Advice on purchasing a MBP

[sekker]

Depending on what he needs to do, the 13" MBPR is a sweet spot for price/performance.

The 15" MBPR can be a quad core processor, but will he use that power?

If not, the 13" has a retina screen, all-day battery life, and all of the goodies of the 15" (except the smaller screen) - and weighs less.

[davemchine]

My father-in-law is in his 70's so I'm thinking the larger screen is more appropriate for him. His current MBP is 15" so it will be easier to make the transition if the size remains the same. I think I will encourage my mother-in-law to buy via B&H as their price is $200 less than Apple's even without the coupon code. If I can get the coupon to work even better! Thank you.

[Buck]

I would start here. Tax or not makes a big difference.
http://appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/#

[davester]

I second the Appleinsider link. Note that there are two separate pages there, one with bundled applecare and one without. My suggestion would be to go with the applecare bundle.

[silvarios]

davemchine wrote:
My father-in-law is in his 70's so I'm thinking the larger screen is more appropriate for him. His current MBP is 15" so it will be easier to make the transition if the size remains the same. I think I will encourage my mother-in-law to buy via B&H as their price is $200 less than Apple's even without the coupon code. If I can get the coupon to work even better! Thank you.

Screen size alone isn't a good indicator. Check the DPI for sharpness and then the effective resolution of those displays to compare how large things appear on the screen, never mind the accessibility options available in OS X.

The 13" is effectively 1280x800, the 15" is effectively 1440x900. The former just a wee bit sharper, but yes, the 15" will likely make rendered elements appear a bit larger, but it is likely closer than you think given the DPI is so close.