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2012 MacBook Pro 15'' - is it still worth it?

K

Ksubi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
31
0
I'm having the most difficult decision of my life and I'm still not sure whether the retina or non retina is for me...

I really like the retina but however, the only thing that is bugging me is the third party applications and non retina applications. They won't look as effective on the retina especially when these apps are important to me. Can these apps be scaled? Some pictures from the net won't look effective either

The non-retina MacBook pro is good but I still hate the fact that it's still the same size as previous models and not thin as the retina MacBook pro. Would people these days still use non-retina laptops or switch to retina? Portability might be a concern for me later on...

If this isn't helping then im afraid that I will have a look myself at the apple store tomorrow..

Please help me decide!

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I would have no problem getting it - it has an adequate screen, optical drive (I need that for work), no dongles, and it is much easier to upgrade. I personally would love a retina screen, but I can see it causing inconsistency with some apps due to the extreme resolution. I could also see the graphic card really maxing out on that number of pixels (that is a LOT of pixels!).
 
Get the 15" hi-res 1680x1050 if you don't like the retina. The GPU will have an easier time handling it and it'll have have smoother graphics.
 
I went to the Apple store today wondering the same.

I used the Retina for about 1/2 hour, the screen is simply incredible.
Its like nothing I've ever seen before.

In Retina mode, it seems to act like a standard 1440x900 screen, except some apps have been upgraded to make use of the full 2880 wide display.
Apps that have not been upgraded, look as good as they did before , better in fact in my opinion as the screens contrast is amazing.

There is some LAG seen at times but its not much to give up for the greatly improved other aspects.

After trying the Retina, I looked at normal Pros, they suddenly look very poor and pixelated in comparison.

Biggest downside is the its only available in a 15.4 size, that's a pretty big laptop if your used to Air's and iPads.
 
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time?

There are tons of variables to consider like you mentioned: portability, scalability, price...

Scalability: there's some options under the system preferences that should ease your worries. Between these and the new updates provided by third-parties, I would cross this factor off your list. I couldn't find the video i was thinking of for you, but this video shows off some of the scaling around 1:50 http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=42802

Portability: my experience is coming from an air, and I haven't held the retina pro. yet, I agree with you that you'll appreciate this decrease over the lifetime of your computer. you'll always regret it if you opt for the heavier mac.

If you are planning on looking at this computer for 3 hours a day, you should definitely spend the few extra hundred dollars. Many people forget to consider the time they are going to spend with this laptop. When you look at the dollar/time unit that comforts your the most (cost/year, month, whatever), the $400 difference is child's play. Also, don't forget that Mac's hold their value greater than any other computer. The resale potention on the new retina laptop will be much greater, as it will be the new chassis for the next few years, than the older model.

Don't forget too that there's some sweet deals if you're a student. $200 off and $100 free app store gift card.
 
I bought the Real MBP with hi-res anti-glare. It's upgradeable. I can get rid of the optical drive and pop in a SSD. If the RAM goes bad I can just replace it. Same with the HDD. Both bays have been confirmed to work fine with sata 3 drives with 15" MBP only (13 inch has some issues still I guess). It operates at sata3 speeds as well.

Other than the high res why not get the real MBP?

Ksubi said:
I'm having the most difficult decision of my life and I'm still not sure whether the retina or non retina is for me...

I really like the retina but however, the only thing that is bugging me is the third party applications and non retina applications. They won't look as effective on the retina especially when these apps are important to me. Can these apps be scaled? Some pictures from the net won't look effective either

The non-retina MacBook pro is good but I still hate the fact that it's still the same size as previous models and not thin as the retina MacBook pro. Would people these days still use non-retina laptops or switch to retina? Portability might be a concern for me later on...

If this isn't helping then im afraid that I will have a look myself at the apple store tomorrow..

Please help me decide!

----------

.
Click to expand...
 
Even though I have a new R-MBP as well as a 2011 MBP, if I had to choose it'd be the conventional MBP, no hesitation.

For me, it's no contest when I'm advising others who ask.

As nice as the retina display is, being built like a toaster (an appliance you discard when it breaks) I cannot in good conscious suggest it to others.

After reading several reports and examining the pictures, it's obvious this R-MBP is not designed to be serviceable. It's all about style, waif like thickness, and planned obsolescence, even more than it's predecessors.
 
pragmatous said:
I bought the Real MBP with hi-res anti-glare. It's upgradeable. I can get rid of the optical drive and pop in a SSD. If the RAM goes bad I can just replace it. Same with the HDD. Both bays have been confirmed to work fine with sata 3 drives with 15" MBP only (13 inch has some issues still I guess). It operates at sata3 speeds as well.

Other than the high res why not get the real MBP?
Click to expand...
So is it possible for the laptop to go thin if they remove the optical drive? Sorry for this stupid question
 
OSMac said:
I went to the Apple store today wondering the same. After trying the Retina, I looked at normal Pros, they suddenly look very poor and pixelated in comparison.
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree.

My 15" 2011 hi-res, anti-glare MBP display is still quite nice as compared to my new 2012 R-MBP.

Oh sure, on the spec sheet & technically the retina has finer granularity, but after using mine for 12 hrs each day, I'm finding it's not as big of a difference as one might think. While it depends on what you're doing, I like them both.

If not for the R-MBP's appliance like build (not upgradeable) I might feel differently, but I'd be lying if I refused to acknowledge that drawback.
 
Hmm, it is a hard decision, either go with the easily upgradable classic MBP (and possibly regret the 512MB GPU) or buy the higher resolution MBP, it's a decision I too am struggling with.
 
ixodes said:
Oh sure, on the spec sheet & technically the retina has finer granularity, but after using mine for 12 hrs each day, I'm finding it's not as big of a difference as one might think. While it depends on what you're doing, I like them both.

If not for the R-MBP's appliance like build (not upgradeable) I might feel differently, but I'd be lying if I refused to acknowledge that drawback.
Click to expand...

I dislike the the unserviceable build too, and I have yet to see any comments on what battery replacement costs. Given all the changes, I'd like to see Apple clarify them better. Not everyone is going to know where to find out about these things or even what questions to ask. Annoyingly they're bundling features that I like such as an IPS display and an additional thunderbolt port on the new version only.
 
Well that's what they did in the MBP retina.

What I'm saying is in the real MBP (non-retina) it has an optical drive. You can remove the drive and in place of it put another hard drive - SSD or mechanical.

Ksubi said:
So is it possible for the laptop to go thin if they remove the optical drive? Sorry for this stupid question
Click to expand...
 
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