13" MBP with SSD or 15" with HDD?

Hey all,
I'm looking to get a MBP to replace a returned Dell XPS M1330 (which was replaced with a SXPS 16, both of which had problems leading to me getting a full refund after 2 years which you can read about in the Dell XPS forums if interested). I'm not really interested in going back to Dell since I've had so much trouble with their laptops and I'm not really interested in any other laptops out there (the Envy is nice but....eh....I'd rather have a macbook). I don't do a lot of gaming, just simple games like The Sims 3, Rome: Total War (but only after watching an awesome movie/tv series like Gladiator or Rome respectively) and Civ series of games since I prefer to play non-strategy games on my xbox on the big screen sitting on the couch. I usually only play them a couple times a month. I will be using the laptop to just do basic stuff like surfing the internet, photo editing, college stuff (nothing too intensive since i'm a neurobiology and spanish double major), and to watch HD movies which I've borrowed from "friends".

Anyways, I'm trying to decide between a 13" and 15" with the following specs:

13" - $2002.00
-2.4 ghz Core2 Duo
-256GB SSD (or possible 128 if I decide to save some money since the extra space isn't all that important since I've got a 500GB portable HDD)
-Applecare

15" - $2028.00
-2.4 ghz Core i5
-320GB HDD @ 5400 RPM (switching to the 128GB SSD would raise the price to $2298.00 which is a bit steep and more than the refund I'm expecting which is about $2000)
-Hi-Res Display
-Applecare

So my questions of course are whether I should choose the SSD or the better processor, display and GPU? I'm sure that the Core i5 will be more future-proof but I have a feeling I won't notice that much of a difference given what I'll be doing. I've heard good things about SSDs but I'm also worried about the deal with TRIM, which I'm admittedly not that knowledgeable about but I think I understand the general gist. Since I have the warranty I want the SSD/HDD to be covered which is why I'm not installing it aftermarket and I want to increase the likelihood of Apple supporting it. Also, is the upgraded Hi-Res display really that great or do you think that the display on the 13" is good enough for watching HD movies (I'm not really that picky but I don't want ti to look bad). Finally, after comparing the two in an Apple store, is it just me or does the 15" keyboard look kinda funny. There is this relatively large touchpad and the keyboard just looks really smooshed up toward the screen and there are huge areas of space on both sides of the touchpad. It just looks kinda awkward on the 15" but the 13" looks quite normal. It may just be that I'm used to the way the 13" looks. What do you think?

Anyways, thanks for reading all that nonsense and I appreciate any advice!

 

I'd go for the 15 inch to make your movie and photo editing experience better.

(higher resolution)

 

i'd get the 13" .. then buy your own SSD.. one of those with the TRIM stuff auto built in so the OS doesn't have to do it.

While CPU intensive apps like video encoding will be slower... overall snappiness of the machine will feel much faster with a SSD

 

Whatever you do, don't get the SSD upgrade from Apple. I can guarantee you that it will be last-gen tech for a much higher price than it should be.

 

Yeah the only problem with putting my own SSD in is that it won't be covered under the extended applecare warranty thing which would be kinda sad

 

the drive will have its own warranty... if something goes wrong with it, you can still get it replaced.

I like having my own drives in my Macs simply cuz i don't trust Apple. I have the stock drive that came in my 13"er here sitting in an antistatic bag in the closet. If I ever need to send the machine in for repair.. I swap that drive back into it, and they don't have any of my data.... if my hard drive dies, well then i can take care of that myself.

 

I would definitely choose the 15" macbook pro just for the better newest i5 processor, dedicated graphics card, higher resolution (glossy or AG), SD slot.
But if you want to choose price + portability, choose the 13".
SSD is great but having to choose all those mentioned above for a SSD is out of the Q. You can always get one later one and add it yourself.

 

same + you get bigger display if you have eye sight problems.