OK, I went to the Apple store today and checked it out and I think it's something I can live with...
. It seemed like a very solid, well built machine with a lot of upgrade possibilities including adding a 2nd internal storage disk. I also like the Thunderbolt port for future options.
Just as a stock machine it seemed very responsive...I can just imagine what and SSD upgrade would do for performance!
While I was there I looked at a 15" rMBP and I can honestly say that I wasn't really that impressed...maybe I'm missing something.
What are the best options for a Windows 7 / 8 install...Boot Camp, parallels, vmware?
262Runnr,
You're dead right that this is a very solid and well built machine. I got a very favourable tax refund this year, so I decided it was time to replace my Windows 7 laptop, so I bought one (The 13" MBP - MD102X/A - 2.9Ghz i7 - 8Gb RAM - 750Gb HDD) about two weeks ago and so far I have nothing but praise for it, although, I'm not sure that we as Apple "Fan-Boy" types, are all together that subjective when it comes to our reviews of our recently purchased said Apple products... I'm sure the $1500.00 I paid for it is making me look at it through more-rose-coloured-glasses than I would normally!! In saying that though, this thing is extremely portable and FAST, FAST, FAST!! The display resolution is not an issue for me at all, but I can see why it would affect those working with high-res photos and video. I would suggest that the 15" would be a better choice as the 13" screen is a little limiting as far as physical screen size, rather than resolution, when working on photos. I am used to working on a 21.5" iMac so I guess I'm a little spoilt in expecting the experience to be comparable on a 13" notebook.
I too was pretty impressed with the specs of the new rMBP, but a few calculations on what it would cost by the time I spec'd it up to where I would be happy, and it became all too clear that this was going to run me close to $4000.00 including the Apple Care!! (Which you'd be insane not to buy on a machine costing this much!!) Another negative was that there is pretty much a zero upgrade path (Other than adding more RAM I think?) with most of the components not being user-serviceable. I think that the rMBP display is absolutely beautiful, however, my new 13" MBP still craps all over anything else I've ever had before. It's got an awesome display, and whilst the price of SSD storage is still rather steep I'm happy to sacrifice a good deal of performance for extra disk space and run with the stock platter based 750GB HDD untill such a time as the price for SSD is a bit more attractive. As much as Apple wants to push us towards the iCloud, I still prefer to store locally where possible.
I looked at many options, including the new MacBook Air's, and a few of the "Ultra-Books" and price wise the ALL came in around the same price for similarly spec'd machines. I got the best deal from JB HiFi at Parramatta (Sydney Australia) at $1500.00AU which was $189.00 cheaper than from buying directly from the Australian Apple store. We tend to pay a lot more here in Australia than you U.S. guys for some reaso, but at any cost I reckon you're going to do better in the long run with Apple gear and I strongly believe that you do get what you pay for!!
My honest opinion is that you won't be dissappointed with the MD102X/A, no matter how fussy you are. I believe there are many rumors flying around that Apple will shortly release a 13" rMBP, but I assume that if that is true, the upgrade path on that one will be even smaller than the 15" rMBP. I'm looking at my new MBP as a long term portable device, so I'll probably buy the Apple Care warranty just to ensure that nothing happensto it for at least 3 years, and by then I'll probably have the cash and be ready to upgrade to a new rMBP!!
P.S. Bootcamp works well, but why would anybody want to tarnish their beautiful new Mac but running buggy old Windows software on it...??
