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Retina Hardly Noticeable
- Thread starter xShane
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This is getting ridiculous. At first it was interesting to hear the differences/benefits/drawbacks between the screens, the original point of this thread(which I am now starting to doubt). However the back and forth that has ensued is quite annoying.
OP we realize that you feel the retina screen is not worth it/hardly noticeable and to others it is the exact opposite. Neither will convince each other, and that should be the end of it.
You realize that xShane isn't bumping his own thread, right? I find it annoying when people outright put down the rMBP for seemingly no good reason, but it's equally annoying when people who purchased the rMBP seemingly get insulted and feel the need to insult anyone who questions the system. Neither side needs to reply here, but they do - and it keeps this thread going.
To set the record straight, I don't "put down" the rMBP. It's still a great machine. Now obviously if I had an extra grand to throw down I probably would have got a maxed out rMBP with 16GB RAM. Unfortunately, that's not always the case for most people.
And I do see one benefit to the rMBP: Higher resolution = more screen real estate.
Regardless, again, both the cMBP and rMBP are great machines. But to most people, money is in some way a restriction. If I *only* wanted a Mac with 8GB RAM, I most likely would have gotten the rMBP. However, by the time you buy a rMBP with 16GB RAM (since what you buy is what you get; there's no changing later), the price is *much* higher. That being said, I wasn't prepared to spend that much more money on a machine, when the only real benefit is the screen.
EDIT/ADDITIONAL INFO: By the time I specced a rMBP 15" with the Nvidia w/ 1GB VRAM and maxed out 16GB RAM, I was looking at $800 more in price. That's not even counting taxes. To be fair, I could probably subtract roughly $200 for the price of a SSD, but even then, that's $600 more, with the only benefit being the screen. Yes, the Retina screen may technically be better. However, no, I will not pay $600 for a better screen. $600 can get me a lot farther than a better screen on my laptop, especially since I have absolutely no problems/complaints with my cMBP screen.
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Make a statement that doesn't contribute, about how you think it's ridiculous.
Nice "logic".
The retina display is unlike any other laptop monitor. Let's look past the incredibly crisp text, the ability to work at simulated 1920x1200 and still have very clear detail, and all the other things you saw at Bestbuy.
It has versatility that no other laptop display has ever enjoyed. You can play games or watch movies at NON-NATIVE resolutions with good results.
Since the beginning of mainstream LCD monitors (you know, back in the day of 15" LCD monitors that were $400 and ran 1024x768 with a 25ms response time and ghosts everywehere.. oh and the dead pixels!!!) there has been a rule - you can not run a screen at anything other than native res, or it will look terrible. This had not been the case with CRTs which could perfectly render most resolutions, up to (and even beyond) it's stated max.
The rMBP screen does this. I play Skyrim at 1650x1080 (?) and as a result I can keep settings very high. The game looks great and you can't tell you are playing at a non-native resolution. It's brilliant - you get all of the benefits of a high res screen, and yet the ability to dial down the resolution when you need it.
It also displays 1080p content better than any other 15" monitor I've ever seen - very few of which are actually 1080p displays.
Your replies in this thread make it look like you think everyone who likes this laptop is some kind of fanboy. I'm not a Mac guy, I promise. My "main" computer is my PC gaming machine. But I need a laptop to take to work. I had a generous budget, and I looked at everything PC laptops can offer for the same price. None of them had the same power to weight / battery ratio, nor the screen, and most lacked the build quality.
That's great to hear it worked out for you and that you enjoy it.
I've never implied that they are "fanboys". Personally, to me there wasn't that much of a difference. And it's not worth $600 more. Just saying. Now obviously if I had a few hundred to throw around and nothing else mattered, I might have gotten one. But I prefer to be a little smarter with my money.
Let's see, you want a logical statement that contributes to your thread, right?
Logic 1: "this thread is completely ridiculous at this point."
Logic 2: "to each their own"
Logic 3: "lets move on to real issues
Logic 4: "WTF"
My statement was full of logic. I visit MacRumors to gain insight and knowledge of technical problems I may encounter. Not to read people bickering back and forth. As Trubbles stated, "Your replies in this thread make it look like you think everyone who likes this laptop is some kind of fanboy." I have seen you post on other threads, so I know you have valuable insight to such technical issues, but it seems you like to bicker about things with people who find something else of value to them.
This part of the forums is about all things *relating* to MacBook Pros. I was just offering my insight. I was interested to hear what others thought of the Retina display.
exactly, I have posted earlier in the thread, doesn't matter at this point.
I do love my rMBP. For me it's a perfect fit for my environment. I personally do not need the hard drive space. What data I have is already stored on a portable hard drive. I would never upgrade the unit myself or have somebody else for that matter. So, the lack of upgradability was no issue for me.
What sold me on the rMBP was the overall package. It's slim, light, has a SSD, 16GB RAM, and the retina. I do very much like the crispness of the screen. I won't attempt to compare it to anything I haven't used. We do have a 13" MB Air that is a really nice unit. Although, we do see the difference in the screen.
When I purchased the unit I was looking for something with power and portability, along with a nice crisp big screen. The lightness was a key factor, since I carry it in a bag with a Canon T3i camera, assorted lens, books and what not. So anyway I can lighten the bag is a most. The retina screen is extremely nice for these old eyes.
With that said, I will not lie, I am starting to show a little IR on the LG screen. Not enough to alarm me just yet. I only see it when I go to my widget area (gray screen). It goes away within a minute or so. So far this has been my only issue with the rMBP. Fans are very quiet. everything is fast and snappy.
So in the end the rMBP is fits me. T
Well then, you had a good reason for buying the rMBP and it was obviously within your budget.
^^This.
I would not change my rMBP to any other currently available IPS laptop, as the only ones really comparable would be some HP EliteBooks and Lenovo W-series machines, which in comparison are huge and heavy, and cost about the same as the rMBP when similarly configured.
But I don't see the WOW-factor either. Don't get me wrong, it's a great screen. Especially when calibrated properly. That's why I bought a rMBP.
But at no point did it blow my mind. Perhaps, because compared to other good IPS displays which I've used, it is not clearly better in any other aspect than the resolution, and even that being a good thing is somewhat debatable. Of course, if you are used to the TN-screens of the previous MBPs, and didn't know better screens were available, then the rMBP screen must seem like a huge step forward.
The differences to previous MBP screens are very clear if you know what you are looking for, and know what you need and expect from a display. If you have hard time seeing the difference, then you certainly have no reason spending any extra money for a rMBP, as you most likely do not need/care about color reproduction or viewing angles. But the extra price is not any higher than it is with competing laptops: configuring a W530 or an Elitebook with a similar display will cost you the same 500-600 extra.
So, yeah, it's a nice computer. But I just don't get this whole "seeing the light" thing.
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You don't WANT to see the difference. I would say it's physically impossible not to notice and difference.
I would recommend going to an eye specialist, cause something is wrong.
Actually, I DID want to see the difference.
I think all the hype made me have unrealistically high expectations for it.
I believed it would be magical and my world would be forever changed.
You said you have perfect vision use it on native and love all the extra screen real estate
There is a difference, is it earth shattering, is it worth the price difference, is it worth the trade off's? My answer to all those questions is no.
I see a lot of BS flying around in this thread. The fact of the matter is, the rMBP is actually CHEAPER than buying a similar spec'd cMBP. It is NOT the screen that makes them more expensive, its the rest of the hardware. If you don't need the other hardware, then of course it isn't going to be worth it for you. The fact that Apple was able to cram this much hardware in a smaller laptop for the price they are asking is friggin unbelievable.
Complain about BS and add some BS.
Makes sense.
The rMBP is not cheaper than a similar specced cMBP.
Its close, considering the additional cost of RAM, SSD and the Hi-Res cMBP screen which is still inferior to the Retina screen. Plenty of threads doing all the math, do a search.
So, a comparably spec'd 15" cMBP would be cheaper than a 15" rMBP? IF one bought the two comparably spec,d MacBook Pros it would break down like this: The difference being the superdrive on the cMBP and the graphics card on the the rMBP. So, the cMBP is $100 more than the rMBP. Then if you go with the same graphics card there is a price bump to $200. The differences this time are the superdrive again and now the processor, yes the process only has a slight bump in speed over the cMBP, but still it's $200 cheaper. At the end of the day the rMBP is in fact cheaper, even if you add the $79 external superdrive, which for this Mac user hasn't been used since 2008. So, the cMBP is cheaper?
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Base model 15" Retina Macbook Pro is $2199. The classic 15" Macbook Pro with the 1GB Nvidia video card, 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM is $2499 WITHOUT the high res display, which is another $100.
$2499 is more than $2199. Therefore, its not BS when it is fact.
$2499 is more than $2199. Therefore, its not BS when it is fact.