Good time to buy Macbook Pro w/ Retina

[Terps10]

Looking to purchase a laptop needed for web design. I will not be coding, but using a lot of Adobe products (indesign, photoshop, etc) and figured a macbook pro with retina display would be my best bet. Is now a good time to purchase?

By good time I mean in regards to the latest model being released. It seems that the macbook pro with retina is relatively new (considering the latest upgrade); however, I've been reading that the macbook pro will get a refresh this June? Any idea if that's true and if so would it be worth waiting.

Lastly, I think the 13.3 will suffice but is it worth the extra $600 for the 15?

 

[B...]

For heavy uses the 15" is the only way to go bc of the quad core and dGPU. That is up to you whether it is worth $600. The new ones will not be released in June because the processors are being released in June. Citing this and a delay in the chip production due to a USB 3 problem,expect the new ones August to December. There will certainly be some good improvements (Rev 2 product) so if you want a more bug free computer (no IR), wait. But if you need it now, buy it now.

If you get IR with the current model, you cn alwys gt t replaced for free. Also, for photoshop work, get 256 GB at least. That is $1699 vs $2199 which is $500 for a bigger screen, dGPU and quad core.

 

[maflynn]

There is a refresh to be sure, but it will be on Intel's latest chipset (Haswell) which isn't due out until June, so the odds of seeing new MBPs in June are rather low. More likely late summer early fall.

If you an wait until then, you'll get the new chipsets, if you cannot, the current models are great. I've had the 15" rMBP since it was available and recommend it highly.

 

[Krazy Bill]

Lastly, I think the 13.3 will suffice but is it worth the extra $600 for the 15?

I don't know how you can even compare these 2 machines without telling us if you want to emphasize power or portability. They are sized & spec'd differently for a reason.

With bloated Adobe products the issue will not be how pretty things look on that retina display - you'll need to take into account future adobe "bloat" 3 years from now.

Personally, I'd always chose the 13" over the 15" because I can always connect an external monitor when desk-bound. But again, I don't know how much CPU/GPU muscle you need.

 

[jesaja]

Actually, for web design I would rather recommend a cmbp instead of a rmbp. While the rmbp is great for print, it's far from ideal for screen graphic development. You see, 99% of the people visiting your websites won't have a retina display. Thus, you should optimize your graphics to look good, pixel for pixel, on a regular display - which you can't do/check very well on the retina... I'd recommend not going that route for that kind of use.

Apart from that, 15" all the way, I'd even suggest the 1680x1050 or what it was for that. Adobe apps need as much screen real estate as you can give them!

 

[ViperDesign]

I purchased a 15 inch rMBP for 1600 after taxes. It was an open box from best buy.

 

[iprime]

problems overblown?

Are the problems in rMBP overblown or are they significant enough to make waiting for haswell a good choice? I don't know how late it would arrive and I need one now. Just hesistant on spending 2k on a product after hearing about lag, screen problems, etc...

 

[Timmy D]

Are the problems in rMBP overblown or are they significant enough to make waiting for haswell a good choice? I don't know how late it would arrive and I need one now. Just hesistant on spending 2k on a product after hearing about lag, screen problems, etc...

Purchase and enjoy. I have an LG screen and have had slight IR but disappears within seconds. I haven't heard my fans but once during the last SMC upgrade, which was supposed to happen. I love this 15" rMBP it's fast and beautiful. PS the last mountain lion 10.8.3 fixed any lag I was experiencing in safari, iTunes or App Store. Good luck

Also, I haven't experienced any IR since using a screen saver or full screening any window I'm using

 

[MrTheBigBadMe]

Looking to purchase a laptop needed for web design. I will not be coding, but using a lot of Adobe products (indesign, photoshop, etc) and figured a macbook pro with retina display would be my best bet. Is now a good time to purchase?

By good time I mean in regards to the latest model being released. It seems that the macbook pro with retina is relatively new (considering the latest upgrade); however, I've been reading that the macbook pro will get a refresh this June? Any idea if that's true and if so would it be worth waiting.

Lastly, I think the 13.3 will suffice but is it worth the extra $600 for the 15?

It all depends really, do you need more power? If so, definitely grab the 15". It's GT 650M is a really good card, seeing how apple clocked it. the 13" model has a much weaker (in my opinion) card.