Initial Impressions - 13" rMBP

[JD92]

...

 

[willjbryan]

You can't be serious? It's readable, but I can't imagine wanting to use a resolution that high on a 13" screen. I didn't notice any difference in the scrolling, but I can imagine there would be some improvement.

It was annoying and gave me headaches for the first few hours/days, but now I can't imagine using anything much smaller (although the downgrade from 2880x1800 to 2560x1600 would be fine). It helps that Safari zooms so easily. I was looking for a replacement for my 1600x1200 IPS thinkpad for years, so the combo of high resolution and good screen quality is just awesome.

 

[whiteonline]

I've lost count of the number of LG screens I've been through, it must be 6 or 7, and every single one has exhibited image retention. Several other users are reporting the exact same thing, going through LG after LG and having image retention. Many users have also done exactly as you have done, reporting that even after a few weeks/months they have no image retention and that everyone should just calm down, only to come back the next week to say image retention has reared its ugly head.

I would agree that the methodology wouldn't normally be acceptable to draw a conclusion from, but there have just been too many people across too many forums going through replacement after replacement reporting that the LGs have this "feature". Even Apple are now saying that it's "normal" on their support site, so I really think it is reasonable to assume that the majority of LG displays are affect to some extent (as while I do think all displays are affected, my own experience indicates that the severity is variable).

But whatever. I've learned to live with it. Hopefully as time goes on and new display technology becomes available, image retention will once again become a thing of the past.

Are you intentionally searching/testing for image retention?

 

[Maczor]

Are you intentionally searching/testing for image retention?

Of course he is...

 

[JD92]

...

 

[Donka]

You can't be serious? It's readable, but I can't imagine wanting to use a resolution that high on a 13" screen. I didn't notice any difference in the scrolling, but I can imagine there would be some improvement.

Is that at the native 2560x1600 and if so, what tool did you use to get that?

 

[shiinx]

Is it possible to run the Retina display with a different resolution, e.g. 1680x1050, but *without* the screen being rendered internally at double resolution (3360x2100 in the example) and then rescaled? This would take some of the burden off of the HD4000 at hopefully only little cost with regards to the image quality.

I am not sure if this possible with QuickRes or some other resolution switcher. But if it is, I would be interested in the results concerning image quality (how good is text rendered, ...) and UI speed.

 

[-Ryan-]

Is that at the native 2560x1600 and if so, what tool did you use to get that?

Yes it is the full resolution. I did it using the free trial of SwitchResX but I'm sure there are freeware alternatives.

 

[0x000000]

While what you are saying is partially true... bad software is still bad software. It doesn't matter how expensive a computer is... software can be written to fail or malfunction on 12 core CPUs too with 4 SLI GPUs.

I'm not saying we should start using minimalist stuff so that the rMBP won't struggle, all I'm saying is that just because it's expensive, it doesn't mean it was built to perform 100x better than cheaper alternatives... nor can it handle everything one throws at it ( "use the right tools for the right job" ).

The majority of people don't buy expensive watches because the watch tells time better than the cheaper alternatives... they buy such watches because of totally different reasons ( like: "build quality, personalization, service / support and of course bragging rights"... + more ). Kinda the same applies for Apple products.

I do understand that but it's nor whether their ui performance is a 100x better,
but whether or not they perform worse than any mac has in the past two years... that does make a difference.

The comparism to watches is only semi-legit. Mechanical watches perform waaaay worse than even the cheapest quartz watch, but they're luxury, objects of prestige -- measuring time is only secondary, at least it's for me and i do have some quite nice ones. Ignoring the performance of the retinas is only ok if you buy them not for their use and but for their prestige. Not everyone does that.

 

[Gle55nn]

Don't know why there would be a difference but intriguing regardless

 

[Donka]

Yes it is the full resolution. I did it using the free trial of SwitchResX but I'm sure there are freeware alternatives.

Thanks. I found QuickRes which looks like it will do the job for free. This makes the retina a more enticing prospect but I think I will hold off to see what next year brings from a performance perspective. .

 

[Flaskekork]

the retina, a gimmick?

For arguments sake, is the retina a gimmick and in the beginning stage?

to see performance on the rMBP 13'' so low, in comparison to 2011 models is kinda frightening for a buyer. A buyer would of course want better performance. After reading lots and lots of posts i'm starting to move towards a high-end cMBP (with upgraded 128) for about the same price (just a little cheaper)

You get better performance... and that is my main argument for skipping the retina. even though it HAS an amazing screen, IF the system has SOME issues while running and displaying the screen, then I'd say it is not ready... for me everything is going to be amazing, cause my 2007 MB 13'' is almost dead

I just want to buy the "best"... so question being... do I want a decent screen but higher performance, or an amazing screen with lower performance? to be or not to be... hat is the question... I seriously can't choose unless the performance isn't that big of a difference.

anyone know if the performance is a trivial question? or is it noticeable?
if the user is: a multi tasker, has several tabs open, with youtube, FB, news etc... and an occasional gamer.

(I have yet not tried the 13'' retina, so I'm writing this after reading posts on this forum)

 

[0x000000]

More important than Geekbench performance is, in this case, UI performance. The HD4000 does in fact deliver less fps in osx animations and claims that even Keynote stutters are very believable and on par with what you can see in every apple store.

I have to redo my own statement.

I've been to the Apple Store again, today. Swiping Spaces sutters on all retina MBPs consistently, whether it's 13" or 15". There seems to be some very few frames missing near the end of the animation. As stated before, it doesn't change productivity or speed and is only very barely visible in direct comparism and may be by design, e.g. due to Apple manually lowering FPS on Retinas to save performance.

Keynote performance however is the same. Animations are very fluid, no stuttering to be seen and it's my job to make animations like that so I can more or less tell. It's super fluid and since it uses the same technology like screen swiping, the performance of retina MBPs seems to be quite OK after all.

Hence I pulled the trigger and bought it. i7, 256 gb.

 

[JCT]

I have to redo my own statement.

I've been to the Apple Store again, today. Swiping Spaces sutters on all retina MBPs consistently, whether it's 13" or 15". There seems to be some very few frames missing near the end of the animation. As stated before, it doesn't change productivity or speed and is only very barely visible in direct comparism and may be by design, e.g. due to Apple manually lowering FPS on Retinas to save performance.

Keynote performance however is the same. Animations are very fluid, no stuttering to be seen and it's my job to make animations like that so I can more or less tell. It's super fluid and since it uses the same technology like screen swiping, the performance of retina MBPs seems to be quite OK after all.

Hence I pulled the trigger and bought it. i7, 256 gb.

And I did the same after testing one in a local Apple Store, as a matter of fact, the same version you ordered. Should arrive on Thursday, even bought a nice new SFBags sleeve for it..

 

[0x000000]

The mac arrived now and I have to say: It's a damn fine machine. It's very fast and responsive and UI lag isn't noticable at all. Photoshop works just the way you'd expect it to and I feel like this could easily suffice for 2 or 3 years. Overall I feel many of the much discussed problems have been blown way out of proportion.

The speakers are a bit on the meh side, but well within expectations.

The display is a beast. In the back of my head I always saw it as something rather gimmicky, but it's really a major step forward. I'm really glad to have chosen this instead of yet another 13" MBA (I had 2 before).

 

[b.tuszkiewicz]

The mac arrived now and I have to say: It's a damn fine machine. It's very fast and responsive and UI lag isn't noticable at all. Photoshop works just the way you'd expect it to and I feel like this could easily suffice for 2 or 3 years. Overall I feel many of the much discussed problems have been blown way out of proportion.

The speakers are a bit on the meh side, but well within expectations.

The display is a beast. In the back of my head I always saw it as something rather gimmicky, but it's really a major step forward. I'm really glad to have chosen this instead of yet another 13" MBA (I had 2 before).

Great to hear, I'm waiting for mine to arrive. Same configuration

 

[vikpt]

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.

Please do a FCP X or Premiere Pro 1080p video editing test. I'm considering on buying as well just want to know if it'll do well on both programs.