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Haswell rMBP Reviews

Wow,

Im exited about the battery life of the rMBP 13".
Verge - 10 hours 7 minutes
Cnet - 13 hours 9 minutes (video playback test)
Macworld - 10 hours 51 minutes (web browsing test)

This can make my decision easier, BUT. In benchmark tests, the 1.3 Air was not that more worse for the buck.

Will wait for anandtech, but Apple is making my life harder with the new rMBP to choose between the Air & Pro.
 
ohbrilliance said:
That's lazy and deceptive journalism. The 13" rMBP can also be configured to display at 1440x900, so you're not stuck with either too little real estate or squint-inducingly tiny resolutions.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can be scaled but there are side effects when doing so which is why Apple doesn't recommend it. I think the default resolution is horribly low but I picked up a new 13" Haswell RMBP to test with the new graphics hoping scaled resolutions would run without major lag with the update.

Nope. Lag everywhere when running the non-native res. Screen dragging/enlarging would lag, mission control was bad and the screen saver wouldn't even run at more than 2-3 fps. It would take me about 15 seconds to get my password typed in on the lock screen because the machine was choking over the screen saver in either 'scaled' resolution mode. Perhaps Mavericks is partly to blame, I don't know, but it just wasn't usable.

13" form factor is great, but I already don't care for the low-resolution on my Air and this is going even lower. Sheesh.
 
ckeck said:
Yes, it can be scaled but there are side effects when doing so which is why Apple doesn't recommend it. I think the default resolution is horribly low but I picked up a new 13" Haswell RMBP to test with the new graphics hoping scaled resolutions would run without major lag with the update.

Nope. Lag everywhere when running the non-native res. Screen dragging/enlarging would lag, mission control was bad and the screen saver wouldn't even run at more than 2-3 fps. It would take me about 15 seconds to get my password typed in on the lock screen because the machine was choking over the screen saver in either 'scaled' resolution mode. Perhaps Mavericks is partly to blame, I don't know, but it just wasn't usable.

13" form factor is great, but I already don't care for the low-resolution on my Air and this is going even lower. Sheesh.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...and that's with 8GB Ram...
It's really getting confusing for me to figure out what configuration to buy.
 
I wonder if there would be any lag in scaled resolutions on the 13-inch with max CPU. I was at the Apple store yesterday, and 1440x900 seemed to run fine while I did see lag on 1680x1050.

In their review of last year's models, AnandTech suggested the lag was a CPU limitation. So has anyone tested this on a 2.8 i7?
 
PDFierro said:
I wonder if there would be any lag in scaled resolutions on the 13-inch with max CPU. I was at the Apple store yesterday, and 1440x900 seemed to run fine while I did see lag on 1680x1050.
Click to expand...

Ah so that's how people find the lag - I can't see a reason to run at max scaled, its too small. 1440x900 is ideal, but I did try out 1680x1050 now that you said it (on a 2.6), so now I know what this lag people talk about is. I doubt if the 2.8 would make enough of a difference.
 
neteng101 said:
Ah so that's how people find the lag - I can't see a reason to run at max scaled, its too small. 1440x900 is ideal, but I did try out 1680x1050 now that you said it (on a 2.6), so now I know what this lag people talk about is. I doubt if the 2.8 would make enough of a difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah, things run incredibly smooth otherwise. The 13-inch really got a big upgrade this year.

I guess it will be a few weeks before AnandTech reviews the 13".
 
neteng101 said:
Ah so that's how people find the lag - I can't see a reason to run at max scaled, its too small. 1440x900 is ideal, but I did try out 1680x1050 now that you said it (on a 2.6), so now I know what this lag people talk about is. I doubt if the 2.8 would make enough of a difference.
Click to expand...

Well at max resolution (meaning non-scaled and true native) it should run perfect too since there is no scaling taking place but that is indeed too small for most, but good for some applications.

Retina resolution also runs smooth on the 13" but I think it's more a limitation of the Iris GPU that chokes up the system on any of the scaled resolutions. Which really sucks because 1440x900 is slightly better and 1680x1050 is beautiful on the 13" screen.

Not sure why they couldn't squeeze the same resolution of the 15" into the 13" so it would be 1440x900 in retina mode. Next refresh I guess (if we're lucky).
 
Wired, just posted: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/11/macbook-pro-retina/

----------
Tears Apart said:
Wired, just posted: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/11/macbook-pro-retina/
Click to expand...

Just finished reading. What an utterly useless review.

"The 13-inch Pro’s 2.4 GHz processor and 8GB of memory is more than enough to handle everyday tasks like word processing, spreadsheet management, multi-tabbed browsing, HD video playback, and casual gaming."

but:

"speccing the system out to the full 16GB of memory isn’t a bad idea either as you won’t be able to make many upgrades later on."
 
i understand that you guys are talking about a lag. I got the late 2013 13" with 2.8/16/512 and I've been running it on 1680 x 1050 (ran it on 1440 x 900 for a few days, but the 1680 works much better in terms of screen real estate)..and I don't see any lag at all. Scrolling works fine (in Safari and Chrome), launch pad works just fine (so does mission control). Full screen works fine.

Videos (youtube) works just fine. I haven't played any 1080p movies on it yet.

The only lag I have seen is when I try to maximize (full screen) a very high resolution photo, but beyond that I don't see any problems at all.

(edit: I don't see much lag in high res photos when I use the preview. I notice lag when I full screen with the Xee app I installed)
 
Last edited:
ohsnapimaninja said:
i understand that you guys are talking about a lag. I got the late 2013 13" with 2.8/16/512 and I've been running it on 1680 x 1050 (ran it on 1440 x 900 for a few days, but the 1680 works much better in terms of screen real estate)..and I don't see any lag at all. Scrolling works fine (in Safari and Chrome), launch pad works just fine (so does mission control). Full screen works fine.

Videos (youtube) works just fine. I haven't played any 1080p movies on it yet.

The only lag I have seen is when I try to maximize (full screen) a very high resolution photo, but beyond that I don't see any problems at all.

(edit: I don't see much lag in high res photos when I use the preview. I notice lag when I full screen with the Xee app I installed)
Click to expand...

1680x1050 ALWAYS lags when switching between desktops, but not always when using mission control. Try creating multiple desktops and swiping left to right between them with your touchpad. Guarantee you will notice the lag.
 
Not for me. With three HD YouTube videos playing in 1680x1050, 2 in Safari and 1 in Chrome, in 3 desktops, I got no lag at all switching between desktops.

Base Model 2.6/16/1TB
 
I've had mine since the day it came out.

15-inch
2.3ghz
16GB RAM
Iris Pro 1GB
2GB dedicated video

This is by far and away, the best laptop ever made. I am not a "fanboy" - i am someone who loves technology and this machine has exceeded all expectations.

It does the 2 things you need in a laptop

1. It's fast! This thing screams. Haven't seen any lag or performance related issues at all.

2. Battery life is AMAZING. I am getting near 10 hours out of mine with normal use.

The price premium is completely worth it in my opinion. When you get this level of quality, performance, and battery life you should expect to pay for it. That's fine with me.

It's a great great great laptop - about as perfect as can be. I don't say that often.
 
TigerMe said:
I've had mine since the day it came out.

15-inch
2.3ghz
16GB RAM
Iris Pro 1GB
2GB dedicated video

This is by far and away, the best laptop ever made. I am not a "fanboy" - i am someone who loves technology and this machine has exceeded all expectations.

It does the 2 things you need in a laptop

1. It's fast! This thing screams. Haven't seen any lag or performance related issues at all.

2. Battery life is AMAZING. I am getting near 10 hours out of mine with normal use.

The price premium is completely worth it in my opinion. When you get this level of quality, performance, and battery life you should expect to pay for it. That's fine with me.

It's a great great great laptop - about as perfect as can be. I don't say that often.
Click to expand...

is this early 2013? or last yrs model?
Are you using mavericks.
 
phero said:
Notebookcheck (german):
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-13-Zoll-Late-2013.104688.0.html

I'm sure an english translation will be up soon. For now, you can use Google translate :)
Click to expand...

T-Bob said:
In German only atm (will be translated) but the most technical reivew so far by along shot:

http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-13-Zoll-Late-2013.104688.0.html
Click to expand...

thanks guys. i love notebookcheck's reviews. they get into quite a lot of other detail the others don't.

tim100 said:
Any updates status on reviews?
Click to expand...

the last thing Anand said was just "it'll likely be November"
 
aiyaaabatt said:
1680x1050 ALWAYS lags when switching between desktops, but not always when using mission control. Try creating multiple desktops and swiping left to right between them with your touchpad. Guarantee you will notice the lag.
Click to expand...

I would disagree politely! I tried what you mentioned, multiple desktops with multiple apps and there is no lag when switching between desktops.
 
ohsnapimaninja said:
I would disagree politely! I tried what you mentioned, multiple desktops with multiple apps and there is no lag when switching between desktops.
Click to expand...

Hmm maybe the i7 2.8 has just enough extra horsepower to eliminate that lag. I see it on an i5 2.6 if I switch the res up.
 
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