Considering dropping down from a 17 to a 15, but will I notice the difference?

I am contemplating dropping down from a 17 inch notebook to a 15 inch when I purchase a Sager this month. Has anyone else done this and noticed the difference? Do 15 inch Sagers have difficulty with heat issues compared to the 17 inch ones?

 

I used to have a 17".

I'm at college, so I really do notice the difference, lugging around a 17" and opening up at a desk consumes lot more space.

As for the heat, no, the 15 inchers are as strong in cooling as the 17 are.

 

Do you notice much of a difference while using it?

 

Yes, for one thing, a 17" occupies more footprint, and were unable to use in some of the classrooms.

 

It depends on the user. For me when I used a 17.3" hp dv7 for the first time a few weeks ago, it felt too big because I'm used to 14" thinkpads. When I just got my 15.6" P150HM it felt a lot better, most likely because the transition in size was smaller.

 

I've owned the NP8170 and NP8150: yes, I could tell a huge difference in screen space and general usability.

 

You'll notice a big difference in overall footprint and weight, but as for something like screen real estate it should be similar. Most people look at a 17" and say that they're getting more screen space, but when both screens are at the same resolution it's not really true. In this case, you'll have a 1080p screen on both- it'll just be larger pixels on the 17". I'd say if you're planning on carrying the machine around and don't need the extra hard drive bay or 120hz screen option on the 17", you'll be happy

 

Thank you. I am going to look at some 15's in a store next week to see if I can tell a difference.

 

Somewhat off topic, but I have been considering the same situation as of late. I have had a 14.1" Dell Latitude for 4 years (beast of a PC) it has the 1440x900 LCD powered by nVidia Quadro. So the PC is finally beginning to show mechanical fatigue. I'll end up replacing the motherboard and lcd as i plan to keep this thing forever, but it's time for a new laptop. So I have decided I would never go less than 1440x900 and figured and was almost persuaded to go the 15" 1080P route, but Im pulling the trigger on 17" 3D w/ GTX485 here in a few minutes. If I went 15.6" the PowerPro R 11:36 seemed like it was going to be the most suitable (as I wanted the second hard drive bay). (Price was outstanding) (GPU.. not so much)

My ideal rig would be 15.6" 1080P, 3D, >GTX485, 2 hard drive bays, 9cell battery + optical battery bay option, and back-lit keyboard.

So to feed my fix today, I purchased a keyboard dock for my Asus Transformer, and I am planning to use it as my (ultra portable, ultra long lasting, travel "netbook"), and at the same time I would have to get used to a bigger, heavier, hotter, but bad a$$ 3D gaming laptop to keep at home, and to bring to friends house for the occasional lan party. I personally am looking forward to finally owning a 3D device.. that's what sold me on the route I have taken in the end. Good luck, it's easy to get lost in looking at specs.

 

I have been buying big screens since a long time ago, my last 4 laptoos bave been 18.4" > 17.3" > 17.3" > 17.3" and I DO notice a HUGE difference when working on a 15.6".

To elaborate: The recommended minimum distance to work on a LCD screen is 25"+. Let say you use it at around 27", then 2" or even 1 inch make a difference on your gaming area and movie area.

As for the Working area: they both have a 1080p screen so you will be able to FIT the same amount of windows.

Also, since the 15.6" have smaller/closer pixels you will prefer looking at it closer to be able to read comfortably, while the 17.3" have a little bit bigger pixels meaning you are able to watch it from a bit more distance.

So, to resume, if you want your computer for Movies and Games then its better to go for the 17.3" screen, but if you plan to use it for work (office software, photoshop, etc) then both are pretty much the same, except you have to use the 15.6" at a closer distance.

As a final note, if you travel a lot and need to use your computer on the plane the 17.3" may not be a very good option, but how cares if you have a smartphone or an I-pad? =p

 

I will be using it for work and games

 

Same as me, but I already ordered the 17.3" P170HM past month... Before I had a 17.3" G73JH, before that a 17.3" G72Gx and before that a 18.4" Toshiba Qosmio, Personally I prefer bigger screens for both Games and Work, but in the end its more important so see what you do with the machine most of the time

 

Concerning weight, I'd say go by an local electronics store and try a heft test. I went by fry's today to compare 15 vs 17. They had a msi780dx and asus g74sx computers I have been considering(they did not have the 15in equivalents on display). I picked them up to test how they felt to carry. The asus seemed heavier. Of course the sager's might be heavier or lighter than either of these. I test lifting some 15 inch laptops(I cannot remember the models they were not ones I was intrested). The difference was pretty noticeable. I wish they had the 17 and 15 inch side by side to I could look at them.

 

17in 8170 - 8.60 LBs with Battery Pack
15in 8150 - 6.83 LBs with Battery Pack

Just an fyi.

 

Except for being about 1 1/2 inch wider the 17 is pretty close in dimensions.

Sager NP8170

16.22" (w) x 10.87" (d) x 1.65"~1.79" (h)

Sager NP8150

14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38"~1.69" (h)


_

 

I don't know what everyone else is on about exactly, but concerning the actual screen and DPI (the size of text, icons and pretty much everything) there is no way to answer your original question without knowing the resolution of your current 17" screen.

For example, if you're used to a 1440x900 17" LCD, and you move to a 1920x1080p 15.6", it could be a HUGE strain on your eyes.
Just saying, you have to know what you're getting into especially with HD 15" screens, can be pretty extreme.

 

Now that you mention it, that will be like shrinking 43% of the windows size in proportion to the 1440 x 900 on a 17" display, which is going to be a pretty noticeable difference, but if he is already on a 1600x900 17" screen then the difference will be of about 30% shrink

 

I'd also note, for our 'older' users... The 17" screen size doesn't strain your eyes as much. I get headaches with 15" screens, or worse like with a Asus EEE I've got floating around where it is tough for me to even read the screen. And I even hate to admit it, but I use external monitors connected to my notebook about 90% of the time just because my eyes aren't what they used to be.

 

I am on a 1440 x 900 :-/

 

Yep. I've had my new toy for about two weeks, and I personally have headaches staring at my p150hm. I am coming from a Dell XPS m1530 which had a resolution of 1440x900. The full hd 1080p resolution puts a major strain on my eyes because I'm not quite used to it.

But personally, I can't imagine carrying around anything larger than the 15.6'' clevo. I'm glad I didn't go with the 17. Not to mention, I would have had to get a new backpack.