Do you NEED a Retina MacBook?

[flipnap]

This is random, but I've been thinking about upgrading to a rMBP soon and I realized that the 13'' 2009 cMBP (which I'm using currently) is heavier than the 15'' rMBP !? That's crazy!

And yes, I need retina for video and photo editing purposes.

i really didnt buy a retina for the weight, but i can tell you every time i pick it up or stick it in my bag the weight make a huge difference. may many people will laugh at that and say "oooh so big deal a few ounces" or whatever , but when youre on your last mile, and tes some of us walk with one in our bag, with that last mile a few ounce feels like tons.. its worth every penny

 

[Ledgem]

i really didnt buy a retina for the weight, but i can tell you every time i pick it up or stick it in my bag the weight make a huge difference. may many people will laugh at that and say "oooh so big deal a few ounces" or whatever , but when youre on your last mile, and tes some of us walk with one in our bag, with that last mile a few ounce feels like tons.. its worth every penny

This is true. I wonder if it's possible for a cMBP to get down to a similar weight, though. Consider where the rMBP's major weight savings are coming from: the loss of the optical drive (which is around 0.35 pounds) and exchanging a standard HDD for a blade-type SSD (standard 2.5" HDD weight is around 0.25 pounds; SSDs seem to be around half that, and blade-type SSDs are probably even lighter).

I suppose there isn't much to remove beyond that, but there you have it: cMBP owners can shave off about a half a pound by taking out their optical drive (and not replacing it with anything), and by replacing their HDD with a SSD.

 

[utekineir]

I like how you say thicker and heavier. It's a one pound difference and a several millimeters thinner.

And to be honest, it's true that by "DIY" you can save a lot.

I like my laptops to resemble my Johnson.

Thin and light.

Really though, sit there with one in your hands. It's still impressive to me that the base model basically is equal or better than my old mp tower while sitting somewhere in thickness between an air and cmbp. I don't even barely leave the house with it, just take it room to room, garage, living room, workshop, porch, etc, a $300 17" hp plastic titanic could make due for that.

And yes 1 pound and several millimeters, or using language that doesn't slant toward your direction 6 millimeters which is 30% thicker than the rmbp, 25% if you want to compare in the other direction. It is also 1 single lonely mm from the thickest point of a 13" air.

Please continue, I still don't have enough useless anal retentive nitpicking posts to view marketplace.

 

[Queen6]

One thing to note (you should read steve jobs book) According to the company Mac's should be made with no serviceable parts by users and it seems apple are going back to that idea again. I really noticed it with the first aluminium macbook. They want to keep people out of the machine. Just look at any apple product. ipods, iphones, mac etc... they are getting harder and harder to open!

Thats just Apple for you! The idea is to sell a product that the user can just use not worry about ram upgrades or drive swapping or soldering (good luck with soldering today lol) Its a good idea and an awful idea. For the hardware hacker inside all of us we want to be able to crack open the machine and see how it works but for the company they want a seamless experience for the user because to a global market who are generally not geeks they want to sell a product that the user feels its so dam good it doesn't need to be opened and fiddled with. Same for the OS. Look at iOS vs Android. iOS is idiot proof, android has a lot more geek straight out of the box.

If you want a serviceable machine get a dell and hackintosh it

Completely agree I have a Retina and it is without any doubt the best portable Apple has ever produced. Apple has always been moving to the non user serviceable/upgradable path, it`s a consumer company and in may respects from their perspective keeping out of the hardware makes sense.

If you don't require the portability a desktop "Hackintosh" is the clear solution and is exactly i will do next as shortly i will not require the portability my two 15" MBP`s offer; i can build a far more powerful system, with all the storage i need, for far less than a comparable Mac Pro, equally i will keep the Retina for when i am on the move.

 

[bobcan]

Do you NEED a Retina MacBook?

Not really..

but I'd like one..

Can I please have yours..??

 

[lockerc18]

Do I NEED a Retina MBP? Coming from an old HP laptop running Vista, you bet I do. I'm waiting for Apple to support an IV connector so I can plug it directly into my brain. Heck, I'd even take a forehead connector. Right in the middle. Plug it right in. Call me Cyclops.

I have a ThinkPad running Win7 for work, and that's as good as a Windows system can get, Win8 be damned. It is intergalacticly behind my rMBP.

 

[CountBrass]

I'll take 16 GB for Aperture and Photoshop over 8 GB and a retina display any day.

I have 16GB in my 15" rMBP so I'm not sure what your point is.

Personally I chose the rMPB because it's significantly slimmer and lighter than the old MBP. The retina display was a bonus (except in Bootcamp where it's a nuisance because Windows can't handle it properly. Scaling the text to be easily readable completely screws the mouse in many applications).

 

[Bambooisland]

Bought one because i wanted one

 

[Ledgem]

I have 16GB in my 15" rMBP so I'm not sure what your point is.

The point was cost. On top of the added cost of the retina screen, you're forced to spend an extra $200 to go from 8 GB to 16 GB. I upgraded my own system to 16 GB for around $75.

A lot of retina owners seem to get defensive over this, so let me be clear and say that it isn't a judgment against them. If you can comfortably afford to max out a retina system, great! More power to you, and enjoy your system! In my case, since I have a more limited budget and other hobbies that demand monetary attention (my camera and lenses), the savings are worthwhile. The comment was specifically made for kittykatta, who also seemed put out over the extra costs associated with the rMBP.

 

[jozeppy26]

Someone should try and upgrade the ram themselves with a soldering gun. Is it called gun? As you can prob tell I won't be the one trying it. Ever.