13" rMBP underpowered?

[NewishMacGuy]

Those specs are not through Apple.com A cMBP 13" with a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM is $1,499. Only $200 less than the thinner, lighter, and 4X resolution rMBP 13". Your spec estimate is likely through OWC or something like that --- 95% of consumers will not send their brand new computer to some website called OWC and let them tear it open...void their warranty...and install aftermarket components. Glad it works for you, but that's just not a viable solution for most people.

1. The upgrades I mention most certainly aren't from Apple, as purchasing upgrades from Apple makes very little financial sense. Thus, the forced Apple-sourced "upgrades" in the rMBP-13 versus the base cMBP-13 make very little financial sense. Thus the rMBP-13 itself makes very little financial sense (which was my original point).

2. Upgrading hard drives and memory DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY.

3. The upgrades I mentioned would not require sending your computer anywhere. All can be done in less than an hour from the comfort of your living room couch and coffee table, by anyone who can hold a screwdriver and follow basic instructions which are all over the web (including on Apple's own website).

 

[PatriotInvasion]

1. The upgrades I mention most certainly aren't from Apple, as purchasing upgrades from Apple makes very little financial sense. Thus, the forced Apple-sourced "upgrades" in the rMBP-13 versus the base cMBP-13 make very little financial sense. Thus the rMBP-13 itself makes very little financial sense (which was my original point).

2. Upgrading hard drives and memory DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY.

3. The upgrades I mentioned would not require sending your computer anywhere. All can be done in less than an hour from the comfort of your living room couch and coffee table, by anyone who can hold a screwdriver and follow basic instructions which are all over the web (including on Apple's own website).

Even so, 95% of people will not perform surgery on their beautiful new Mac to save a few bucks so the option to do so shouldn't really be held against Apple's pricing structure for the topic of this thread. Again, I'm glad you feel comfortable digging in to the internals of a brand new computer, but most people have no interest in doing this.

 

[ssn637]

Just cancelled my order for the 13" rMBP after having read that they suffer from IR issues. As far as I know these systems are being delivered exclusively with LG screens. This is totally frustrating. Either go for the Air or wait til next year.

 

[Barna Biro]

Just cancelled my order for the 13" rMBP after having read that they suffer from IR issues. As far as I know these systems are being delivered exclusively with LG screens. This is totally frustrating. Either go for the Air or wait til next year.

So you read that an extremely tiny percent of people are complaining about IR ( sure, these guys usually do a great job at making themselves heard, although they are just a small splat in the See - just think about how many units were most likely sold and how many people you actually see running around complaining ) and that scared you off? Sorry man, but that's just sad... If it were really that bad, be assured that all media ( newspapers, TV, etc. ) would be flooded by this Apple mega-mess-up.

... but well, it's your decision. If you're happy about it, then great!

 

[ssn637]

So you read that an extremely tiny percent of people are complaining about IR ( sure, these guys usually do a great job at making themselves heard, although they are just a small splat in the See - just think about how many units were most likely sold and how many people you actually see running around complaining ) and that scared you off? Sorry man, but that's just sad... If it were really that bad, be assured that all media ( newspapers, TV, etc. ) would be flooded by this Apple mega-mess-up.

... but well, it's your decision. If you're happy about it, then great!

Well, Barna Biro, I wasn't at all happy with my decision and in fact was pretty frustrated since I'd been waiting for the 13" Retina since June.

But you've convinced me to give it another try so I've reordered

Let me know how your rMBP is doing in the meantime. Have you tested for IR? Are you happy with it? Any suggestions before mine arrives?

Salut

Geoffrey

 

[ob81]

Well, Barna Biro, I wasn't at all happy with my decision and in fact was pretty frustrated since I'd been waiting for the 13" Retina since June.

But you've convinced me to give it another try so I've reordered

Let me know how your rMBP is doing in the meantime. Have you tested for IR? Are you happy with it? Any suggestions before mine arrives?

Salut

Geoffrey

I have had the 13" for about a week. I have not witnessed any IR during my normal usage, and I am not sure if it is really even a normal usage issue even on rMBPs that do display IR issues. People do these tests that show IR, but the situations are always manufactured. I kept this in mind when I made my purchase.

The only crossroads I came to when purchasing the 13" rMBP was if I was going to get the base model, or get the 15" model. I do not think that ANY upgrade on the 13" model is worth it.

 

[Barna Biro]

I do not think that ANY upgrade on the 13" model is worth it.

Please allow me to fix that for you...

I do not think that for my needs ANY upgrade on the 13" model is worth it.

There you go... much better and accurate now

 

[Barna Biro]

Well, Barna Biro, I wasn't at all happy with my decision and in fact was pretty frustrated since I'd been waiting for the 13" Retina since June.

But you've convinced me to give it another try so I've reordered

Let me know how your rMBP is doing in the meantime. Have you tested for IR? Are you happy with it? Any suggestions before mine arrives?

Salut

Geoffrey

I do not spend my time obsessively looking for bugs in the products I buy ( running extreme tests and such )... of course nothing is flawless, thinking otherwise is silly. As ob81 has correctly pointed out: the entire purpose of those tests is to recreate scenarios / conditions that you will most likely not face on a daily basis ( if at all ) and accentuate flaws.

That being said: No, I did not run any tests, nor do I plan to run any... the notebook runs just fine. Again, don't get me wrong, I am not delusional, for sure there are people out there facing genuine problems ( with IR, or lag, or whatever else... or all at once ), but they are still the minority... I see no point in wasting my time with "tests", just to prove that the computer is flawless ( or the contrary ). It was actually funny seeing quite a few persons sending their notebooks back over and over again ( or so they claim ) just because after first start, a Unix command revealed to them that they have an LG screen and not a Samsung screen... INSTANT PANIC !!! ( without even giving the thing a chance... or again just running those extremely silly tests ). Same for the SSD...

My personal advice: get the notebook and throw the best you can at it... if it stands it's ground and there are no obvious flaws ( like imminent IR without running any tests ), then I honestly see no point in nitpicking... but if it doesn't live up to your expectations or it does show problems out of the box ( without specifically pushing it in a certain direction of failure ), then in my opinion, you have at least two options at hand:

1) either get it replaced ( it can happen that you get a faulty product that needs fixing / replacement... even if Apple and Prada, Luis Vuitton, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. )
2) get a completely different model.

It's really up to you... It's your money, you'll have to use it and live with it... so, ideally, YOU should also be the one taking the decision and not some random strangers on a forum. All I'm saying is: don't assume the worst about things just because a few people complain ( would be totally different if everyone or the majority complained... which is clearly not the case ). Try it out for yourself and then decide what to do.

Apple actually makes it easy for you... you can send it back within 14 days and get your money back. If it weren't this way, I would not advice you to purchase it and give it a "blind shot" ( being a "guinea pig" is sometimes Ok, but no need to be a "sacrificial guinea pig"... if you are not sure about something and you know you can't back out of it, then rather don't do it in the first place ).

Salut

Barna

 

[ob81]

Please allow me to fix that for you...



There you go... much better and accurate now

It isn't a matter of needs or wants. Upgrading puts the 13" too close in price to the better spec'd base 15". Upgrading your MBP is great, but when a better one can be had in the same price range, decisions have to be made.

 

[Barna Biro]

It isn't a matter of needs or wants. Upgrading puts the 13" too close in price to the better spec'd base 15". Upgrading your MBP is great, but when a better one can be had in the same price range, decisions have to be made.

If you limit yourself to purely specs and price, I totally agree. But then again, not everyone needs just "specs" and nor does everyone has to limit himself to a budget ( smallish one I mean ). Some people ( like myself ), actually need a smaller size and are willing to pay the premium ( even if it ends up costing much more than a much better speced, but "bigger" alternative ). I prefer having my 13" rMBP on my lap on an airplane than a MBA... same for when traveling by train, or while laying in the couch and so on and so forth ( + integrated HDMI port which is handy for presentations... you need to use an adapter for the MBA... I'm lazy you know to carry a crap-load of cables with me, and I also dislike the silver bezel of the MBA ). Sure, the cMBP would also be an option, but then again, I like the retina screen, the smaller footprint and weight more than I care about the price.

Again, if one looks purely at specs and price, then I totally agree with you.
From a "bang for buck" point of view, the 15" rMBP is the clear winner.

My previous correction stands... for your needs, it might not make any sense / be worth it. I totally respect your opinion, but please don't try forcing it upon everyone else, because your needs are clearly not everyone's needs.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

If you limit yourself to purely specs and price, I totally agree. But then again, not everyone needs just "specs" and nor does everyone has to limit himself to a budget ( smallish one I mean ). Some people ( like myself ), actually need a smaller size and are willing to pay the premium ( even if it ends up costing much more than a much better speced, but "bigger" alternative ). I prefer having my 13" rMBP on my lap on an airplane than a MBA... same for when traveling by train, or while laying in the couch and so on and so forth ( + integrated HDMI port which is handy for presentations... you need to use an adapter for the MBA... I'm lazy you know to carry a crap-load of cables with me, and I also dislike the silver bezel of the MBA ). Sure, the cMBP would also be an option, but then again, I like the retina screen, the smaller footprint and weight more than I care about the price.

Again, if one looks purely at specs and price, then I totally agree with you.
From a "bang for buck" point of view, the 15" rMBP is the clear winner.

My previous correction stands... for your needs, it might not make any sense / be worth it. I totally respect your opinion, but please don't try forcing it upon everyone else, because your needs are clearly not everyone's needs.

I went for the base 13" rMBP so I wasn't tempted to get the 15" but certainly would have been if I opted for the $1,999 256GB 13" model. That said, there's still a huge mental barrier to overcome when you exceed that $2,000 price point for a computer and I suspect many will be unwilling to bear that cost, even if the specs/bang for your buck make sense to spend $200 more.

For my uses, the base 13" Retina is a perfect machine and happy I spent $500 less by waiting for it rather than jumping on a 15" in June.

 

[damir00]

Delete.

 

[ob81]

Again, if one looks purely at specs and price, then I totally agree with you.
From a "bang for buck" point of view, the 15" rMBP is the clear winner.

My previous correction stands... for your needs, it might not make any sense / be worth it. I totally respect your opinion, but please don't try forcing it upon everyone else, because your needs are clearly not everyone's needs.

I don't think that I am "forcing" my opinion on anyone, bro. There are people that "need" the 13" out there. It is their money, they can do what they want with it. Upgrading the 13" puts it in the 15" price range. The thought is going to come up once you get close to that range.

 

[Barna Biro]

Ok, there's no point in debating... you clearly only care about "what's the best spec my budget can buy" and fail to consider ( or you simply ignore ) other scenarios / situations / needs...

 

[robvas]

Engadget's tests show the 2.5GHz Retina being almost the same speed as the 2.0GHz i7 Air

 

[Barna Biro]

Engadget's tests show the 2.5GHz Retina being almost the same speed as the 2.0GHz i7 Air

Comparing the 2.9Ghz ( 13" cMBP and rMBP ) and 2.0Ghz ( MBA ) CPUs:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/64898,64893

Sure, the difference is not tremendous since both are dual cores... still, the MBA uses an UVL CPU and the integrated GPU works at a lower frequency. In the MBA vs 13" rMBP, things come down to screen and slight speed improvement ( + some additional ports ).