Do Not Purchase The rMBP 13 Hype

[omegasyn]

What can I say.... I came from a MBP 15 anti-glare i7 to a rMBP 15 i7 2.5 and then lastly downgraded to the rMBP 13 i5 2.5 due to the boat anchor size of the 15.

Now let me to get down to the truth about the retina's. The screen is great and all but that novelty wears off QUICKLY. At the end of the day, you're buying an slimmed down macbook pro 13 with a better display and 2 thunderbolt ports.

If I were someone in the situation of acquiring the 13 rMBP, I would really consider getting the MBA 13 w/ 8GB ram and i7 instead.

The only real difference between the MBA 13 and rMBP 13 would be the retina and hdmi... Both processors boosts up to 3.0 ghz but the MBA is slow idle speeds, both are intel 4000, both max out at 8GB ram, both have USB 3, and both have thunderbolt (except for the extra output on the rMBP 13).

Nothing much to say LOL....

 

[racer1441]

retina is the killer feature. The air looks like fuzzy garbage compared to the retina on the 13 and he 15.

 

[omegasyn]

retina is the killer feature. The air looks like fuzzy garbage compared to the retina on the 13 and he 15.

Fuzzy? no... A lot more pixeled? yes.

If anyone reading also use an external monitor, the purpose of the retina completely useless...

 

[GoCubsGo]

I stopped reading when you referred to a 15" i7 as a "boat anchor." Really? Boat anchor?

 

[dejo]

I thought hype was free. Why should I have to purchase it?

I keed, I keed...

 

[omegasyn]

I stopped reading when you referred to a 15" i7 as a "boat anchor." Really? Boat anchor?

Slight exaggeration but if you go from a 15 to 13, especially from cMBP 15 to rMBP 13, you will feel the same. That is unless you're never mobile.

 

[JellyFish]

What can I say.... I came from a MBP 15 anti-glare i7 to a rMBP 15 i7 2.5 and then lastly downgraded to the rMBP 13 i5 2.5 due to the boat anchor size of the 15.

Now let me to get down to the truth about the retina's. The screen is great and all but that novelty wears off QUICKLY. At the end of the day, you're buying an slimmed down macbook pro 13 with a better display and 2 thunderbolt ports.

If I were someone in the situation of acquiring the 13 rMBP, I would really consider getting the MBA 13 w/ 8GB ram and i7 instead.

The only real difference between the MBA 13 and rMBP 13 would be the retina and hdmi... Both processors boosts up to 3.0 ghz but the MBA is slow idle speeds, both are intel 4000, both max out at 8GB ram, both have USB 3, and both have thunderbolt (except for the extra output on the rMBP 13).

Nothing much to say LOL....

I bought one yesterday, and I'm loving it. The form factor is perfect. The screen is obviously gorgeous. I've seen no scrolling stutter or lag. I was even able to get WOW to run fine on it.

I am not sure why you are in hate mode over this laptop, but I really like mine. I hope you are able to find something that you like as much as I like my 13 inch rMBP.

I encourage anyone considering one to actually use one at the Apple Store first. I had read a lot of negative remarks about it, but promptly changed my mind once I was able to use one in person.

 

[racer1441]

Fuzzy? no... A lot more pixeled? yes.

If anyone reading also use an external monitor, the purpose of the retina completely useless...

Are you planning on using you laptop as a desktop? Sometimes, yes, but days on end? Buy a imac or mac mini and a 11 inch air.

It is fuzzy. I wasn't even mentioning the vomit creating pixelation.

 

[T5BRICK]

If I were someone in the situation of acquiring the 13 rMBP, I would really consider getting the MBA 13 w/ 8GB ram and i7 instead.

The only real difference between the MBA 13 and rMBP 13 would be the retina and hdmi... Both processors boosts up to 3.0 ghz but the MBA is slow idle speeds, both are intel 4000, both max out at 8GB ram, both have USB 3, and both have thunderbolt (except for the extra output on the rMBP 13).

Nothing much to say LOL....

I'd much rather have the faster 2.5GHz i5 and the retina screen. The HD4000 in the rMBP is also slightly faster.

Anyway, when the MBA is configured with the i7, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, it's $1699 from Apple. I think I've seen $100 discounts on models like this(to be totally honest I haven't paid close attention to the sale prices on the Air). I've seen the base i5 rMBP with the 256GB SSD sell for $1799 at some local retailers recently. I know which one I'd be buying.

 

[racer1441]

I am not sure why you are in hate mode over this laptop, but I really like mine.

I believe it's people who cannot get their heads wrapped around this new world. (Not saying at all this applies to the OP of this thread, but making generalizations for this response).

You hear the same complaints...It's not a "Pro" machine, no dedicated graphics, yadda yadda yadda.

Apple's business model is to get 90% of the people 90% of what they need. Does that leave some out, yes. People who want big honking hard drives, cd/dvd drives, dedicated graphics....but you know what, 90% of the people who see the 13 rMBP get all warm and gushy over it. Apple wants these machines to be the Macbook Professional, not the Pro. Maybe the graphics people and video people aren't going to like it, but every business meeting I go into these days, more and more people are using macs (Big and small businesses included). These are professionals, but no the old guard Pro users.

The world is changing, and I think it's for the better.

 

[nuckinfutz]

I stopped reading when you referred to a 15" i7 as a "boat anchor." Really? Boat anchor?

Wish I would have done the same. The rest of the post just went downhill.

 

[omegasyn]

The HD4000 in the rMBP is also slightly faster.

According to whom? lol....

 

[CausticPuppy]

What can I say.... I came from a MBP 15 anti-glare i7 to a rMBP 15 i7 2.5 and then lastly downgraded to the rMBP 13 i5 2.5 due to the boat anchor size of the 15...

Yeah, you definitely sound like somebody who makes careful, informed purchasing decisions. Everybody should definitely listen to your advice.

 

[T5BRICK]

According to whom? lol....

According to Intel. Although, now that I'm reading the specs on the CPU more closely, it's simply the base graphics frequency on the Core i7 3667U processor that is lower. Overall they're probably about the same.

Either way, for a $100-300 price difference, I'd still probably go with the rMBP.

 

[mohsy90]

What was the hype? If you were smart and did your research, you would know that the premium you're paying is solely for the retina display and smaller form factor.

 

[inhalexhale1]

According to Intel. Although, now that I'm reading the specs on the CPU more closely, it's simply the base graphics frequency on the Core i7 3667U processor that is lower. Overall they're probably about the same.

Either way, for a $100-300 price difference, I'd still probably go with the rMBP.

I remember reading they were different as well, but it didn't translate into any real performance differences.

Anandtech comments on it:

"I'd consider the 13-inch MacBook Pro [retina] enough for light, casual gaming, or basically anything you'd run on a MacBook Air - but nothing more."

Agreed on the rMBP. If you can find a great deal and the price difference is minimal, there really isn't a reason to get the air over the rMBP IMO.

 

[wiznet]

What was the hype? If you were smart and did your research, you would know that the premium you're paying is solely for the retina display and smaller form factor.

And SSD.

 

[Haifisch]

due to the boat anchor size of the 15.

Really? I must be ripped then.