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Concerns with 13" rMBP

J

JunkyJeff

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 29, 2014
29
0
So I just received a 13" rMBP as a gift and am having a little concerns about it.

First off let me say this is my first every MacBook pro, while I value the portability and battery life, the screen is what is tearing me down. Like some users here I have the known "image retention issue" and I'm afraid if I don't return/exchange it I could suffer down the road and would hate to deal with further headaches if it falls out of the 1 year warranty. In addition knowing everything isn't upgradeable KIND OF hinders it (worried about internal failures which could cost a bundle), but my only solution would be the 2012 cMBP which I guess I could live with as long as I connected it to my monitor.

Now I am not new to image retention, I own a Dell IPS 22" and my TV is plasma by Panasonic. While the TV set does have image retention, there was a whole break in period and with the technology there are wipes you can run to limit it and after 1 year I haven't had an issue with retention at all.

I know I shouldn't have looked for it in the first place but I am a tech kinda guy and I almost examine all my products to the fullest. (Replaced nexus 7, 4 times to get a perfect one, replaced phones for dead pixels, you get the picture).

I went to BestBuy last night to check out the 13" rMBP on display and did the test on the spot and that suffered from IR as well, to my understanding all 13" have the LG panels and we aren't allowed to check it through terminal because it doesn't contain discrete graphics?

Any tips/help/advice would be great! Final day to return this laptop would be tomorrow.
 
JunkyJeff said:
So I just received a 13" rMBP as a gift and am having a little concerns about it.

First off let me say this is my first every MacBook pro, while I value the portability and battery life, the screen is what is tearing me down. Like some users here I have the known "image retention issue" and I'm afraid if I don't return/exchange it I could suffer down the road and would hate to deal with further headaches if it falls out of the 1 year warranty. In addition knowing everything isn't upgradeable KIND OF hinders it (worried about internal failures which could cost a bundle), but my only solution would be the 2012 cMBP which I guess I could live with as long as I connected it to my monitor.

Now I am not new to image retention, I own a Dell IPS 22" and my TV is plasma by Panasonic. While the TV set does have image retention, there was a whole break in period and with the technology there are wipes you can run to limit it and after 1 year I haven't had an issue with retention at all.

I know I shouldn't have looked for it in the first place but I am a tech kinda guy and I almost examine all my products to the fullest. (Replaced nexus 7, 4 times to get a perfect one, replaced phones for dead pixels, you get the picture).

I went to BestBuy last night to check out the 13" rMBP on display and did the test on the spot and that suffered from IR as well, to my understanding all 13" have the LG panels and we aren't allowed to check it through terminal because it doesn't contain discrete graphics?

Any tips/help/advice would be great! Final day to return this laptop would be tomorrow.
Click to expand...

whats your hesitation to retun this if you have done the same with other devices?
 
heisenberg123 said:
whats your hesitation to retun this if you have done the same with other devices?
Click to expand...

Being without a laptop I guess. In addition my gf who purchased the laptop with her card got the family/friends discount from a friend we know who works there. Wouldn't want to go through more of a hassle because they already took the time to give us the discount.

I guess I just want to know if it's worth it down the road to keep the rMBP and deal with potential issues, or are there units that are unaffected with the LG screen? I've read people going in and Apple doing their own test while using a black background that doesn't show it as great as a grey color. So I am not sure what to do, all in all I just want to know Apple will keep us covered for spending this amount of $.
 
Last edited:
My rmbp has no image retention at all.
My iPad 1 has such bad image retetion that it makes watching youtube an ordeal.
 
JunkyJeff said:
Being without a laptop I guess. In addition my gf who purchased the laptop with her card got the family/friends discount from a friend we know who works there. Wouldn't want to go through more of a hassle because they already took the time to give us the discount.

I guess I just want to know if it's worth it down the road to keep the rMBP and deal with potential issues, or are there units that are unaffected with the LG screen? I've read people going in and Apple doing their own test while using a black background that doesn't show it as great as a grey color. So I am not sure what to do, all in all I just want to know Apple will keep us covered for spending this amount of $.
Click to expand...



Ahh I see it would be a pain to involve others in the return especially if its something that may have to be done 3-4 times

sorry I dont know if image retention is something covered under apple care or if thats just regular "i dont like it" return policy
 
Meister said:
My rmbp has no image retention at all.
My iPad 1 has such bad image retetion that it makes watching youtube an ordeal.
Click to expand...

heisenberg123 said:
Ahh I see it would be a pain to involve others in the return especially if its something that may have to be done 3-4 times

sorry I dont know if image retention is something covered under apple care or if thats just regular "i dont like it" return policy
Click to expand...



Thanks for the response. Maybe I'll see if I can return it for a different one.
 
JunkyJeff said:
So I just received a 13" rMBP as a gift and am having a little concerns about it.



First off let me say this is my first every MacBook pro, while I value the portability and battery life, the screen is what is tearing me down. Like some users here I have the known "image retention issue" and I'm afraid if I don't return/exchange it I could suffer down the road and would hate to deal with further headaches if it falls out of the 1 year warranty. In addition knowing everything isn't upgradeable KIND OF hinders it (worried about internal failures which could cost a bundle), but my only solution would be the 2012 cMBP which I guess I could live with as long as I connected it to my monitor.



Now I am not new to image retention, I own a Dell IPS 22" and my TV is plasma by Panasonic. While the TV set does have image retention, there was a whole break in period and with the technology there are wipes you can run to limit it and after 1 year I haven't had an issue with retention at all.



I know I shouldn't have looked for it in the first place but I am a tech kinda guy and I almost examine all my products to the fullest. (Replaced nexus 7, 4 times to get a perfect one, replaced phones for dead pixels, you get the picture).



I went to BestBuy last night to check out the 13" rMBP on display and did the test on the spot and that suffered from IR as well, to my understanding all 13" have the LG panels and we aren't allowed to check it through terminal because it doesn't contain discrete graphics?



Any tips/help/advice would be great! Final day to return this laptop would be tomorrow.
Click to expand...


I think that majority of rMBPs have the image retention effect thing, so if you return it you may end up getting a MBP that has the same problem.
 
AppleFanatic10 said:
I think that majority of rMBPs have the image retention effect thing, so if you return it you may end up getting a MBP that has the same problem.
Click to expand...

Yeah I just returned it earlier today, and the guy really had no question just asking if I'd wanna exchange it for a new one but I told him I might wait out a bit or decide if the 2012 cMBP is what I want instead or maybe an air.
 
Concerns with 13" rMBP

JunkyJeff said:
Yeah I just returned it earlier today, and the guy really had no question just asking if I'd wanna exchange it for a new one but I told him I might wait out a bit or decide if the 2012 cMBP is what I want instead or maybe an air.
Click to expand...

I'd get the cMBP only because it's upgradable, so if something happens to your RAM or HD, you're not stuck paying an arm and leg to get it repaired, you can just do it yourself, which isn't hard to do if you ask me.
 
AppleFanatic10 said:
I'd get the cMBP only because it's upgradable, so if something happens to your RAM or HD, you're not stuck paying an arm and leg to get it repaired, you can just do it yourself, which isn't hard to do if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Yeah as much as i want to ignore it, the ability to upgrade has always been huge for me. I've always built my own desktops and my old laptop was an alienware m11x.

I guess I just need to get use to the form factor of the cMBP after dealing with this rMBP. If you don't mind me asking, sorry I am new to the Mac world, are there any speculation on a newer refresh of the cMBP?
 
JunkyJeff said:
Yeah as much as i want to ignore it, the ability to upgrade has always been huge for me. I've always built my own desktops and my old laptop was an alienware m11x.

I guess I just need to get use to the form factor of the cMBP after dealing with this rMBP. If you don't mind me asking, sorry I am new to the Mac world, are there any speculation on a newer refresh of the cMBP?
Click to expand...

I doubt it will happen. There is a greater chance of it going away for good sometime soon. The rMBP is already at the lower price point that the cMBP used to reside.
 
Exchange for another 13" rMBP within your 14 day period. If you get another one with IR, then consider another change or a different model (15" rMBP perhaps, but more expensive). Not all 13" rMBP have IR; I haven't bother with the IR on my current rMBP (As I did with my old 15" rMBP, where had 3 different models, 2 with LG screens, the last one with a Samsung screen); if I get IR within the first 3 years will deal with it through Apple care extended warranty, which I may you recommend to buy to reduce your likelihood of dealing with IR without warranty.
 
fskywalker said:
Exchange for another 13" rMBP within your 14 day period. If you get another one with IR, then consider another change or a different model (15" rMBP perhaps, but more expensive). Not all 13" rMBP have IR; I haven't bother with the IR on my current rMBP (As I did with my old 15" rMBP, where had 3 different models, 2 with LG screens, the last one with a Samsung screen); if I get IR within the first 3 years will deal with it through Apple care extended warranty, which I may you recommend to buy to reduce your likelihood of dealing with IR without warranty.
Click to expand...

Off topic, but how did you find going down from your 15" to 13", thinking of doing the same? From early 2013 15" 8/256 to current 13" 8/ 512 or bigger.
 
One of the issue is that after 14-day period, if the retention getting serious, you are stuck with a low standard (3 min test and IR goes away within 1 min).
 
Robster3 said:
Off topic, but how did you find going down from your 15" to 13", thinking of doing the same? From early 2013 15" 8/256 to current 13" 8/ 512 or bigger.
Click to expand...

Hi. My first MBP was a 13 inch model (think was late 2011) and upon release of the retina display got tempted. I was very happy with the 13" screen size, but the retina upgrade and the fact the 15" rMBP weight about the same as my 13" MBP make me pull the trigger.
Once the 13" rMBP was released I went to a local Apple store to see it. Even though the 15" is very light and those 2 extra inches of screen makes a big difference, the lowest size (and weight) factors made me decided to try one. I bought an 2.5/8/256GB returned machine off Amazon ($1,150) and did a side by side comparison home (below is the link for that posting and a picture of both):

IMG_2269.JPG



https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1622184/


I have other desktop computers home (Windows 7 machine :mad: and Mac Mini :) ) so I used the laptop mostly on the couch or out of the home.
Upon comparison decided I didn't really needed those 2 extra inches of screen or the extra dGPU power over the smaller form factor and size. (guess I'm a 13" size guy.) To make the long story shorter, sold the 15" rMBP in Ebay, gave the 13" rMBP 2.5/8/256GB to my daughter (birthday present) and bought the high end 2012 13" rMBP 2.9/8/768 off Ebay and later upgraded it to the current Haswell version.

The main reasons for the Haswell purchase were: 1) 16GB Ram option; 2) lower temperature of the Haswell model versus the old Ivy Bridge; 3) faster PCIe SSD and 4) Great price found for a brand new (sealed) Haswell 13" rMBP 2.8/16/1TB off Ebay ($2400 shipped)

I don't regret the switch; If you are tempted suggest you buy a 13" and do the side to side comparison just like it did. Hope this helps!
 
Chatran said:
One of the issue is that after 14-day period, if the retention getting serious, you are stuck with a low standard (3 min test and IR goes away within 1 min).
Click to expand...

That was one of my issues, didn't want to do a lottery game trying to get a perfect one. After I tested my laptop I went to Bestbuy (Closer than apple) and did the test there and saw the same thing.

fskywalker said:
Exchange for another 13" rMBP within your 14 day period. If you get another one with IR, then consider another change or a different model (15" rMBP perhaps, but more expensive). Not all 13" rMBP have IR; I haven't bother with the IR on my current rMBP (As I did with my old 15" rMBP, where had 3 different models, 2 with LG screens, the last one with a Samsung screen); if I get IR within the first 3 years will deal with it through Apple care extended warranty, which I may you recommend to buy to reduce your likelihood of dealing with IR without warranty.
Click to expand...


I was going to consider doing the exchange but not sure if I should just settle for a mid 2012 cMBP. I could always upgrade ram/storage when I need to. I know the speeds gains won't match those of a PCIe but I can live with that. Do you think the 2012 cMBP would be a big downgrade?

I could also purchase Apple care. I've always bee a tech/desktop kinda guy so I like doing my own repairs so I am a little hesitant to pay the extra fee for the Apple care but I've pretty much got no choice if i go the rMBP lines.

So, pretty much it's just deciding do i settle with older hardware with a fair screen but bulkier build, or latest hardware and hope nothing goes wrong within the 1 year standard warranty or extend warranty through apple care. My budget is strictly maxed at the base 13" rMBP.
 
JunkyJeff said:
That was one of my issues, didn't want to do a lottery game trying to get a perfect one. After I tested my laptop I went to Bestbuy (Closer than apple) and did the test there and saw the same thing.




I was going to consider doing the exchange but not sure if I should just settle for a mid 2012 cMBP. I could always upgrade ram/storage when I need to. I know the speeds gains won't match those of a PCIe but I can live with that. Do you think the 2012 cMBP would be a big downgrade?

I could also purchase Apple care. I've always bee a tech/desktop kinda guy so I like doing my own repairs so I am a little hesitant to pay the extra fee for the Apple care but I've pretty much got no choice if i go the rMBP lines.

So, pretty much it's just deciding do i settle with older hardware with a fair screen but bulkier build, or latest hardware and hope nothing goes wrong within the 1 year standard warranty or extend warranty through apple care. My budget is strictly maxed at the base 13" rMBP.
Click to expand...



I dont think the cMBP from 2012 or even 2011 are what you would call a crappy laptop, with most thing the newest is better but that doesnt mean the previous models were bad
 
heisenberg123 said:
I dont think the cMBP from 2012 or even 2011 are what you would call a crappy laptop, with most thing the newest is better but that doesnt mean the previous models were bad
Click to expand...

Yeah I get what your saying. I definitely am not the type who buys newer just because it is newer. I want to buy what's in my needs and at the same time get the most for my $$. I'm still using a 6 year old built desktop that holds up just fine for my needs of Photoshop and minimal gaming.

Eventually the cMBP will get phased out and updates will stop rolling out, just don't want to feel I was stuck too far behind heh.
 
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