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MBP advice

R

ryanqc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2012
18
0
Hey guys I've been lurking around the site for quite sometime now and its almost my time to purchase. I'm waiting til July 25th hoping there will be an iMac refresh, if not, I'll be buying a Macbook Pro for now. I've been reading the pro's and con's of the latest Mid 2012's rMBP lately and just wanted to know what are your opinions comparing it against the non-retina Mid 2012 and the October 2011 17"

I was looking into . . .
Mid 2012 rMBP with 2.7ghz + 512gb
Mid 2012 cMBP with 2.7ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay
Oct 2011 cMBP 17" with 2.5ghz or 2.4ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay

All 3 systems are priced fairly the same. Obviously the Oct 2011 is older but I like the bigger real estate screen (that's the only plus really for me). Mid 2012's obviously got the spec bump and USB3. the rMBP 1st generation seems like a hit or miss on quality build and I don't wanna deal with the problems that others are experiencing.

I mainly use Photoshop and Logic (with VST's). I was also thinking about putting Windows on the drive in the optibay as well (to run possibly FL studio and some other work). Let me know what your opinions are, particularly if you had experience with all 3. Thank you
 
ryanqc said:
Hey guys I've been lurking around the site for quite sometime now and its almost my time to purchase. I'm waiting til July 25th hoping there will be an iMac refresh, if not, I'll be buying a Macbook Pro for now. I've been reading the pro's and con's of the latest Mid 2012's rMBP lately and just wanted to know what are your opinions comparing it against the non-retina Mid 2012 and the October 2011 17"

I was looking into . . .
Mid 2012 rMBP with 2.7ghz + 512gb
Mid 2012 cMBP with 2.7ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay
Oct 2011 cMBP 17" with 2.5ghz or 2.4ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay

All 3 systems are priced fairly the same. Obviously the Oct 2011 is older but I like the bigger real estate screen (that's the only plus really for me). Mid 2012's obviously got the spec bump and USB3. the rMBP 1st generation seems like a hit or miss on quality build and I don't wanna deal with the problems that others are experiencing.

I mainly use Photoshop and Logic (with VST's). I was also thinking about putting Windows on the drive in the optibay as well (to run possibly FL studio and some other work). Let me know what your opinions are, particularly if you had experience with all 3. Thank you

I will
Click to expand...

I went from your 3rd option 17 to the retina MBP 16gb. I used both side by side for a while.

Very happy with the retina MBP. No issues and fantastic for photoshop for me.
 
Besides the retina, do you "feel" any differences from either machine?
 
I hope you realize photoshop, logic and fl studio are all gonna look fuzzy and blurry on the RMBP.
 
ryanqc said:
Hey guys I've been lurking around the site for quite sometime now and its almost my time to purchase. I'm waiting til July 25th hoping there will be an iMac refresh, if not, I'll be buying a Macbook Pro for now. I've been reading the pro's and con's of the latest Mid 2012's rMBP lately and just wanted to know what are your opinions comparing it against the non-retina Mid 2012 and the October 2011 17"

I was looking into . . .
Mid 2012 rMBP with 2.7ghz + 512gb
Mid 2012 cMBP with 2.7ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay
Oct 2011 cMBP 17" with 2.5ghz or 2.4ghz configured with 16GB RAM, SSD, and moving HDD to Optibay

All 3 systems are priced fairly the same. Obviously the Oct 2011 is older but I like the bigger real estate screen (that's the only plus really for me). Mid 2012's obviously got the spec bump and USB3. the rMBP 1st generation seems like a hit or miss on quality build and I don't wanna deal with the problems that others are experiencing.

I mainly use Photoshop and Logic (with VST's). I was also thinking about putting Windows on the drive in the optibay as well (to run possibly FL studio and some other work). Let me know what your opinions are, particularly if you had experience with all 3. Thank you

I will
Click to expand...

Honestly I would go with the cMBP due to the fact it can be upgraded and all the problems that existed have been for the majority been corrected. The RMBP just has too many problems currently for me. Also I despise the fact that it is not upgradable and that the battery is glued in. If they correct that then I would consider one. But if that doesn't bother you then I would wait till Apple maybe adresses these issues with the next generation RMBP. I personally would go with the Mid 2012 cMBP 2.7ghz 15" configured with a high res Anti-Glare screen and a aftermarket SSD, RAM (Which is LOT cheaper than Apple charges). Anyways so really it is a question of whether or not you would like a very higher res screen and a thinner design that is not upgradable with lots of problems that will hopefully go away with further updates or in the next generations. Or a stable computer with a inferior screen resolution, upgradability, more ports, dvd, and a non glued in battery. Hope I helped and I hope you are happy with your decision either way and I hope you enjoy it! :)
 
ryanqc said:
Besides the retina, do you "feel" any differences from either machine?
Click to expand...

The retina MBP is really fast and snappy - especially with Mountain Lion.
The clarity of the display is stunning, it really is. I used it next to the 17 (Hi-res antiglare) for a couple if weeks. Then put the 17 away. I pulled out the 17 the other day and the display didn't compare.

As for fuzziness in Photoshop - not where it counts, on the actual images. I've been doing gigapixel panoramas composed of 50 megapixel images, and I've been able to zoom in and out to the get to the finest detail and manipulate and render images quickly.

I think it's really great. I was very wary of switching from the 17" but I haven't regretted it for a moment.

Also less eye strain :)
 
I had a 17" MBP and I don't recommend it, too big a bulky. I don't know what this is about "hit or miss" quality on the rMBP, I have absolutely no complaints about mine. It's the perfect blend of MBP and Air and the display is insane. Oh, and the rMBP runs nice and cool, so you can actually sit it on your lap.

Edit: Forgot to mention, though it's not a huge deal, the speakers on the rMBP are a noticeable improvement as well.
 
Last edited:
M87 said:
I had a 17" MBP and I don't recommend it, too big a bulky. I don't know what this is about "hit or miss" quality on the rMBP, I have absolutely no complaints about mine. It's the perfect blend of MBP and Air and the display is insane. Oh, and the rMBP runs nice and cool, so you can actually sit it on your lap.

Edit: Forgot to mention, though it's not a huge deal, the speakers on the rMBP are a noticeable improvement as well.
Click to expand...

Personally, if Apple made a retina 17 I'd prefer it but he 15 is fine - and I was very reluctant to give up the 17 inch screen size. I didn't find the 17 all that bulky but the retina MBP is amazingly lean and light.

The speakers are pretty good too. The 17 had good speakers for a notebook and these are actually a little bit better in my view or rather hearing.
 
stevelam said:
I hope you realize photoshop, logic and fl studio are all gonna look fuzzy and blurry on the RMBP.
Click to expand...

As I said in another thread, Logic is amply workable at 1920x1200 resolution in the rMBP. To my eyes, the UI elements are really not all that fuzzy, and I really appreciate the extra screen real estate while keeping the 15" form factor. As has been already asked, have you used Logic on the rMBP as of yet?

I haven't used Fruity Loops on the rMBP, though, so I can't speak for it's quality.
 
Are there problems running Windows through BootCamp, Parellels, etc. on the same drive (especially in the case of rMBP)? I mainly considered getting a cMBP just to have the drive in the Optibay to have Windows so I could run FL Studio, mainly to prevent any problems related to partitioning the main drive with OS X.
 
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