17.3 in screen vs 15.6 in

USAFRet

Illustrious
Moderator
1. That depends on the specific laptops in question, but yes, larger
2. Not really, no.
3. When my son went off to college, he had a 17". He soon sold it for a 15", because the 17" was just too much of a beast to carry around all the time.

It depends specifically on what you're going to use it for.