Iv'e been debating this for the past few days. I have a 2010 MacBook with Dual core i7, but I want something new. I plan on just running around surfing the web and some gaming ( heavy games though ( X-plane, Max Payne, GTA, BF3 ) ) Heres what I like about the Retina MBP I like: Flash storage Weight Thickness I don't like: Price Backorder Couldn't care less about Retina I don't see a difference anyways I don't need 8GB of Ram... I don't need a gig of VRAM.. I love everything about the MBP 2012, but weight and thickness, as well as it not having the a-symetrical fans. Help me out here.
For me it was hard to justify spending nearly the same amount of money on a model with an older design, HDD rather than SSD, half the resolution and worse speakers for a device that has all of those features. For an extra $400 bucks you can get a much better display, faster hard drive, newer design, better speakers, new magsafe, and better ventilation. I just couldn't see spending 2 grand and not getting the best of the best. And FYI keep an eye on Best Buy's inventory, they've been getting them in randomly where I live for the past several weeks. Last week (when I bought mine), they got 3 in on a Thursday morning and they were gone within hours. The only reason I knew they were in stock is because I had been checking Best Buy's inventory constantly.
If you're playing some graphic intensive games, a gig of VRAM is a very good thing to have (I don't know enough to say it's required, but I know enough that I would never buy a machine I was gaming on with under a gig of it). I agree with maretus, for $400 you get a much better machine (unless user-upgradability is important to you). And you should check your store for inventory more often, my store gets new shipments everyday and I live in a pretty small town.