Note book computers are available in all different sizes and shapes, from 20" desktop replacements, to 10" Netbooks, to the small 7" and ultra mobile PC. The sizes that are the most popular are the 17" and the 15" models both of which are available with numerous portability and performance features. However, it can be difficult to choose between these two features when there is a trade off that is imposed by the manufacturers between portability, size, and performance.

The selection is even more difficult when you need to stay within your budget and you want a real performer. However, there are note book computers available that will do all of the basic jobs such as watching a movie or browsing the Internet and you don't need much power that are affordable. Nearly any note book computer that has a dedicated video card and a modern CPU will meet your requirements and these machines are available in 17" and 15" models.

However, if you want a gaming computer or one that will allow you to do some video editing, watch some movies, and browse the Internet the expense goes up. You suddenly find yourself with very few selections of computers that are affordability. You have to determine if you want to sacrifice the advantage of portability for a larger display size, performance, and extra processing power. This can be an agonizing decision but it is all a matter of personal preference.

You can look at this process for making these decisions in many different ways and the decision will almost always come down to the functionality. In a 15" gaming note book it will cost much more in order to fit a high quality display, and since it has such a small frame, it is very difficult to get sufficient cooling for the components that are high performance.

However, the advantages of a 17" display are that they have a larger chassis which leaves a lot of room for the kind of aggressive cooling that is necessary in order to keep those high performance components functioning correctly and it is much easier to manufacture. The result is that this means that the two functions may cost about the same but the features that they offer are very different, and it can be very difficult to select one over the other.

Ultimately, the choice of which feature you prefer is a matter of personal choice. It's all up to you. Only you can decide who wins the battle when it comes to 15" vs. 17" displays.