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Hi-res - worth it?

D

drummerguy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 19, 2010
12
0
Adelaide
Hi,

I'm looking at purchasing a new macbook pro to replace my old, falling to bits macbook unibody.. For a bit of background I've started studying music technology at University.

I've been looking at both the 13" 2.9Ghz and the 15" 2.3Ghz with a Hi-res anti glare screen and can't decide on which one to get...

The 15" seems very appealing but there is quite a jump from the 13 to the 15.

Thanks for any replies :D
 
drummerguy said:
Hi,

I'm looking at purchasing a new macbook pro to replace my old, falling to bits macbook unibody.. For a bit of background I've started studying music technology at University.

I've been looking at both the 13" 2.9Ghz and the 15" 2.3Ghz with a Hi-res anti glare screen and can't decide on which one to get...

The 15" seems very appealing but there is quite a jump from the 13 to the 15.

Thanks for any replies :D
Click to expand...

will you connect to an external monitor?
 
TofSanity said:
will you connect to an external monitor?
Click to expand...

Chances are it will only be connected to a monitor very rarely, as I have acces to a studio. The laptop would be used for audio work when I cant get into the studio and in lectures, tutorials etc.
 
Then the 15" would be better, the High-Resolution display would be even better. The 13" with its abysmal 1280 x 800 pixel is too small for all the palettes.
 
I agree with Simsaladimbamba. If your budget allows up the RAM to 8GB, i may be wrong but you should be able to buy the RAM and upgrade yourself alot cheaper than Apple.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Then the 15" would be better, the High-Resolution display would be even better. The 13" with its abysmal 1280 x 800 pixel is too small for all the palettes.
Click to expand...

So if I have the money go with the hi res. Whats the performance increase/change with the 13" retina to the hi res 15"? From what I can see the 15 has the advantage.
 
drummerguy said:
So if I have the money go with the hi res. Whats the performance increase/change with the 13" retina to the hi res 15"? From what I can see the 15 has the advantage.
Click to expand...

Significant increase with quad core i7 processor,dedicated GPU and better resolution. With your heavy uses with audio rendering, you should see a big performance bump.
 
B... said:
Significant increase with quad core i7 processor,dedicated GPU and better resolution. With your heavy uses with audio rendering, you should see a big performance bump.
Click to expand...

Thanks!:p

So looks like I'm going with the 15" with HiRes Anti-Glare and a nice new ssd (not through the apple store, waaayyyy to expensive through that)

Cheers, drummerguy103
 
drummerguy said:
Thanks!:p

So looks like I'm going with the 15" with HiRes Anti-Glare and a nice new ssd (not through the apple store, waaayyyy to expensive through that)

Cheers, drummerguy103
Click to expand...

Are you sure about the anti glare? Hideous silver bezel comes with that along with more muted colors.
 
I buy my MacBook Pro's to use, not stare at the bezel. It doesn't display anything... therefore I don't care what color it is. I'm too busy working. That's what I get paid to do :D

Hi-Res Anti-Glare is simply outstanding. The comment about muted colors is a personal opinion, I strongly disagree with. Well over half the Macs in our Art Dept are like mine.

The newest are 15" retina MBP's. I have one of those as well. Apples laptops are stellar.
 
maxosx said:
The newest are 15" retina MBP's. I have one of those as well. Apples laptops are stellar.
Click to expand...

I'm on the fence between a hi-res anti-glare and a retina. Both 15", naturally. Since you have experience with both (and that's sort of rare) which would you recommend? I plan on buying once Haswell is released, either a new retina or a refurb classic, if that matters.
 
JeffiJers said:
lol'd

I use my 15R for the same work as you OP. Couldnt do it on a 13....

he res for sure.... flip a coin on AG.
Click to expand...

Yer I know when I use my 13 macbook I struggle with a lack of real estate..

Another question (I have a lot :p ), does anyone know if the mbp is going to get refreshed? Its been about 200 days?

----------
drummerguy said:
Its been about 200 days?
Click to expand...

282 days to be accurate..
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I'm on the fence between a hi-res anti-glare and a retina. Both 15", naturally. Since you have experience with both (and that's sort of rare) which would you recommend? I plan on buying once Haswell is released, either a new retina or a refurb classic, if that matters.
Click to expand...

That's a very tough question. I use (both) of mine in a very resource intense, highly focused engineering environment, the point being mine are mission critical. I spend long periods of time in front of them, therefore I find the anti-glare especially easy on my eyes, though I'm lucky to have 20/20.

This close to the next gen retina I'd advise waiting if that model is your final decision. After many years using Apple computers I've always been impressed with the many improvements they incorporate in second gen products.
 
maxosx said:
That's a very tough question. I use (both) of mine in a very resource intense, highly focused engineering environment, the point being mine are mission critical. I spend long periods of time in front of them, therefore I find the anti-glare especially easy on my eyes, though I'm lucky to have 20/20.

This close to the next gen retina I'd advise waiting if that model is your final decision. After many years using Apple computers I've always been impressed with the many improvements they incorporate in second gen products.
Click to expand...

The only issue with waiting for the new refresh is that I dont want to wait too long and I dont want to miss out on the non-retina as they may cut it as a product (I'm really interested in the non-retina because I like the versatility to upgrade parts)

The rumoured refresh is June right?
 
drummerguy said:
Thanks!:p

So looks like I'm going with the 15" with HiRes Anti-Glare and a nice new ssd (not through the apple store, waaayyyy to expensive through that)

Cheers, drummerguy103
Click to expand...

I have the same one with the 2.6 Ghz and 16 gigs of ram along with a nice SSD.

You won't regret it.
I got it because I wasn't sure if the graphics in the retina was good enough to power my 27" TB display.

It is.
 
drummerguy said:
The only issue with waiting for the new refresh is that I dont want to wait too long and I dont want to miss out on the non-retina as they may cut it as a product (I'm really interested in the non-retina because I like the versatility to upgrade parts)

The rumoured refresh is June right?
Click to expand...
June is correct to the best of my knowledge.

Now that you mention it, the ability to upgrade a conventional MBP is a huge advantage in my opinion. I've installed max ram & a Samsung 840 series 512GB SSD in mine. It's a rocket :)
 
bobcan said:
I kinda love the 'hideous silver bezel' and the terrible screen that accompanies it.. Yup.. Sure do.. :D
Click to expand...

Now, I did not mean to say that anti glare brings an awful screen. What I can say is that I am sure it is very helpful in certain situations. However, when I look at the Air's the Pro, the Air's screen appears to have a shorter color gamut then the Pro, which can be limiting in visual work. For audio work, it is not a problem.
 
Last edited:
I have a 2010 hi-res anti-glare. I can't imagine at this point working at a lower resolution. The matte screen is totally worth it IMO (I'm going to miss it in my next computer) and if your computer is a work machine rather than a display piece you won't even notice the silver bezel because you'll be too busy looking at what's inside it (and NOT being bothered by reflections from the window behind you).

If I were buying a 15" now I'd probably go for that model. 6-9 months from now, esp if you don't mind the reflective screen or if weight is crucial, the retina might be a better choice, because you can switch resolutions at will, but it still doesn't sound like the current model supports non-pixel-doubled resolutions smoothly, so you'd be stuck with 1440x900.
 
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