whats the point in having 3.7GHz and 4.0GHz rMBP?

The 2.8Ghz CPU can be up to 5-10% faster in particular scenarios. There are certainly applications where it would very well be worth $200. For the overwhelming majority of users though, the base 2.2Ghz options is more then enough.

Yes, the difference is small, but since the laptop can handle the thermal output of both, they include it. The downsides are that battery life is slightly worse, the computer runs slightly hotter, and it costs a little more. I don't think I've ever not got the processor option on 5 macs purchased here. iMac C2D 2.16->2.33, MacBook C2D 2.0->2.16, MacBook Pro C2D 2.2->2.4, MacBook Pro 2.53->2.66, Mac Pro 2.66->2.93. It makes everything a tiny bit faster and really helps in when maxing out all of the threads such as in distributed computing and certain types of rendering.

patent10021 said:

If so I don't mind paying for it for my audio system.

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If you plan on doing DAW work with lots of tracks and plugins it WILL run slightly better. The thing is that both 15"s will run really well anyway. The 13" can struggle in some of these situations, but the 15" will perform well either way... if you want ultimate DAW performance out of this laptop get the upgrade.

for those cold nights when your heat isn't working and you need a portable heat source

patent10021 said:

Thanks

Yeah I fail to see how 3.7 to 4.0 would make any difference whatsoever though as I've bought machines 2 years newer and the performance difference was mediocre at best (talking about audio). The best results are with doubling RAM etc rather than a new machine that's only 1 or 2 years newer (unless you're talking about dual to quad etc). That's just my experience. If only these rMBPs could take 32GB. That would be sooo sweet.

Anyway I'm already spending $ on the rMBP i7 so I guess I'll just go full-tilt and spend the extra $200.

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For your usage, it may not make any difference.

For me, I do a fair amount of stuff which requires full-core number crunching/experimentation, where each run takes ~half an hour. Even a 6% increase in CPU performance means an extra run done during a normal shift. Over a month, that's 20 extra runs - over a day's worth of extra productivity.

Unless you're running multiple VMs simultaneously (and even then it's pushing it) or running a custom application which will utilise 32GB of RAM, the upgrade from 16->32GB of RAM is a waste.