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How does the 13" handle 1440x 900 compared to the 15" ?

R

Rbk23

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 8, 2014
123
8
I know the retina setting on the 15" is 1440 x 900 but it is lower on the 13".


I previously had the air so I am used to 1440x900.
I want to return the 15" for a 13" and want to know if the 1440 resolution is useable without a performance hit?
 
T5BRICK

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
I read an article on the way scaling works for retina displays, and it does take a hit but it's really not that noticeable.
 
Traverse

Traverse

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Mar 11, 2013
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The retina models use a form of HDiP scaling so there will always be some level of performance hit, but with today's hardware and software it isn't noticeable in day to day activities and VM use.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

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Jan 23, 2005
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Rbk23 said:
I know the retina setting on the 15" is 1440 x 900 but it is lower on the 13".


I previously had the air so I am used to 1440x900.
I want to return the 15" for a 13" and want to know if the 1440 resolution is useable without a performance hit?
Click to expand...

I just got a new 13" Retina and the default is 1280x800 and like you said is a step down from the 1440x900. I have tinkered with different scaling options and at 1440x900 I notice no slow down at all due to the scaling, but I do notice text is not quite as clear as it is at the default 1280x800, so I have mostly been using 1280x800 even though the text is larger than I would like.

In a perfect world I would like a Retina that is default pixel doubled at 1440x900 to get the screen real estate of the Air and the clarity of the current 1280x800.
 
L

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,202
19,063
In the 1440x900 mode, it will still be much crisper than a native 1440x900, so there is not really a reason not to go for it. I use 1680x1050 or 1980x1200 most of the time on my 15" with the HD4000 and it seems to handle it just well.
 
skyhawkmatthew

skyhawkmatthew

macrumors regular
Oct 1, 2007
237
274
Australia
I run my 13" more or less permanently in 1440x900 mode. While occasionally some text can look a little fuzzy, the screen is still gorgeous and 100% useable. Definitely worth it for the extra real estate. I haven't noticed a performance hit.
 
L

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,202
19,063
KimHansenDK said:
Isn't text more fuzzy in the 1440x900 mode compared to the 1440x900 resolution of the Air?
Click to expand...

No, the Air will look more blurry. The way OS X does its rendering on a retina screen, it will always look sharper (or at least just as sharp) when emulating a native screen of a particular resolution.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

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Jan 23, 2005
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KimHansenDK said:
Isn't text more fuzzy in the 1440x900 mode compared to the 1440x900 resolution of the Air?
Click to expand...

I find text clearer (less fuzzy) than the Air but slightly less clear than the default 1280x800 on the Retina. You aren't going to look at it and groan or anything, but if you open a page like the one you are on now and flip back and forth while watching the text, you can see the difference between default and scaled on the Retina.
 
C

ch02ce

macrumors member
Jul 18, 2007
82
236
I was in the store yesterday thinking about upgrading from my 2012 Air and couldn't believe the base resolution of the Pro. Seems ridiculous... Sure you can scale the screen but why on earth isn't it just 1440x900 to begin with?
 
T

torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,609
2,676
Sydney, Australia
ch02ce said:
I was in the store yesterday thinking about upgrading from my 2012 Air and couldn't believe the base resolution of the Pro. Seems ridiculous... Sure you can scale the screen but why on earth isn't it just 1440x900 to begin with?
Click to expand...

Im confused, isn't the retina screen much higher then 1440x900?
 
R

Rbk23

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 8, 2014
123
8
torana355 said:
Im confused, isn't the retina screen much higher then 1440x900?
Click to expand...

Yes, but if you used the display resolution, text would be so small you couldn't see anything. So they make the default resolution half that of the panel resolution.

If I have it right, 1 pixel is mapped to 4 pixels.
 
N

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
2,574
37
ch02ce said:
I was in the store yesterday thinking about upgrading from my 2012 Air and couldn't believe the base resolution of the Pro. Seems ridiculous... Sure you can scale the screen but why on earth isn't it just 1440x900 to begin with?
Click to expand...

Because it's 50% of the native resolution of the panel, which is 2,560 × 1,600 on the 13" versus 2,880 × 1,800 on the 15. The best performance and appearance will be at 1280 x 800, but as others have pointed out, and I concur, it works just fine at 1440 if that's what you prefer to use.
 
T

torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,609
2,676
Sydney, Australia
Rbk23 said:
Yes, but if you used the display resolution, text would be so small you couldn't see anything. So they make the default resolution half that of the panel resolution.

If I have it right, 1 pixel is mapped to 4 pixels.
Click to expand...

Kind of makes having a retina screen pointless doesn't it? imo Apple should run at the native panel resolution and and redesign the OS to take advantage of it? Or at least use a better scaling method?
 
N

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
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torana355 said:
Kind of makes having a retina screen pointless doesn't it? imo Apple should run at the native panel resolution and and redesign the OS to take advantage of it? Or at least use a better scaling method?
Click to expand...

No it doesn't - because while text is treated that way, graphics are not. So you can see photos and videos at the full resolution of the panel if the app can handle it.

To do it the other way, every app would need to be rewritten to scale properly.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

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Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
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California
ch02ce said:
I was in the store yesterday thinking about upgrading from my 2012 Air and couldn't believe the base resolution of the Pro. Seems ridiculous... Sure you can scale the screen but why on earth isn't it just 1440x900 to begin with?
Click to expand...

Because to do 1440x900 and have the same clarity as with 1280x800 you would need to have a 2,880×1,800 screen on the 13". I don't even know if anybody makes one Apple could use if they wanted to.
 
DJJAZZYJET

DJJAZZYJET

macrumors 6502
Jun 4, 2011
459
144
As soon as I got my rMBP 13", I went into the display settings and changed it to 'looks like' 1440x900. Things set as 'best for retina' are just way to big to show off the super sharp display. Performance wise, its pretty much the same as 'best for retina'. I hope Apple works hard on smoothing out the animations in Yosemite.
 
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