Retina MacBook Pro Pushes the Limits of its Graphics Capabilities

[Newyorkjsw]

glass screen glare

I do notice some glare from the glass screen. Why apple could not offer a genuine matt screen like they do for every other 15" MBP defies logic.
they did evolve a lot though but not having the matrix situuated behind a chunk of glass, but it is the glass itself that displays the image!

screen also look a bit dark compared to my 2010 higher res matt screen.

i read about the video issues playing 60fps and i don't doubt it.
also that the 2800 res is NOT native out of the box!

 

[r.harris1]

With the passing of SJ, it's clear that Apple no longer has the long-term vision to REALLY innovate. Every product launch in Cook's era is just an incremental update of existing things, rMBP included (i.e., a crippled retina display and nothing else new).

Time to sell your Apple shares, because the company will be moribund in less than two years...you reat it here first.

I have no words to describe your insight and eloquence.

 

[airsks]

I just got my RMBP2.7 a couple days ago, and I am very satisfied about it so far. I haven't felt any noticeble lag at all using Lion, and I have tested with Diablo 3 for the graphical performance, and the default resolution is great already and super smooth, I tried to crank it up to the maximum resolution with everything set at high, then the I started to feel some lag but it is probably still close to 20fps I think ( I could't monitor the actual fps due to the patch of D3). I will have to test my RMBP on various software to really make comments on the performance. That being said, I m not a device testing personnel, so as long as I enjoy the new technologies, and my RMBP can do the job fast enough before frustration builds up, I am happy about it.

Can't mention this enough, the display is really pleasing to look at. But I know that this superb clarity comes with a cost, everything that runs perfectly without Retina will now need much more power to achieve the same performance. For people who demand video performance, this clarity might not be something that necessary. So I guess the non-Retina MBP will still be purchased over the years. But for me, the Retina is one of the major reasons I buy my new MBP.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Snip

You indicate you don't know what you are talking about. Preloading the page doesn't matter since the issue is that when you scroll on your trackpad that uses up 100% of the single core that is rendering the webpage and which has to display all the pixels. Again this has nothing to do with the HD4000 or the GT 650 card. It has everything to do with the CPU. I don't get what's so hard to comprehend here. Perhaps people have hidden agendas? That's the only reason I can see why someone wants to distort things so poorly. Yes the machine has a little bit of lag, that is undeniable, but the question is how serious is it?

So far as I can see, the overwhelming majority of people complaining are people who don't own the machines and haven't worked on them for sustained periods of time.

 

[iVoid]

Yeah, this is why I doubted the retina iMac rumors. Just too much processing power needed to drive these hi-dpi panels at the moment.

In time, it'll be practical, but I'd suspect 1-2 years at least.

Maybe Apple dropped the 17" because they knew a retina version wasn't likely to work well.

 

[Eidorian]

You indicate you don't know what you are talking about. Preloading the page doesn't matter since the issue is that when you scroll on your trackpad that uses up 100% of the single core that is rendering the webpage and which has to display all the pixels. Again this has nothing to do with the HD4000 or the GT 650 card. It has everything to do with the CPU. I don't get what's so hard to comprehend here. Perhaps people have hidden agendas? That's the only reason I can see why someone wants to distort things so poorly. Yes the machine has a little bit of lag, that is undeniable, but the question is how serious is it?

So far as I can see, the overwhelming majority of people complaining are people who don't own the machines and haven't worked on them for sustained periods of time.

Which is why I suggested we take a look at the CPU load. Single threaded browsers in 2012? Ugh...

This is a Core i7 3xxxQM with 4C/8T and Turbo Boost.

 

[mrsir2009]

Best wait for the 2nd gen if you don't want to encounter any of these problems....

 

[jav6454]

You indicate you don't know what you are talking about. Preloading the page doesn't matter since the issue is that when you scroll on your trackpad that uses up 100% of the single core that is rendering the webpage and which has to display all the pixels. Again this has nothing to do with the HD4000 or the GT 650 card. It has everything to do with the CPU. I don't get what's so hard to comprehend here. Perhaps people have hidden agendas? That's the only reason I can see why someone wants to distort things so poorly. Yes the machine has a little bit of lag, that is undeniable, but the question is how serious is it?

So far as I can see, the overwhelming majority of people complaining are people who don't own the machines and haven't worked on them for sustained periods of time.

Pre-loading does matter. You have cache'd part of the page. That means pre-calculated parts of the page already.

The CPU is more than enough for Facebook, more than enough for heavy applications in Engineering. The page scrolling is not CPU bound, but GPU bounded.

I have a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz CPU and guess what? It is still enough for today's web pages. When I have issues, it is due to the GPU (The 9400M).

 

[JohnDoe98]

I would lie about my satisfaction after spending that much. I can afford one but why again? Maybe I read too much into the hardware before I reach the display panel and the safety of my lap in the summer.

You are right, these surveys are inherently unreliable. But surely you can concede that many of these news sources are also inherently unreliable, selectively picking only the criticisms from reviews that give the Machine editor awards. Also, safety of your lap? More hyperbole. This is by far the coolest laptop I have ever used. Under normal usage, what you will typically do on your lap, the laptop remains quite cool and noiseless.

 

[doelcm82]

Best wait for the 2nd gen if you don't want to encounter any of these problems....

The Retina MBP is 3rd gen.

You can also buy the 2nd gen today, and there's no wait time.

 

[mrsir2009]

The Retina MBP is 3rd gen.

You can also buy the 2nd gen today, and there's no wait time.

No, I mean the 2nd generation of Retina MacBook Pros.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Pre-loading does matter. You have cache'd part of the page. That means pre-calculated parts of the page already.

The CPU is more than enough for Facebook, more than enough for heavy applications in Engineering. The page scrolling is not CPU bound, but GPU bounded.

I have a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz CPU and guess what? It is still enough for today's web pages. When I have issues, it is due to the GPU (The 9400M).

The CPU is sufficient for low DPI machines, not for the HiDPI ones. And the scrolling in Safari is not sufficiently GPU bound, that is precisely the problem here.

 

[doelcm82]

I would lie about my satisfaction to save face after spending that much. I can afford one but why again? Maybe I read too much into the hardware before I reach the display panel and the safety of my lap in the summer.

You would also claim that other people are lying, to save you own face.

 

[jav6454]

The GT 640/650/660M are all the same GK107 core with varying clock speeds and VRAM types/densities.


Which makes for a fine commercial and marketing material. Disregard the anyone that can read a benchmark.

Then the GTX x70M should be used... clearly, the current GPU technology is lacking. A more of a boost should help out.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Which is why I suggested we take a look at the CPU load. Single threaded browsers in 2012? Ugh...

This is a Core i7 3xxxQM with 4C/8T and Turbo Boost.

Well, if that can be fixed, we'd have a very nice software fix now wouldn't we? I suspect the task of coding for a multi-threaded browser is easier said than done though.

 

[jav6454]

The CPU is sufficient for low DPI machines, not for the HiDPI ones. And the scrolling in Safari is not sufficiently GPU bound, that is precisely the problem here.

You've got to be kidding me....

Are you seriously suggesting that the CPU is responsible for display issues? Do you know what powers and drives the display in these machines?

HiDPI does not matter when it comes to the CPU... it is the GPU! Why? think pixels... there are many more pixels to push now. The GPU will choke, the CPU is not responsible for any graphic stuff, this isn't pre-2001.

 

[rufwork]

Hmm... This is a little bit frustrating. I NEED a laptop for college this year (current is a 08 MBP on its last legs). I'm most likely going for the MBPR simply because it's barely cheaper to get the MBP with the specs I want. Frustrating knowing Apple decided to ship with hardware that isn't ready./sigh.

Oh noes! I can't see Facebook in 50 fps when I have things set for full retina resolution! How can I research journals and write papers and run MAPLE and SAS on my MacBook Pro?!!!

Oh yeah, the quad-core i7.

Look, the only complaint here is that scrolling can be choppy. Don't tell me you haven't played WoW on your 08 MBP when it was running less than 30 fps, kk?

The thing's plenty ready, son. As another has said, if you don't want to throw down the cash, buy an Air.

 

[JohnDoe98]

You've got to be kidding me....

Are you seriously suggesting that the CPU is responsible for display issues? Do you know what powers and drives the display in these machines?

Yes, and that is exactly the conclusion Anandtech came to, which is far more knowledgeable on these matters than either of us. Again, read the actual review before spewing your half-baked criticisms.

HiDPI does not matter when it comes to the CPU... it is the GPU! Why? think pixels... there are many more pixels to push now. The GPU will choke, the CPU is not responsible for any graphic stuff, this isn't pre-2001.

If that were true you'd see far more lag on the HD4000 than the GT 650 as the latter is substantially stronger. Truth of the matter though is the lag issue is not any different no matter which GPU you are using, which again suggests the problem lies elsewhere. Anyway, go read the actual review where all this is explained in technical detail.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

I would lie about my satisfaction to save face after spending that much. I can afford one but why again? Maybe I read too much into the hardware before I reach the display panel and the safety of my lap in the summer.

Hehe. If someone's going to ignore the experiences of people who have actually used a product based on the possibility that they might lie about that experience to safe face, instead turning to the criticism of people who have not used that product for information, they're going to be cutting out the most credible source of information available.

The RMBP runs like a dream.

 

[pesos]

You've got to be kidding me....

Are you seriously suggesting that the CPU is responsible for display issues? Do you know what powers and drives the display in these machines?

HiDPI does not matter when it comes to the CPU... it is the GPU! Why? think pixels... there are many more pixels to push now. The GPU will choke, the CPU is not responsible for any graphic stuff, this isn't pre-2001.

You are uninformed, sir. Read the review and you might start to understand.

 

[Fandongo]

Maybe this will shut up the people clamoring for retina on the new iMac.

Or force them to put a real graphics card in it.

No point in making the iMac so thin anyway...
Fat for power, fat for upgradability, and fat for sound dampening.

Or they could release a Mac Pro.

I want to take my business elsewhere...
but i can't bring myself to buy from computer companies that don't know how to organize their damn website.
...or their product lines
Look at our laptop models:
Z91241
Z248651
Z54
ZZzzzzz.....

It's a damn shame I can't buy a 1920x1080 17" expresscard fatbook pro w/2x thunderbolt ports and 3x USB 3's...
AND FIREWIRE!! (where the hell are the alleged "adapters")
RAID 0 the hell out of it.
Glorious.

 

[Blaine]

Yes, and that is exactly the conclusion Anandtech came to, which is far more knowledgeable on these matters than either of us. Again, read the actual review before spewing your half-baked criticisms.



If that were true you'd see far more lag on the HD4000 than the GT 650 as the latter is substantially stronger. Truth of the matter though is the lag issue is not any different no matter which GPU you are using, which again suggests the problem lies elsewhere. Anyway, go read the actual review where all this is explained in technical detail.

Word

 

[Blaine]

You are uninformed, sir. Read the review and you might start to understand.

Yeah, jav6454 really is struggling with this. :/

 

[Eidorian]

You are right, these surveys are inherently unreliable. But surely you can concede that many of these news sources are also inherently unreliable, selectively picking only the criticisms from reviews that give the Machine editor awards.

The more the better.

Also, safety of your lap? More hyperbole. This is by far the coolest laptop I have ever used. Under normal usage, what you will typically do on your lap, the laptop remains quite cool and noiseless.

Well you are talking to someone that has suffered just short of first degree burns from laptop exhaust in the summer and whenever a new notebook comes out hops over to NoteBookCheck for thermograph readings at idle and load. This is regardless of brand. At this rate I am never getting a new notebook, still.

Well, if that can be fixed, we'd have a very nice software fix now wouldn't we? I suspect the task of coding for a multi-threaded browser is easier said than done though.

Endless beta but in retail. It works for Google.

 

[jav6454]

Yes, and that is exactly the conclusion Anandtech came to, which is far more knowledgeable on these matters than either of us. Again, read the actual review before spewing your half-baked criticisms.

If that were true you'd see far more lag on the HD4000 than the GT 650 as the latter is substantially stronger. Truth of the matter though is the lag issue is not any different no matter which GPU you are using, which again suggests the problem lies elsewhere. Anyway, go read the actual review where all this is explained in technical detail.

It is both, but the GPU is the one doing the heavy lifting

Whereas I would consider the rMBP experience under Lion to be borderline unacceptable, everything is significantly better under Mountain Lion. Don’t expect buttery smoothness across the board, you’re still asking a lot of the CPU and GPU, but it’s a lot better