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Apple Releases Retina MacBook Pro SMC Update to Address Gaming Frame Rates and Fan Issues
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The Alienware laptops have much cheaper displays. The cost of the rMBP is all in the display. Put the same res display in an Alienware and it would cost more.
Updated to 10.8.3 and did the SMC update... launched witcher 2...
Game may actually be playable at 1440x900 low... so they did do SOMETHING...
Interesting to see benchmarks from someone more competent than myself
Game may actually be playable at 1440x900 low... so they did do SOMETHING...
Interesting to see benchmarks from someone more competent than myself
Actually many of the better reviews like Anandtech pointed out the problem was not the GPU, but the CPU and the lack of GPU acceleration in Safari and other environments. And that seems to be true, more now than then ever considering the lag/stutter is completely gone in 10.8.3. They seem to have finally enabled enough GPU acceleration, even on the HD4000, while adding more threading, to accomplish silky smooth UI, easing the CPU a bit. But hey, don't let counter-evidence get in the way of your bias. Nothing like being blind to the facts while claiming to care about facts...
Haswell has USB connectivity issues according to so.e reliable websites. Also Haswell has untested construction technology and chipsets which may or may not be great...so according to your logic don't get a 1st gen product like Haswell.
Your flickering is probably the LCD like a lot of retina users (incl. me) experienced. They had to replace it.
Actually they would be similar in price with the same displays.
The point is that the 2GB GTX chips can be put in the MBPR and really should be for their flagship product.
So because all the reviews say the same thing that makes them right? Not necessarily! In fact, the reviews did a pretty poor job.
As a rMBP owner I can confirm that UI lag was only ever an issue when using "switchable" graphics, meaning essentially when it was using the integrated Intel graphics in the Finder and Safari. It was never a problem when using the discreet 650m, which is a very capable card.
10.8.3 has dramatically improved UI performance when using switchable graphics, highlighting that the problems were at least in part due to software issues and poorly optimised drivers.
So sure believe what the reviews say but none of them went into any depth in UI and graphics testing. I looked but couldn't find a decent review in this regard.
Yes! It was always fast when discrete was used, but it feels fast now on the intel 4000 as well. I'm impressed. Awesome!
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Do you have waking issues if you are using TB display? So far the update has fixed some stuff, but I really hope the wake issues are fixed. Basically it takes 3-4 minutes for TB to be detected when plugged in in clamshell mode. Other times when you disconnect TB and later open laptop black screen and nothing ever comes out. Have to hard-reset laptop and lose work
I'll post if this fixes it, although doesn't sound like many others are having this issue.
I agree 2 Gb would've been "nice" to have but it's not a deal breaker for me. There's so much else to enjoy in this laptop.
Plus, they had to keep something other than relatively minor speed bumps and efficiency improvements for the next model. Like it or not, that's Apple's way. We did get an unusually large amount of new technology in the retina refresh by Apple's standards.
To borrow a Steve-ism, the current rMBPs are already "insanely great" and they're only going to get better from here!
Plus, they had to keep something other than relatively minor speed bumps and efficiency improvements for the next model. Like it or not, that's Apple's way. We did get an unusually large amount of new technology in the retina refresh by Apple's standards.
To borrow a Steve-ism, the current rMBPs are already "insanely great" and they're only going to get better from here!
Yep!
Lol...U. Just. Don't. Get. It. Do ya?
You don't own one. You stopped by a store an played with iMovie for ten minutes and have spent the last 6 months reading forums, right? I'm sorry your mom said no. Someday, when you grow up...get a job and save some cash...believe me, you'll come to the same conclusion 98% of the actual owners in this thread have. I've worked on productions for national TV over the past 4 years. Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch and Alaska State Troopers. I also work with three different Pac12 college football teams and, my friend...I'm definitely NOT ignorant.
When you pay your mortgage with your computers, let us know. These machines are hands down the pinnacle of portable performance. If you're unable to see that, my friend...you're blind. I'm not trying to be a d!ck...but you really ought to buy and try before developing such an opinion by playing around with Apple software in an Apple Store.
You've been answered several times by extremely bright people in this thread...actual owners of the rMBP. There is NO Way you can compare these machines to the joke in Dell's stable (Alienware). That's simply a gaming machine. It's not built to be 'on site'. The battery won't last an hour running AE, Maya or Premier/FCP/Avid. Those of us using these machines for our businesses aren't too concerned with gaming frame rates.
Oh lord...another one
Do you have waking issues if you are using TB display? So far the update has fixed some stuff, but I really hope the wake issues are fixed. Basically it takes 3-4 minutes for TB to be detected when plugged in in clamshell mode. Other times when you disconnect TB and later open laptop black screen and nothing ever comes out. Have to hard-reset laptop and lose work
I'll post if this fixes it, although doesn't sound like many others are having this issue.
I don't use a TB display so I can't help you with that.
I do however use three Dell monitors, one via HDMI, the other two with DP adaptors. My work day basically entails turning the laptop on in the morning, shutting the lid, connecting all the peripherals, waking it via KB/Mouse (which never takes too long), then at the end of the day, shutting it down, and taking the laptop home.
I hope this fixed my rMBP from crashing several times a day now! I either have a bad graphics card, or Apple's firmware/drivers suck. I should know by the next couple days.
Damn, you people don't read.
First of all, before installing, a warning appears saying that the battery should be at least 25% full and that the Mac will restart and the fans will spin at full speed while installing. You didn't read that, did you?
Plus, after the post you quoted, there were, at least, 5 different posts saying "THAT'S NORMAL". Even after this, you managed to just hit the quote button to say you experienced the same.
R E A D
I'm pretty sure it's specific to TB. I tried cinema display and no issues. But I really need the ethernet, etc..
Consider the standard 15" MBP to a comparably priced Alienware. Which one do you think will have the higher resolution screen? And which one do you think will come with more powerful hardware?
The retina display is expensive. But it's still a very expensive laptop even with that taken into account. Apple could have afforded to stick at least another gig of video memory in there (or at least offer it as an option...)
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Yep!
Lol...U. Just. Don't. Get. It. Do ya?
You don't own one. You stopped by a store an played with iMovie for ten minutes and have spent the last 6 months reading forums, right? I'm sorry your mom said no. Someday, when you grow up...get a job and save some cash...believe me, you'll come to the same conclusion 98% of the actual owners in this thread have. I've worked on productions for national TV over the past 4 years. Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch and Alaska State Troopers. I also work with three different Pac12 college football teams and, my friend...I'm definitely NOT ignorant.
When you pay your mortgage with your computers, let us know. These machines are hands down the pinnacle of portable performance. If you're unable to see that, my friend...you're blind. I'm not trying to be a d!ck...but you really ought to buy and try before developing such an opinion by playing around with Apple software in an Apple Store.
You've been answered several times by extremely bright people in this thread...actual owners of the rMBP. There is NO Way you can compare these machines to the joke in Dell's stable (Alienware). That's simply a gaming machine. It's not built to be 'on site'. The battery won't last an hour running AE, Maya or Premier/FCP/Avid. Those of us using these machines for our businesses aren't too concerned with gaming frame rates.
Oh lord...another one
It's not like the rMBP (or any macbook) has a quadro GPU or any other professional components. A computer with better hardware specifications will be able to do those professional tasks better.
The one advantage Apple computers have is display quality... and with the IR issues that plague the rMBP, I have my doubts about that these days. Battery life isn't a huge issue when doing CPU/GPU intensive work -- any computer (including the rMBP) will lose its charge in a short time.
If you would have read the notes of the installer, it tells you it's going to do that. So that's "expected" as one of the things it was doing was updating the firmware on the fans controller.
Wow. What a machine. I have it since mid 2012 and couldn't be happier. The recent SMC (two minutes) and OS X (six minutes) updates are highly recommended! I tested several apps incl. demanding games like the racer Asphalt 6, iMovie, GarageBand, Safari blog editor… All a bit snappier, no joke. I made some screenshots of the updates in my German-languge blog (Retina-ready of course).
Best. Computer. Ever.
What I don't get: There was extensive beta testing with OS X 10.8.3. But I never heard about beta testing of SMC updates. Why? Thx in advance for enlightenment.
Best. Computer. Ever.
What I don't get: There was extensive beta testing with OS X 10.8.3. But I never heard about beta testing of SMC updates. Why? Thx in advance for enlightenment.
guys....
i download the smc and the 10.8.3 update this morning and was so pump when i see the fps improve in all of my game
however i got school today so i couldn't continue playing
when i got back home i quickly uninstall my windows 7 and clean install windows 8 because now that it is supported by boot camp i guess why not
i launch the exact same game and set it up to the same setting
however to my suprise i am getting the same fps before the smc update
i try smc reset 3 to 4 times and i see no change
i am thinking of uninstalling w8 and going back to w7 ...
have anyone experience this
please help
btw the game is starcraft 2
i download the smc and the 10.8.3 update this morning and was so pump when i see the fps improve in all of my game
however i got school today so i couldn't continue playing
when i got back home i quickly uninstall my windows 7 and clean install windows 8 because now that it is supported by boot camp i guess why not
i launch the exact same game and set it up to the same setting
however to my suprise i am getting the same fps before the smc update
i try smc reset 3 to 4 times and i see no change
i am thinking of uninstalling w8 and going back to w7 ...
have anyone experience this
please help
btw the game is starcraft 2
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This update seems quite impressive. Better battery life and much smoother experience overall especially in Safari. I am yet to test framerates in Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 but hope to see improvements. Also keep to try Guild Wars 2 though not sure it will benefit as it's not native OSX.
guys....
i download the smc and the 10.8.3 update this morning and was so pump when i see the fps improve in all of my game
however i got school today so i couldn't continue playing
when i got back home i quickly uninstall my windows 7 and clean install windows 8 because now that it is supported by boot camp i guess why not
i launch the exact same game and set it up to the same setting
however to my suprise i am getting the same fps before the smc update
i try smc reset 3 to 4 times and i see no change
i am thinking of uninstalling w8 and going back to w7 ...
have anyone experience this
please help
btw the game is starcraft 2
Thats because you need to install the Windows Support software (the drivers) on the Windows side. The funny thing is Apple doesn't have drivers for Windows 8 for the retina posted in their downloads section. Apparently only certain computers have Windows 8 drivers not including the retina.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1638