Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Initial Impressions - 13" rMBP

P

pogiboi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
271
48
Just thought i'd post a few of my initial impressions of my 13" rMBP.

Screen - The one i received ended up with a perfect screen. No dead or stuck pixels and very even backlighting. I scaled the resolution up to the highest option (more space) and it's perfect for the screen size. I"m not sure how to replicate the issue of the 15" ghosting, but if someone could explain it I'm glad to give it a try.

Performance - Haven't used it much but I purchased the 15" rMBP back when it launched and i noticed even using safari lagged on the 15" (higher scaling than the 13"). With the 13" rMBP i've noticed no lag what so ever on the highest scaling setting. When maximizing Safari to full screen mode, the animation is very smooth. I think the 15" might of been a software issue, but i remember it being pretty bad. If you would like me to try any applications or tests let me know.

Size - I returned my 15" soon after purchasing it because I wanted something a little more mobile. I was coming from a 13" air so it was quite a jump. I can say that the 13" rMBP is perfect for those who want a little more power and much better screen when coming from a 13" air. It also seems the bezel around the screen is smaller than the non retina pro 13" which I think makes it more aesthetically pleasing.

Overall Quality - Unlike my iPhone 5, this one is pretty much perfect. Only annoyance is the touchpad click is a little louder than i'm used to. Other than that, it's great.

The 13" rMBP obviously isn't for everyone and I know alot of people were upset by the lack of a dedicated graphics card, but I think for most people, it will have plenty of power. And most importantly, the integrated graphics card so far seems to easily handle the highest scaling options.
 
one odd thing we just noticed

Wanted to see if your says the same thing...

If you go to about this Mac,

on the line where it says GRAPHICS- The 13 says Intel HD Graphics 4000 768 MB

where as on both of our 15 retinas it says 512MB

Don't know why there would be a difference but intriguing regardless
 
sno1man said:
Wanted to see if your says the same thing...

If you go to about this Mac,

on the line where it says GRAPHICS- The 13 says Intel HD Graphics 4000 768 MB

where as on both of our 15 retinas it says 512MB

Don't know why there would be a difference but intriguing regardless
Click to expand...

Mine also says 768 MB

----------
JacksterD said:
That's interesting, it should output a code starting either LP or LSN, which tells you the manufacturer of the screen (LG or Samsung, respectively).

Another user in another thread also reported that it gives no output. I wonder if Apple are trying to prevent people from finding the manufacturer of their screens in an attempt to stop people trying to get a particular one.

Could you try going to System Preferences > Displays > Color > Edit (I think) > mmod (should be at the very bottom of the list) and report the manufacturer code?

It will be interesting to find out if Apple has made any changes to their screen suppliers, and if image retention is still a problem on the 13" models.
Click to expand...

Both Manufacturer and Model are blank as well....
 
JacksterD said:
That must be it. Dissapointing, and a little worrying that this doesn't bode well for the 13" rMBP - why hide the screen manufacturer from the user if you have nothing to hide?
Click to expand...

Why hide it? Your joking right? :D

Ok, so they have like 5% samsung displays. What then?
 
Last edited:
JacksterD said:
There's a demonstrable fault with most, if not all, of the LG displays. Image retention to the extent present on these screens is simply not supposed to happen on modern LCDs, and the fact that it doesn't happen on the Samsung screens proves that it's perfectly possible to make a high resolution screen without excessive (if any) retention.

But let's not get into the validity of peoples' complaints about image retention, this path has been walked too many times on this board. I'm just interested to know who is supplying the screens for the 13" model and whether the panel is suceptible to image retention.
Click to expand...

Yes but it's better this way IMHO. Save people from themselves.
Others may disagree.
 
pogiboi said:
Just thought i'd post a few of my initial impressions of my 13" rMBP.

Screen - The one i received ended up with a perfect screen. No dead or stuck pixels and very even backlighting. I scaled the resolution up to the highest option (more space) and it's perfect for the screen size. I"m not sure how to replicate the issue of the 15" ghosting, but if someone could explain it I'm glad to give it a try.
Click to expand...

Nice! With the resolution set to most space, is the display still crisp and does it still feel retina?

And please post pics. with this option enabled.
 
GrandPhrase said:
Nice! With the resolution set to most space, is the display still crisp and does it still feel retina?

And please post pics. with this option enabled.
Click to expand...

cant post a pic right now but if anything at any resolution included scaled the 13 seems if anything to be even more retinany :) ...... Almost has an etched look to it
 
sno1man said:
Wanted to see if your says the same thing...

If you go to about this Mac,

on the line where it says GRAPHICS- The 13 says Intel HD Graphics 4000 768 MB

where as on both of our 15 retinas it says 512MB

Don't know why there would be a difference but intriguing regardless
Click to expand...

Interesting... I wonder if that has anything to do with the reduced perceived lag.

I wonder if Apple can up the iGPU memory with an EFI update
 
sno1man said:
cant post a pic right now but if anything at any resolution included scaled the 13 seems if anything to be even more retinany :) ...... Almost has an etched look to it
Click to expand...

Wow! Am impressed right now going by your remarks. Some 15" inchers I bet would be very tempted to get the 13 rMBP as it can finally run the higher real estate equal to that of the 15 - all in a more mobile package.

Although you can't post a pic now, can you try to when you have time/able to? (At highest scaling) Really excited! Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back