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Buy a rMBP now or next year?

A

alexclayton

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 30, 2012
10
0
Hi guys,

I'm saving up for a MacBook and I need it to last me a long time, hopefully until I have a proper job or at least until the end of uni (5 years). I'm only really going to need it mainly for using music production programs like Sibelius, and an SSD drive really appealed to me because it supposedly lasts longer and does not need the maintenance (i.e. defragmenting) that a HDD does.

The new retina MacBook looks sweet (I'm considering the 15"), but I'm paying extra for a screen that I wouldn't really need that much, I do do some photography but not heaps. I've also heard about the few problems that 1st generation devices have. I was wondering whether it's a good time to buy a MacBook Pro with retina now or should I just wait until next year sometime for Apple to upgrade the consumer MacBook Pro into SSD? I don't really want to do my own upgrades either.

I probably couldn't wait until this time next year for a new laptop, but what do you guys think?

Alex
 
alexclayton said:
Do you mean this time next year? or early next year?
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When its 2013, wait till 2014. It will be newer and better. Repeat this process for each year.

no seriously, The retina screen is amazing. I love my 15" rmbp, its amazing. I recommend buying one if you have the means.
 
If you don't need the screen real estate of 15", then the only reason to go 15" would be if you game or use professional software that benefits from a discrete GPU.

If you don't game or need a dGPU, why not just go for the high end, classic 13" MBP and option a 256gb SSD.

Or better yet get it with the standard HDD and throw in an SSD yourself, saving at least $150.

I know you said you don't want to work on it yourself but honestly you could just follow along with a youtube video. Upgrading to an SSD in the classic MBP's is pretty straight forward.
 
I was considering just upgrading a classic mbp to SSD, but I'd rather something that was built for SSD and I don't really need a disc drive either. maybe i shall go for the retina, as I my laptop now is a complete dud (4 years old, takes 5 minutes to boot up properly and is immobile because the battery literally lasts for 30 minutes)

I also have a friend in the mac store so I could get it slightly cheaper ;)
 
The screen isn't just for photography buffs (although they also appreciate it).

It makes everything pop. It's like you've been looking at your screen through mucky sunglasses all these years and it's only now you can take them off and appreciate all the fine detail.
 
The rule of thumb often mentioned is that if you need one now, buy one. If you can wait then its in your favor to wait since next year's model will be faster and improved in some fashion
 
alexclayton said:
I was considering just upgrading a classic mbp to SSD, but I'd rather something that was built for SSD and I don't really need a disc drive either. maybe i shall go for the retina, as I my laptop now is a complete dud (4 years old, takes 5 minutes to boot up properly and is immobile because the battery literally lasts for 30 minutes)

I also have a friend in the mac store so I could get it slightly cheaper ;)
Click to expand...

It sounds as if you actually need a new laptop now, so buy it now. There will always be something better within 12 months of you buying the latest Apple thing, so just buy whatever you need whenever you need it.
 
alexclayton said:
I'm saving up for a MacBook and I need it to last me a long time,
Click to expand...
Do yourself a huge favor by waiting.

The first year model of the radically different MBP Retina models are best avoided.

While it's always been true, that it's very wise to avoid any of Apples first year models, it's even more important to avoid the retinas.

Next years will be greatly improved, properly debugged & most definitely the one to have.
 
My wife has the first 2008 unibody macbook pro, a 15" 2.4ghz core2duo version with nvidia 9400 (integrated) and 9600 (discrete) graphics. She was complaining about the system itself slowing down and having problems watching videos on it. It also has a 7200 rpm 320 gig hard drive that's less than half full.

I was able to up the ram from it's then standard 2 gb to 8, and manually switched the graphics from the 9400 to the 9600 card. (Those models didn't automatically switch between the two.) Problem solved, for less than $100!

You're a) presumably short on cash until you find a 'real job', and b) need to get 4-5 years use out of it, even though you don't think you'll be doing anything too demanding on it. Still a tall order due to tech always changing and improving.

I'd consider a late 2011 or 2012 15" due to those having decent discrete GPU's: if the programs you're running say three years are too much for today's integrated graphics, the discrete GPU's on the 15" can step in and get the job done. Not so on any 13" today. You can find decent deals on both in the apple refurb shop or used. You'll be able to cheaply and easily upgrade the ram and go to an SSD should you decide it's a necessity later on. And I'm pretty sure Apple will still be making retina display portables when you're out of school. Since you'll be needing it for the long haul, it's probably a good idea to eschew cutting edge tech-for now.

Good luck in your decision and purchase!
 
It doesn't matter how long you wait at all because they are going to get out of date no matter.Unfortunately that the way of the world and things are coming out to beat other companies and its always going to happen because its that one word called "MONEY"Best thing to do is don't keep it to long because you would lose to much money or you could run it to the ground and you get every penny out of your purchase.
 
alexclayton said:
I was considering just upgrading a classic mbp to SSD, but I'd rather something that was built for SSD
Click to expand...

This line struck me as rather odd. Why would something need to be "built" for an SSD to take full advantage of it? In terms of the SATA bus or anything like that, the cMBP and rMBP are exactly the same. One doesn't benefit any more in performance or reliability from an SSD than the other. Different form factors, sure.

In fact I would even say the rMBP is less advantageous because if you ever wanted to upgrade the SSD or if the SSD fails and you need a replacement, that Apple proprietary SSD is expensive as all hell, whereas with the cMBP you can find a ton more cheaper options since it's a standard form factor.

I have a 3-week old 15 inch cMBP btw, with the 2.7 i7, the hi-res screen, and 128 GB SSD. It flies. I'm in school for audio production and I run a pretty professional setup, and this machine tears through everything including very large Pro Tools sessions with multiple plug-ins, and doesn't hiccup whatsoever.

If your main use of the machine is audio production, I would stick to the cMBP with an SSD, but if your heart is set on the Retina, wait until the 2nd gen next year. Way too many problems with it.
 
alexclayton said:
I probably couldn't wait until this time next year for a new laptop, but what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

The current rMBP won't get a major update until the new Haswell chipset, so sometime in Q3 2013.

However, there's a rumour that the current 15" rMBP may receive a minor refresh, including slightly faster CPUs. But the speed increase will be minimal over the current version.

It is a dilemma. I'm planning on giving my current 15" rMBP I bought in July to my business partner and buying a new model with more memory. But even I'm wondering whether a minor refresh will happen sooner rather than later.
 
Just buy it now. If you have the mentality of waiting next year for the best thing, then you'll be forever waiting.
 
If you're planning to get the 15 then I say buy now... if you're planning to get the 13 I would wait for next year. The improvement in the intel integrated graphics will help offset the fact that it lacks a dGPU and give more value... and hopefully by then they'll make 256GB the standard instead of the 128GB.
 
sweet, thanks for the feedback guys I'll probably get the 15" cMBP with some upgardes!
 
you can upgrade the ssd in a rmbp

MMcCraryNJ said:
This line struck me as rather odd. Why would something need to be "built" for an SSD to take full advantage of it? In terms of the SATA bus or anything like that, the cMBP and rMBP are exactly the same. One doesn't benefit any more in performance or reliability from an SSD than the other. Different form factors, sure.

In fact I would even say the rMBP is less advantageous because if you ever wanted to upgrade the SSD or if the SSD fails and you need a replacement, that Apple proprietary SSD is expensive as all hell, whereas with the cMBP you can find a ton more cheaper options since it's a standard form factor.

I have a 3-week old 15 inch cMBP btw, with the 2.7 i7, the hi-res screen, and 128 GB SSD. It flies. I'm in school for audio production and I run a pretty professional setup, and this machine tears through everything including very large Pro Tools sessions with multiple plug-ins, and doesn't hiccup whatsoever.

If your main use of the machine is audio production, I would stick to the cMBP with an SSD, but if your heart is set on the Retina, wait until the 2nd gen next year. Way too many problems with it.
Click to expand...

Not true, OWC now has fast hard drives however ram would be wise to order with 16 gigs, then the rmbp should last you a very long time
 
I just got my rMBP 15". It hasn't come in the mail, but I am already regretting the purchase because even though I got an education discount, the laptop is also ~2000 on amazon.com, and I think that just portends to it dropping further as time goes on. Does anyone share that view? I desperately need a computer because my 5,1 uMBP died and iPads are really not sufficient.
 
But Amazon isn't selling any 16gig ram model. I'd only go with 8 if I'd be really sure about it.
 
richphoto said:
Not true, OWC now has fast hard drives however ram would be wise to order with 16 gigs, then the rmbp should last you a very long time
Click to expand...

Yeah, and have you looked at the price of it? 480 GB drive for $579.99.

Which is exactly the point I was making in my post. The rMBP uses an expensive, proprietary SSD, versus the standard SSD form factor found in the cMBP
 
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