Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Buying MacBook Pro Retina vs the Other One

R

ryan101

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2012
139
31
Hi All,

If any of you have read my other thread you may know I have not been very unlucky with MB Air.

Anyway, I am thinking about buying a MB Pro. I went to Apples website and I saw option of with or without retina screen. I am a bit price sensitive at the moment. I was thinking whether I should buy the MB Pro without the Retina Screen. Would you do that? Does the retina screen make a huge difference? I though unless you were dealing with photo's or doing graphic design, you wouldn't really notice or benefit from having the retina screen. We all did without retina screens until recently. Anyway, let me know your thoughts. What would you do?
 
ryan101 said:
Hi All,

If any of you have read my other thread you may know I have not been very unlucky with MB Air.

Anyway, I am thinking about buying a MB Pro. I went to Apples website and I saw option of with or without retina screen. I am a bit price sensitive at the moment. I was thinking whether I should buy the MB Pro without the Retina Screen. Would you do that? Does the retina screen make a huge difference? I though unless you were dealing with photo's or doing graphic design, you wouldn't really notice or benefit from having the retina screen. We all did without retina screens until recently. Anyway, let me know your thoughts. What would you do?
Click to expand...

I would look for an apple refurb retina macbook pro. The non-retina MBP just isn't worth it.
 
Maybe a quick answers, but do not buy the "Classic" Macbook Pro, its from 2012 meaning its very outdated and will probably be dropped soon. Same thing with the Mac Mini (hasn't been updated since 2012) But theres no alternative to the Mac Mini while there is an alternative to the Macbook Pro.
 
The non-retina MacBook Pro is on its way out. I wouldn't buy it for anything.

You could go for a MacBook Air, but I'd go for the retina model without a doubt. The screen is much superior to the previous and Air models and it shows. You'll get spoiled by it in no time ;)
 
ryan101 said:
Hi All,

If any of you have read my other thread you may know I have not been very unlucky with MB Air.

Anyway, I am thinking about buying a MB Pro. I went to Apples website and I saw option of with or without retina screen. I am a bit price sensitive at the moment. I was thinking whether I should buy the MB Pro without the Retina Screen. Would you do that? Does the retina screen make a huge difference? I though unless you were dealing with photo's or doing graphic design, you wouldn't really notice or benefit from having the retina screen. We all did without retina screens until recently. Anyway, let me know your thoughts. What would you do?
Click to expand...

I understand price is an issue, but do note that the hardware of the non-retinas is 2 years old. I personally am hesitant to spend that kind of money for that technology. Though check out the refurb store from apple, you can find both the retinas and non-retina models for much cheaper there!

And yes, the screen is very noticeably different! Go check them out in stores and see for yourself :D
 
The refurbs are just so dirt cheap that now there is no reason or excuse not to get the retina display. The non-retina is still a great machine, especially with it's upgradability and ports. It just depends on what is more important to you. Although 2 years old, in raw performance its actually like 5-10% slower, if at all.

Don't pay for the non-retina at full price. Get it at a decent discount and it would still be a great buy. However, for the performance, form factor, and screen, there is no way I could go back to a non-retina pro.
 
Last edited:
I'd suggest seeing the two screens in a store. I saw them in John Lewis the other day and was still pleasantly surprised, despite being "used" to retina on my iPad.
 
As everyone else said: get the retina. You stare at the screen all day and it is (arguably) the most important feature.
 
Thanks all.

I think the vote is going overwhelmingly towards retina. Based on your responses it makes absolute sense to get retina.

I am taking my 2012 MB Air which has i7 processor 8 GB RAM and 250 GB HD to Apple Store next week. I am hoping that they will confirm that it's the model that they are recalling. See https://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/

I am hoping that they will fix it. I kept it almost pristine conditions. It's always had a cover and case on it and I looked after it. I am hoping if Apple do fix it for free and take ownership that it's their issue then I am hoping to sell it on eBay or something. I saw similar spec'd MB Air sell for £690, almost £700.

What do you think a 2012 i7 MB AIr would sell for? I am hoping I can cover some of the money spent on the pro from the sale of the Air.
 
ryan101 said:
Thanks all.

I think the vote is going overwhelmingly towards retina. Based on your responses it makes absolute sense to get retina.

I am taking my 2012 MB Air which has i7 processor 8 GB RAM and 250 GB HD to Apple Store next week. I am hoping that they will confirm that it's the model that they are recalling. See https://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/

I am hoping that they will fix it. I kept it almost pristine conditions. It's always had a cover and case on it and I looked after it. I am hoping if Apple do fix it for free and take ownership that it's their issue then I am hoping to sell it on eBay or something. I saw similar spec'd MB Air sell for £690, almost £700.

What do you think a 2012 i7 MB AIr would sell for? I am hoping I can cover some of the money spent on the pro from the sale of the Air.
Click to expand...

That recall is for 64gb and 128gb models?
 
Aniseedvan said:
That recall is for 64gb and 128gb models?
Click to expand...

I believe mine has more than 200GB. However right now I can't be sure. I hope they deal with mine because mine failed by itself and nothing I had to cause it. Anyway I will know soon.

Thanks.
 
ryan101 said:
I though unless you were dealing with photo's or doing graphic design, you wouldn't really notice or benefit from having the retina screen.
Click to expand...

The main benefit of retina screen is working with text. Photos - not so much.
 
Intelligent said:
Maybe a quick answers, but do not buy the "Classic" Macbook Pro, its from 2012 meaning its very outdated and will probably be dropped soon. Same thing with the Mac Mini (hasn't been updated since 2012) But theres no alternative to the Mac Mini while there is an alternative to the Macbook Pro.
Click to expand...
I am typing this on an iMac G4 800Mhz. What do you mean by the Classic MBP being "Dropped"?
The retina has a much better resolution screen,but it cost more, and the RAM is soldered on, so you can't upgrade it. If you have a lot of money, I'd say get it. You can get a 2013 MacBook Pro Retina on Ebay for about $600-$800 used.
Non retinas usually run $350-$500.
 
I'm going to be a contrarian here and vote for the old one, but.... I would buy it on ebay and I would buy a version that has applecare. This way, you get the best possible price on the computer itself but also get a spectacular deal on applecare, which doesn't really hold a high resale value. You get a huge tax discount. You do all this while still getting something that is as about as reliable as a new computer.

Also, in regards to the "old technology", there will always be people who will pay a premium for an upgradable technology. I'm typing this on my 2009 Macbook Pro 15". It has had it's hard drive upgraded three times, it's ram maxed out, and it's battery replaced (after thousands of cycles) all for less than the tax I would have paid for a new MPB (if you count savings by selling the old parts on ebay). Not once have I had the need for extra processing power, and I don't even use the dedicated graphics card.

And on the topic of depreciation, there's going to be waaaay more depreciation in a 128GB rMBP when five years down the line you can still use your "old" MPB but have a 2TB SSD chillin in the drive bay.

Last but not least, if you're worried about the screen, for something like $150, you can just buy a gigantic external display and watch videos to your heart's content.

Again, just my $0.02, others' opinion may vary.

ryan101 said:
Thanks all.

I think the vote is going overwhelmingly towards retina. Based on your responses it makes absolute sense to get retina.

I am taking my 2012 MB Air which has i7 processor 8 GB RAM and 250 GB HD to Apple Store next week. I am hoping that they will confirm that it's the model that they are recalling. See https://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/

I am hoping that they will fix it. I kept it almost pristine conditions. It's always had a cover and case on it and I looked after it. I am hoping if Apple do fix it for free and take ownership that it's their issue then I am hoping to sell it on eBay or something. I saw similar spec'd MB Air sell for £690, almost £700.

What do you think a 2012 i7 MB AIr would sell for? I am hoping I can cover some of the money spent on the pro from the sale of the Air.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
ol'max said:
I am typing this on an iMac G4 800Mhz. What do you mean by the Classic MBP being "Dropped"?
The retina has a much better resolution screen,but it cost more, and the RAM is soldered on, so you can't upgrade it. If you have a lot of money, I'd say get it. You can get a 2013 MacBook Pro Retina on Ebay for about $600-$800 used.
Non retinas usually run $350-$500.
Click to expand...

Okay? I mean that is probably going to stop being sold soon. Personally i would never use a computer older than 2008 today as a daily driver, but if you are buying one in 2014, then you should buy a much newer. I don't understand what you using a PowerPC G4 computer from 2002 has to do with apple discontinuing the Classic Macbook Pro?
 
Intelligent said:
Okay? I mean that is probably going to stop being sold soon. Personally i would never use a computer older than 2008 today as a daily driver, but if you are buying one in 2014, then you should buy a much newer. I don't understand what you using a PowerPC G4 computer from 2002 has to do with apple discontinuing the Classic Macbook Pro?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or anything.:confused:
If I am using a 12-year old computer right now(and it works good for anything I try to do), then 12 years from now I would speculate that you could use a 2014 MacBook Pro with the same ease.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back