I ordered a 13" cMBP did I make a mistake?

I definitely don't think you made a mistake. If you weren't sold by the current line of rMBP's, the Haswell line probably won't change your mind either. And yes, if you want expandability at a good price, the 13" cMBP is a great buy. Congrats!

 

You can make the retina so that it looks like 1280x800, just clearer ad better colors. You cn also change the resolution to up to 1680x1050 if you need it.

 

I think people are over-anticipating Haswell because they assume it will have a miracle fix for performance issues with rMBPs. Honestly, I don't think it's the case.

It'll be a spec bump like all others and Haswell entry-level CPUs will be weaker than current's best Ivy Bridge CPUs, which do show some scroll lag. As for the iGPU, it'll also definitely be weaker than a GT 650M, which, again, currently lags.

The only real fix there will be is progressive software optimisation, which already started and will only get better (Safari 6.0.3 is now smoother but still not as much as WebKit).

Basically, all those people saying the rMBP is a "rev 1" product you should stay away from are more justifying to themselves not buying it than anything else. There has been some real issues : display image retention, SMC glitch (now fixed), scroll lag (improved and will continue improving), but people claiming the rMBP has underpowered CPU/GPU will eventually find out Haswell isn't going to be a hardware revolution and it's software improvements that will ultimatly "fix" the rMBP, including this generation.

Now as for the cMBP itself, it's an awesome computer if your plan is to upgrade it one day or another. A SSD upgrade for example is going to make it a lot faster than whathever improvement Haswell will bring. If your eyes can't allow you to read small text, I assume you wouldn't fully appreciate the sharpness of a Retina display either.

 

Check out the thread regarding someone asking people if they regret their purchase, many don't for many reasons.


My number one: Being able to RAID 0 two SSD'S and being able to upgrade RAM.

 

Yes you did imo.

But you asked for an opinion and thats mine.

 

Keep in mind its PURELY my opinion.

The 1 and only reason... screen resolution is just horrible. Im NOT saying buy a Retina, but even the 15" cMBP is a SIGNIFICANT improvement in display over the 13".

Every time I look at a 13" cMBP display it makes me cringe, it is so unpleasing on the eyes.

 

I switched to the Air because you couldn't get a 13" Pro with a 1440x900 screen.

I tried convincing others at work to do so, but they think everything is then 'too small' and like the 1280x800 resolution better. They can still do their work and they still have a 22" external monitor so I just stopped trying to convert them

 

You haven't listed your intended usage, so it is impossible to say.

 

Then no. You haven't.

 

Understandable but its not $400 for screen, its $400 for an overall better and faster machine.

For $400 more you get

• Better Speakers
• Quad-Core CPU - vs Dual-Core
• dGPU + iGPU vs iGPU
• 15" screen vs 13" screen
• 1440x900 Screen Resolution vs 1280x800 Resolution

 

If one of your top 5 requirements is for it to be easily upgradeable, the cMBP was definitely the right choice.

 

Lol nice. Some people never let logic ruin an argument, like females! jk lol.

 

Yes, both the i5 and i7 versions of the 13" are both Dual-core.

 

There you go.

 

You can't upgrade the RAM in the rMBP but you can the SSD, but the options are very limited since its a blade-SSD.

 

And based on the OP's intended usage, none of that benefits him. Besides, 1440x900 on a 15-inch display looks virtually identical to 1280x800 on a 13-inch.

 

I'd agree - I went from a 2007 15" MBP with a 1440x900 screen to a cMBP with a 1280x800 screen.

Other than the reduced size of the display, I can't really notice the difference in normal use. And the display on my new MBP is significantly brighter, and colours more vivid, than my old one.

OP - the 13" cMBP is a fantastic computer. You can upgrade the RAM yourself cheaply (I bought 16GB of Crucial RAM from Crucial for a little over £50GBP) and you can upgrade to an SSD and even keep your original HDD as a second drive if you want (at the cost of the DVD drive of course).

It's also very portable - maybe not as portable as a MacBook Air, but more portable than any 15" model, and that lightness comes in handy when carrying it!

I have the i5 model, and I've yet to find anything it struggles with, including video editing (I use Adobe Premiere and iMovie).