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Besides surfing the net, what else do you use your rMBP for?

P

phatjoe

macrumors member
Original poster
Hello,

The rMBP is an impressive machine, and who wouldn't want one 🙂

Reality sets in for me. I spend the majority of my computer time surfing the internet (5-6 windows open), MS Office, music, etc All relatively simple things. I just can't justify dropping $2k+ on a laptop.

It just got me thinking, are you guys taking advantage of your laptop differently? Is there a computer program that would justify the expense? Or is it just to have the latest and greatest? 😎

Just curious.....that's all
 
I develop apps for the app store (have a major one coming out soon), I also do a lot of C++ programming, then as a side business, I do image editing in Aperture and photoshop, people hire me to do slideshows and I use Final Cut X for them (along with some cool effects rendered in After Effects and motion 5), also some simple web design. I need this to last me throughout high school, so i want to be able to use it effectively for the next 4 years. Also, I chose the rMBP over the Legacy MBP because I also need to use this computer for school (i have dyspraxia, so I can't handwrite anything very well), so the weight difference, and then having the text on the retina display, is worth it to me.
 
I do a lot of programming and Photoshop. I carry my laptop frequently and I have wanted an IPS screen on my MBP for a long time. Easy decision for me 🙂
 
Browsing the Internet, occasional video/music consumption, email, school projects (business/finance) in MS word and PowerPoint, and light gaming... I've got a windows based gaming rig for actual gaming, this is mostly just time killing stuff.

The most intensive task I'll be doing it browsing with 10ish tabs, with MS Office open in Parallels.

Hopefully 8GB ram will be enough...


----


As for my rational in buying this laptop, I wanted a nice screen, and needed a new MacBook anyway...
 
I use my rMBP as my primary work machine. Normal Office apps, but large database manipulations, and small app development. Using Bootcamp and VMWare Fusion.

For play time I use the machine for Lightroom 4.1 and PS6 work with my Camera.

16GB really makes things fly for work and play.

Only regret so far may be the smallish SSD drive and having to consider WHERE my stuff will reside in short and long term. Having to think about disk storage is a bit of a chore, but I expect I will get a solid/regular workflow going that will be easy to manage.
 
phatjoe said:
Hello,

The rMBP is an impressive machine, and who wouldn't want one 🙂

Reality sets in for me. I spend the majority of my computer time surfing the internet (5-6 windows open), MS Office, music, etc All relatively simple things. I just can't justify dropping $2k+ on a laptop.

It just got me thinking, are you guys taking advantage of your laptop differently? Is there a computer program that would justify the expense? Or is it just to have the latest and greatest? 😎

Just curious.....that's all
Click to expand...

Well, it is of my opinion that you should let your usages primarily determine what machine you get. Granted, Apple loves our patronage regardless of what we buy, but it would be more beneficial for them if all of us bought MBPs as opposed to Airs, for example.

For your usage, you might be better off with a 13-inch Air since your needs would not push the Retina MBP hard. I have similar usage to yours, but as alluring as the display was, I too couldn't justify dropping so much money on it as well. I also wanted to maximize portability, so the Air was the natural choice for me. I am not saying that the Retina MBP sucks, all i want to say is that it doesn't suit me (or it is overkill, rather).

Even so, in the end, it's your choice. The Retina MBP is more than capable for your needs, and probably on the long term, it will withstand more software updates than the Air simply because it is more powerful.
 
phatjoe said:
Hello,

The rMBP is an impressive machine, and who wouldn't want one 🙂

Reality sets in for me. I spend the majority of my computer time surfing the internet (5-6 windows open), MS Office, music, etc All relatively simple things. I just can't justify dropping $2k+ on a laptop.

It just got me thinking, are you guys taking advantage of your laptop differently? Is there a computer program that would justify the expense? Or is it just to have the latest and greatest? 😎

Just curious.....that's all
Click to expand...

Surfing, media, light programming, email, office apps and gaming.

The rMBP will be a replacement to a 2011 MBA, for 90% of uses the MBA was perfect, ultimate portability (a big deal for me, heavy laptops hurt my back) and kick ass desktop replacement at home when plugged in to a thunderbolt display.

Would of been perfect really if I was not a gamer, I tried to do all my gaming with onlive, PS3 and XBOX 360 but games like diablo 3 made the decision easy.

So I am mostly upgrading for gaming, was hoping for a more powerful GPU but the 650m will do.

I really like the flexibility of having a notebook that plugs in to a thunderbolt display when I get home, really feels like the best of both worlds.

I might go back to the MacBook Air if Apple/someone ever releases an external thunderbolt GPU or something like the Alienware X51 (steambox?) ends up supporting thunderbolt.

I get that this is not exactly the most bang for the buck set up but I really value the aesthetics, OS X, the service I get from Apple and most of all I can afford it.
 
here's an idea. if you can't carry around a 6 pound laptop, buy a gym membership instead of a lighter laptop

but seriously, i use a laptop for programming. i run most things on computing clusters, but sometimes need to run CPU and memory-intensive processes on my own computer. i also do audio editing and i watch movies. but i wouldn't get a retina, mostly because i think the standard model is better.

the retina makes too many sacrifices for only marginal gains. of course, everyone's opinion is different
 
Nothing serious: MS Word, email, browsing, little photo/video, just basic school stuff but it will be my only computer. As someone else stated, wanted a Mac and it's to the exact specs I would have put in another laptop. Retina was just a plus. Going to college in 3 months, hopefully getting the laptop in a week and a half or so (I'm a 2-3 weeker) and honestly could not be more excited for the experience of owning one. I know it won't disappoint!
 
EvilShenaniganZ said:
Glad I'm not the only one... Good thing they have the HD vid's... 😎
Retina rocks, lol!
Click to expand...

I imagine most retina porn would end up looking like japanese porn (blurry as *****), but unfortunately i didn't get a chance to test this in the apple store
 
Last edited:
yth said:
I imagine most retina porn would end up looking like japanese porn (blurry as *****), but unfortunately i didn't get a chance to test this in the apple store
Click to expand...

Ha ha, why not? I'm sure the family buying iPod's would find it pretty amusing! 😀
 
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