# Will I be disappointed if I buy a 15.4 laptop rather than a 17?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 13, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868 "2008-06-13T23:04:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/1 "2008-06-13T23:04:08Z")
I’m buying a new laptop this week. My wallet says to just buy the 15.4 inch.
Not doing any graphics work or anything that demands a larger screen.
Still, I’m wondering if I’ll end up regretting it. Most of my time will be spent on the web, email, and other basic needs.
Price difference is around 200 dollars. Portability is not an issue.
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### Author:  [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/2 "2008-06-13T23:10:45Z")
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if a 15.4" is what you are used to. I just bought a 17" Dell Vostro and the thing seems enormous. I also have an ASUS eee and I find the thing to be too small to comfortably sit on the couch and surf. It’s perfect for travel, but when my 15.4 inch Dell fried, I overcompensated for the eee and went for the 17" one. I also wouldn’t want to lug the thing around. BTW, the Dell 17" cost me $600 refurbished at the Dell Outlet.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/3 "2008-06-13T23:10:53Z")
Buy the 15. If you need a bigger screen later, buy a monitor.
I’m still mad at Dell for discontinuing the 12.1
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### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/4 "2008-06-13T23:13:39Z")
I am deciding between the 1510 and 1710 Dell Vostro.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/5 "2008-06-13T23:23:19Z")
I just bought the wife the 1710. She loves it. Of course, it mainly sits on the desk. She hasn’t had to lug it around for work yet.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/6 "2008-06-13T23:44:52Z")
I’ve heard from friends with 17s that they’re obscenely large, hard to tote around, easy to screw up the screen on, and expensive to fix when you do.
I got a 15. Even after the salesgnomes tried to talk me into a 17.
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/7 "2008-06-14T02:32:28Z")
I have a 17" HP. I got a [Crumpler](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/473283-REG/Crumpler_SK0306A_Skivvy_Large_Laptop_Case.html) bag so I can throw it over my shoulder and haul it out to the car :D. It’s portable enough for me. I use it mostly for internet and music apps but the occasional movie I spin up looks great on the wide screen. The numeric keypad’s great, too. It’s the one computer instead of an auxilliary. I think I got it as much for the keypad as much as for the 17" screen.
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### Author:  [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/8 "2008-06-14T04:08:17Z")
I have a 17" Toshiba. I like it, but I don’t think I’d feel inadequate with the 15.4". The huge screen can wear a battery awfully fast so I’d consider how important battery life is to you. Also, a 17" screen makes it possible to add 10-key to the keyboard so if that is something you use much that’s another thing to consider.
I carry mine with a backpack so I don’t notice the weight much but it could very well be heavy if I had to carry it around with my arm.
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/9 "2008-06-14T04:48:39Z")
I do a lot of travelling. I’m more than happy with the 11.1" screen on my Sony Vaio. (on the plus side, the battery lasts forever and the whole thing weighs just over 2lbs).
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/10 "2008-06-14T08:26:16Z")
It depends what you do with the computer. I have a monster laptop that is heavy to carry around and it draws so much power that my car power port can’t support the wattage. I haven’t traced the circuitry but my power port may be linked to the mega-fuse that also governs the engine computer. Lost that at 4 am one morning and luckily I figured it out.
For me, I would rather have a smaller screen/computer and use a monitor. the purpose of a laptop should be portability which translates into light weight and low power use. My next computer will be a tablet PC with a minimum of 3gb of ram. By going to a monitor I can split the screens and get the best of both worlds for work along with portability.
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### Author:  [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/11 "2008-06-14T14:46:13Z")
I have a 17 and it’s beautiful. It’s also a nicely-specced gaming machine, which means the screen size was important.
Were I using it only for work, I suppose I’d be okay with a 15…but not for gaming.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/12 "2008-06-14T15:04:57Z")
I have a 15 and 17. The 17 is my desktop replacement and the 15 is my traveling machine. The larger screen does make big difference is you are using it with an external mouse and keyboard on a desk and kicking back. If you’re hunched over it at a desk, or it’s on your lap there is little advantage to the 17 over the 15. I can stand using a notebook hunched over, it’s just too uncomfortable over long periods of time.
17’s are effectively desktop machines that can travel if need be. If your vision is not that great a 17 is also better as you get more desktop room to bump up icon and font sizes to visually comfortable levels. If it’s going to sit most of the time get the 17, if it’s going to travel get the 15.
[Here’s a real desktop replacement.](http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m2010?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1)
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-be-disappointed-if-i-buy-a-15-4-laptop-rather-than-a-17/452868/13 "2008-06-14T17:56:40Z")
Rather than the physical size of the screen, look at the resolution. I expect you play videos: you’ll want the ability to play 720p movies without scaling.