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Could you go back to non-Retina?

N

nStyle

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
1,512
1,067
I was forced to use my 13 rMBP solely the past few weeks as I was on a trip and away from any type of external monitor. My screen of choice is normally the 27" Thunderbolt Display. Now that I'm back home, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to get used to the DPI of the TBD. I'd almost prefer using the 13" Retina screen exclusively. Granted, I don't have the best eyesight as it is, but I still prefer the extremely crisp screen of the Retina to any other non-retina screen.

I'm starting to notice the difference so much now that I am considering a 27" Retina iMac.
 
C

Cuniac

macrumors 6502a
Jan 23, 2013
502
122
Phoenix
Retina is amazing. Really anything over 2k looks very good. I would go under retina for games, mostly because you have to lol. but it looks so good.
 
TechZeke

TechZeke

macrumors 68020
Jul 29, 2012
2,459
2,303
Dallas, TX
Some are more senstive than others. All my devices are retina except for my for my 27" iMac, and I don't find it bad at all at normal viewing distance because of the large screen.

Then again, I'm constantly staring at crappy displays at work for 8 hours a day, so my eyes are probably used to both by now.
 
H

happyfrappy

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2007
343
50
Location eh?
I once used a 13" rMBP in a work environment, considering I needed to drop the resolution down to 1440 x 900 (closest to my former T61 SVGA+), it defeated the point of the display as it fell on par with my 15" cMBP. If anything I'd only feel comfortable on a 15" rMBP just to use 1680 x 1050 scaled resolution.

Display wise I can't stand Intel IGP on rMBPs, besides 2nd monitor detection hell you'll often notice the display quality(retina & 2nd monitor) goes fuzzy/blurry when the IGP cycles between power modes(performance vs power save/idle). Not sure if Broadwell based rMBPs suffer that but 13" mid-2012 & 2013 models bothered my eyes.
 
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J

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
I bought my 15" retina MBP in May. On Monday, I bought a 2012 13" MBP at BestBuy while it was on sale.

I really don't mind the non retina display.
 
T

Tenashus1

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2011
501
286
nStyle said:
I was forced to use my 13 rMBP solely the past few weeks as I was on a trip and away from any type of external monitor. My screen of choice is normally the 27" Thunderbolt Display. Now that I'm back home, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to get used to the DPI of the TBD. I'd almost prefer using the 13" Retina screen exclusively. Granted, I don't have the best eyesight as it is, but I still prefer the extremely crisp screen of the Retina to any other non-retina screen.

I'm starting to notice the difference so much now that I am considering a 27" Retina iMac.
Click to expand...

I could go back, but the difference in screen quality is striking, and I would really miss it. Big leap in screen quality with the rMBP.
 
J

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
Other than the increased pixel density on the retina displays, I see no other differences such as colors accuracy or screen brightness. This picture shows my 2015 Retina i7 on the left and my 2012 13" MBP on the right.
20150802_160121.jpg
 
b0fh666

b0fh666

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2012
954
785
south
don't care much about crispyness as my eyes are not the same as 20 years ago :)

even covered my screens with that moshi antiglare thing and happy with it.
 
M

minister of etc

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2010
3
0
I can swap between a 15" rMBP and my 17" MBP without issue -- especially since I keep them at the same functional resolution.

Am am beginning to find I have less eyestrain in front of the 15" Retina, though.
 
T

Tenashus1

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2011
501
286
minister of etc said:
I can swap between a 15" rMBP and my 17" MBP without issue -- especially since I keep them at the same functional resolution.

Am am beginning to find I have less eyestrain in front of the 15" Retina, though.
Click to expand...

I am able to read the screen more clearly than I have was ever able to do on my 2012 cMBP. This, by a mile for me. Also, photos and video appear more vivid to me. Subjective yes, but my eyes are clearly enjoying using the 2015 13" rMBP.
 
gngan

gngan

macrumors 68000
Jan 1, 2009
1,829
72
MacWorld
Gotta like to people who says "never". There is never never. These people either haven't tried or won't try. If I were them then I would say "I wouldn't" rather than "never".
 
J

jerwin

Suspended
Jun 13, 2015
2,895
4,651
The most dramatic advantage of retina is not video. It's not pictures. It's text. On a non retina screen, I can see the little blurry borders around each letterform. I can see a lack of sharpness, where there should be contrast.

That's not to say that 4k video can't be stunning, and pictures taken with a good lens can't be all the more impressive. It's just that text always looks sharper on a retina screen, and an amazing picture still looks amazing on a low resolution screen.

Plus, I use Dassault's Draftsight on daily basis. How I wish that the programmers would see fit to update the program to use "retina". All the GUI elements are distinctly low resolution. In noticing that oversight, my eyes have already stated their preference.
 
SD-B

SD-B

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2009
399
14
nStyle said:
I was forced to use my 13 rMBP solely the past few weeks as I was on a trip and away from any type of external monitor. My screen of choice is normally the 27" Thunderbolt Display. Now that I'm back home, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to get used to the DPI of the TBD. I'd almost prefer using the 13" Retina screen exclusively. Granted, I don't have the best eyesight as it is, but I still prefer the extremely crisp screen of the Retina to any other non-retina screen.

I'm starting to notice the difference so much now that I am considering a 27" Retina iMac.
Click to expand...

I bought the 27" retina iMac at Xmas time and in all honesty, I don't really notice a big difference for unless you are working in video etc, I don't see a huge enough difference, yet.

But i am on the web most of the time and any films/movies downloaded, etc are in regular HD mode.
The average user is not working with film editing so no, I could have gone without but a large purchase i at least wanted it to be the best I could get as a computer for the next few years.
If I needed another new computer and one i liked was not retina, I would buy it.
 
urkel

urkel

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2008
2,795
917
- I can't ever go to non-retina
- I could never use a 5.5" phone
- Windows is too difficult to figure out
- A 12" iPad would be ridiculous

Humans adapt pretty easily and when you're working on an actual project then your mind is usually focused more on the task on hand than anything else. So whenever someone says how changing to something new is "difficult" then it usually has more to do with a persons desire to "try" than the actual impossibility of using "ancient outdated primitive technology 2013".
 
J

jerwin

Suspended
Jun 13, 2015
2,895
4,651
JackieInCo said:
Other than the increased pixel density on the retina displays, I see no other differences such as colors accuracy or screen brightness. This picture shows my 2015 Retina i7 on the left and my 2012 13" MBP on the right. View attachment 572633
Click to expand...
You're asking too much of your camera. The tests done by macworld and the like, using devices such as the Spyder don't always give the nod to the higher resolution displays, though. IIRC the retina imac covers less of the color gamut than it's predacessor
 
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