Considering returning Air for Retina MBP

SparkFlash · Feb 22, 2013

So I am working on a 2012 13 Macbook Air. I went with this due to the 1440 screen res vs the 1280 in a MBP. As a designer I need the extra space.

My question is for those who have a retina MBP. If you switch from the native 1280 res and put it at 1440 is it bad? I heard its not as clear, but just how bad are we talking?

I am annoyed beyond belief that the 13 still has such a crappy res even with retina.

Thanks for any feedback.

durruti · Feb 22, 2013

SparkFlash said:
So I am working on a 2012 13 Macbook Air. I went with this due to the 1440 screen res vs the 1280 in a MBP. As a designer I need the extra space.

My question is for those who have a retina MBP. If you switch from the native 1280 res and put it at 1440 is it bad? I heard its not as clear, but just how bad are we talking?

I am annoyed beyond belief that the 13 still has such a crappy res even with retina.

Thanks for any feedback.

I think you are confused. The rmbp 13" has 2560x1600 native resolution. The 13" mbp has 1280x800 native. And the MBA 13" has 1440x900 native.

AnorexicPig · Feb 22, 2013

durruti said:
I think you are confused. The rmbp 13" has 2560x1600 native resolution. The 13" mbp has 1280x800 native. And the MBA 13" has 1440x900 native.

No he is not,the rMBP 13" effectively has the same real estate as cMBP 13" and less than MBA at native resolutions,if you scale the resolution in rMBP beyond native,it is said to stutter a little and lag.

cjgonzales1900 · Feb 23, 2013

Why not use the rMBP in full resolution at 2560x1600 not the retina version. That way you have all the screen real estate you need.

lucasfer899 · Feb 23, 2013

cjgonzales1900 said:
Why not use the rMBP in full resolution at 2560x1600 not the retina version. That way you have all the screen real estate you need.

Agreed, I'm pretty sure this is what I'll do when I get my 13" retina around christmas.

alphaod · Feb 23, 2013

cjgonzales1900 said:
Why not use the rMBP in full resolution at 2560x1600 not the retina version. That way you have all the screen real estate you need.

Because things would be incredibly small!

NutsNGum · Feb 23, 2013

SparkFlash said:
So I am working on a 2012 13 Macbook Air. I went with this due to the 1440 screen res vs the 1280 in a MBP. As a designer I need the extra space.

My question is for those who have a retina MBP. If you switch from the native 1280 res and put it at 1440 is it bad? I heard its not as clear, but just how bad are we talking?

I am annoyed beyond belief that the 13 still has such a crappy res even with retina.

Thanks for any feedback.

As a designer, you may want to consider this change fairly carefully. Particularly if you use the Adobe Suite. I've found it necessary to have an external monitor to hand if I'm doing any sort of initial web work in Photoshop.

fyrefly · Feb 23, 2013

I use my 13" Retina at 1680x1050 every day. Its awesome and is still at Retina quality. It's like having the workspace of the HR 15" MBP in the compact, 13" body (the 13" Retina is actually smaller in length and depth than the 13" MBA).

I'd say if you just want a bigger workspace, the Retina might be an awesome option, IMHO.

SparkFlash · Feb 23, 2013

fyrefly said:
I use my 13" Retina at 1680x1050 every day. Its awesome and is still at Retina quality. It's like having the workspace of the HR 15" MBP in the compact, 13" body (the 13" Retina is actually smaller in length and depth than the 13" MBA).

I'd say if you just want a bigger workspace, the Retina might be an awesome option, IMHO.

Thanks for the replies. As said above, the reason I asked was that online I know you can scale the resolution, but natively its set at 1280 which is in fact smaller.

So I was hoping to hear some real world examples of people using the rmbp with a non native resolution.

So fyrefly> Thanks. I think I may bite the bullet and do this. Hopefully it works out well for me, if not I will just return within the 30 days at best buy and go backwards.

Thanks again.

----------

NutsNGum said:
As a designer, you may want to consider this change fairly carefully. Particularly if you use the Adobe Suite. I've found it necessary to have an external monitor to hand if I'm doing any sort of initial web work in Photoshop.

Thanks for the reply. I actually do use an external at home for the most part. But I travel a lot and when I travel I do just as much work. So its imperative I have the best possible work space on the laptop as well. But I do not want to go to the 15 due to size. Im looking for that sweet spot of screen space, size of laptop, etc.

halledise · Feb 23, 2013

13" rMBP for work and travel + 24" external display at home.

I have the 15" rMBP and experimented with non-retina settings for a few weeks when I first got it (1680x1050 was my preferred setting, especially when needing to view 2 Pages documents side-by-side), but came back to the 'Best Retina' setting, and pretty much use that all the time.

I realise you are asking about the 13" size, but I think it comes down to the task that your doing and what's most comfortable for your eyes.

at least with a Retina display you have options.
my $2 worth

SparkFlash · Feb 23, 2013

Thanks again. I just got back from the store. I did indeed return the Air and pickup the Macbook Pro Retina with 256 HD and 8G ram.

I immediately put it on the highest setting and so far so good. Very early of course, so I will see how it goes.

Thanks again for the feedback!

help4desk · Feb 23, 2013

SparkFlash said:
Thanks again. I just got back from the store. I did indeed return the Air and pickup the Macbook Pro Retina with 256 HD and 8G ram.

I immediately put it on the highest setting and so far so good. Very early of course, so I will see how it goes.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Let us know, bc we may be considering the retina 13" as well for the beauty of the screen. But worried about the video lags......

SparkFlash · Feb 23, 2013

Will do help4desk. So far I have not seen anything. Any certain things I could test that would help?

xxcysxx · Feb 24, 2013

I'm using a 15" retina with a 27" 2560x1440 monitor and work space and clarity has never been so refreshing to use. My previous model was an 11" MacBook Air with this same monitor and workflow is still just as smooth like the pro. When your considering screen realestate, an external monitor is the way to go. A laptop monitor with high resolution that tries to gain more screen realestate by using smaller fonts and objects just simply doesn't cut it.

dmk1974 · Feb 26, 2013

Comparing between the base 13" MBA and the base 13" rMBP, the Apple Refub Store has the best prices.

Basically though, is it worth the extra $270 to make the jump from MBA to rMBP for:

Retina display
10% faster processor
4 GB additional RAM
HDMI port
2nd Thunderbolt Port

The only negatives of the rMBP are the extra 0.6 lb (not a big deal) and the bit of display lag. But the screen is beautiful and has really rich colors. But worth the extra cash?

Grmnracing · Feb 27, 2013

I have a 13 rMbp. Never had an issue with ghosting or screen lag. I don't care to check what manufacture screen I have. It runs great.

I was going to get a MacBook Air 13. Once I saw retina I could not purchase the air. Retina is not a gimmick, it really does make the pixels look like they disappear.

IMO the Airs wedge shape is better on your wrists for typing. But all in all, I would not change my rMbp for any other laptop on the market right now.

mwalsh8 · Feb 27, 2013

SparkFlash said:
So I am working on a 2012 13 Macbook Air. I went with this due to the 1440 screen res vs the 1280 in a MBP. As a designer I need the extra space.

My question is for those who have a retina MBP. If you switch from the native 1280 res and put it at 1440 is it bad? I heard its not as clear, but just how bad are we talking?

I am annoyed beyond belief that the 13 still has such a crappy res even with retina.

Thanks for any feedback.

The 13" rMBP (and 15") does have scaling settings in addition to the full res setting. Go to an apple store or a Best Buy and play with one. You will love it... Especially at the new lower price.

kulimer · Feb 27, 2013

I wonder what you watching on your MBA? lol.

Search

Search

Considering returning Air for Retina MBP

SparkFlash

macrumors 6502

durruti

macrumors regular

AnorexicPig

macrumors 6502

cjgonzales1900

macrumors 6502

lucasfer899

macrumors 6502

alphaod

macrumors Core

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030

fyrefly

macrumors 6502a

SparkFlash

macrumors 6502

halledise

macrumors 68000

SparkFlash

macrumors 6502

help4desk

macrumors newbie

SparkFlash

macrumors 6502

xxcysxx

macrumors 6502

dmk1974

macrumors 68020

Grmnracing

macrumors regular

mwalsh8

macrumors newbie

kulimer

macrumors 6502

Our Staff