Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Haswell worth the wait? 13" mbp retina...

R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
Hi guys! I'm planning on buying a 13" retina very soon, since my 4 year old macbook pro 13" just isn't good enough anymore. But I'm in a dilemma...macbooks are pretty cheap right now, with back to school discounts etc., but I know there are new models coming out real soon with haswell processors (but the price will go up). As an architecture student, I use my computer for 3D and CAD modeling, photo editing, heavy multitasking etc. I don't really play any games. Would it make sense to wait for the new mb generation, or are the gains in performance low enough for me to just go with the "old" model.
Thanks!
 
henry72

henry72

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2009
1,525
915
New Zealand
I'd say if your old MacBook Pro working "fine" and just not "good enough", definitely WAIT because the new update will have a much better battery life which is great for uni and also faster flash, improved graphic and maybe a bit cheaper.

Unless you don't care about those nice improvement then you can buy now, look at the refurbished store as well. It's all up to you at the end :)
 
ValSalva

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
I'd say wait if you can because in all likelihood the wait is now less than 60 days. And everyone is going to tell you that battery life is going to get at least a little bit better and if that means anything to you it's definitely worth waiting for.

As for price, IMO it will at least stay the same. The MBA's got Haswell and I believe the prices went down by $100.
 
R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
thanks for the advice guys! however, the battery life really isn't that important for me (i'm either working at home or in the studio, in both cases the computer is plugged in)...graphics may be a more important issue, since i have to do some renderings from time to time :)
 
sofianito

sofianito

macrumors 65816
Jan 14, 2011
1,207
2
Spain
If you want to save $400 or more then get it now. The major difference will be the GPU, the performance of the Iris 5100 is twice of the HD4000... However, according to the majority of 13" rMBP owners in this forum, Mavericks will solve all the lag issues... The dilemma is, in order to verify this statement, you need to wait for the release of Haswell and Mavericks, but by that time there won't be any early 2013 13" available except refurbs... :D
 
Count Blah

Count Blah

macrumors 68040
Jan 6, 2004
3,192
2,748
US of A
as others have said, save $300 now or get better graphics for the potential of another year of useability on the back end.

Sadly, you are not given a choice in GPU, so HD4000->Iris 5100 is a major component to the long term viability of the 13"
 
Last edited:
T

tbolt11

macrumors member
Jun 20, 2013
90
0
IF you were pressed to buy something immediately, I would say look at the new MBAs.

That said, wait for the haswell retinas like the rest of us.
 
R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
yeeeeaaaah i'll probably wait... definitely not investing in MBA though - just not enough power for running photoshop, illustrator, autocad, rhino and blender at the same time :)
 
R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
i just got offered a 15" mbp retina (lowest spec) from a friend of mine for 1700, about 5 or 6 months old... should i still wait for the new generation and get the 13" retina for about the same price?
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
roksraka said:
i just got offered a 15" mbp retina (lowest spec) from a friend of mine for 1700, about 5 or 6 months old... should i still wait for the new generation and get the 13" retina for about the same price?
Click to expand...

You can get the same machine from the Apple refurbished section for $100 less, and a full twelve months of warranty. Unless it has extended applecare already on it, get your friend down a bit more.

Managed to get the same machine on CL last month for $1400, and I have no regrets.
 
jav6454

jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,257
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
We don't know yet. Haswell improvements lay in extra battery life when on battery power, they don't lay on increased computing boost. Well, technically they do as eveything is much more effective in terms of power consumption.
 
R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
clyde2801 said:
You can get the same machine from the Apple refurbished section for $100 less, and a full twelve months of warranty. Unless it has extended applecare already on it, get your friend down a bit more.

Managed to get the same machine on CL last month for $1400, and I have no regrets.
Click to expand...

Well, here's the problem...I'm from Slovenia, and we don't have refurbished macs here. I could order it from the US, but than the shipping would be expensive, and I wouldn't get the slovenian keyboard
 
borgqueens

borgqueens

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2013
84
0
Denmark
roksraka said:
i just got offered a 15" mbp retina (lowest spec) from a friend of mine for 1700, about 5 or 6 months old... should i still wait for the new generation and get the 13" retina for about the same price?
Click to expand...

1700 us dollars or Slovenian cash ?

If you wait for the 13" haswell you most likely can the 13" haswell cheaper then what your friend offers and much better in graphic compared to the current 13"

The old 15" sure it has the dGPU however it still uses the old HD4000 I´m not sure what trickers the dGPU to kick in exept hard graphics use and then there is lag between switching. I think you´ll be better off waiting for the next 13" haswell rmbp and get a iGPU HD 5000 or 5100 not sure which. But the Geforce dGPU was made for gaming and might not be as good in graphic work as what you will get in 13" haswell rmbp
So I advise you to wait get the 13" rMBP that will be a huge improvment in graphic performens compared to the current 13"
 
P

paulCC

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2012
100
59
roksraka said:
Well, here's the problem...I'm from Slovenia, and we don't have refurbished macs here. I could order it from the US, but than the shipping would be expensive, and I wouldn't get the slovenian keyboard
Click to expand...

I am not sure what the shipping would cost, but you would have to pay the VAT in Slovenia when you receive the computer. I am guessing that is close to 20%......

( unless you use the computer in your business, and are a registered VAT payer.... )

PaulC.
 
R

roksraka

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
68
80
Slovenia
borgqueens said:
1700 us dollars or Slovenian cash ?

If you wait for the 13" haswell you most likely can the 13" haswell cheaper then what your friend offers and much better in graphic compared to the current 13"

The old 15" sure it has the dGPU however it still uses the old HD4000 I´m not sure what trickers the dGPU to kick in exept hard graphics use and then there is lag between switching. I think you´ll be better off waiting for the next 13" haswell rmbp and get a iGPU HD 5000 or 5100 not sure which. But the Geforce dGPU was made for gaming and might not be as good in graphic work as what you will get in 13" haswell rmbp
So I advise you to wait get the 13" rMBP that will be a huge improvment in graphic performens compared to the current 13"
Click to expand...

1700 euros...but everything is more expensive here. the digits are the same, just that instead of $ there are euros :p another deciding factor is the screen :/ extra 2 inches can make quite a difference if you CAD a lot (that sounds dirty).... i'll think about it. thanks for advice :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom