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Macbook Pro 2,6 ghz or Macbook Pro Retina Display 2,3 ghz

C

Charlaux

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 30, 2012
93
0
Hi,
I was reading the reviews of Macbook pro retina display 2,3 ghz.From the review http://http://www.pcworld.com/product/1218250/apple_15inch_macbook_pro_with_retina_display23ghz_core_i7_mid_2012.html%3Fp=review of PC World I was completely stunned by the difference.However when It comes to chart table of the official apple store site things get a little bit confusing :D

It will be my very first macbook and I want to buy the one that is better,from the graphics retina seems perfectly fine.While looking to my computer which I have for 4 years,I totally used 109 gb /213 gb and I am not a professional just a regular teen who loves playing games.I do not like war games but like The Sims 3 and Civ like games.

I want to use this computer as much as I can,at least how many years a retina can work smoothly (not perfectly but just in a sense no problems) and a 2,6 ghz ?

I must admit that I like the retina display version,seems to be more impressive and attractive.
Any comments would be appreciated
Regards :p
 
Charlaux said:
Hi,
I was reading the reviews of Macbook pro retina display 2,3 ghz.From the review http://http://www.pcworld.com/product/1218250/apple_15inch_macbook_pro_with_retina_display23ghz_core_i7_mid_2012.html%3Fp=review of PC World I was completely stunned by the difference.However when It comes to chart table of the official apple store site things get a little bit confusing :D

It will be my very first macbook and I want to buy the one that is better,from the graphics retina seems perfectly fine.While looking to my computer which I have for 4 years,I totally used 109 gb /213 gb and I am not a professional just a regular teen who loves playing games.I do not like war games but like The Sims 3 and Civ like games.

I want to use this computer as much as I can,at least how many years a retina can work smoothly (not perfectly but just in a sense no problems) and a 2,6 ghz ?

I must admit that I like the retina display version,seems to be more impressive and attractive.
Any comments would be appreciated
Regards :p
Click to expand...

my uses are just like yours, for fun.

and i have a retina pro.

its worth it, i really love it.

like you said for yourself that you are are not a pro, you will benefit much more from quitter fan, mind blowing display, better speakers, thinner profile than just a slight bump in processor.

my previous laptop was macbook early 2008. it had 2gb ram and core 2 duo which would do still do fine if it didn't broke physically.

both are made from Al and both should be durable, from the specs, 8gb ram and i7 quad is surely to be much more than enough for the years to come for uses like ours.

moreover, retina one has flash storage and no optical drive means absolutely no moving parts(except the now much more better fan) unlike the old one means longer life and much much more durability.(and faster interface too)

the flash storage in retina should be much preferred over 300mhz bump in processor


go for the retina :)
 
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Charlaux said:
I want to use this computer as much as I can,at least how many years a retina can work smoothly (not perfectly but just in a sense no problems) and a 2,6 ghz ?
Click to expand...

I assume you are talking about this 'future-proofing' thing, i.e. how long you can expect your machine to perform adequately in respect to future software.

Let me clear up one popular misbelieve first: the 2.6Ghz CPU is not any 'future-proofer' than the 2.3Ghz one. Any software that pushes 2.3Ghz to its limit (as in, the CPU is too slow to adequately execute the software) will push the limits of the 2.6Ghz one as well. The point of 2.6Ghz CPU is to save you some time if you are performing computationally-intensive tasks like video editing or numerical simulations. Right now, if you run some sort of expensive filter in Photoshop, the 2.3Ghz CPU will take 22 sec and the 2.6Ghz CPU will take 20 sec. Now consider this (hypothetically of course): ten years from now, when we all run around with super-retina displays and simple photos weight more then 100Mb and the filters become extremely advanced, featuring some sort of insane specialized AI algorithms or whatever, the 2.3Ghz CPU could need 5 minutes and the 2.6Ghz one 4 minutes 50 seconds. A big difference on paper, but not that much difference on practice - both will be unbearably slow and obsolete.


Both computers should be good to go for at least 5 years performance-wise, unless some unexpected technological advances will occur. Furthermore, you will see more software taking advantage of the retina features (it is possible to do quite a lot of cool things with it!), so the retina model will only become more fun to use in the future. Drawbacks - less storage space (256Gb SSD) and very expensive repairs. After you warranty runs out in 3 years and something happens to your computer, you are basically screwed.
 
leman said:
After you warranty runs out in 3 years and something happens to your computer, you are basically screwed.
Click to expand...

I don't know, in 3 years we will probably be able to find used parts on eBay if needed. Although replacing the entire mobo if ram dies is less than optimal, I don't think it means the computer is destined for trash heap if it happens post (AppleCare) warranty.
 
golu14 said:
my uses are just like yours, for fun.

and i have a retina pro.

its worth it, i really love it.

like you said for yourself that you are are not a pro, you will benefit much more from quitter fan, mind blowing display, better speakers, thinner profile than just a slight bump in processor.

my previous laptop was macbook early 2008. it had 2gb ram and core 2 duo which would do still do fine if it didn't broke physically.

both are made from Al and both should be durable, from the specs, 8gb ram and i7 quad is surely to be much more than enough for the years to come for uses like ours.

moreover, retina one has flash storage and no optical drive means absolutely no moving parts(except the now much more better fan) unlike the old one means longer life and much much more durability.(and faster interface too)

the flash storage in retina should be much preferred over 300mhz bump in processor


go for the retina :)
Click to expand...

I thought the same too.A last question,will It be released before 28th of July because I'll be leaving that day.Could you give me an NYC Official Adress easy to find retina and to go ? Since there are rumors such as chinise apple.

And for the other two answers,thank you :p But here is a question after warranty ends why am I screwed ?
 
Charlaux said:
And for the other two answers,thank you :p But here is a question after warranty ends why am I screwed ?
Click to expand...

Because the retina MBP is very difficult and expensive to repair. Everything is soldered on-board. If a single electrical component (RAM, CPU, GPU or even a single capacitor somewhere) fails, you will have to replace the entire mainboard with all the expensive components on it. If your SSD fails, you will have to pay Apple lots of money to get a new one (proprietary connector). If there is something wrong with the display, you will have to get a new display assembly. Probably, you are looking at repair bills of around $1000 and more for even trivial things, even if you get a used part as suggested by katmeef above.

Ok, battery replacement is not that bad - $200, and you probably only need to do it once in 4-5 years.

Please note, it is not that much different with the regular MBP in regards to mainboard components failure, but at least replacing storage/RAM/Display/trackpad components etc. is easier on it.

----------
Charlaux said:
I thought the same too.A last question,will It be released before 28th of July because I'll be leaving that day.Could you give me an NYC Official Adress easy to find retina and to go ? Since there are rumors such as chinise apple.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? Retina MBP was released few weeks ago. And you can get it at an Apple store if you are lucky, they are usually sold out in minutes.
 
leman said:
Because the retina MBP is very difficult and expensive to repair. Everything is soldered on-board. If a single electrical component (RAM, CPU, GPU or even a single capacitor somewhere) fails, you will have to replace the entire mainboard with all the expensive components on it. If your SSD fails, you will have to pay Apple lots of money to get a new one (proprietary connector). If there is something wrong with the display, you will have to get a new display assembly. Probably, you are looking at repair bills of around $1000 and more for even trivial things, even if you get a used part as suggested by katmeef above.

Ok, battery replacement is not that bad - $200, and you probably only need to do it once in 4-5 years.

Please note, it is not that much different with the regular MBP in regards to mainboard components failure, but at least replacing storage/RAM/Display/trackpad components etc. is easier on it.

----------



What do you mean? Retina MBP was released few weeks ago. And you can get it at an Apple store if you are lucky, they are usually sold out in minutes.
Click to expand...

So what would you suggest me to do when I buy,I mean It is my only way to go to a retail store so should I go a week ago and then pre-order to there.There is no option to ship,at least for this and I'll be in NYC so I would be pleased If you can tell me a way to buy (%100) a retina from the retail store.:p In Apple store usa It says ships :3-4 weeks
 
I would go with the retina mbp. Its got a great form factor, awesome specs and should easily last 4-5 years if you take care of it. Alternatively, you could sell it in a year when the next revision comes out and only be out a few hundred dollars.
 
Charlaux said:
I thought the same too.A last question,will It be released before 28th of July because I'll be leaving that day.Could you give me an NYC Official Adress easy to find retina and to go ? Since there are rumors such as chinise apple.

And for the other two answers,thank you :p But here is a question after warranty ends why am I screwed ?
Click to expand...

im not sure cuz I'm not in the USA P:
at my place, they are readily available, come here and take one ;)
maybe just call as many stores as you can and ask them?
or just buy it from where ever ur going on 28?

and, if the warranty ends, you are really screwed.
im scared about it myself.
in any computer, RAM is a common component that often fails and needs to be replaced. since the ram is soldered on the logic board in the rMBP, the whole logic board would need to be replaced(logic board includes EVERYTHING inside, including the processor, gpu, ram, even the battery is glued to it!) which would cost a fortune.

also, if your screen cracks, the whole screen thing would be replaced too.


my old early 2008 black macbook had many problems, it had its top case replaced 6+ times, battery once, fan once, logic board once, screen bezel once, and more, also the screen broke which it still is.
everything except the screen was replaced under warranty(credit to the apple engineer who against their policy, covered my water damaged macbook every time!) he told me that a logic board costs 800$ and its screen 900$ normally.

that is awful as even the macbook itself wasn't worth 800+900! lol

i would be definitely getting the applecare sometime in the future.
 
golu14 said:
in any computer, RAM is a common component that often fails and needs to be replaced.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. RAM does not fail any more often than any other component. RAM will fail more often in cheap desktop PCs because of low-quality power convertors.
 
dljeffery said:
Since when?? I've never once had RAM go bad, even on systems that I had for 5+ years.

The battery is not glued to the logic board.
Click to expand...

google it, about macbook ram failure and battery glued in.

----------
leman said:
Nonsense. RAM does not fail any more often than any other component. RAM will fail more often in cheap desktop PCs because of low-quality power convertors.
Click to expand...

google it.
 
dljeffery said:
The iFixIt teardown clearly shows the battery is not glued to the logic board, which is what you claimed.

http://ifixit.org/2753/macbook-pro-with-retina-display-teardown/
Click to expand...

it is to the case, I'm sry there!

And im not saying it is a bad thing, i would not own it myself then.

He asked me why people say that one is screwed if warranty ends, my point was just that the reapirs would be really expensive in case anything, like the ram, goes off.

Not every ram goes off, but its an electronic equipment, anything may go wrong at times. If it did, the whole board would be replaced, which would cost more than just the ram being replaced. Im not against it, im just telling it :)
 
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So in final,what would be your suggestion:D ? And is it really sold out in minutes because that scares me a lot.I cant buy a 3 year warranty because I am in a push it to the limit now :)) Also I remember golu4 saying that he would buy macbook retina so why afterall ? I mean I want to buy retina still so that is why I am digging the answer.

Also If same problem that you described above happens to two computers,what would be the price difference ? I do think that Macbook is more powerful than Asus F8S which ran for 4 years,with problems of courrse but I am typing still from that computer..
 
Last edited:
Charlaux said:
So in final,what would be your suggestion:D ? And is it really sold out in minutes because that scares me a lot.I cant buy a 3 year warranty because I am in a push it to the limit now :)) Also I remember golu4 saying that he would buy macbook retina so why afterall ? I mean I want to buy retina still so that is why I am digging the answer.

Also If same problem that you described above happens to two computers,what would be the price difference ? I do think that Macbook is more powerful than Asus F8S which ran for 4 years,with problems of courrse but I am typing still from that computer..
Click to expand...

I wouldnt buy the retina, i already have it :p

Its better when compared to every laptop that currently exists.
8 gb ram is a lot. Retina mbp maybe prove super expensive if something goes wrong out of warranty, which most probably wont.

Just go for it, dont worry about it going wrong.
Aditional warranty costs 279$ i think, you can education discounts too.
I suggest you to buy warranty later when you can but even if yuo dont, retina wont fail you. Get it. :rolleyes:
 
Charlaux said:
Hi,
I was reading the reviews of Macbook pro retina display 2,3 ghz.From the review http://http://www.pcworld.com/product/1218250/apple_15inch_macbook_pro_with_retina_display23ghz_core_i7_mid_2012.html%3Fp=review of PC World I was completely stunned by the difference.However when It comes to chart table of the official apple store site things get a little bit confusing :D

It will be my very first macbook and I want to buy the one that is better,from the graphics retina seems perfectly fine.While looking to my computer which I have for 4 years,I totally used 109 gb /213 gb and I am not a professional just a regular teen who loves playing games.I do not like war games but like The Sims 3 and Civ like games.

I want to use this computer as much as I can,at least how many years a retina can work smoothly (not perfectly but just in a sense no problems) and a 2,6 ghz ?

I must admit that I like the retina display version,seems to be more impressive and attractive.
Any comments would be appreciated
Regards :p
Click to expand...

i really recommend this, i love playong games like sims 3 on my MCBP with Retina Display, i have all 16 sims' and they run at 60 FPS, its gorgeous
 
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