15.4" or 17"

I just wanted to see which size gaming laptop ya'll prefer, from either a 15.4" or a 17". Im thinking of getting a 15" but then i saw a 17" with the same card and a little cheaper. oh and if you have a 15" and wish you had a bigger screen then pick the 17"

 

I would preffer a 15.4 inches. Because it aint small but it aint big and 17 is too big for me. If you are travelling a lot i would suggest you take 15.4.

 

Now that 256bit cards can be had in 15 inch notebooks, 15.4" is all I need. I like my power packed into a more mobile platform.

 

Love my little 15.4", have owned 17's just a little big for me however if I was replacing a desktop I might go 17" maybe.

 

for gaming I'd go for 17", but if you plan on carrying it around places 15.4"

what about 16"

 

15.4 has my vote, whats the point in a laptop that is not portable. and 17in is not portable at all

 

Some 15" already are on par with 17" DTR, albeit no SLI/dual graphics. So my vote goes to 15".

 

Well this really comes down to each persons situation. Back in my college days I would have said 15"; however 17" now because I don't travel too much.

A 17" @ 1920x1200 eliminates the need for an external monitor. I don't have to worry about that + keyboard and all that other jazz; I just use it as-is.

 

There are 18" laptops.

It would ultimately depend on the use you will be giving it, if you're more of a mobile person and you need to use it quite a bit on the go then the 15.4" would be a better choice (smaller, lighter yet still useful), while the 17" could be better if you decide to take it or need it with you on some occasions but where most of the time you would use it on the deskptop. And then there are people who just don't mind about weight or size

 

Well when i go off to college next year i will be buying a sager 926x laptop and a sager 579x laptop. One to take to class and one to keep in the dorm. Obviously the 926x will stay in the dorm, while the other will stay at home.

 

Well i had a 15.4 before and now i have a 17" ... I can tell you that i would prefer to go back to a 15.4 since i move alot and find the 17" a bit to big and heavy , Yes the screen is nice , but usualy your close to your laptop so 15.4 to 17 isn't that much ... !

my point of view !

 

15.4 is way better, more portability........more or less

 

For those of you saying 17" are too heavy... shame on you.
the 8-9 lbs of a 17" are really not that big of a deal to any heathy person.
Unless you have a physical handicap, even 10lbs should not bother you one bit. (time to hit the gym if it does)

17" are larger and bulkier... this matters more on planes or crowded areas.

17" screens are nice and 17" laptops have more room for cooling and additional features.

Consider 15" to be the size required for a full-capability gaming laptop, and 17" to be the performance models.

15" has its advantages and so does 17".

I prefer to judge on a laptop-by-laptop basis.

 

I had a 15.4 for years and recently upgrade to a 17. I like the larger screen, but what I have found has really been the best upgrade is the full size keyboard and numberpad. I don't take the laptop out much, but when I do, it is considerably heavier and bulkier. So, if you keep it at home mostly, go with 17 inch, if you will be taking it out a lot, I would look into a 15.4.

 

Depends on your needs. If you don't move a lot and stay at home, you could easily live with a 17''.

 

This is very confusing to me... y not a desktop to stay at home... much cheaper and MUCH better performance if you're not gonna lug it around. TWO high end laptops is rediculous.... sorry if i'm off topic


If you want SLI get 17" ultimately i like 15" for portablility though and you can always get an external monitor. the 7811 was just too good to pass up for me however...

 

14.1" with a 9650M GT, N80 FTW!

 

Because i doubt that in a dorm i'd be able to fit all of that. And i dont think it'll be just one person in the dorm room. So i am opting for a laptop.

Though i'll have to w8 till i graduate next year to decide on what im going to opt for. I will be working this summer to save up for the 926x laptop.

And after wards figure out what i want to do.

 

if ya got the money more power to ya! i'm jealous but you can get a super uber desktop if you build it with >2k$ and i'm sure you'll have room. dorms are small but usually have a desk per person.

Edit: jsut my advice anyway...

 

I agree with mormegil, college dorm rooms are small but you dont need to build a full tower case. A mid tower is fairly small in my opinion and best of all you can upgrade it.

My advice would be to get a nice desktop (since you're in a dorm remember to get a nice case that you can lock and to lock it down to the desk as you would with a laptop) and if you need something for class get a netbook.

You could build a high end rig for 2000 (including monitor) and get a netbook for 350-400 so 2400 for ultra mobility when you need it and super gaming when you dont.

If you're THAT into gaming then i believe a dual 8800 or 9800 build will only cost you about 1500 total. You can even go with a single 260 and still be set for awhile and eventually upgrade.

If you decide to go this route get a good motherboard, case, and PSU. DDR2 ram is dirt cheap and you can get a mid range card or an older high end card as i said.

I never really understood the point of a 17inch unless you were to travel for long time periods (work away from home for a week+ at a time where you can setup your 17 inch in the hotel)

 

Really it doesn't matter too much because you can always buy another monitor (talking just sitting in dorms, rooms, home, etc.) with amazing resolution and a huge screen. If you decide to get a 15.4, even a 17 its a nice upgrade with a separate monitor, plus depending on the laptop it might have HDMI. I personally, don't think screen size is a major factor.

 

it isnt, its what 17 inch laptops offer over 15.4's. Bigger chassis more room for features.

 

This is a tough question, and one we really can't answer for you. The way I see it is that while a 17" laptop is likely to be more powerful and run cooler than a 15.4" laptop, it's much less portable since it's rather large. So, if you don't plan on moving your laptop much (or at all) and don't plan on using it on your lap, then go for the 17".

If you want your laptop to be portable and still want to have a decent gaming machine, then buy a smaller, cheaper laptop (15.4" or less) and build your own gaming desktop.

I'm a student and 15.4" is the upper limit of what I would want to carry around to do work. I realize that my Dell Inspiron 1520 is getting old (by computer years ) and that much thinner and lighter 15.4" notebooks exist now. However, I wish I had purchased a smaller, cheaper laptop (~14") and then put the rest of the money into building my own desktop.

 

Then i guess i'll buy me the 926x laptop this summer and buy an eee pc to bring to class for school work.

gotta love the eee pc

 

sorry to get off topic, crash, how stable is the OC on your 1520? i havent attemtped to OC mine yet.

and for the record i vote for netbook or small cheap notebook + killer desktop

 

17 inches!

 

it really depends on what you like and need, however i have a 17" and am quite happy with it despite it's a 10lbs burden in my backpack

 

I wud prefer 17" coz it gonna have a lil big body with SLI graphics card, high resolution and low temperature

 

You all need to pump some iron! LOL

My Laptop is a 17'', and I found no trouble carrying it around to and from college. It makes it easy when you have a good, solid, comfortable backpack to use, and your arms arn't the size of a twig.

I do see why people say 15.4'' is better, but when you only have one gaming laptop, and no desktop (or it's a really old desktop, not recommended for gaming), then 17'' is best. Unless you like gaming on a 15.4'' screen. *EWW*

 

15.4" cause 17" is too big to take around and 15.4" now have 256-bit GPUs.

 

16"

But if I had to choose, I'd choose 17". Bigger = better right!? A couple extra pounds (if that) shouldn't break anybody's back. More breathing room for better components or better cooling. Oh, and that whole size factor... it's bigger ...so it's better

 

I think it's time I update my sig haha... I had that OC over a year ago and stuck with it for about 8-10 months or so. However, over the summer I reformatted my computer and have since decided to not OC my GPU. Back in the day I was using the 169.09 driver The OC was very stable and I had no issues with it, I just don't game as much anymore on my laptop, so I didn't bother OC'ing my 1520 after my reformat this summer.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions about it. I can dig up some old posts/threads that I created on it if you'd like!

I still think it's the best deal

Haha, I can assure you, I lift enough weights to carry around a 17" laptop However, I still find it much more comfortable to carry a small laptop around since I often have other things with me (notebooks, textbooks, etc) and have to ride long distances on my bike to get to and from school.

 

I don't think there's really a wrong choice. It's mostly personal preference - some people say get a 13.3-inch laptop if you're going to be carrying it around, but I don't mind carrying a 15.4-inch one around at all. Same goes for 15.4 vs. 17. I was debating the same thing 18 months ago. I went with 15.4-inch and don't regret the decision. It's light enough to carry around comfortably (unless I have way too many books with me), just barely small enough for the economy section of an airplane, and gets decent battery life. A 17-inch would lose some on those grounds, but the bigger screen would be nice - I doubt I would have regretted that choice, either. Had Dell not pulled the Inspiron 1705 with 7900 GS graphics the day before I was going to buy it, I would have gone 17-inch.

I only overclock my core clock due to the desktop having a delayed reaction after closing a game if I overclock the VMem (as well as having read it's usually safer to OC the core - no temp sensor on the VMem), but so far my 600/400 OC has been very stable. No artifacting, no crashes. Since I increment it very slowly, I haven't actually run 600/400 that much (several hours for sure, but not for weeks on end), but I've run 590+/400 for weeks without any trouble. At 1280x800 (the highest resolution I have access to), with the 178.26 drivers, a 595/400 OC gave me 4215 in 3dmark06. I don't appear to have run 3dmark06 with the full 600/400 OC or with newer drivers.

But the difference isn't huge. I haven't switched my drivers since I reinstalled XP earlier this month for faster performance, so I'm still on the 174.31 Dell ones with no overclocking. Those settings give me 3804 3dmarks at the same settings for comparison, and 4048 at 580/400 clocks (178.26 gave 4138 at 579/400).

 

I saw 15.4 inch because it gets the balance right. You can still get decent cards in 15.4 inch laptops (8600GT, 3650 etc) but you can still move the thing. I know an owner of the dell XPS1730 and he regrets buying it because it is so big. In my opinion if you want the extra power that a 17 inch offers...get a desktop and a smaller laptop (XPS1330, Vaio SR/Z etc). Chances are you may well have more power and your laptop can be moved far more easily.

 

go 17 for ultimate power!!

 

Lol, I giggle at the fact that a guy who tells people to pump iron will say "eww!"

As crash has already mentioned, while most of us would probably be more than capable of carrying a 17" monster DTR, it's not really the main issue, as most of us probably carry some other stuff besides our laptop as well. Not to mention the almost-netbook-sized power bricks these 17" monsters have! Although I'm not really sure if 15" gaming laptops have smaller power bricks...

Basically, the main reason I vote for 15" over 17" is because there are already some 15" notebooks that match the performance of their 17" brethren, sans SLI/Crossfire of course. But yeah, it's totally a matter of personal taste, as some of us really hate that WUXGA screen squeezed into a 15" display. Personally, I find it insane to fit such a resolution into a small display ; it's a resolution definitely more tolerable on a 17" display.

 

Again, the weight is completely irrelevant the massive difference between most 15" gaming notebooks and 17" gaming notebooks is around 2-3 lbs.

If this even begins to bother you, never mind how much iron you pump, you need to go see a doctor as something is wrong.

They let people with broken shoulders lift up to 15lbs!

I have college textbooks that weigh more than 10lbs!

People have gotten just plain lazy and are just looking at numbers which are "better smaller" or "better larger" without putting the numbers into perspective.

Everyone here is smarter than that.

 

Only draw back to a 17" notebook is the bulk. taking it out/footprint/putting away/moving. wait is a non issue for me but i have found it awkward compared to smaller notebooks...

 

I can only understand the buy of a gaming laptop if you need mobility (my case).
With 15.4 notebooks getting 9800 cards, I don't see the need of the extra bulk of a 17" notebook. And if you want a bigger screen, hook it to a HDTV through HDMI or DVI (my case) or a 22" widescreen monitor.

In the case of those powerhouse notebooks with dual-card designs, I think it is a waste to have all that power and use it on a small 17" screen.

 

well said and I agree 100 percent

 

Ya, a 15,4'' would definitely be easier to take if you had to walk/ride a bike. Never thought about that seeing as I always threw mine in the passenger seat and took off.

Hey now, unless I put a girly accent with it, and ran atop a chair, there is nothing wrong with the word eww. Your the one who is giggling. Lol

 

Let's be honest, if you are riding a bike I highly recommend a backpack or shoulder bag... this protects the laptop (and your books) from the elements AND "whoopses". Nevermind how much better having both hands free to operate the bike is...

 

I have a 14.1 inch and it is plenty big for gaming. And if I want I can get an external monitor even though I never will.

 

I have a sleeve for my notebook so I just stick it in my regular school backpack if I need to bring it somewhere. I'm definitely NOT carrying it in my hands as I ride my bike

 

Oh come on, the 15.4" models are only about 1 lb less than 17" models and take up nearly as much space. Your comments are just plain silly. Neither are very portable by today's standards. If 1-1.5 lbs makes a significant difference I suggest you get a gym membership.

 

The poll should say: "What size screen do YOU use?".

 

well i didnt want to know what size screen they use, i want to know which they would prefer since some can own a 15.4" but like playing on a 17" and vise versa. so if i were to put that then they would just put the screen they have and not the one they like more

 

Feel free to stick a 17" laptop in your backpack along with a few notebooks and maybe a textbook, ride you bike a few miles to school, go to your classes and maybe do some studying in the library, then ride a few miles back home at the end of the day.

I'll stick with my 15.4" (or smaller) laptop. It's not necessarily the weight that makes a huge difference, it's the size.

And for the record, I go to the gym all the time and am in very good shape. I have no trouble lifting 8 or so pounds.