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Cancel Retina, order Classic? Help!

T

The "Dude"

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 29, 2011
120
0
I ordered my rMBP a few days ago, but after reading the various issues people are having with lag (most likely fixed by ML update), and gaming at non-native scaled resolutions, I'm seriously beginning to consider canceling my order and getting a "classic" 2012 MBP instead. A few questions:

1) Is the optical drive in the MBP Classic easily removed and replaced with a HDD or SDD? I could care less for the optical drive, and having the ability to run a dual drive system would make me :)

2) Is the BTO 256gb SSD option on the Classic the same high speed SSD drive that is being used in the Retina? The Retina SSD is getting rave reviews.

My primary concern is for the quality of gaming. It seems to me that the Retina might not actually be the better machine for graphically intense games, such as Diablo 3 and Skyrim. I know the GT 650M can handle those games with ease, I've seen video evidence of this on other machines. But certainly not at retina resolution, or pixel-doubled scaled resolution. And who knows how those games will run under a Bootcamped Windows 7 on a Retina, because Apple has yet to release the drivers. Probably another resolution cluster**** waiting to happen. And cost is not an issue. I was planning on spending $3k regardless, I just want the best performance.

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated. My head is spinning from all the conflicting reports. :confused:

Edit: I would get the 1680x1050 classic
 
Last edited:
I don't know the answer to either of those questions - but have you tried one of the new Retina MacBook Pros in real life? You should try and give one a go before making your decision - I did and I was so blown away by the screen that I really didn't care about anything else :eek:
 
The "Dude";15059811 said:
1) Is the optical drive in the MBP Classic easily removed and replaced with a HDD or SDD?
Click to expand...
It depends on how competent you are. There is info throughout the MBP forum. Search for more info.


The "Dude";15059811 said:
2) Is the BTO 256gb SSD option on the Classic the same high speed SSD drive that is being used in the Retina?
Click to expand...
Since the MBPR does not use a 2.5" SSD the obvious answer is no.
 
Jacksteruk309 said:
I don't know the answer to either of those questions - but have you tried one of the new Retina MacBook Pros in real life? You should try and give one a go before making your decision - I did and I was so blown away by the screen that I really didn't care about anything else :eek:
Click to expand...

Sadly, no. I have the same delivery window that you do. Haven't been able to get my hands on one otherwise.

Brand, I wasn't referring to the form factor, but the transfer speed of the SSD. But thanks for nothing anyway.
 
I'd say try it out yourself to see. Being an early adopter isn't for everyone.
 
There should be almost no difference between gaming at 1680x1050 on the non-retina hi-res display and gaming at 1680x1050 on the Retina MBP. The native 1680x1050 display may look a tad sharper, but the Retina MBP has such high pixel density that it should still look just fine.

You could also play around with other 16:10 resolutions, like 1440x900, 1920x1200, or 2048x1280.

Since you've already ordered it, why not wait and see how it does for your purposes. If it doesn't work like you want, you could always return or exchange it at an Apple store.
 
Stetrain said:
There should be almost no difference between gaming at 1680x1050 on the non-retina hi-res display and gaming at 1680x1050 on the Retina MBP. The native 1680x1050 display may look a tad sharper, but the Retina MBP has such high pixel density that it should still look just fine.

You could also play around with other 16:10 resolutions, like 1440x900, 1920x1200, or 2048x1280.

Since you've already ordered it, why not wait and see how it does for your purposes. If it doesn't work like you want, you could always return or exchange it at an Apple store.
Click to expand...

My understanding from some other posts is that the problem is with the way the rMBP handles scaling to different resolutions. For example, setting the resolution to 1920x1200 will give that "effective" resolution, but the computer is actually rendering more pixels than that, and scaling them to the screens size. This results in more strain on the GPU (because of the higher pixel count) with actually less detail (due to the scaling). A disclaimer even appears beneath the resolution slider that warns of possible performance issues if you select anything other than retina.

Regardless, looks like I have no choice but to wait for mine to arrive. It will just suck to have to wait another week or more to receive a BTO Classic MBP if I decide to go that route.
 
The lag is totally gone in Mountain Lion, and you can still game at the non retina resolution, and it looks pretty damn good. If those are the only two things holding you back I would stick with the retina. I love mine so far.
 
The "Dude";15060041 said:
My understanding from some other posts is that the problem is with the way the rMBP handles scaling to different resolutions. For example, setting the resolution to 1920x1200 will give that "effective" resolution, but the computer is actually rendering more pixels than that, and scaling them to the screens size. This results in more strain on the GPU (because of the higher pixel count) with actually less detail (due to the scaling).

Regardless, looks like I have no choice but to wait for mine to arrive. It will just suck to have to wait another week or more to receive a BTO Classic MBP if I decide to go that route.
Click to expand...

As far as I know that scaling doesn't apply when using full screen games, that's just for the OSX UI.

Here's a video that shows Diablo 3 at 2880x1800 and 1680x1050 on the RMBP:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t04ZsOCtUWM
 
Your replies made me feel better, and that video sold me. I guess I'll wait, although I think that's what is annoying me the most. :eek:

Thanks!
 
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