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rcnoodle90

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 27, 2011
20
0
I was thinking of getting a rMBP with 16gb ram in the next two or so months as my next machine to last 3-4 years at least. If the graphics card is being maxed out now will this machine be just as capable (more or less) in 3-4 years. Of course I know technology gets so much better each year and at some point there will be an OS that won't work with the rMBP but I just want to make sure if I plop down 2400 its towards an investment that will be working with my pro apps for years to come.

Opinions?
 

charlieegan3

macrumors 68020
Feb 16, 2012
2,394
17
U.K
not sure what you mean about maxing out the gpu, you can't choose an upgrade for it? they are all on the 650m.
 

yly3

macrumors 6502
Jan 9, 2011
345
4
The exact reason why I will be getting the 2013 version and not this one. I also want future-proof and with Haswell being a tock, it's the best option for me and my needs.

However, the 2012 model is fast and is handling everything you throw at it.
 

magbarn

macrumors 68030
Oct 25, 2008
2,956
2,253
The exact reason why I will be getting the 2013 version and not this one. I also want future-proof and with Haswell being a tock, it's the best option for me and my needs.

However, the 2012 model is fast and is handling everything you throw at it.

While the CPU and igpu are going to be upgraded with Haswell, the discrete gpu will only get a mild speed bump. Unless ati has something magical up its sleeve, we're still going to be stuck with 28nm discrete gpus till the end of 2013. You usually need a process shrink to get much improvement in power consumption and performance over the previous generation. For example nvidia's 4xx-5xx mobile generation jump wasn't really much to talk about. TSMC (who makes the vast majority of discrete gpus) has a horrible track record in starting a new process shrink so it will be 2014 before we get another big jump in mobile discrete gpu performance. Waiting for Haswell will get you better CPU performance, but it's not going to be earth shattering as its going to be reliant on IPC performance improvement. We're not getting a big jump like we did from 2010-2011 when we got double the cores.
 
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jcpb

macrumors 6502a
Jun 5, 2012
860
0
Nothing is ever future-proof. I can plunk $10K towards a X79 (read: 6-core Sandy Bridge-E) speed monster / space heater today and it's obsolete in a few months.
 
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calderone

Cancelled
Aug 28, 2009
3,743
352
While the CPU and igpu are going to be upgraded with Haswell, the discrete gpu will only get a mild speed bump. Unless ati has something magical up its sleeve, we're still going to be stuck with 28nm discrete gpus till the end of 2013. You usually need a process shrink to get much improvement in power consumption and performance over the previous generation. For example nvidia's 4xx-5xx mobile generation jump wasn't really much to talk about. TSMC (who makes the vast majority of discrete gpus) has a horrible track record in starting a new process shrink so it will be 2014 before we get another big jump in mobile discrete gpu performance. Waiting for Haswell will get you better CPU performance, but it's not going to be earth shattering as its going to be reliant on IPC performance improvement. We're not getting a big jump like we did from 2010-2011 when we got double the cores.

The biggest gain will come from the introduction of better scaling in hardware as opposed to software.

Let's hope Apple is working hard to make that happen, you early adopters buying these things up will surely help make the argument. :D
 

beamer8912

macrumors 65816
May 30, 2009
1,137
3
The exact reason why I will be getting the 2013 version and not this one. I also want future-proof and with Haswell being a tock, it's the best option for me and my needs.

However, the 2012 model is fast and is handling everything you throw at it.

Don't think Haswell will help that much. The IGP won't even come close to the dedicated chip, and the boost it will get from Ivy to Haswell won't change that.

The part that will make the biggest difference will be the dedicated chip, which will likely see modest improvements just like it does every year.

No one year is "future-proof".
 

Fed

macrumors 6502
Jul 7, 2012
409
0
Liverpool.
The exact reason why I will be getting the 2013 version and not this one. I also want future-proof and with Haswell being a tock, it's the best option for me and my needs.

However, the 2012 model is fast and is handling everything you throw at it.

Computers by their very nature aren't future-proof.

What a ridiculous argument. If it handles everything you throw at it, despite the fact you apparently don't own one, why isn't it best for your needs now?
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,146
18,871
The biggest gain will come from the introduction of better scaling in hardware as opposed to software.

What is that supposed to mean? What kind of scaling are you talking about? RAMDAC? They are already as good as it gets. Texture scaling? Even the IGP has enough shading power to run a relatively complex scaling shader on a full 2880x1800 quad with decent FPS. Scaling itself is so cheap that its not even worth to talk about. I am sure that hardware makers won't even consider implementing any kind of specialized scaling hardware - last few years of GPU development was in exactly the opposite direction, and its a good thing.
 

Slivortal

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2012
399
2
The exact reason why I will be getting the 2013 version and not this one. I also want future-proof and with Haswell being a tock, it's the best option for me and my needs.

However, the 2012 model is fast and is handling everything you throw at it.

Tocks and ticks barely even matter. Sure, Haswell may offer more battery life, but until really drastic changes are made to the CPU (like materials change or core increases), we're not really going to see much of a difference.

@OP: No computer is "futureproof". The field of computation is constantly evolving, and each year will bring with it new and improved computers.

However, the RMBP is arguably the best computer on the market now, so it should still hopefully be decent 3 years down the line (no guarantees, though).

The biggest gain will come from the introduction of better scaling in hardware as opposed to software.

Let's hope Apple is working hard to make that happen, you early adopters buying these things up will surely help make the argument. :D

:confused:

The internals can handle 2880x1800 just fine. The issue is that the software hasn't yet been optimized...
 

magbarn

macrumors 68030
Oct 25, 2008
2,956
2,253
The biggest gain will come from the introduction of better scaling in hardware as opposed to software.

Let's hope Apple is working hard to make that happen, you early adopters buying these things up will surely help make the argument. :D

I was in the same camp as you, until I tried out a buddy's rMBP with the GM release of ML. So much smoother than mine running lion. The rMBP should've been held back for ML release, would've also improved the stock situation too.
 

gentlefury

macrumors 68030
Jul 21, 2011
2,866
23
Los Angeles, CA
The term future proof is ridiculous. Right now, this computer is a screamer. Next year there will be something better, and it will be amazing, and same with the year after that. Every year there will be something coming out next year that is better. If you always hold out for something better you will never have anything.

Are you expecting a computer to come out at some point where they announce, "this is it...the last computer you will ever own! The everlasting gobstopper of computer technology!!!"
 

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,155
3,265
Pennsylvania
Tocks and ticks barely even matter. Sure, Haswell may offer more battery life, but until really drastic changes are made to the CPU (like materials change or core increases), we're not really going to see much of a difference.

/snip

You've obviously never compared a 2006 Macbook Pro (first gen) to a 2012 Macbook Pro....
 

calderone

Cancelled
Aug 28, 2009
3,743
352
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/7

All modern GPUs have fixed function scaling hardware that is used to efficiently scale between resolutions. A scaler either in your GPU or in your display panel is what lets you run non-native resolutions at full screen on your LCD (e.g. running 1680 x 1050 on a 1920 x 1080 panel). None of the GPUs used in the Retina Display MacBook Pro officially support fixed-function scaling of 3840 x 2400 or 3360 x 2100 to 2880 x 1800 however. Modern day GPUs are tested against 2560 x 1440 and 2560 x 1600, but not this particular 5MP resolution. Even 4K resolution support isn’t widespread among what’s available today. Rather than wait for updated hardware and/or validation, Apple took matters into its own hands and built its own GPU accelerated scaling routines for these higher resolutions. Fixed function hardware is almost always more efficient from a performance and power standpoint, which is why there’s some additional performance loss in these scaled resolution modes.
Read more at http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/...h-retina-display-review/7#p953TJdpvy32QPBj.99

While I wasn't specific on the particular scaling method, this is what I was referring too.
 
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Slivortal

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2012
399
2
You've obviously never compared a 2006 Macbook Pro (first gen) to a 2012 Macbook Pro....

Sure, but that was ages ago (when processor speed bumps still existed). We've pretty much hit a limit on processor speeds since then (due to heat more than anything), and the highest gains you can really expect to see are from something more drastic than microarch changes. Thus my comment that they no longer matter as much as they once did. CPUs just generally aren't bottlenecks nowadays.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,146
18,871
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/7

While I wasn't specific on the particular scaling method, this is what I was referring too.

Now I see what is going on. You read some stuff somewhere and now think that you know everything about how graphics hardware works.

Anand is probably talking about RAMDAC/resolution converters which is used to transform the digital video buffer into the signal fed into the monitor. This unit essentially supports free scaling in a sense. AFAIK, RAMDAC in modern consumer hardware is not built for the tasks HiDPI rendering ala-Apple has to perform, as the RAMDAC cannot downscale a buffer above the native resolution anyway (I might be mistaken about this point though). The shader-based downscaling Apple uses is still very cheap. Current IGPs have fill rates well over 1Gpixel/sec (the texture filtering performance is substantially higher). The full 2800x1800 frame buffer is 5 megapixels. This means that the IGP can fill the buffer 60 times per second (maximal required fps) without even breaking a sweat. The performance overhead is so low compared to the work required to actually draw the UI on the screen that any attempt to optimize that area is likely a waste of time.

P.S. Strictly speaking, RAMDAC is a more or less obsolete unit used for analog video output. They have been replaced by other hardware which outputs digital video signal instead. I still use the term RAMDAC here, for convenience reasons.
 
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yly3

macrumors 6502
Jan 9, 2011
345
4
Lol guys, Retina Display IS reaching (if not pushing) the limits of the 650M. This is a fact from reviews such as Anandtech and others.
All I want is a 30-50% improvement in the GPU with the same retina and hopefully a matte display.

And for a lower price, which I am sure there will be and 1TB SSD.
Like I said, for MY preferences and needs.

The 2012 is very capable but a bit ahead of its time.
Waiting for "websites to update", apps to update, ML getting perfect, those smal l little details. Basically, Retina getting mainstream as it is on the iPhone.
 

ihakim

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2012
215
161
Stanford, CA
The term future proof is ridiculous. Right now, this computer is a screamer. Next year there will be something better, and it will be amazing, and same with the year after that. Every year there will be something coming out next year that is better. If you always hold out for something better you will never have anything.

Are you expecting a computer to come out at some point where they announce, "this is it...the last computer you will ever own! The everlasting gobstopper of computer technology!!!"

I was actually eating everlasting gobstopper's while reading your post. Beautiful.
 

ivoruest

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2010
398
28
Guatemala
I think the Retina Macbook Pro is quite at its max with the retina display. It obviously handles everything pretty well, but the GPU is quite stressed out and not sure how it will behave in the long run. I definitely would buy the 2013 model when it gets better and after a good time watching how the 2012 model performs.
 
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