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rMBP or cMBP?

I had a 13" cMBP, got the rMBP when it was launched. Havent had a single regret. The screen is mindblowing.

Coming from 1280x800 to 2880x1800 is a huge leap. on the 13" i couldnt have two full sized A4 pdf files side by side. on the retina, i can do that with ease.

And another thing I've noticed is the battery, still after 14 weeks and some 40 cycles, im still at 100% battery health.

cMPB vs rMBP, not something i need to struggle with... easily rMBP.

* Thinner
* Improved thermals
* That screen!
* SSD as standard (and "Flash" type SSD, PowerNap)
* Weight, its lighter than a 13" cMBP

Get it with 16gb ram if you're in doubt. On a side note, can the current 2012 cMBP hold more than 16gb of ram?
 
get a late 2011 17 inch or 15 inch high res refurb/used mbp
upgrade your ssd and ram to what you want(32 gb ram is coming soon for notebooks and ssd prices are plummeting)
not a retina but still a killer display
can fit two sata 3 drives inside
no need for adapters
cheaper

the best choice for most users, imo

if it has to be new than go with a 2012 cmbp
leave the beta testing to the people who upgrade every year or two
 
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epilossi said:
I'm in my first year of university and I've decided that it's time to get myself a MacBook Pro. I've pretty much already decided that I want a 15" because I used something with an 11" screen throughout high school and it was super painful. The main thing is that I can't decide whether or not I should get the Retina MBP. I really really love the thinness of the Retina version and it's my main reason for wanting to get it, but the fact that you can't easily upgrade/replace a lot of things has made me consider going for the cMBP. I'd like something that will last me 4 years, since these things are pretty expensive.

Thing is, I'm not sure if the difficulty of upgrading is really a big concern, as I'd only really be using the MBP for school stuff and light gaming... I don't really know what I would need to upgrade; I already have a desktop to do my heavy gaming and other stuff on. Although, I am pretty concerned about the fact that the rMBP's battery is glued in -- I'd like the laptop to last at least 4 years and it's cheaper to replace a battery myself.

Which one should I get? Advice would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

It's pretty easy really;

When was the last time you used an optical drive?
Are you required to use firewire/ethernet cables at your DESTINATION?
Does your eye sight suck?

The whole upgrade argument is a joke. ITS A LAPTOP. You can't switch CPU or the GPU, I really laugh when I read the average consumer moaning because they can't add more RAM, even though the minimum of 8GB won't age any quicker than the processor or graphics chip.

I would take too long to list the improvements, there are so many, and its the little things which add up. A laptop is only as good as its weakest component when it comes to the consumer experience, and now that MS office is usable on the retina, its pretty much a 1 horse race.

(I'm going to ignore the quality control issues, only because mine is fine, but I guess you might want to keep that in mind)
 
rmbp for me.

Most of the issues you see on this or any forum are exaggerated, and you probably know of the ones that really do beg your attention before purchase (Image retention on LG monitors, potential GPU throttling, clink noises coming from the back plate, etc.). If you can bear with the fact that you may or may not have these issues, then I'd say go for it.

As far as the expandability argument is concerned, I for one cannot think of any reason why an average, non-power user who's not using a VM like parallels would need 16gb of RAM, unless developers begin to seriously increase the memory footprint of their GUI elements... idk.. just thinking out loud
 
Thanks for the input everyone!

I've decided on the rMBP, mainly because I'll be bringing it to school a lot and it'll be easier to be walking around a huge university campus with something lighter. There are a lot of good reasons that one may want the cMBP, but they're not for me - I'm not looking for a desktop replacement, I have a desktop to do the things that my laptop can't do. I don't need a huge SSD, there isn't much I need to store and if I really need the space I have a desktop and an external drive. And for what I'm doing, I'm pretty sure 8GB of RAM is plenty.

A lot of people are having issues with their rMBP, but I'm sure there are way more people that don't have any issues at all. bill-p said exactly what I was thinking here:

bill-p said:
9) I got my Retina MBP fairly recently (August), and I haven't had any major issue with mine, save for software issues that I think Apple will be able to work out before long. I don't doubt that others have issues with their own rMBP, but at the end of the day, I don't think it's generally that widespread. MacRumors gathers mostly people who came to complain about their issues and those who are seeking to solve issues, so of course most of the voices are of those who have issues. If someone is happy with their rMBP? You can bet they wouldn't even bother to come up here to talk about anything. Plus if you have issues with your rMBP, you can just come in to Apple and ask for an exchange. Unless getting a brand new replacement computer is not enough a "solution" for you.
Click to expand...
 
You guys who think an extra 1.16 pounds is heavy really need to spend some time in the gym or something.

I'm in my early 40s and lug mine through airports every single weekend. The backpack it's in (along with my Akai APC40, cables, DJ sound interface etc) weighs 30+ lbs. I probably walk a mile thru Hartsfield with it, no complaints.
 
DaCurmudgen said:
Couldn't agree more. I was having this same inner-dialog while waiting for the new iMacs to replace my 2005 G5 iMac. If I hadn't decided on getting an MBP, I'd still be waiting.

Because I do music production, I wanted a CD/DVD drive; you still need to use CDs for mastering and reproduction. You can get an external CD/DVD for the rMBP, but now there's more to carry. I also wanted a bigger hard drive, but didn't want to pay the SSD premium. The cMBP had an option for fast (7200 RPM), conventional hard drives, which I can upgrade to SSD when they're cheaper. The rMBP's Retina display was attractive, especially because I have the new iPad and appreciate the details of the screen. But the cMBP with Hi-Res anti-glare offers 1680 x 1050, which was more than enough for me. Lastly I was uncomfortable that the rMBP RAM was soldered onto the board. Since I did get this to replace a desktop, a 2nd monitor, USB 3.0 hub, and external keyboard have given me the true flexibility of a portable powerhouse, or desktop dynamo. And contrary to another post re: $200 difference between comparably-equipped cMBPs and rMBPs -- my MBP with 16 gig RAM, 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and anti-glare screen, was over $1K cheaper than a similarly configured rMBP. If you're going MBP, no matter what you choose, you really can't lose.
Click to expand...

Nice! With those savings one could also pick up a ThunderBolt display with your cMBP.

I do the same. Music and audio/video production. It's been a long LONG time since I've distributed a sound file on CD/DVD or any optical media. If we are physically transferring, it's a USB stick. Typically though, DropBox, Box, Pocket or most of us have our own FTP upload options on our site (for clients). While I understand your position...I've been extremely happy with my new rMBP. I've been a 17" user since 2007--and I was really bummed when they dropped the 17 from the lineup....all the way up until I visited my first rMBP. Love at first sight:). I should say, we bought two of them and neither have the QC issues others have described. I'm not saying they done exist. For those with the issues, I empathize. Because when these guys are flawless, it's an engineering marvel. Especially for what we are doing. The screen resolution and real estate (when needed) is awesome! The speed is unreal (I've owned a pair of 2011 MBAs as well....I've had SSDs in the 2011 17" models...so I'm familiar with the SSD benefits)---but the rMBP takes speed and efficiency to a new level

Keep in mind, I'm not a Facebook guy--so I don't spend time on the site scrolling up and down 'really fast'. So I can't speak to UI slowdown. However, using the tools I do--both in OSx and Windows 7--I'm really, REALLY excited about this machine. My primary workstation has always been my 2010 MacPro. However, since the rMBP purchase, I've yet to turn the Pro 'on'.

I love it. We bought two totally different configurations. The 2.3/512/16 RAM and the 2.7/768/16 RAM. Neither panel shows signs of IR (and I use Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Logic, FCP, Premier and AE---ALL with UI's that could easily 'burn in')...no perceived UI jerkiness or stuttering. No 'noises', dead pixels, or weird farting noises. Just an all around excellent laptop/'true' desktop replacement. It's. Awesome. And I LOVE being a 'Beta' Tester

J
 
epilossi said:
Thanks for the input everyone!

I've decided on the rMBP, mainly because I'll be bringing it to school a lot and it'll be easier to be walking around a huge university campus with something lighter. There are a lot of good reasons that one may want the cMBP, but they're not for me - I'm not looking for a desktop replacement, I have a desktop to do the things that my laptop can't do. I don't need a huge SSD, there isn't much I need to store and if I really need the space I have a desktop and an external drive. And for what I'm doing, I'm pretty sure 8GB of RAM is plenty.

A lot of people are having issues with their rMBP, but I'm sure there are way more people that don't have any issues at all. bill-p said exactly what I was thinking here:
Click to expand...

enjoy its a great machine;)
 
akdj said:
Nice! With those savings one could also pick up a ThunderBolt display with your cMBP.

I do the same. Music and audio/video production. It's been a long LONG time since I've distributed a sound file on CD/DVD or any optical media. If we are physically transferring, it's a USB stick. Typically though, DropBox, Box, Pocket or most of us have our own FTP upload options on our site (for clients). While I understand your position...I've been extremely happy with my new rMBP. I've been a 17" user since 2007--and I was really bummed when they dropped the 17 from the lineup....all the way up until I visited my first rMBP. Love at first sight:). I should say, we bought two of them and neither have the QC issues others have described. I'm not saying they done exist. For those with the issues, I empathize. Because when these guys are flawless, it's an engineering marvel. Especially for what we are doing. The screen resolution and real estate (when needed) is awesome! The speed is unreal (I've owned a pair of 2011 MBAs as well....I've had SSDs in the 2011 17" models...so I'm familiar with the SSD benefits)---but the rMBP takes speed and efficiency to a new level

Keep in mind, I'm not a Facebook guy--so I don't spend time on the site scrolling up and down 'really fast'. So I can't speak to UI slowdown. However, using the tools I do--both in OSx and Windows 7--I'm really, REALLY excited about this machine. My primary workstation has always been my 2010 MacPro. However, since the rMBP purchase, I've yet to turn the Pro 'on'.

I love it. We bought two totally different configurations. The 2.3/512/16 RAM and the 2.7/768/16 RAM. Neither panel shows signs of IR (and I use Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Logic, FCP, Premier and AE---ALL with UI's that could easily 'burn in')...no perceived UI jerkiness or stuttering. No 'noises', dead pixels, or weird farting noises. Just an all around excellent laptop/'true' desktop replacement. It's. Awesome. And I LOVE being a 'Beta' Tester

J
Click to expand...

I am a pro musician and I utilize these HUGE Kontakt orchestral, brass and woodwind libraries (along with Massive, FM8, Cyclop, Diva, Nexus, Omnisphere, etc), so a significant amount of storage and RAM is a necessity for me. The retina model had a beautiful screen but I need a lot of HD space and RAM and that won out. What I was trying to accomplish is having something comparable to my studio machine which is a complete beast. I think I got really close with the classic MBP I bought. Literally every user replaceable component was torn out on the first day.

Also I'll be using anything from a 27" to a 70" 1920x1080 screen depending on whose studio I'm working in, so the retina aspect is really kind of a waste for me. Also, my cMBP is every bit as speedy as the rMBP counterpart.

Your mileage may vary, of course. :)
 
bill-p said:
You know, you can actually set the rMBP to either 1680 x 1050, or 1920 x 1200 resolutions. Both of which are actually high-res 1680 x 1050 (3360 x 2100) and 1920 x 1200 (3840 x 2400) scaled down to fit the 2880 x 1800 of the rMBP, so you get sharper texts and screen elements than the high-res cMBP, but more desk space. Especially more with the 1920 x 1200 mode.

So it's still the better screen than a cMBP by a good margin.
Click to expand...


Yes I know:) Thanks for specifying though. Nevertheless it still seemed like a waste to get the rMBP, because as I said, I had an external ips DELL display that was 3 months old at the time, that's why (among other reasons) I went with the cMBP. Buying rMBP would mean "wasting" the DELL or the Retina most of the time and selling the DELL monitor would be both hard to do and not cost-effective.
I'll get the rMBP the next time I'm around shopping for a Mac - but by then I'll probably won't have much choice but to take rMBP anyway:)
 
Handsome Bacon said:
You guys who think an extra 1.16 pounds is heavy really need to spend some time in the gym or something.

I'm in my early 40s and lug mine through airports every single weekend. The backpack it's in (along with my Akai APC40, cables, DJ sound interface etc) weighs 30+ lbs. I probably walk a mile thru Hartsfield with it, no complaints.
Click to expand...

So making phones marginally lighter is also pointless because it's such a small among of weight? Or any piece of tech? Fact of the matter is, people like to lighten their load and save space. Thin and light sells. That you don't find value in it doesn't mean other people are physically incapable of carrying as much weight as you. That's just pure rationalization.
 
Engali said:
So making phones marginally lighter is also pointless because it's such a small among of weight? Or any piece of tech? Fact of the matter is, people like to lighten their load and save space. Thin and light sells. That you don't find value in it doesn't mean other people are physically incapable of carrying as much weight as you. That's just pure rationalization.
Click to expand...

:eek:

Come on now be freaking serious. It's pretty insignificant when we're talking about the difference between 4.5 - 5.5 lbs. For a dainty little girl it might be a big deal I guess but 1lb I do not notice. Not enough to warrant buying a whole different machine. I just don't consider it a selling point.
 
bkar89 said:
Get it with 16gb ram if you're in doubt. On a side note, can the current 2012 cMBP hold more than 16gb of ram?
Click to expand...
Yes, not that it matters. By the time they're sold at a reasonable price the processor and GPU will be outdated - neither of which are upgradable in any MBP.

Also by the time you can use/require 32GB of RAM, the processor and GPU will again be outdated and neither are upgradable for any MBP.

The only thing the cMBP offers over the rMBP in terms of upgrades is - more hard drive space. That is all.
 
Dude, heed my words carefully

Do not get the retina display.

You are going into your FIRST YEAR of university. You have 4 years of late night parties, long tired days of studying, burning the midnight oil, pulling all nighters, and you're thinking of getting the most fragile laptop in existence?

Because it is thin doesn't mean it's light, it's actually pretty heavy, and look at my thread if you need any assurances of its durability.

Get a 13inch Air or a 13inch Macbook pro. The air is much lighter, and more durable than the retina and MUCH MUCH cheaper.

13inch pro is the same weight as the retina but because of it's much smaller size, less force is concentrated on one area, I suggest you look to smaller portable laptops vs the 15incher retina.

Also, you're just starting university, carrying around a $2000 laptop isn't a good target to paint yourself especially since thieves love Macs.

Save your money, upgrade to a retina when you graduate and by then all the hardware issues would've been solved.
 
epilossi said:
Thanks for the input everyone!

I've decided on the rMBP, mainly because I'll be bringing it to school a lot and it'll be easier to be walking around a huge university campus with something lighter. There are a lot of good reasons that one may want the cMBP, but they're not for me - I'm not looking for a desktop replacement, I have a desktop to do the things that my laptop can't do. I don't need a huge SSD, there isn't much I need to store and if I really need the space I have a desktop and an external drive. And for what I'm doing, I'm pretty sure 8GB of RAM is plenty.

A lot of people are having issues with their rMBP, but I'm sure there are way more people that don't have any issues at all. bill-p said exactly what I was thinking here:
Click to expand...

Are you sure?
 
rMBP

I've had mine for over a month now. I couldn't be happier with it. Still blown away by the display, speed and build quality. For you:

RAM: 16 GB and it's safe to say you're set for a good four years regardless of your usage.

SSD: 256 GB and store non-SSD-worthy data to an external disk, a NAS or online storage service.

CPU: 2.3 GHz, the speed difference of the higher-end models is not worth the money, regardless of your usage.

With such specs, the lack of upgradability is no concern.

A cMBP with the same configuration costs about the same so the choice is obvious. Not to mention you would be buying an already deprecated model.

The "1st gen" argument is obviously moot by now. There's been enough feedback to assert the thing is finely thought-out, robust and built to last.
 
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Handsome Bacon said:
:eek:

Come on now be freaking serious. It's pretty insignificant when we're talking about the difference between 4.5 - 5.5 lbs. For a dainty little girl it might be a big deal I guess but 1lb I do not notice. Not enough to warrant buying a whole different machine. I just don't consider it a selling point.
Click to expand...

The difference in phones is even smaller, but its's still a feature that people pay for.


Also, some people carry messenger bags and such and a small difference in weight can lead to chronic back issues. Not everyone wants to tailor their bag choice around carrying heavier equipment. Chronic discomfort that can lead to long term injuries and pain is something that people will pay money to avoid.

----------
wankey said:
Dude, heed my words carefully

Do not get the retina display.

You are going into your FIRST YEAR of university. You have 4 years of late night parties, long tired days of studying, burning the midnight oil, pulling all nighters, and you're thinking of getting the most fragile laptop in existence?

Because it is thin doesn't mean it's light, it's actually pretty heavy, and look at my thread if you need any assurances of its durability.

Get a 13inch Air or a 13inch Macbook pro. The air is much lighter, and more durable than the retina and MUCH MUCH cheaper.

13inch pro is the same weight as the retina but because of it's much smaller size, less force is concentrated on one area, I suggest you look to smaller portable laptops vs the 15incher retina.

Also, you're just starting university, carrying around a $2000 laptop isn't a good target to paint yourself especially since thieves love Macs.

Save your money, upgrade to a retina when you graduate and by then all the hardware issues would've been solved.
Click to expand...

No, the same weight in the 13 inch pro in a smaller form factor means weight is MORE concentrated than in a retina pro. Learn to calculate density.
 
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