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The Best Size of a Laptop

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Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#61

Post by D13Fd »

jmclnx wrote: post #54
sgarland wrote: post #3

…is 14”. It is the perfect balance between portability, weight, and screen real estate. I’ve tried 13”, 14”, 15”, and 16”. 14” is where it’s at.

Having used a few different sizes, I agree, for portability 14" is perfect, but I would add 1 thing. The screen should be 16:10, not 16:9. I have a Thinkpad T61 and its screen size is 16x10, to me that is the perfect Laptop. One more thing, no number pad. It should have a keybord like the old thinkpads.

The MBA (MacBook Air) easily beats the MBP in my opinion. 32GB ram, M4 CPU really is enough for the vast vast majority of tasks. I use mine to process video and 40 megapixel RAW images, and it flies. And the portability is significantly better than the MBP.

It has no fan, but it rarely even gets warm, with no noticeable throttling.

I used an MB or MBP for the entirety of the Intel era, but these days I have a really hard time seeing any meaningful benefit of its increased size and bulk over the MBA.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#62

Post by D13Fd »

gizajob wrote: post #38
replete wrote: post #14

The MacBook air 11" in 2012 was my favorite laptop by far. Maxed out with an i7 and 8GB RAM it handled everything I needed to including multiple InteliJ projects. The resolution today seems obscenely low, but it was completely usable and the compactness was of great utility, practical for use while traveling. I've bought tablets multiple times thinking it could replace it, it just isn't the same. It's a real shame th…

Really was a brilliant machine. I still have one on a desk paired with a Cinema Display. Weighed nothing when out and about and turns into an iMac at home. Mine is in its dotage now because the battery only lasts about an hour so it never leaves the house or does much heavy lifting, and it’s been replaced with a 14 inch MacBook Pro M3 alongside an 11 inch iPad Air. So pleased that Apple got rid of that pointless Touc…

Why not just go for the MBA instead of the MBP? The MBA is lightning fast and can have 32 gb RAM. It seems like exactly what you want - a touch lighter (.7 lbs lighter!) and smaller but still crazy good.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#63

Post by Joeboy »

lantry wrote: post #56
Joeboy wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, maybe! I just did a half-arsed google and got an M.2 adaptor that doesn't look like it's designed for daily swappage? But maybe you're talking about something else.

They have "expansion cards" which fit flush in the body of the laptop. One of the available expansion cards is an SSD (comes in various sizes) https://frame.work/products/storage-expansion-card-2nd-gen?v...

Thank you, that does look interesting! I haven't really considered the Frameworks so far because of my secondhand Thinkpad habit, but I do like the idea so I should probably think more seriously about it.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#64

Post by jltsiren »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #21

Laptop size doesn't matter. Laptop weight is what matters.

Weight doesn't really matter with modern laptops. They are almost universally lightweight.

I'm from a generation that walked to the school with a backpack full of books. I also enjoy hiking, which often involves carrying a backpack much heavier than your typical office backpack. When I take my office backpack, I have to double-check that the 16" MBP is there, because I can't tell it reliably from the weight. While I prefer small backpacks and avoid carrying unnecessary stuff, the laptop just doesn't contribute that much to the weight.

Physical dimension, on the other hand, matter. A 16" laptop can be inconvenient in tight spaces such as train/plane seats.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#65

Post by 3np »

Joeboy wrote: post #63
lantry wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have "expansion cards" which fit flush in the body of the laptop. One of the available expansion cards is an SSD (comes in various sizes) https://frame.work/products/storage-expansion-card-2nd-gen?v...

Thank you, that does look interesting! I haven't really considered the Frameworks so far because of my secondhand Thinkpad habit, but I do like the idea so I should probably think more seriously about it.

I bet if you're handy it should be possible to repurpose an optical slot in an old Thinkpad for those.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#66

Post by theshrike79 »

Currently I'm either docked or fully portable, for that a 14" MBP is just right.

It's big enough to work as a second (or third) display when docked and also small enough to be used and carried pretty much anywhere.

It's also chonky enough to be sturdy to carry and have enough ports for everything I need.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#67

Post by wffurr »

hoherd wrote: post #40
rapind wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had one, and I really liked it, but the 13" MBA just edged it out for me due to the added comfort and visibility. I've had various MBPs, but I continue to prefer a 13" MBA over a decade later. Any other laptop I try just feels inferior.

The bezel size on the 2011 11" air vs the current 13" air with its Retina display makes that upgrade a no-brainer. 2011 11" was my prior fav, but 2024 13" air is the new king. I recently spent 2 hours working on an airplane in economy class on a 16" pro, and all those extra specs didn't help me ssh to a cloud instance, and that large size made it extra tough. Air is the best.

The new 13” Air isn’t quite a replacement for the old 11”. It’s just enough bigger and heavier that I notice and it affects the handiness of it. The center of balance isn’t as good either, it was close to the hinge on the old wedge shaped Air which was perfect for carrying it.

I miss that little computer. It was just about perfect and I wish they had kept that form factor.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#68

Post by Yizahi »

The best size of a laptop is the one you would pick if they all cost zero dollars. We all know that subconsciously we are adjusting our choice for price, and that is driving most 14" answers in this thread. That's what most people has actually experienced and it is a "safe" answer".

If money were no object I would pick 16" or bigger laptop, under 2kg. Bigger screen is always better for me.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#69

Post by maximilianburke »

sgarland wrote: post #3

…is 14”. It is the perfect balance between portability, weight, and screen real estate. I’ve tried 13”, 14”, 15”, and 16”. 14” is where it’s at.

I'm all down for 14" laptops too. My two favorite laptops are the 14" MacBook Pro I use for work now, as well as my personal 14" Thinkpad X1 Carbon. They have the best combination of performance and size, for me at least. I get as-close-as-makes-no-difference desktop performance out of something with a days worth of battery that can fit into the small backpack I use for bike commuting.

Re: The Best Size of a Laptop

#70

Post by wink »

Yizahi wrote: post #68

The best size of a laptop is the one you would pick if they all cost zero dollars. We all know that subconsciously we are adjusting our choice for price, and that is driving most 14" answers in this thread. That's what most people has actually experienced and it is a "safe" answer". If money were no object I would pick 16" or bigger laptop, under 2kg. Bigger screen is always better for me.

Kinda depends. My first own laptop was 15.4" brick - but I didn't constantly move it around, just randomly to uni 2-3 times a week.

My work laptops have generally been 14" and it's fine with external monitors (current is a 16" mac because it was there), and I hate carrying it to the office because my panniers are too small.

My favourite on-the-go laptop was the x230 with the smaller battery and if I bought a laptop for traveling today (I used to back up my photos from SD to a laptop every night) I'd prefer the smallest and lightest 11"-13" again. Maybe I'll grab a 2016 Intel macbook and put linux on it, or buy a used x290 or something if I feel I need one.

That said, I am not a laptop person at all, I have a workstation at home and only use hand-me-down laptops for the sofa and surfing the web and stuff.

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