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Retina Hardly Noticeable

I'm currently considering a $2000 MBP with matte display, maybe $2300 for an SSD and RAM upgrade. A comparable rMBP would cost upwards of $3000, and I too am having trouble deciding which to get.

There's an ongoing thread about people who chose to get cMBP over a rMBP, and not a single person regrets their cMBP purchase. At this point, I feel like I'm donating $700 to Apple so I can say I got the "thinnest", but I don't really get anything for it except the inability to upgrade my own computer.

Thoughts?
 
I am in a similar boat. looking at a 6 mth old 13 "MBP that has a had a 1TB HD and 16Gb ram, includes Office for mac and windows 7 for $1200 AUD. Or spend $1864 for a new 13" MBPr 8gb 256gb and then office and windows 7 on top, and a dvd drive?

$1,100 more just for retina and a bit lighter. i don't know?
 
I too was one of those what is the big deal with this expensive screen?
I ended up getting the 15 in retina because my 2011 13in macbook air had too little ram. So I had both to compare to compare and use.
Oh my...now I TOTALLY agree. I have a hard time going back to MBA due to eyestrain.
You really due appreciate it more you use it.
It is by far the best computer, laptop machine I have ever had.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I'm currently considering a $2000 MBP with matte display, maybe $2300 for an SSD and RAM upgrade. A comparable rMBP would cost upwards of $3000, and I too am having trouble deciding which to get.

There's an ongoing thread about people who chose to get cMBP over a rMBP, and not a single person regrets their cMBP purchase. At this point, I feel like I'm donating $700 to Apple so I can say I got the "thinnest", but I don't really get anything for it except the inability to upgrade my own computer.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I am very thankful to have my cMBP. Got a 2012 refurb through Apple, and couldn't be happier with it. Got my SSD installed and my Corsair 16 gb RAM ready to install. I'm looking at my screen now, as I have done since my first MBP in 2009, and it looks just fine. Paying $1269.00 plus tax was high enough for me. Apple makes a fine 13" cMBP.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I'm currently considering a $2000 MBP with matte display, maybe $2300 for an SSD and RAM upgrade. A comparable rMBP would cost upwards of $3000, and I too am having trouble deciding which to get.

There's an ongoing thread about people who chose to get cMBP over a rMBP, and not a single person regrets their cMBP purchase. At this point, I feel like I'm donating $700 to Apple so I can say I got the "thinnest", but I don't really get anything for it except the inability to upgrade my own computer.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm one of those who recently got the cMBP (15", $1450 open box at Best Buy) and chose it over the retina.

I immediately went home and upgraded the ram to 16 gigs, installed my audio programs, and have been incredibly happy since =D.

However I only do audio work on it, not graphical. I calibrated the screen, and think it looks incredible now (it was washed out initially).

The only thing I'd trade it for is a retina 15" with 16 gigs and at least 500gigs disk drive - but I'd much rather have the difference in money in my bank account =D.

I figure I'll get retina next upgrade cycle (3-5 years) when it's hopefully cheaper or upgradable.

Too happy with the 15" right now to make the sacrifices retina requires currently.
 
Coming from a 2010 MacBook Pro, the difference is HUGE. Performance, Speed, Display, and overall quality. I'm not afraid to open things or even wait for crap to load anymore.
 
I got the rMBP because I figured wth, I'm paying a ton of money anyway may as well put up the extra $350 premium price on for the retina. I like the thinness of the unit over the cMBP and if I had bought the non retina I would of been spending the extra money for SSD so I actually came out right about where I would of.
 
skysailing said:
Coming from a 2010 MacBook Pro, the difference is HUGE. Performance, Speed, Display, and overall quality. I'm not afraid to open things or even wait for crap to load anymore.
Click to expand...

2012 cMBP pretty speedy with ram upgrade and SSD + high speed internet. How fast is fast? I"ll do a retina on the next go around. I have my 2012 Mustang GT to keep me speedy for now. :)
 
Sean76 said:
lol...I was kind of defending your statement, in case you didn't notice!

However..If you want to bring money into the convo (thread) that's a whole different ball game my friend!

IMHO, and this is me being brutally honest...If someone doesn't have the money they shouldn't be looking at Apple lap tops. There are tons of well priced lap tops out there that have really good screens...Take the entry level Asus zen for instance.

Apple in due time will end up going all Retina across the board.
Click to expand...

I would have purchased a Retina had there not been so many issues and a lack of upgrade-ability.

thejadedmonkey said:
I'm currently considering a $2000 MBP with matte display, maybe $2300 for an SSD and RAM upgrade. A comparable rMBP would cost upwards of $3000, and I too am having trouble deciding which to get.

There's an ongoing thread about people who chose to get cMBP over a rMBP, and not a single person regrets their cMBP purchase. At this point, I feel like I'm donating $700 to Apple so I can say I got the "thinnest", but I don't really get anything for it except the inability to upgrade my own computer.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

That was the main deciding factor for me. I needed the Nvidia 650M GPU with 1GB VRAM, not 512MB, and that automatically jacks up the price for both cMBP and rMBP. I also liked the idea up upgrading to 16GB at my own leasure, for only $80-$100. By the time I were to order a rMBP with 16GB RAM and the 1GB GPU, I was looking at almost $3,000. On top of that, the rMBPs are a first gen product with a lot of problems/issues.

Robster3 said:
I am in a similar boat. looking at a 6 mth old 13 "MBP that has a had a 1TB HD and 16Gb ram, includes Office for mac and windows 7 for $1200 AUD. Or spend $1864 for a new 13" MBPr 8gb 256gb and then office and windows 7 on top, and a dvd drive?

$1,100 more just for retina and a bit lighter. i don't know?
Click to expand...

That's basically what it comes down to. I mean, of course the Retina screen is better. But not that much better. Certainly not $1,100 better.

skysailing said:
Coming from a 2010 MacBook Pro, the difference is HUGE. Performance, Speed, Display, and overall quality. I'm not afraid to open things or even wait for crap to load anymore.
Click to expand...

A rMBP will not have more performance or speed than a cMBP. In fact, one could argue it has slightly less due to the fact that the GPU has to work harder to render the higher resolution screen, especially when gaming or doing video/graphic intensive processes.

EDIT: I misinterpreted that. I thought you were comparing rMBPs to current cMBPs.
 
xShane said:
That's basically what it comes down to. I mean, of course the Retina screen is better. But not that much better. Certainly not $1,100 better.

the only problem the deal is on ebay and they want a bank transfer only, so the $1100 is looking better.
Click to expand...
 
At its default setting (best for retina), the screen on both the regular MBP (cMBP) and the retina MBP (rMBP) are displaying the same scaling- 1440 x 900. While the rMBP pixel is twice as dense as the cMBP- 220 pixel per inch (ppi) versus 110ppi, you're probably not seeing the true capability of the rMBP until you:

- use apps like Aperture or Lightroom and use them to look at high resolution images

- when you use different scaling on the rMBP- at 1920 x 1200, you'll be amaze at the resolving power of the rMBP. While you can get high res screen for the cMBP, the limit is at 1680 x 1050.

- comparing 1680 x 1050 on the two laptops. While the scaling is useable on the cMBP (or what's the point of offering it), you'll see more pixelation than you would on the rMBP. In fact I've run the rMBP at its fullest resolution, 2880 x 1800. Here's the screen grabs:

8538783606_8489e83127_o.jpg


8538783646_0d28856134_o.jpg


This is on a 15.4" screen. Consider the fact that the highest resolution 16:10 27" IPS screen is "only" 2560 x 1440.
 
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I'll agree that the difference between the cMBP and rMBP isn't really noticeable up front. However. it's when you go back to a non-Retina screen that you'll notice the difference, because you'll start noticing things on that cMBP screen that you didn't notice/took for granted before. Like some others have said, the rMBP actually uses pixel doubling so that by default the rMBP screen elements (icons, menu bar, etc) are the same size as they are on the classic models. But if you go into the display settings and bump up the resolution, you'll really start to notice the difference. And if you put some photos on screen that can take full advantage of the retina's resolution, they will pop on the screen.
 
I see my retina screen as a huge benefit. Some just don't have the eye for details like sharper text. I notice it all, and it blends in very well. Huge difference IMO
 
I'm the opposite, I can't stand non-Retina displays after having owned a Retina for a month. Typical LCD screens look terrible to me now.
 
xShane said:
Robster3 said:
You should look for a refurb from Apple's official online store. You can save a lot there.
Click to expand...

Just won a Brand new unopened 15" MBPr 2.3 Ghz 8GB 256GB on ebay for $1575 AUD. BARGAIN of the year i reckon. Apple refurb are $1999 here.
New 2.4 are $2499. Even JBhifi retailer were $2370 for a 2.3.

Lets hope the screen is good. Worst case it will be back on ebay for a $300 profit lol.
Click to expand...
 
swerve147 said:
I'm the opposite, I can't stand non-Retina displays after having owned a Retina for a month. Typical LCD screens look terrible to me now.
Click to expand...

Agreed 110%.

IPS Panel, increased screen real estate,reduced glare, sharpness of fonts and incredible beauty of pictures makes the retina a non-brainer.

Side by Side comparison between 13 cMBP and 13 rMBP for similar hardware (8 GIG ram and 128 GIG SSD) is 1499 vs 1499. So unless you are required to read and write optical discs for a living, it seems to be a no brainer to get the 13 rMBP.

Comparing the 15" makes even less sense, the same equipped cMBP is 100$ more expensive than the Retina brother (while the Retina even has 100mhz faster CPU and 512m more Video Ram). Even if you bring your own 3rd party supplies and upgrade the cMBP with memory and a fast SSD, the price difference is only like 200$ at most. 200$ for a far superior screen, that's best case scenario for your comparisons.

I cannot understand why we are even debating this.
 
mykem said:
At its default setting (best for retina), the screen on both the regular MBP (cMBP) and the retina MBP (rMBP) are displaying the same scaling- 1440 x 900. While the rMBP pixel is twice as dense as the cMBP- 220 pixel per inch (ppi) versus 110ppi, you're probably not seeing the true capability of the rMBP until you:

- use apps like Aperture or Lightroom and use them to look at high resolution images

- when you use different scaling on the rMBP- at 1920 x 1200, you'll be amaze at the resolving power of the rMBP. While you can get high res screen for the cMBP, the limit is at 1680 x 1050.

- comparing 1680 x 1050 on the two laptops. While the scaling is useable on the cMBP (or what's the point of offering it), you'll see more pixelation than you would on the rMBP. In fact I've run the rMBP at its fullest resolution, 2880 x 1800. Here's the screen grabs:

Image

Image

This is on a 15.4" screen. Consider the fact that the highest resolution 16:10 27" IPS screen is "only" 2560 x 1440.
Click to expand...

Love your wallpaper!!!
 
xShane said:
A rMBP will not have more performance or speed than a cMBP. In fact, one could argue it has slightly less due to the fact that the GPU has to work harder to render the higher resolution screen, especially when gaming or doing video/graphic intensive processes.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. In fact, retina is faster (at least if we are talking about computation-intensive stuff). Its RAM is faster (soldered RAM is optimised to the extreme) and the dedicated GPU is factory-overclocked. Games are not a problem as long as you select appropriate resolution.
 
use a retina for a month. use no other screen. then jump onto a non retina laptop and youll swear you have cataracts. its not opinion. if you place two identical pages of text on a screen, one retina, the other regular.. and you cant see a major difference, you are either lying or have extremely bad eyesight. i have been using my retina macbook solely for about 4 months. i bought a thunderbolt display for it and almost fell out of my chair. it looked so bad and pixelated it took me four days to readjust to how non retina looks on my mac.

this thread reminds me of when the iPad came out with retina and people were calling it a marketing scam, and that there was no difference. the retina screen is the best thing ive ever seen. i am far from a fanboy and trust me, apple does plenty of things that i consider marketing "magic" but the retina is hands down one of the most remarkable displays i have ever seen. as i said, for people like you glancing at a screen on display wont do it. use it for three weeks and youll kick yourself for it, because youll never be able to go back.
 
Hey, there's people who gladly settle for the v6 models that are 'good enough' of sports sedans when there's twin turbo v8 models that cost much more, but are much faster and sound so much better. To each their own I guess. If you're not editing pictures or text for hours on end, then you're not going to get the difference. The less glare, better color, superior viewing angles, the ability to see the acuity much better on my D800 pics makes a retina display a no-brainer. If you're a youtube/facebook user, guess it really doesn't make as big of a difference.
 
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