Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 10 down vote favorite
1

What can I ask on the phone to a Mac user who has a MacBook Pro (Alu), but doesn't know if it's a 15 or a 17 one (and don't have a tool to measure the screen)

What can I ask him to look at to tell me what version it is?

share|improve this question

4 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

In the left corner of the top menu, pick the apple menu and select About This Mac.

In the About This Mac panel, click the More Info button. if you hover your mouse on Hardware you can see the general info about your macbook pro such 15" or 17".

alt text

As Dori said in comment above solution for before 2007 now choose Graphics/Displays from the left column, it does display the screen resolution.

alt text

share|improve this answer
Ok, I didn't notice that there were information in the "top chapters" of that tree. Thanks ! – Rabskatran Sep 20 '10 at 10:29
Mine tells only "MacBook Pro" :-( (it's 13") – Peter Štibraný Sep 20 '10 at 19:28
@peter As I test it in my macbook pro 13" it tells just MacBook Pro too,so I choose pic from google. – Am1rr3zA Sep 20 '10 at 19:42
This doesn't work. If you look at the screenshot, it's from 2007—System Profiler no longer shows the dimensions. However, if you choose Graphics/Displays from the left column, it does display the screen resolution. – Dori Sep 21 '10 at 0:25
up vote 8 down vote

If it's the unibody MacBook Pro, I believe the 15" has an SD card slot, and the 17" has an ExpressCard/34 slot. Also, the 15" only has two USB ports, whereas the 17" has three.

15" MacBook Pro

17" MacBook Pro

share|improve this answer
In earlier models it's a bit different - the late 2008 15" has an ExpressCard slot. Still only 2 USB sockets though. – TessellatingHeckler Mar 11 '11 at 5:33
up vote 3 down vote

Max screen resolution in Displays preferences.

share|improve this answer
up vote 3 down vote

Might not be that Trivial, but the size between the side of the computer and the keyboard is larger in a 17’’ model:

MacBook Pro 15’’:

15''

MacBook Pro 17’’:

17''

If the user fails to find the information as described above, you can tell him to count the number of holes (no measure required!) ;)

share|improve this answer
2  
Yeah, a 15" MBP has 1645 holes in each speaker grille, a 17" has more. Or did by "holes" did you mean the ports on the sides? Counting those might be a bit easier. – Laurence Gonsalves Sep 20 '10 at 21:54
1  
Nono, I meant the “holes” in the speaker grille ;) – Martín Marconcini Sep 20 '10 at 23:00

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.