Need some MBP advice

[Drag'nGT]

Short and to the point...

I want a MBP but can't decide between the regular and retina. I want to hook it up to a 27" NON Apple monitor at 2560 x 1440. Granted there are dozens of rMBP threads and the Anandtech review about Safari in Lion vs ML. So if I missed this forgive me.

How does the GPU in the two models handle an external monitor?
Will the rMBP output 2560 x 1440 over the HDMI?
Would thunderbolt work better for the display connection?
Short of the SSD, is the high end 15" MBP more powerful than the high end rMBP?

I try and keep a computer for ~3yrs before upgrading. I just want to make the best decision for the purchase. Thanks for the help.


Edit: How does the battery hold up when plugged in all the time?
And in case it matters, photography and video editing is what I really use the computer for.

 

[Stetrain]

Short and to the point...
Will the rMBP output 2560 x 1440 over the HDMI?

I think this depends on your specific monitor. I know that some monitors will only accept up to 1920x1200 over HDMI even if their native res is higher.

Would thunderbolt work better for the display connection?

If your monitor has a DisplayPort input you could buy a Mini-Displayport to Displayport cable and plug it into the Thunderbolt port. Apple and others also sell adapters from Mini-Displayport to VGA, DVI, and Dual-Link DVI. Which is best depends on what your monitor supports.

Short of the SSD, is the high end 15" MBP more powerful than the high end rMBP?

Besides the SSD, the hardware is basically identical (Processor, Graphics, RAM, etc.).

 

[Trey M]

The high end for either model is very similar. Only difference is the non-retina model can't be upgraded to 768 GB SSD and 16GB of Ram by Apple. You can easily replace these yourself, though, and you'd save a good amount of money by doing so. But straight from Apple, those are the only areas where the 2 aren't identical.

There wouldn't be any advantage displaying via Thunderbolt than HDMI. And, as long as either laptop can output at 2560x1440, it can do it via HDMI.

With the Retina display turned off, while using your monitor, there will be absolutely no performance difference between the 2 laptops. However, with the Retina display along with the monitor running simultaneously, you might, might notice a small performance difference because the Retina display is so taxing. I would think that you'd only notice a difference doing something very intensive on the graphics card, which would be gaming, etc. However, you wouldn't game with both monitors, most likely. So, in everyday tasks, there isn't any performance advantage between the 2.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Short of the SSD, is the high end 15" MBP more powerful than the high end rMBP?

Specifications are identical, so theoretical maximum performance should be identical.
But if you read this clip from AnandTech's review:

I’ve adjusted the y-axis on the chart to exaggerate the impact here a bit, but you get a clear idea of just how much heat both of these chips were putting out in the 2011 MBP. Either the CPU or GPU (or both) have to be throttled back over time in order to stay within their thermal and power budgets. As a result, in the 2011 15-inch MacBook Pro, performance drops by over 20% over the course of 20 minutes of this test.

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display, on the other hand, remains relatively stable across all runs. While its performance definitely dips, the impact is around 5% off of peak.

Intel and NVIDIA are really to thank here as both Ivy Bridge and Kepler are really mobile focused. Kepler in particular was a dramatic leap forward in power efficiency as we saw from our deep-dive on the architecture. Intel’s 22nm process, while relatively unimpressive on the desktop (a 10W savings isn’t anything to write home about in a tower) makes its first dramatic impact in the next-gen MacBook Pro.

Basically, performance is able to be sustained over a longer period of time while performance drops on the regular Pro because the cooling system isn't able to keep up with the heat being produced, so the CPU/GPU have to be throttled back.

Edit: How does the battery hold up when plugged in all the time?
And in case it matters, photography and video editing is what I really use the computer for.

Don't keep it plugged in every day, drain the battery once in a while (every 2 weeks at minimum maybe?)

 

[Feed Me]

Specifications are identical, so theoretical maximum performance should be identical.
But if you read this clip from AnandTech's review:

Image



Basically, performance is able to be sustained over a longer period of time while performance drops on the regular Pro because the cooling system isn't able to keep up with the heat being produced, so the CPU/GPU have to be throttled back.

yeah but that's the 2011 models he compared against.
2012 models have the same chipset as the rMBP, with the lower TDP, and so may very well be less throttled.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

yeah but that's the 2011 models he compared against.
2012 models have the same chipset as the rMBP, with the lower TDP, and so may very well be less throttled.

Could be, but the cooling system has still been improved which will make a difference, as minor as it may be.

Of course any improvements would be negated with a cheap external laptop cooler.

 

[b0blndsy]

Don't keep it plugged in every day, drain the battery once in a while (every 2 weeks at minimum maybe?)

What is the expected benefit of draining the batt once in a while?

 

[Feed Me]

What is the expected benefit of draining the batt once in a while?

Lithium ion batteries need a bit of constant exercise to keep them in peak condish

 

[Drag'nGT]

Could be, but the cooling system has still been improved which will make a difference, as minor as it may be.

Of course any improvements would be negated with a cheap external laptop cooler.

Do you have anything comparing the two current models? I haven't found anything that really compares the two's performance. I would be interested in seeing the two's thermal footprint and how the computer does/doesn't throttle performance over an hour.

 

[Tombs]

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Do you have anything comparing the two current models? I haven't found anything that really compares the two's performance. I would be interested in seeing the two's thermal footprint and how the computer does/doesn't throttle performance over an hour.

Unfortunately not, I'm only basing my claims based on the comparisons of the Retina Pro v the 2011 Pros from Anandtech and I haven't seen any in-depth reviews of the 2012 Pros yet.