Just ordered by BTO MBPR-What next?

[ryanchan]

Hi Guys,
I've just ordered my BTO mbpr with 2.6ghz cpu and 16gb ram, all other specs as standard model. This will be my first macbook and mac computer so I'm just wondering what I should buy/do once the laptop arrives. Here's my to-do list and some questions for now:
1. Pouch/case -recommendations? I prefer a thin sleeve/pouch, preferably high quality material such as a snug fit leather/any other synthetic materials that feels nice to touch. I'm not gonna carry anything else aside from a few pieces of paper at times.
2. Update to 10.8.2? How is the bootcamp compatibility on this? I plan to run windows 8 on the laptop for gaming. Is the whole bootcamp process, including partitions reversible? Can I change the disk space allocated to the windows drive after the windows partition has been set up?
3. Anyone using gfxCardStatus? Does in really help in terms of battery life and does it conflict with bootcamp and/or the 10.8.2 update?
4. Anything else I should buy or do?

Cheers and thanks in advance!

 

[afinch1992]

get a usb 3.0 external drive for time machine. better safe than sorry

 

[sydenham]

First of all celebrate. You are going to love the machine. You should definitely get an incase or speck hard cover for the laptop asap to keep it in new condition. Gfx is a great program and it comes in handy for battery life. Bootcamp works great, you may want to use the Nvidia updated graphic drivers. Have fun.

 

[Orlandoech]

Pay the credit card off or reestablish your net savings account.

 

[ryanchan]

get a usb 3.0 external drive for time machine. better safe than sorry

why? does osx crash and lose data easily?

 

[elpek]

why? does osx crash and lose data easily?

No it doesn't crash too often and it's rather stable. Time Machine is just a very good backup solution. People can be divided into two groups - ones that do backups and ones that will start in the future

 

[NutsNGum]

4: Don't pour water on it. Particularly post-midnight.

 

[JGO]

why? does osx crash and lose data easily?

No, OS X does not crash easily and lose data. However, any hard drive (mechanical or ssd) can fail, and it is prudent regularly use either the built in backup software (Time Machine) or an app like SuperDuper! to maintain a backup of your hard drive.

 

[ryanchan]

First of all celebrate. You are going to love the machine. You should definitely get an incase or speck hard cover for the laptop asap to keep it in new condition. Gfx is a great program and it comes in handy for battery life. Bootcamp works great, you may want to use the Nvidia updated graphic drivers. Have fun.

I'm looking into the Terra sleeve by Incase now. Looks good but I'll probably go to the local laptop store to look at alternatives and compare. Hard cover is a no go for me, destroys the aesthetics in my opinion.
Does gfx cause any bugs or glitches?
Where do I get the updated graphics driver from? Does the nvidia site provide it?
Thanks

----------

No, OS X does not crash easily and lose data. However, any hard drive (mechanical or ssd) can fail, and it is prudent regularly use either the built in backup software (Time Machine) or an app like SuperDuper! to maintain a backup of your hard drive.

I am not worried about this because I have my important work files synced to both Google Drive and Box.net
I don't actually store any substantial data on the system disk. Mostly game and program files.
Thanks for the tip though, I understand where you're coming from I've been there myself before

 

[takeshi74]

Just ordered by BTO MBPR-What next?

Wait for it to arrive.

Pouch/case -recommendations?

Highly subjective matter. You need to give people your preferences if you want recommendations as there are countless options out there. What style do you prefer? Aesthetic preferences? How much other stuff are you going to carry along with it? The more info you provide when asking for recommendations on any subjective matter the better the feedback you'll get.

Anyone using gfxCardStatus? Does in really help in terms of battery life and does it conflict with bootcamp and/or the 10.8.2 update?

Integrated typically consumes less power than discrete but at the cost of performance. It's irrelevant for Bootcamp as you won't be running it under Bootcamp. It's not a Windows utility.

Anything else I should buy or do?

Again, subjective. MBP owners aren't all identical. Even rMBP owners aren't all identical. Again, provide more details on yourself and what you're looking to do, etc.

why? does osx crash and lose data easily?

No, it's standard practice for backups in general to not put all your eggs in one basket.

 

[ryanchan]

Wait for it to arrive.


Highly subjective matter. You need to give people your preferences if you want recommendations as there are countless options out there. What style do you prefer? Aesthetic preferences? How much other stuff are you going to carry along with it? The more info you provide when asking for recommendations on any subjective matter the better the feedback you'll get.


Integrated typically consumes less power than discrete but at the cost of performance. It's irrelevant for Bootcamp as you won't be running it under Bootcamp. It's not a Windows utility.


Again, subjective. MBP owners aren't all identical. Even rMBP owners aren't all identical. Again, provide more details on yourself and what you're looking to do, etc.


No, it's standard practice for backups in general to not put all your eggs in one basket.

I will now edit my first post to state my preferences for cases. Thanks

 

[switon]

RE: gfx...

(eliminated)

 

[ryanchan]

Hi,

I've been using gfx on laptops for awhile, currently including the rMBP under 10.8.2, and haven't had any particular problems. I do note that under 10.8.2 the rMBP will switch to the GT 650M card at the drop of a hat, that is, many apps cause the discrete graphics chip to activate. Under typical conditions, this is not normally a problem. But if you can't get to a power outlet for a number of hours and want to maximize your battery life, then it is easy to use gfx for specifying that the internal graphics (Intel HD Graphics 4000) be used instead of the discrete graphics (Nvidia GeForce GT 650M).

Switon

P.S. I would be careful about relying on "cloud" storage only for your backups. A once-a-week Carbon Copy Clone of your SSD to an external USB3 drive is pretty fast and easy.

I also routinely copy my files to an external drive.
Thanks for that input, now I'll surely use gfx when I get my rmbp. Will probably run integrated 24/7 on mac as long as it doesn't lag when video playing or under normal usage. I assume windows 8 under bootcamp will only use discrete graphics, in which case it's all good because I only game under windows.

 

[switon]

Re: Hd 4000...

(taken down)

 

[stevelam]

I also routinely copy my files to an external drive.
Thanks for that input, now I'll surely use gfx when I get my rmbp. Will probably run integrated 24/7 on mac as long as it doesn't lag when video playing or under normal usage. I assume windows 8 under bootcamp will only use discrete graphics, in which case it's all good because I only game under windows.

if you keep the hd4000 running constantly, you will definitely see UI lag. if its your first mac you might not notice. the rmbp is my 3rd mac and i can definitely tell the UI is smoother even on my 2008 macbook.

 

[ryanchan]

if you keep the hd4000 running constantly, you will definitely see UI lag.

is the lag so bad that it's a turn off or is it barely noticeable or only occurs when running intensive apps?

 

[switon]

RE: about that lag...

(removed)

 

[wiznet]

is the lag so bad that it's a turn off or is it barely noticeable or only occurs when running intensive apps?

Barely noticeable in 10.8.1, but I could find it if I looked for it. However, after updating to 10.8.2 most of it is gone completely. The one spot I could really notice it before was when I would swipe with four fingers to go to the dashboard, and back again to the desktop. It would lag a little bit, but not anymore. This is on HD4000.


Can somebody please clarify why gfxCardStatus is so important? Can't you just turn graphics switching off?

 

[ryanchan]

Barely noticeable in 10.8.1, but I could find it if I looked for it. However, after updating to 10.8.2 most of it is gone completely. The one spot I could really notice it before was when I would swipe with four fingers to go to the dashboard, and back again to the desktop. It would lag a little bit, but not anymore. This is on HD4000.


Can somebody please clarify why gfxCardStatus is so important? Can't you just turn graphics switching off?

in the 10.8.2 thread there seems to be quite a number of users experiencing a throttle limit at 1.1ghz due to emi(?) or something. Should the first thing I do after getting the laptop be updating to 10.8.2? There's a fix somewhere in the thread I think but it didn't appear to be that reliable for me.

 

[switon]

RE: Why gfx...?

(removed)

 

[ryanchan]

Hi all,

In my hands, when I switch off the "Automatic graphics switching" in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences, my rMBP 10.8.2 switches from integrated to discrete. Thus with graphics switching turned off, my rMBP uses the discrete graphics chip no matter what apps I'm running. Maybe your rMBP behaves differently?

The gfx app allows me to specify that only the integrated graphics be used, or only the discrete graphics be used, or that dynamic switching between them be allowed. Thus one can save battery life by forcing that integrated graphics be used, say when you don't have access to AC power. Also, having the ability to force the usage of either integrated or discrete allows one to compare these two.

The gfx provides a menu icon that both shows you the current graphics being used as well as allows you to switch modes. It is fairly convenient to use.

These are the reasons for using gfx, in my opinion.

Switon

P.S. ryanchan -- yes, the first thing you should do is update to 10.8.2: it fixes a number of issues, including battery issues, on the rMBP.

got that, is it done directly under itunes or the 'system tab' check for updates thing?

 

[ryanchan]

one more question- under windows I often use standby whtout actually powering down down the laptop itself. Is it advisable/possible to do the same on a mac without any side effects that could be potentially detrimental to the rmbp?
Cheers

 

[Sammio2]

It's absolutely fine to keep your Mac in sleep mode, in fact, you'll find a lot of Mac users who recommend it... Especially with the new retina MBP with the introduction of 'Power Nap' on OS X 10.8 your mac will update mail, calendar, contacts, photo stream, etc while it sleeps. It also backs up to time machine while it's sleeping! Cool huh?

BTW... I've just ordered a rMBP with the exact same spec's as yours. I am very excite!