Debating rMBP....advice?

[Geckotek]

Let me start with....I'm a PC guy. I used to work for MS and I've lived in Windows most of my computing life (with some exposure to VAX/VMS...but that was another life). I currently have a large PC for gaming and photo editing and a couple of laptops. I'm in the process of planning a move to NYC so I need to downsize.

My primary goal is to end up with one very portable but still powerful device to meet most of my computing needs (I also have an iPad and iPhone). The gaming is something I've stopped recently and while it's not important, it would be cool if I could play a little COD or BF in the future if I really wanted to. Photography is my biggest concern and what is driving me toward the retina display. I'm thinking I'd most likely dual boot so that I can run Windows 8 primarily, but run OSX from time to time to see if it's something I actually want to use for some things.

Some of my questions are:
1) Should I spend so much $$$ for a rMBP? I was hoping a competetive Windows device would be launched, but it doesn't appear to be happening in my time frame (end of year)
2) If I buy, which features are worth the $$ to upgrade so that I guarantee myself a powerful device that lasts without breaking my bank.
3) Is there a better time to buy? (Within the next 3 months)

Any other thoughts or concerns are greatly appreciated. This is a big change for me being a PC devotee, so please be gentle with the criticism.

 

[LaunchpadBS]

Do you REALLY NEED the retina display? And I mean REALLY?
Remember you can get a higher res matte display on the 15" MBP and price wise you could max the specs on one and wouldn't cost near a lower spec'd retina 15".

Just saying

 

[Geckotek]

Do you REALLY NEED the retina display? And I mean REALLY?
Remember you can get a higher res matte display on the 15" MBP and price wise you could max the specs on one and wouldn't cost near a lower spec'd retina 15".

Just saying

For photography it is an advantage.

But I'm confused on the higher res matte display. I thought retina was Apple's highest res?

Edit: The higest res I see on a 15" MBP is 1,680-by-1,050. Perhaps you can show me what I'm doing incorrectly? Or perhaps by higher you meant higher than the default MBP display? I think maybe that was it and I just misunderstood...

 

[Geckotek]

Went into store tonight and almost made the purchase, but the config I want will take a while to be delivered. Still debating.

Any other input?

 

[swish2351]

I say go for it, that other guy doesn't really know what he is talking about

The rMBP screen cannot compare to the MBP screen. It destroys it!

Also with the 256GB SSD drive, it's worth it

GO for it!

 

[Geckotek]

I say go for it, that other guy doesn't really know what he is talking about

The rMBP screen cannot compare to the MBP screen. It destroys it!

Also with the 256GB SSD drive, it's worth it

GO for it!

I'm gonna do 512GB on the SSD, but I'm debating between 2.6Ghz and 2.7Ghz on the proc. Def 16GB on the RAM.

 

[LaunchpadBS]

For photography it is an advantage.

But I'm confused on the higher res matte display. I thought retina was Apple's highest res?

Edit: The higest res I see on a 15" MBP is 1,680-by-1,050. Perhaps you can show me what I'm doing incorrectly? Or perhaps by higher you meant higher than the default MBP display? I think maybe that was it and I just misunderstood...

Yes that 'higher res' was for the normal MBP, 1680x1050 as opposed to 1440x900 there is a noticable difference.

I personally don't see the point of having a massively high res on a 15" screen, it's still 15", no getting round that, I can only read writing so small.

That and OSX apps have to actually be developed for that res to take advantage of it, OSX only JUST allows max res with a hack.

 

[Twix980]

I recently bought a rMBP coming from a Windows enviroment - Heres my story.

I am stuck in a position where I bought it to use Logic, and I can't install Logic because there is not enough room on the drive (with all my stuff).

What I expected to be able to do was install Logic to my external HDD but again this isn't possible. So I guess I am going to have to move my media to my external HDD but again this is an issue as I don't plan on taking my HDD everywhere with me and I would like my media everywhere where as I don't need Logic everywhere (hence why I wanted it on my external drive).

Gaming - The rMBP is awesome for games, I installed a 20gb bootcamp partition and it runs them better than my PC. They look stunning and load fast. I install them onto a USB 3.0 HDD. No complaints here.

Performance - I have the stock model, and its fast, theres no lag on anything, I'm learning OS X but sometimes I do resort back to Windows if I get stuck. Also the rMBP supports 4 Screens (inc its own screen) This makes a really awesome setup.

Virtual Machines - I currently use VMware Fusion 5, this does not play games as good as bootcamp, but it enables me to run some apps I can't do without if I can't be bothered rebooting into Windows.

OS X - Its not Windows, it needs some learning, I am still learning but everyday I find something intuitive about it and think wow this is good. However there are things I find and think "FFS why doesn't it work the way I want it to" - EG Installing Raspbmc is 1 click on Windows on mac its a series of commands you have to type into terminal. I am quite happy doing this, but the time it takes on mac is triple what it takes on Windows.


Conclusion - I'm happy with my rMBP and I'm glad I bought it, however I am still learning OS X and no doubt in a few months I will be even happier - but I just wish i'd got the 512GB Version, hopefully they'll be 3rd party upgrades soon.

And the question - "Do you really need the retina display?" - No I don't, but it is a beautiful thing to have!

Hope my experience helps.

 

[designs216]

Does anyone know if Apple got that ghosting issue sorted out with the retina screens? That and the fact that it can't be user upgraded would give me second thoughts. If the extra weight of the classic MBP is the reason you won't consider it, maybe you could get the 13". Does the software you use actually utilize all 4 cores? If not, the classic 13 with the higher clock speed would serve better and you could actually upgrade the components yourself.

 

[Geckotek]

Does anyone know if Apple got that ghosting issue sorted out with the retina screens? That and the fact that it can't be user upgraded would give me second thoughts. If the extra weight of the classic MBP is the reason you won't consider it, maybe you could get the 13". Does the software you use actually utilize all 4 cores? If not, the classic 13 with the higher clock speed would serve better and you could actually upgrade the components yourself.

I'll be watching for the ghosting. Not being user upgradeable has given me second thoughts as well. It makes the price extremely higher than it should be to get the storage and memory configuration I need. But the fact remains that there is currently nothing that competes with this machine.

The weight of the classic is an issue and the size of the 13" screen is an issue. I will be taking advantage of all 4 cores. Keep in mind, I'd like this thing to last me 4 years before I move to the next device, so even if I didn't take advantage of 4 cores today, I will at some point.

I think those who keep saying Retina isn't worth it haven't done photo editing. The fact that the screen is sRGB calibrated is a big improvement over non-retina models as well.

 

[designs216]

Sounds like you've thought it through. I hadn't thought of the sRGB angle. I guess the tact to take would be max the RAM, processor and storage space to future-proof the machine as much as possible, then use it as long as you can to get your money's worth.

 

[Geckotek]

Found out I get an 8% discount through my employer. That and the 0% financing for a year....decided to bite the bullet.



15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
Available to ship: 1 - 3 business days
Delivers Oct 31 - Nov 2 via 2-3 Business Days

Configuration
•2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
•16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
•512GB Flash Storage
•KYBD/USER'S GUIDE
•COUNTRY KIT

 

[Geckotek]

Sounds like you've thought it through. I hadn't thought of the sRGB angle. I guess the tact to take would be max the RAM, processor and storage space to future-proof the machine as much as possible, then use it as long as you can to get your money's worth.

This is kind of what I was thinking too, except for the storage. Even 768GB is too little to truly keep my photo collection. External storage is just a fact of life at this point. My plan is to keep an external 2.5" drive around for my media...I carry one around already. So I went 512GB so I can keep several programs installed, Windows 8 on Bootcamp, and SOME media...just not ALL my media.

 

[designs216]

The cool thing about Thunderbolt is it makes external storage much more feasible. The downshot is that all the third party TB drives are insanely expensive. Maybe you look at getting a USB3 drive like this Seagate until TB storage comes down from the stratosphere.

 

[Geckotek]

The cool thing about Thunderbolt is it makes external storage much more feasible. The downshot is that all the third party TB drives are insanely expensive. Maybe you look at getting a USB3 drive like this Seagate until TB storage comes down from the stratosphere.

Yep, sounds like a perfect plan.

 

[brentsg]

OS X - Its not Windows, it needs some learning, I am still learning but everyday I find something intuitive about it and think wow this is good. However there are things I find and think "FFS why doesn't it work the way I want it to" - EG Installing Raspbmc is 1 click on Windows on mac its a series of commands you have to type into terminal. I am quite happy doing this, but the time it takes on mac is triple what it takes on Windows. .

For what it's worth, the only reason this app has a more complicated install is because they made the OSX version the same as the Linux version. Most developers will make an OSX package. I think the only app I use that is anything like this is Handbrake, and that's only because I choose to use the daily builds rather than the last binary. In other words, this has everything to do with the app, it is not an OSX generalization.