Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
13" Retina Pro...Buy now or wait?
- Thread starter Jamie0003
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Steep price ok, but seriously more portability, the 15 inch R does not lack portability.
Unless youre doing somethin wholly specific to Mac OSX, or spreadsheets (and even then), the best option for day-to-day portability is the iPad.
I would chance the 15" R right now if u need the screen resolution or speed.
just curious. how do you know that the laptop is stolen? im not living in usa so im wondering why you have a suspicion to CL.
ok seriously
And what effect does this have on the buyer exactly? If you're sayin its stolen, Apple will send agents to track him down for a 2k laptop?? You realize apple is closin in on a trillion right?
Stealing isnt right, but if this is truly what Puppy is implying (innocent before proven guilty??? i know this concept is lost in Amerika these days.) and other guy thinks - it cant be proven, its an assumption. And the buyer wasnt the one that stole it. And, apple IS the biggest company in history.. and showin NO signs of stoppin.
----------
I doubt he knows anything.
It's still heavier than the 13", and the specs are higher than my needs anyway. I think i'm going to wait a bit and try and grab a maxed out 13" refurb MBA. Much better value for money and more portable than any of the machines (Bar the iPad of course.)
Well if you could make do with the original MBP 13", the 15" R weighs the same (4.5 lbs)
Well I couldn't wait and bought it immediately. Been putting it through the paces the last few days and I'm sad to say it's going back. I came from last years Air and besides the AMAZING display.. and the display is truly amazing, I can't justify the $2,700 bucks I spent.
I'm going to exchange it for a 15 inch. Between the i7 quad core, bigger screen and nvidia graphics and at pretty much the same price, it's just a much better buy and will last me a few years.
I'm going to exchange it for a 15 inch. Between the i7 quad core, bigger screen and nvidia graphics and at pretty much the same price, it's just a much better buy and will last me a few years.
Uh no. It came from an employee and he used employee discount ($500 off) plus $200 off education discount - he ended up buying it for $1500 and he made $350 off it. Receipt was provide at the point of sale. I'm not crazy. But thanks for assuming.
----------
He made $350. Read above.
----------
Thank you! Someone who actually DOESN'T assume.
I've bought (and sold) many macs on CL. I upgrade every year and even miss the return dates on things I don't want some time. As long as a receipt is provided and the serial of the box and machine matches up, I don't really have a reason to suspect anyone. Plus, $1850 is hardly a screaming deal since I can buy them for $2000 with my university discount. People these days...
Oh well, back to enjoying my macbook - I paid good money for it and did everything I could (check serial, got receipt) - so as far as I'm concerned, this was an honest sale.
----------
Good choice. The 15" is a much better machine - and you actually get performance for your money!
I handled the MBP Retina 13" today for quite some time, and I was surprised to find it feeling quite thick and "heavy"... heavy like it was very dense. It's not as close to the Air as I thought it would be. It felt closer to the 15", as odd as that sounds. I know the numbers don't actually support that. I was a put turned off by that.
Then when you factor in the value, it just seems to make more sense to go up to the 15" if you're dead set on Retina, or drop down to the Air if you want the most bang for your buck.
The 13" Retina, at the moment, is for a very niche middle-ground audience, it seems to me.
The Verge's review didn't instill much faith in me to invest in it either. Personally, I'd wait for next year and see if they offer more storage and bring the price down (it's happened before).
Then when you factor in the value, it just seems to make more sense to go up to the 15" if you're dead set on Retina, or drop down to the Air if you want the most bang for your buck.
The 13" Retina, at the moment, is for a very niche middle-ground audience, it seems to me.
The Verge's review didn't instill much faith in me to invest in it either. Personally, I'd wait for next year and see if they offer more storage and bring the price down (it's happened before).
I 100% agree with this obversation. The 13" is almost like the MBP Pro that the non-pro users who wants to impress their friends buy. It does nothing better than the 13" Air while costing a hell of a lot more.
The 15" is key. Haswell will be even better but for now the 15" continues to be the more impressive machine.
Last edited:
I think the MBA is a much better deal than the rMBP, and it will remain this way for a few years, until Apple drops the ridiculous price...
Great man, I didn't know I bought my rmbp because I wanted to impress my friends. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me on this subject
Great man, I didn't know I bought my rmbp because I wanted to impress my friends. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me on this subject
I might have been too rush to judge so I do apologize (my bad!
) but I honestly think Apple is ripping us off. I was extremely disappointed with the announcement I was one of those people that was waiting to buy a 13" rMBP. I would have bought one if any of the following was true1. Quad Core
2. Discrete GPU
3. Priced at $1499
I wasn't looking for an ultra cheap machine, but I do want at least one of those 3 points addressed. I don't mind paying a premium (we all are with retina macbook pros) but there is a very fine line between paying a premium and getting ripped off.
Well I'm happy with my 13" rMBP. Absurd price yes, but it meets ALL the things I wanted in a 13" laptop. All others either lacked the proper screen res, had terrible build quality, had too little ram, or had no option for a 512gb HD. I'm willing to pay the premium for what I want because its the only thing that does it.
I might have been too rush to judge so I do apologize (my bad!
1. Quad Core
2. Discrete GPU
3. Priced at $1499
I wasn't looking for an ultra cheap machine, but I do want at least one of those 3 points addressed. I don't mind paying a premium (we all are with retina macbook pros) but there is a very fine line between paying a premium and getting ripped off.
Yes I can see where you're coming from. I actually thought it would standard come with 256 GB ssd and quad core option. But still it fits my needs the way it is now... Would have been nice though
For me it was a 250 euro premium over the mba 13, but I get a slightly better CPU, hd4000 with a bit higher frequency (not sure if that makes that much of a difference though) hdmi and a better screen for it. So I figured it was worth that premium
For me there is absolutely nothing compelling about the 13" Retina other than the size, the 15" Retina absolutely dominates the 13" Retina in every aspect, anyone looking to buy the 13" should think about it very carefully.
Apple set the standard for performance with the 15" Retina and now they are looking to cash in on those who are not able to live with the 15" footprint. A 13" with a basic CPU upgrade (i7) costs as much as a 15" Retina base in many countries which is a bad joke to say the least.
It makes little sense to go with the 13" the CPU`s performance level of the 15' over the 13" in isolation is significant to say the least, anything CPU intensive is simply going to be completed far faster, any app that can take advantage of multicore architecture more so.
GeekBench Results:
- MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3520M 2900 MHz (2 cores) 7797 (High end)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3615QM 2300 MHz (4 cores) 10799 (Base)
My own base 15" Retina benchmarks at over 11K systematically (Link: just hit 11040 and 11043 and 11096) and on top of the far higher CPU rating you will have both the HD 4000 and GT 650M GPU`s, superior audio, higher resolution, twice the storage capacity. If i was forced to buy the 13" Retina i would be very unhappy to say the least giving up so much, saving just a couple of hundred dollars, just for a smaller footprint.
The bottom line is the 13" Retina is priced far too high, i applaud Apple`s ingenuity and engineering prowess, equally their greed is staggering just when will enough be enough $$$$. The 13" Retina should have a base price range of $1200 - $1300, in general the 13" line is grossly over priced, as fundamentally little to nothing has changed since it`s introduction in 2008 as the Aluminium MacBook; duel core CPU, integrated graphics only, and very poor resolution on the standard model.
The straight up answer is buy a bigger bag, and you will have all the performance you need at all times
Last edited:
I have not yet bought the laptop, but I guess the 13" rMBP is the only one that currently meets my expectations as well.
For me there is absolutely nothing compelling about the 13" Retina other than the size, the 15" Retina absolutely dominates the 13" Retina in every aspect, anyone looking to buy the 13" should think about it very carefully.
Apple set the standard for performance with the 15" Retina and now they are looking to cash in on those who are not able to live with the 15" footprint. A 13" with a basic CPU upgrade (i7) costs as much as a 15" Retina base in many countries which is a bad joke to say the least.
It makes little sense to go with the 13" the CPU`s performance level of the 15' over the 13" in isolation is significant to say the least, anything CPU intensive is simply going to be completed far faster, any app that can take advantage of multicore architecture more so.
GeekBench Results:
- MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3520M 2900 MHz (2 cores) 7797 (High end)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3615QM 2300 MHz (4 cores) 10799 (Base)
My own base 15" Retina benchmarks at over 11K systematically (Link: just hit 11040 and 11043 and 11096) and on top of the far higher CPU rating you will have both the HD 4000 and GT 650M GPU`s, superior audio, higher resolution, twice the storage capacity. If i was forced to buy the 13" Retina i would be very unhappy to say the least giving up so much, saving just a couple of hundred dollars, just for a smaller footprint.
The bottom line is the 13" Retina is priced far too high, i applaud Apple`s ingenuity and engineering prowess, equally their greed is staggering just when will enough be enough $$$$. The 13" Retina should have a base price range of $1200 - $1300, in general the 13" line is grossly over priced, as fundamentally little to nothing has changed since it`s introduction in 2008 as the Aluminium MacBook; duel core CPU, integrated graphics only, and very poor resolution on the standard model.
The straight up answer is buy a bigger bag, and you will have all the performance you need at all times
You speak the truth brother.
I really waited for it to come out but once i saw HD4000 GPU and the verge later reviewed it and said it lags cuz of that then i actually almost give up.
I love the port selection of the new rMBP but the price for dual core and only 128GB killed me :Z
i really need a mac right now :Z tierd of windows
I love the port selection of the new rMBP but the price for dual core and only 128GB killed me :Z
i really need a mac right now :Z tierd of windows
If you can live with the footprint & cost go with the 15" Retina, if not look at a higher end Air, a 256Gb will run you $1500 so maybe a well cared for 2011 Air is a better proposition. Aside that i am out of suggestion s for a Mac portable, in time Apple will probably raise the base to 256, however that may be a very long time...
I don't like laptops more than 13 inch
feels a lot bigger for me and the macbook air has no hdmi, usb, sd card. I don't want to buy windows pc :< i hate when you buy hp,dell samsung and then you get on your screen Ebay Amazon Office 2012 trial :< i hate to work on my software so much after buying a laptop.
as you can see i don't have much choice here :<
Guys I've read, heard and seen lots of comments and tests about Retina 13" performance where it was said that its hardware (doubled cored Core i7 coupled with integrated Intel HD4000) scarcely cope with Retina resolution.
Nevertheless does it make any sense to buy or it would be better to wait for introducing Retina with Haswell on board? Unfortunately we cannot predict what will come instead of HD4000.
Nevertheless does it make any sense to buy or it would be better to wait for introducing Retina with Haswell on board? Unfortunately we cannot predict what will come instead of HD4000.
I don't like laptops more than 13 inch
I don't want to buy windows pc :< i hate when you buy hp,dell samsung and then you get on your screen Ebay Amazon Office 2012 trial :< i hate to work on my software so much after buying a laptop.
as you can see i don't have much choice here :<
why dont you like laptops more than 13 inch? sometimes i feel like 15 isnt comfortably big because im somtimes arching my back a little more than comfortable.