Besides the Retina screen and being slimmer, and the default ssd, is there any other difference compared to regular 15inch MBP? Thanks.
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MBP vs. R MBP: Difference other than screen and size?
- Thread starter legaleye3000
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1GB of video memory on the standard Retina model versus 512MB on the standard 15" non-retina model.
Two Thunderbolt/Mini-Displayports, HDMI port, slightly different Magsafe connector, and a different/improved cooling system.
The Retina MBP has air intake vents under the sides near the front while the non-retina MBP has both intake and exhaust through one vent at the back.
The Retina Macbook Pro also doesn't have a DVD drive or optical audio output, Ethernet, or Firewire without adapters.
Also the RAM is user upgradeable in the non-retina Macbook Pro, but is soldered to the logic board in the Retina model.
Two Thunderbolt/Mini-Displayports, HDMI port, slightly different Magsafe connector, and a different/improved cooling system.
The Retina MBP has air intake vents under the sides near the front while the non-retina MBP has both intake and exhaust through one vent at the back.
The Retina Macbook Pro also doesn't have a DVD drive or optical audio output, Ethernet, or Firewire without adapters.
Also the RAM is user upgradeable in the non-retina Macbook Pro, but is soldered to the logic board in the Retina model.
There are huge differences. The MBP has user replaceable / upgradeable memory, hard drive, battery replacement and is conventional in construction.
The Retina MBP is glued together, literally. The battery is glued in place, the SSD is unlike any other, including connectors, the ram is soldered in place and not user replaceable, etc.
It's built like a disposable product. A throwaway / recycle job if you will.
Their quote: "Retina MacBook Pro is the least repairable laptop ever, says iFixit"
The Retina MBP is glued together, literally. The battery is glued in place, the SSD is unlike any other, including connectors, the ram is soldered in place and not user replaceable, etc.
It's built like a disposable product. A throwaway / recycle job if you will.
Their quote: "Retina MacBook Pro is the least repairable laptop ever, says iFixit"
The Regina MacBook appears to not be as easy to upgrade as the Pro:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_...-macbook-pro-is-the-least-repairable-to-date/
On Apple's site, I see that they both have 1 Thunderbolt port and no HDMI (unless using a thunderbolt/hdmi adapter).
On the regular, yes. On the retina, though...
- 2 Thunderbolt ports (both on left side)
- 2 USB 3/2 ports (1 on each side)
- 1 HDMI port (on right side)
- Headphone jack (on left side)
- SDXC reader (on right side)
The Retina Macbook Pro has two Thunderbolt ports and one HDMI port, you must be on the wrong page:
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
No, they really haven't. USB 3.0 isn't even remotely comparable to ExpressCard. And it's not really a competitor for eSATA, either.
Look, I know people like Apple. Heck, I mostly like Apple. But this thing of insisting that anything Apple didn't include must be worthless, and that USB is somehow a replacement for high-performance buses and interfaces, is ridiculous. USB is not a credible alternative to any of FireWire, eSATA, or ExpressCard. It cannot do what they can do. It does not replace them. It does not provide functional alternatives to them. It's a suitable way to attach a lot of things where performance isn't important.
But Thunderbolt is and does. Thunderbolt is external PCI-Express. The Retina Macbook Pro has four usable lanes, 10GB/s bidirectional per lane. That means that between the two ports there's a total of 80GB/s of aggregate bandwidth available.
Yes it's still an early technology, but it is technically capable of handling all of those things you have mentioned.
thunderbolt covers what ExpressCard used to do. It's just a matter of the old expresscard accessories coming out in thunderbolt versions now.
I'm a big fan of firewire though. Sad that's gone, and regulated out to an adapter
Only very very approximately. It's at least comparable in bandwidth, but... Form factor and supplied power are also issues.
And not all of them will.
I am coming to admit that I need to either become okay with Hackintosh, or stop using Macs as my primary machines. I am no longer in Apple's target market, at all. I was always on the "it's nice, but couldn't it be a little more flexible and powerful?" side of the curve anyway. Now that their highest end machines have less functionality, and they're not even providing thunderbolt on the Mac Pro, or any way to get high-res non-glossy screens... I think it's over.
Which is a shame, because I really like OS X, but I can't use it without computers that at least make a vague effort in the direction of being aimed at people who couldn't get by just fine with an iPad.
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That's true! Unfortunately, none of the stuff that would be needed for me to be able to actually use it exists. Or it does, but costs many hundreds of dollars and is large and impractical; see, for instance, the $600+ PCIe cages Sonnet sells.
So yes, Thunderbolt could be a real replacement for some of what I need, but it won't be for a long time yet, and it's quite possible that some specific things (like thunderbolt->SCSI adapters) will simply never come to exist at all.
The cynical part of me is inclined to believe that the non-upgradable nature of the rMBP is a deliberate rather then necessary move which continues their trend towards completely sealed machines.
I shudder to think how much a replacement motherboard will cost 4 years down the line should a single component fail inside...
I shudder to think how much a replacement motherboard will cost 4 years down the line should a single component fail inside...
I can put an USB 3.0 card in an ExpressCard slot. I cannot put an ExpressCard in a USB 3.0 port.
An eSATAp port is a combo eSATA/USB port with power.
USB is 5 Gbps, FW is 800 Mbps, and Expresscard eSata is 2.5 Gbps isn't it? Other then the peripherals already in place for the legacy ports, USB can definitely replace them, not immediately but when peripherals arrive. Nobody HAS to get a new mbp right now either.
You're on the site and can't tell the difference? Oh if only they had a Compare Mac Notebooks section on there!!!!
I don't know how this devolved into an ExpressCard debate, but Thunderbolt can definitely replace expresscard:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echoexpresscard34thunderbolt.html#
Even the more expensive model which less you use ExpressCard 2.0 cards is under $170.
In fact, with the new Retina MBP, you can have two of those adapters now.
Did expresscard drive enough power to not require external AC adapters on many accessories? That is nice, I'll admit.
But I don't see how form factor is an issue. Instead of needing a large card input, there's the small thunderbolt cable. Seems like a step up in that regard to me.
True, but at the same time, it opens up the market to totally new solutions, because throughput and daisy chaining are all more capable with thunderbolt than expresscard. Most anything you could conceivably need, at least for video editing, seems to be available with thunderbolt. There's also the new all in one style docks that add tons more ports, etc, and some that even offer external processing units to handle the heavy lifting when the laptop alone isn't enough.
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...what? I'm not understanding what this statement is supposed to mean
Thunderbolt adapters dangle. There are ExpressCards which fit flush.
Even if not flush, ExpressCards do not dangle.
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That might be portable, but it's not a mobile setup.
Oh I see what you're trying to say. You're thinking about an expresscard accessory as a more permanent addition to the machine. I guess I never thought of it in that way
MagSafe 2 = Planned Obsolescence
Why change the MagSafe Connector in the first place?
The "MagSafe 2" is a _prime_ example of Apple simply changing things (yet again) for no need whatsoever. The 1st generation MagSafe is _exactly_ the same height of a normal USB port, and Apple has included several USB ports on their new machines (right next to the power supply), so why do we need a "thinner and longer" power connector anyhow?
All this will do is make your previously-purchased power connectors incompatible (without using the new $10. adapter). Remember: the MAIN DRAWBACK in the first place is when it's tugged just a bit too hard it comes undone! Same thing when accidentally pressed against your legs! Now add an extra 1/2" adapter onto the setup and I'll bet it comes undone more often than it stays put! I ask you: "Why?"
Why has the form factor been changed at all? Standard USB is _exactly_ the same height as the existing MagSafe, and they didn't change those (to mini or micro) so it can't be an issue of "height"...
This is yet another example of Apple changing things simply to make their products incompatible with older generations. It's called "planned obsolescence", and was pioneered by the auto industry. I own at least six power adapters, and now they're all useless without a $10. adapter? WHY? Also add non-upgradeable memory (and internal storage), and you have the least-upgradeable MBP Apple has ever made in it's entire history!
I have a 2008 MBP that has ALL necessary connections built right into the machine itself (with no adapters necessary): MagSafe, Ethernet (a _must have_), dual USB 2's, FW800, FW400, full-size DVI, discreet headphone & microphone input (both optically compatible), plus a PCI card slot that I use as a multi-card slot (which for $20. reads SD, MemoryStick, and more), PLUS an 18x SuperDrive. Similar battery life and a REAL (not chicklet) backlit keyboard round out what I personally would call a _real road warrior_!!! No adapters necessary (even though Apple included DVI to VGA for free)...
What more could you _possibly_ ask for in a portable? This latest MBP is _not_ an "upgrade", it's a regression. This is only a way for Apple to suck more money out of your pockets. If only Steve were still alive today, he'd probably be rolling over about right now... All of this has happened over just the past 4 years? "25% thinner and a faster processor with very few ports"-- Are you kidding me? This is a radical "improvement" that somehow makes up for everything else we've lost in the transition?
Call me "Old-School", but I want my "Swiss Army Knife" of an Apple MBP back!!!
__________________
Make love, not war....
Why change the MagSafe Connector in the first place?
The "MagSafe 2" is a _prime_ example of Apple simply changing things (yet again) for no need whatsoever. The 1st generation MagSafe is _exactly_ the same height of a normal USB port, and Apple has included several USB ports on their new machines (right next to the power supply), so why do we need a "thinner and longer" power connector anyhow?
All this will do is make your previously-purchased power connectors incompatible (without using the new $10. adapter). Remember: the MAIN DRAWBACK in the first place is when it's tugged just a bit too hard it comes undone! Same thing when accidentally pressed against your legs! Now add an extra 1/2" adapter onto the setup and I'll bet it comes undone more often than it stays put! I ask you: "Why?"
Why has the form factor been changed at all? Standard USB is _exactly_ the same height as the existing MagSafe, and they didn't change those (to mini or micro) so it can't be an issue of "height"...
This is yet another example of Apple changing things simply to make their products incompatible with older generations. It's called "planned obsolescence", and was pioneered by the auto industry. I own at least six power adapters, and now they're all useless without a $10. adapter? WHY? Also add non-upgradeable memory (and internal storage), and you have the least-upgradeable MBP Apple has ever made in it's entire history!
I have a 2008 MBP that has ALL necessary connections built right into the machine itself (with no adapters necessary): MagSafe, Ethernet (a _must have_), dual USB 2's, FW800, FW400, full-size DVI, discreet headphone & microphone input (both optically compatible), plus a PCI card slot that I use as a multi-card slot (which for $20. reads SD, MemoryStick, and more), PLUS an 18x SuperDrive. Similar battery life and a REAL (not chicklet) backlit keyboard round out what I personally would call a _real road warrior_!!! No adapters necessary (even though Apple included DVI to VGA for free)...
What more could you _possibly_ ask for in a portable? This latest MBP is _not_ an "upgrade", it's a regression. This is only a way for Apple to suck more money out of your pockets. If only Steve were still alive today, he'd probably be rolling over about right now... All of this has happened over just the past 4 years? "25% thinner and a faster processor with very few ports"-- Are you kidding me? This is a radical "improvement" that somehow makes up for everything else we've lost in the transition?
Call me "Old-School", but I want my "Swiss Army Knife" of an Apple MBP back!!!
__________________
Make love, not war....
