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2880x1800 at Apple Store

Mabyboi

Mabyboi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 23, 2010
489
0
Ontario, Canada
Hey guys,

Just thought i'd share my little story about my trip to the apple store.

Went in to check out the Retina MacBook Pro, i'll be ordering one when it becomes available with mountain lion.

I've been watching for people posting images of it running at its true full 2880x1800 resolution and haven't really seen much so i decided to go in and do it myself.

I downloaded the application that lets you switch the screen resolution, and downloaded a 2880x1800 wallpaper to make it look real nice. As soon as i started messing around, people were flocking to see what i was doing (no joke people were watching over my shoulders)

I set it to 2880x1800 and this is what I got:

Up Close:

IMG_2051.jpg


From Afar:

IMG_2050.jpg


The screen was GORGEOUS, just absolutely fantastic to look at, problem was that the text was SUPER TINY (obviously).

I tried to open as many apps as i could (at the size they opened at) and fill the screen with what I could.

Heres what i got:

IMG_2052.jpg


And heres what it looked like when it was turned back to retina 1440x900:

IMG_2054.jpg


I just thought it was pretty cool and i'd like for others to see more pictures of it like i could have.

This is the wallpaper that was used: http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2973/fjord_dream.html
 
Just FYI, when in 1440x900 Retina mode you can still set a 2880x1800 wallpaper and see every pixel, in fact I would guess that most of the default ones would already be that resolution or greater.
 
Hell yeah, that 2880x1800 is insane :eek:
It's even higher pixel density than latest Asus 11" ultrabook with FullHD screen.

Retina MBP makes FullHD Vaio Z with TN look like a piece of outdated carbon fiber brick ;)

:D
 
Stetrain said:
Just FYI, when in 1440x900 Retina mode you can still set a 2880x1800 wallpaper and see every pixel, in fact I would guess that most of the default ones would already be that resolution or greater.
Click to expand...

yeah i noticed that! i downloaded the wallpaper in full 2880x1800 and set it to the background, was perfect and didnt change when switched to actual full 2880x1800 (if that makes any sense).
 
How well does the computer run at that resolution? Hot? What about the apps?

We can zoom in the web pages but is there a way to increase the text size?
 
Drag'nGT said:
How well does the computer run at that resolution? Hot? What about the apps?

We can zoom in the web pages but is there a way to increase the text size?
Click to expand...

It's "switchresx" there was an article on the front page with the app. It's a free download.

I didn't notice anything different performance/heat wise, If anything, apps ran smoother at this res..

I wish I had more time to play and I would have downloaded the graphics switching app and forced the dedicated graphics.

I'm assuming with some tweaking in fonts and dock size and item sizes you could make it pretty large but again I didn't get much time to play around. (girlfriend was dragging me out)

I personally thought the screen looked amazing at this point. And that wallpaper is fantastic.
 
maratus said:
Retina MBP makes FullHD Vaio Z with TN look like a piece of outdated carbon fiber brick ;)

:D
Click to expand...

Hey! That's my CF brick you are talking about. Although I actually got the 1600x900 version as I found 1920 on a 13.1" display to be too small.

The only thing keeping me from getting the rMBP is the $4k i dropped on the Z2 last summer.
 
@Mabyboi

Thanks so much for posting! I'm really having a hard time deciding between a hi-res cMBP or a base rMBP at the moment. The idea of 2880x1800 native screen space is clouding my judgment as I'm a bit of a resolution whore! (Resolution in terms of available space, not "retina" pixel density).

How usable do you think the native 2880x1800 would be? I know the text is going to be super small, but I work a lot with dreamweaver and photoshop and the idea of having them on the same screen next to each other is making me lean towards the rMBP (Yes, I know with mission control they can effectively be next to each other in their own fullscreen space, but still...) :)

----------
stevelam said:
Running native 2880 on 15" = so dumb
Click to expand...

Maybe...

but on a 15.4 = so sexy ;):D
 
It is surprisingly usable. Particularly for applications where you know what's where and you just want to get on with the job. I often use 1920x1200 for web browsing and generally mucking around with installation of new programs and so on, and then switch to 2880x1800 for serious stuff, where I'm coding in Komodo for example, or working on spreadsheets. There's no issue with the text size as long as you know roughly where the options you want are, or if you're using mostly keyboard shortcuts.

Of course, all retina issues disappear at 2880x1800 as it's not a HiDPI mode, it's just like a normal computer at 1:1 resolution. Thus all applications are "optimised" for it.
 
JS77 said:
@Mabyboi

Thanks so much for posting! I'm really having a hard time deciding between a hi-res cMBP or a base rMBP at the moment. The idea of 2880x1800 native screen space is clouding my judgment as I'm a bit of a resolution whore! (Resolution in terms of available space, not "retina" pixel density).

How usable do you think the native 2880x1800 would be? I know the text is going to be super small, but I work a lot with dreamweaver and photoshop and the idea of having them on the same screen next to each other is making me lean towards the rMBP (Yes, I know with mission control they can effectively be next to each other in their own fullscreen space, but still...) :)

----------



Maybe...

but on a 15.4 = so sexy ;):D
Click to expand...

It was really nice, I have my 27" 2560x1440, and I love super high res screen.

Now the 2880x1800 res did make everything super tiny, but if I had more time to play around with it I'm sure I could have out the text into a more usable size, along with the dock and system trays.

I personally love having multiple windows open and being able to switch between them, so i think I'll probably try my best to run at this res and see how well it goes.
 
Could you try some of the resolutions below Native? I wanna see what happens with pixel doubling and stuff.
 
TheMacBookPro said:
But the VAIO Z's 1080p panel covers 96% of AdobeRGB while the Retina display only covers 67.3% ;)
Click to expand...

So what? The problem is 99% of the monitors everyone else is using is less than 70% color gamut. You are the minority in that area with that 96% color gamut coverage.

It's like you buy a 4K red camera and get your jollies all up when 99.9% of the population can't watch it.

It's NICE to have that color gamut but it's NOT a deal breaker.
 
TheMacBookPro said:
But the VAIO Z's 1080p panel covers 96% of AdobeRGB while the Retina display only covers 67.3% ;)
Click to expand...

Which is arguable advantage for 6bit TN panel and not color-aware apps in Windows. Still not sure if Adobe RGB is worth it, keep shooting in sRGB :)
 
prfrma said:
Could you try some of the resolutions below Native? I wanna see what happens with pixel doubling and stuff.
Click to expand...

I didn't get much of a chance to play around with it, but when I set the resolution to something like 1440x900 (non HiDPI) it looked like S***!
 
stevelam said:
Running native 2880 on 15" = so dumb
Click to expand...

When my MBP is on my desk, the 2880 is too small. When I work with the laptop on my lap on the couch the screen is much closer to my face and it is actually usable, especially when I am doing 3D work and having more viewports and tools on screen at once is very productive. For me the native 2880 res is definitely useful but not 100% of the time. For web or word processing I like native or 1920X1200 (since I come from 17" and am used to that size).

SwitchResX is great too because you can set up hotkeys to switch the resolution. The resolution switches are practically instantaneous.
 
LEARN2MAKE said:
When my MBP is on my desk, the 2880 is too small. When I work with the laptop on my lap on the couch the screen is much closer to my face and it is actually usable, especially when I am doing 3D work and having more viewports and tools on screen at once is very productive. For me the native 2880 res is definitely useful but not 100% of the time. For web or word processing I like native or 1920X1200 (since I come from 17" and am used to that size).

SwitchResX is great too because you can set up hotkeys to switch the resolution. The resolution switches are practically instantaneous.
Click to expand...

Yeah it was pretty quick for it to change, I was very happily surprised. It, along with the GFX switcher will definitely be installed when I get mine
 
Mabyboi said:
Yeah it was pretty quick for it to change, I was very happily surprised. It, along with the GFX switcher will definitely be installed when I get mine
Click to expand...

The GFX switcher you're referring to is gfxCardStatus?
 
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