[Q] Is it now worth it to get a 13' rMBP?

R

raptor22

macrumors newbie
Hello everyone, first post here so do pardon me if I missed out something on other threads.

I've been a long time Windows user but over the years I have been exposed to my friends using Mac OS X and have been tempted to jump ship. My main question is: Is it the right time now and how is the 2013 13' rMBP holding up?

Now, being in the MBP section, and as seen in the title, I'm considering the 13' rMBP 2.4GHz/8GB/256GB. I wanted to go for my first Mac last year when Apple released the 2012 13' rMBP, but seeing how it may not meet my usage (explained below) and the fact that the price would drop this year (which it did), I decided to hold out for Haswell knowing that it would bring about stronger GPU performance, better battery and thermals, as well as some nice improvements (PCIe SSD etc.) Now I face the same dilemma as to whether I should hold out for Broadwell, knowing that it would also improve power consumption as well as GPU performance.

Here is my usage scenario:
- Lots of web browsing and watching YouTube videos (preferably with Chrome)
- A significant amount of time on handling Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations
- Quite a fair bit of file management and running development software, as I'm into developing Android (forgive me for saying this in an Apple forum LOL)
- Will occasionally boot into Windows for some gaming on Steam (CoD: Ghosts, F1 2013 and Command and Conquer), which is why I skipped last year's rMBP as HD4000 doesn't cut it


Other questions (would be great if current owners of the 2013 13' rMBP could chip in)

- Probably a dumb one but..... How is the transition from Windows to OS X?
- How is the Iris GPU holding up, both in terms of day to day use and gaming (in Windows)
- How is the battery holding up if I were to Boot Camp into Windows 8.1, and browse the web (nothing too intensive basically)
- Is Office 2011 on Mac a big step back than in Windows?
- And lastly, is worth it to get this year's model or wait for Broadwell (hell, Skylake?)

Some further things:
- I know some of you guys may be telling me to go for the 15' instead, but its footprint is too big and it exceeds my budget, plus I will probably under-utilize the quad core chip, so no point for me to get it

Thanks for reading and hope to have some experiences and tips from the Mac side of things.
 
raptor22 said:
Hello everyone, first post here so do pardon me if I missed out something on other threads.

I've been a long time Windows user but over the years I have been exposed to my friends using Mac OS X and have been tempted to jump ship. My main question is: Is it the right time now and how is the 2013 13' rMBP holding up?

Now, being in the MBP section, and as seen in the title, I'm considering the 13' rMBP 2.4GHz/8GB/256GB. I wanted to go for my first Mac last year when Apple released the 2012 13' rMBP, but seeing how it may not meet my usage (explained below) and the fact that the price would drop this year (which it did), I decided to hold out for Haswell knowing that it would bring about stronger GPU performance, better battery and thermals, as well as some nice improvements (PCIe SSD etc.) Now I face the same dilemma as to whether I should hold out for Broadwell, knowing that it would also improve power consumption as well as GPU performance.

Here is my usage scenario:
- Lots of web browsing and watching YouTube videos (preferably with Chrome)
- A significant amount of time on handling Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations
- Quite a fair bit of file management and running development software, as I'm into developing Android (forgive me for saying this in an Apple forum LOL)
- Will occasionally boot into Windows for some gaming on Steam (CoD: Ghosts, F1 2013 and Command and Conquer), which is why I skipped last year's rMBP as HD4000 doesn't cut it


Other questions (would be great if current owners of the 2013 13' rMBP could chip in)

- Probably a dumb one but..... How is the transition from Windows to OS X?
- How is the Iris GPU holding up, both in terms of day to day use and gaming (in Windows)
- How is the battery holding up if I were to Boot Camp into Windows 8.1, and browse the web (nothing too intensive basically)
- Is Office 2011 on Mac a big step back than in Windows?
- And lastly, is worth it to get this year's model or wait for Broadwell (hell, Skylake?)

Some further things:
- I know some of you guys may be telling me to go for the 15' instead, but its footprint is too big and it exceeds my budget, plus I will probably under-utilize the quad core chip, so no point for me to get it

Thanks for reading and hope to have some experiences and tips from the Mac side of things.
Click to expand...

I run the same computer / configuration you are looking at. I also had the late 2012 version. Both handled everything you mention and more. I run Parallels on mine with office 2010 and 2011 (Mac) along with Photoshop. If you're patient, you may find another sales over the holidays. I got my newest one during a Best Buy elite member private sale in late November for $1299 $200 off. They are running the stripped down unit for $1098 on Black Friday but 128 GB SSD is going to prove small for most unless you keep all files in the cloud. I should not the new one is just a tad faster and lighter than the 2012. Hope that helps!
 
It's all about whether you need it now. Sure, you could wait for Broadwell. But then that's another year without a Mac. There was absolutely no way I would have been able to wait another year, let alone another month.

It sounds like you want it and that the Haswell rMBP would more than meet your needs. Broadwell isn't going to bring any significant performance increase that you're going to notice.

There has honestly never been a better time to buy a the rMBP, especially the 13". All my concerns were fixed with the Haswell release. Go for it if that's what you want.
 
1. Once you go to Mac OS X, you will be disgusted by Windows. I just moved to Mac 3 weeks ago, and I just can't stand Windows anymore. In regards to the transition, it will be a little bit weird to use Mac OS X in the beginning, but once you embrace and appreciate the features it has, it will be completely natural. It mostly takes 1-2 weeks to get settled.

2. The Iris graphics will be enough for daily use. Gaming on Windows is a mixed bag. You will most likely be playing at 1280x800. Some games will play, some will refuse since it lacks a dedicated graphics card.

3. I mostly use my MacBook Pro plugged in, but it will probably be 6-8 hours at best. Windows power management is worse than Mavericks.

4. Office 2011 for Mac is good enough, but it is not better or even close to Office for Windows. Microsoft just doesn't update Office for Mac that much these days. (No surprise there...) Also, if Office 2014 for Mac comes out (if ever), than I would take that. But for now, Office 2010 or Office 2013 is much better.

(I would also suggest Parallels to use your Boot Camp partition and run Windows and Mac OS X side-by-side. Rebooting all the time may be a pain... Of course don't do this when you are playing games.)

5. Since something new is always coming, I never wait for something if you need it. Broadwell and Skylake will provide better battery life and of course better performance per watt. But Haswell is enough for you and most other people. So don't wait.

And I have the 13-inch as well, so yeah...
 
I'm looking at the same mbp you are and I too wonder if I should wait for the next release but not to buy, to wait and see what kind of deals they'll be offering on the late2013 when its little brother ia born ;)
 
raptor22 said:
Thanks to all those who replied. Just snagged a rMBP 2.4/8/256 and its working great so far
Click to expand...

I got the same configuration last week. I am in a very similar situation. I have been a windows user since 3.0 and have never owned a Mac. I have owned nearly a dozen iOS devices and finally made the switch. I am very pleased, the retina MacBook Pro is a beautiful piece of hardware, thin and very powerful.

I am running windows 8.1 and Office 2013 on Fusion. It runs great but just isn't pretty like the native retina Mavericks.

I plan on trying to use pages and numbers as much as possible. I considered Mac office 2011 but already had licenses for windows and Office 2013 so decided to try Fusion.
 
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