

I use 2 screens off my computer a 27" and a 24", so the total width is: 51"

That’s generally of no use to me, because I like to lie down on the couch while reading, so I will never use a desktop monitor. But if I do, this 17 inch laptop actually has Thunderbolt 3 which can immediately plug to a dual monitor external display. The 15 inch laptop does not have a Thunderbold3 plug, so .. the 17 inch laptop wins here

 

[cyber888]

But for home use is low weight really worth paying more for?

Its really more of the battery life for me than the weight. Battery life is 19.5 hours on 1 charge .. but actual use may be 12 hours . We’ll see [emoji4]

 

[Rex]

Did this a year ago.....MacBook Air is the 'puter.....Lite weight and easy to travel and use when on the deck. Bought a HUGE monitor to connect the MacBook Air when doing serious bidness at the desk. Best of both worlds. One and done.

 

[JoshTrent]

Did this a year ago.....MacBook Air is the 'puter.....Lite weight and easy to travel and use when on the deck. Bought a HUGE monitor to connect the MacBook Air when doing serious bidness at the desk. Best of both worlds. One and done.

I just upgraded my old (early 2014) MacBook Air to a new one.. LOVE IT! It's easy to dock with the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connection, to my big screen & other wired peripherals. It's built-in screen is brilliant though, and the battery lasts way longer than advertised. I can go 2 full days of browsing/streaming/emailing without the need for a charge.

Which ever you decide, make sure it has USB-C - that will make life easy!

 

[BeachOrCity]

I just upgraded my old (early 2014) MacBook Air to a new one.. LOVE IT! It's easy to dock with the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connection, to my big screen & other wired peripherals. It's built-in screen is brilliant though, and the battery lasts way longer than advertised. I can go 2 full days of browsing/streaming/emailing without the need for a charge.



Which ever you decide, make sure it has USB-C - that will make life easy!

I have the same 2014 MacBook Air. How do you like the new keyboard vs the old one?

I have owned a laptop of various brands since the early 1990s. My 2014 MacBook is the only one I have had this long and is the only one I have continues to be quite happy with after a few years. Don’t want to break this streak!

 

[gauss]

Its really more of the battery life for me than the weight. Battery life is 19.5 hours on 1 charge .. but actual use may be 12 hours . We’ll see [emoji4]

With that type of life, one of my concerns would be if the battery was permanently built in vs being user replaceable. It seems I order a new dell Latitude battery every 12-18 months.

I would hate to think that my laptop was disposable when the battery died.

-gauss

 

[JoshTrent]

I have the same 2014 MacBook Air. How do you like the new keyboard vs the old one?

I have owned a laptop of various brands since the early 1990s. My 2014 MacBook is the only one I have had this long and is the only one I have continues to be quite happy with after a few years. Don’t want to break this streak!

I prefer the new keyboard.. it's less "clicky". I've also been a fan of the Retina Display, which my old one didn't have. The Trackpad did take a little getting used to, but it's more versatile than the old one, just a short learning curve.

I understand your hesitation.. that laptop served me well too! I'd suggest a visit to the Apple Store to try it out.

 

[cyber888]

With that type of life, one of my concerns would be if the battery was permanently built in vs being user replaceable. It seems I order a new dell Latitude battery every 12-18 months.



I would hate to think that my laptop was disposable when the battery died.



-gauss

This laptop’s battery is replaceable and RAM is expandable from 16g to 64g or more. And there are 2 slots for ssd drives. So you can put two 2 TB .. and have 4 TB ssd hard drive storage.

 

[ivinsfan]

You guys that say your laptop never leaves home, what made decide to abandon the desktop model? It seem as if you already have a modern large monitor, the desktop gives you way more bang for your buck.

 

[Music Lover]

Then it doesn't matter, as you could get a 27" or larger on your desk and plug the laptop into the nice big screen.

I use 2 screens off my computer a 27" and a 24", so the total width is: 51"

But the two combined only total about 556 total square inches. I use my 65" TV as a monitor which totals 1800 square inches

 

[kannon]

I have been really surprised at the latest Chromebooks for use during vacations. They are lightweight, fast, great battery life, and very affordable. When not travelling on vacation a 17" laptop being able to move from room to room or to take to a meeting or library is manageable - weight wise really good from just years ago. So I would go with a 17" laptop for basic use and a Chromebook to use on vacations.

 

[Bongleur]

Apple screwed the pooch dropping the 17" macbookpro line after 2011. Its big enough to be my only computer -- except the second GPU for graphics overheats the board & eventually ruins the motherboard. Getting harder to find used ones.

 

[HI Bill]

What apps are you using while travelling? If you're going to do something complicated like Photoshop or non-linear video editing, I'd go for the 17". Otherwise, if your eyes are good enough, go for the 15". It's not just about size and weight, it's about usability.

 

[Sunset]

But the two combined only total about 556 total square inches. I use my 65" TV as a monitor which totals 1800 square inches

Now you are thinking !!

Resolution is an issue by simply going larger, the image can degrade a lot.
We only have a 1K TV which is 55", so I want to upgrade that to 85" 4K.

That would free up the 55" TV to put on my desktop, if the resolution is good.

 

[Music Lover]

Now you are thinking !!

Resolution is an issue by simply going larger, the image can degrade a lot.
We only have a 1K TV which is 55", so I want to upgrade that to 85" 4K.

That would free up the 55" TV to put on my desktop, if the resolution is good.

My TV is a 4K and the resolution is good enough for my needs.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

You guys that say your laptop never leaves home, what made decide to abandon the desktop model? It seem as if you already have a modern large monitor, the desktop gives you way more bang for your buck.

For me, it's simply about portability around the house. I still have an old desktop that's still functional in the den but I spend a lot of time in the den working from home so it's nice to be able to compute in other parts of the house instead. But we also have a couple of alternate, lighter options to bring with us when we travel.

 

[2018]

I use a 17" for home use & US travel. When at home I also have a 24" LED screen attached as a 2nd monitor. This allows me to have a separate screen for a specific app.



Having worked with dual displays for 10+ years I find it difficult to consider a single screen option. You're always minimizing one app to get to another one.


Also, I think the more important consideration will be SSD vs regular HDD. I strongly suggest SSD drive as it speeds boot time tremendously.

 

[Music Lover]

I use a 17" for home use & US travel. When at home I also have a 24" LED screen attached as a 2nd monitor. This allows me to have a separate screen for a specific app.

Having worked with dual displays for 10+ years I find it difficult to consider a single screen option. You're always minimizing one app to get to another one.

I use my 65" TV as a monitor can have two or more pages side by side without them being too small. Even 4 pages on the screen is the equivalent of a 32" screen for each.

 

[6miths]

Personally, my laptop screens have gotten smaller and smaller over the years. In the family we have 5 13" MacBooks and DS with a 15" which seems giant to me now. I guess if I were never going to actually take it anywhere and spend alot of time watching movies on it I might consider 15" but don't see the benefit anymore.

 

[cyber888]

I finally got it. The one in Costco has a smaller 256g drive SSD but has free 4 yr warranty, so I added a 1 TB byte SSD drive as it had an extra slot. Now got 1.25 TB SSD solid state drive.

Compared it to my DW 13.3 Mac Air .. wife said it feels lighter than her Mac book air. This claims to be the lightest 17 inch laptop at 2.95 lbs. I think the 13.3 Macbook is 2.98 lbs

 

[6miths]

That's a monster! But if you like the size, you have to love the weight! Killer light! And you'll never have to worry about drive space and hopefully be able to move the SSD into next computer if time comes to change. Looks good. Enjoy.

 

[Carpediem]

I finally got it. The one in Costco has a smaller 256g drive SSD but has free 4 yr warranty, so I added a 1 TB byte SSD drive as it had an extra slot. Now got 1.25 TB SSD solid state drive.

Which one did you end up getting from Costco? Looks like the choices are: LG, Lenovo, Dell, or HP. Thanks!

 

[cyber888]

Which one did you end up getting from Costco? Looks like the choices are: LG, Lenovo, Dell, or HP. Thanks!

Got the 17 inch LG Gram .. it is the lightest 17 inch laptop at 2.95 lbs. LG also claims 19.5 hours of battery life. But some users say 12 hours actual. I've used it all day and still has plenty left. Right now, it says my battery has 9 hours left.

 

[cyber888]

That's a monster! But if you like the size, you have to love the weight! Killer light! And you'll never have to worry about drive space and hopefully be able to move the SSD into next computer if time comes to change. Looks good. Enjoy.

I got this ssd drive with 1 TB from Amazon and it cost $134. cheap and superfast. it says developed in USA

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Rock...s=sabrent+1tb&qid=1557537325&s=gateway&sr=8-2

 

[denstl]

I have a 13" HP Spectre and love it. I was a little concerned about the screen size but wanted something portable, powerful and full featured. This laptop meets all my needs and no issue with the screen size. With the resolution it has I do not notice the smaller screen. But with the SSD drive, really long battery life and light weight, I take this laptop on all our vacations and to many of my volunteer activities where I help with IT tasks. No regrets with the smaller display.