rMacbook 1.1 vs 1.3 test

[doitdada]

Five minutes in an hour isn't enough magic to justify the difference. To me snappiness, lag in scrolling and typing is everything. Using anything else than a quad core to do anything else than colour adjustments in Photoshop is also a pain on big RAW files. Glad i bought the rMB base model at 1.1ghz. Hoping for chance to edit large files on such a small form factor is still a few years away. Sufficient, but not a joy for a power user.

Also better resale value on any base model than a maxed out one as well. Would rather use current base for a year or two, and then sell it before it turns into garbage, like all computers do. Future proofing is the same as comparing vinegar to wine.

 

[keviig]

So, hello everyone.

With VLC and a "bug's life movie", wifi on, brightness to 70%, sound to 50 % :

1.1 : 5 hours and 44 minutes
1.3 : 6 hours ans 13 minutes

For handbrake with interstellar 720p movie (2.2 go) :

like you the 1.1 boosts to 2.0 GHz, and after it hits 95c it goes down to a mix of 1.9 and 1.8 : Time : 50 min
But in 1.3 it's a different story : 45 min and i post some pic :

View attachment 559171 View attachment 559172

Thanks for testing Handbrake! It's hard to judge what's quickest, 1.8/1.9 constantly or a mix of 1.3-2.3. Was the average FPS in Handbrake higher on the 1.3?

 

[pookitoo]

80 fps average. I'll keep the 1.3, and I hope Mac OS will be optimized. I take this final decision because you say in windows we see difference , and I hope we can see the driver update in Mac OS . And when we see the benchmark, it's like a difference between a MacBook Air 2011 and a MacBook Air 2014 . So let's keep the expensive one .!

 

[Music Lover]

Five minutes in an hour isn't enough magic to justify the difference.

well, it's 10% better life in the 1.3 model.
= important for me.

 

[squirrrl]

I am glad I bought the 256/1.3. If I was going to sell this little guy in the next few years, I might have opted for the 1.1, but since I plan on running this guy into the ground, I decided that the little extra power might be a good option as it starts to slow down after multiple OS releases. Also, since I'm traveling a few times a year to a country with unreliable power half a world away, the little extra battery life is pretty important on flights and when I'm on the ground, esp since I'll have WiFi off most of the time, I'm hoping for even better battery life.

I can't tell you what an amazing difference this computer is from my 2008 white macbook. I hope I'll be equally pleased with the 2021 macbook when it comes out.

 

[Queen6]

Thing is with the Retina MacBook you can power it of any USB source, so power should not be to much of a concern anymore, so long as the baseline is reasonable.

Q-6

 

[squirrrl]

Thing is with the Retina MacBook you can power it of any USB source, so power should not be to much of a concern anymore, so long as the baseline is reasonable.

Q-6

Well it is when you're in a 3rd world country for weeks at a time with regular power outages. I'll likely be bringing some kind of solar charger as a backup.

 

[Queen6]

Nothing new to me I travel all over the place for work, and one of the reasons to purchased the Retina MacBook is that that I charge it off far more power sources. Heading to Norway shortly, after that it will be Sakhalin island or back to Borneo for a couple of years.

So yeah battery life is a concern, equally once yours systems can get past 8 hours, the bigger issues are how to reliably recharge them, don't underestimate car batteries. Solar you would need a decent panel with a high output, preferably to a battery.

Q-6

 

[squirrrl]

Nothing new to me I travel all over the place for work, and one of the reasons to purchased the Retina MacBook is that that I charge it off far more power sources. Heading to Norway shortly, after that it will be Sakhalin island or back to Borneo for a couple of years.

So yeah battery life is a concern, equally once yours systems can get past 8 hours, the bigger issues are how to reliably recharge them, don't underestimate car batteries. Solar you would need a decent panel with a high output, preferably to a battery.

Q-6

Agreed.. I'll probably get a solar/battery system and I'll make sure it has the capacity to charge at higher output. Good idea for the car battery. I can use it in desperate circumstances, but most of the time, I won't have access to a car since drivers associated with the clinic will be taking me where I need to be.

 

[Queen6]

Agreed.. I'll probably get a solar/battery system and I'll make sure it has the capacity to charge at higher output. Good idea for the car battery. I can use it in desperate circumstances, but most of the time, I won't have access to a car since drivers associated with the clinic will be taking me where I need to be.

You don't need the car battery Per Se, you just need the ability to connect to one and charge, as they are ubiquitous. Also consider surge and voltage regulators, as they can save on a lot of problems. I have a solar solution, however it`s focus is emergency lighting, it does have a USB port on the light/battery unit, equally it`s only designed for powering up phones, all the same in a pinch is should (need to try) charge another battery with the output capacity to charge the rMP, albeit extremely slowly.

You should maybe take a look at here, might just be what you need in the event of a power outage, this would give you around 22 at a stretch. I also find that in many developing countries 3G/4G is outpacing wired infrastructure, so I always travel with a MiFi (Huawei are best) as you just need local SIM and USB to charge and power. Of course if your completely "off the grid" only solution is a Sat Phone, then it`s getting serious...

Q-6

 

[pookitoo]

I've installed el capitan on the rMacBook 1.3 and guys , it's wonderful all the improvement in performance ! And with metal we find again the performance of the MacBook Pro retina !! So I'm very happy to find back the good performance, I was skeptical to buy this rMacBook because I think it'll we underpowered

 

[sasha.danielle]

What is it like on the 1.1? Any difference?

 

[pookitoo]

I don't have anymore the 1.1 ;( only for the the past weekend, I could choose between the two (not for the same price ;( but I take the 1.3 because of the benchmark .

 

[keviig]

I have El Capitan on my 1.1/256 rMB and it's fantastic! The UI is finally snappy again on a retina machine! And this is only the first beta!

 

[sasha.danielle]

I have El Capitan on my 1.1/256 rMB and it's fantastic! The UI is finally snappy again on a retina machine! And this is only the first beta!

That's fantastic!

 

[pookitoo]

but i've a LG Widescreen and i can't adjust the resolution of the screen ;( (in el capitan) if someone know how to adjust the setting

 

[polee]

I have El Capitan on my 1.1/256 rMB and it's fantastic! The UI is finally snappy again on a retina machine! And this is only the first beta!

Good to know! I can't wait for the official version to be released in the fall.

 

[airattack111]

That's why I got the 1.1ghz. I could have paid $500 more for the 1.3 but would still be stuck with a 480p camera and 8gb ram. Also 1.3ghz is still slow as hell.

I do love this laptop though. This is coming from a late 2008 unibody mbp. I'm always the first-mover when it comes to apple haha.

Thanks for the benchmarks. It will be interesting to see what they can do with the skylake processors.