Anyone here get a rMBP and is happy with it so much, that they are no longer considering getting a 2012 iMac? If yes, why? What about the rMBP makes it a valid iMac replacement for you? Just want some opinions that's all 
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
rMBP over 2012 iMac?
- Thread starter MagicThief83
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
iMac > rMBP.
Unless you like taking your computer with you. In that case...
rMBP > iMac.
I'd be very realistic with yourself in the sense that, if you only see yourself taking your MBP with you about 10% of the time then you likely will get more bang for your buck with an iMac.
Unless you like taking your computer with you. In that case...
rMBP > iMac.
I'd be very realistic with yourself in the sense that, if you only see yourself taking your MBP with you about 10% of the time then you likely will get more bang for your buck with an iMac.
I swear I'm on the brink of getting a rMBP! If Apple doesn't release the new iMac by October, then it would be safe to assume at that point that we will not see a 2012 iMac, even though current speculation points to otherwise. We shall see but more the time that elapses, the more the 2012 iMac eludes us.
I would wait through most of October too. There's suppose to be another event in that month.
The wait is hard, Apple should've spec bumped the iMac a while ago. Screen issues are a bologna excuse because you mean to tell me that the CEO of a multi-billion $ company can't exert his influence on the production chain to meet the public demands of a highly anticipated and much needed product. Such Bull***!!! If Steve was still around, he could've easily used his reality distortion techniques to avert all this non-sense; Cook dropped the ball and did so big time!!! Really hasn't been all that much to look forward to.
rMBP > iMac
Unless screen size is important to you. The rMBP has better screen resolution. Portability is a bonus.
Unless screen size is important to you. The rMBP has better screen resolution. Portability is a bonus.
OR.. unless computer power and display *quality* is more important to you?
The iMac is better everything than the retina MBP. Except, well, USB 3.
I can't roll my eyes hard enough. With the gimp'd specs, you would be more accurate in saying its a portable mac mini.
Really? (I'm not going to quote because a bunch of people said this kind of thing) the rMBP is pretty darn powerful. Check geekbench scores. Yes, it is more expensive, but the top of the line rMBP actually scores higher then the iMac, and that's not even factoring in disk speed. The rMBP has absurdly fast read write times. The third gen intel processor is also just absurdly good. An iMac is better value (if you don't value portability, screen resolution, USB 3.0, HDMI port, and hard drive) but upgrade the base rMBP to 2.6 for 100 bucks more and stick 16gb of RAM and you have a very very powerful machine. With a Geekbench score higher then the top of the line iMac 27inch, speced out.
I got a rMBP without really meaning to (I had an opportunity to get one for cheap and... anyway), I'd actually been thinking about getting a new mac pro when they come out (crossing my fingers) but I'll probably wait even longer because this thing is absurdly powerful. Yes the drive is small but if your serious about data then you can get a RAID setup and have huge IO speeds with thunderbolt. I also got a portable 1tb hard drive that's USB3 powered for data storage. USB3 is fast enough for 100MBps read speeds so it's about the same speed as an iMac's hard drive if you need it.
I got a rMBP without really meaning to (I had an opportunity to get one for cheap and... anyway), I'd actually been thinking about getting a new mac pro when they come out (crossing my fingers) but I'll probably wait even longer because this thing is absurdly powerful. Yes the drive is small but if your serious about data then you can get a RAID setup and have huge IO speeds with thunderbolt. I also got a portable 1tb hard drive that's USB3 powered for data storage. USB3 is fast enough for 100MBps read speeds so it's about the same speed as an iMac's hard drive if you need it.
I have a current gen iMac and it is not faster than the RMBP in any way. Mac Mini is duo core smart mouth.
Different strokes, for different folks
To some, the portability + retina is a big deal. Coupled with the fact they can buy it right NOW is a plus.
To others, they don't care about portability. They'd rather have something with more power. Likewise, a lot of people hate using Laptops as Desktop replacements... they make a mess of cables and stuff on your desktop.
It's a balancing act: how much do I love feature X vs hate feature Y
Personally, I'd rather use an iMac for my main work and keep a low-powered laptop for when I need something portable for travel.
To some, the portability + retina is a big deal. Coupled with the fact they can buy it right NOW is a plus.
To others, they don't care about portability. They'd rather have something with more power. Likewise, a lot of people hate using Laptops as Desktop replacements... they make a mess of cables and stuff on your desktop.
It's a balancing act: how much do I love feature X vs hate feature Y
Personally, I'd rather use an iMac for my main work and keep a low-powered laptop for when I need something portable for travel.
As I understand it, comparing the top 2011 27" iMac to the rMBP, the Geekbench is extremely close and the 3DMark11 favors the iMac by quite a bit. Of course the SSD will improve perceived performance (it's hard to get that to show up on these benches), but you can put an SSD in an iMac as well.
The rMBP IS a damn fine machine. Just not what I'm looking for.
The rMBP IS a damn fine machine. Just not what I'm looking for.
I got my rMBP in two days ago. The iMac waiting game was... traumatic, and I'm glad that it's over.
My rMBP is amazing. Having switched from a June 2007 Mac Pro, this laptop has literally revitalized my life. Freedom at last. It is fast as hell and the retina screen is beautiful. The 15" size isn't a problem like I thought it would be; my eyesight is great so I have the resolution cranked up, I can see everything that I need to see, and 10 feet away from my desk I'm watching Netflix movies in bed which I HIGHLY prefer to my old 20.5" monitor. I have it setup on some aluminum stand (iRain I think?) and it is just a functional desktop sitting here, external keyboard, I haven't had a reason to use it on the go yet.
Having said that, if iMacs are released next week (namely retina screen iMacs) I may return the rMBP. It is very expensive and I'd rather have a desktop with more speed and upgradability for the same price. It would HAVE to have a retina screen though, or one capable of extremely high resolution; when people say "once you go retina you don't go back" it is true.
The only problems I've experienced so far is the annoying ML Safari (software) bug that sometimes makes your text invisible when typing in a box, some video glitches when playing WoW (random colors quickly flashing once in a while), and when playing games the fan does get rather loud (this might be more apparent with my stand which elevates it). The video glitches are not annoying, I just hope that they aren't indicative of serious GPU problems... when the GPU dies, even under warranty, it means I can't use the comp at all until the replacement arrives.
These forums are extremely unhelpful sometimes. I wouldn't put too much weight in what people say you "should buy." "Don't buy a rMBP, they're in beta, instead get a refurbished 2011 iMac and install your own SSDs, remove the optical drive, add another SSD, add third party ram, replace the video card, and you're good!!!" Yeah really ****ing helpful, days of effort to jack up a 1.5 year old model with USB 2 and crap components while voiding the Applecare warranty in the process -- just to save $500 on a rMBP of equal speed plus portability. Normal people buy computers then use them. I am happy paying off my rMBP by eating lentils and quinoa for a while, and not worrying about my frigging Hackintosh and whether the next ML update will even function on my computer or not. Just my $.02.
Edit: Btw, the rMBP I purchased is 2.6 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. Student discount helps and the $100 gift card (you can only use on app store or iTunes) I plan to use for professional apps I'd purchase anyway (MS Office, Adobe ____, etc.).
My rMBP is amazing. Having switched from a June 2007 Mac Pro, this laptop has literally revitalized my life. Freedom at last. It is fast as hell and the retina screen is beautiful. The 15" size isn't a problem like I thought it would be; my eyesight is great so I have the resolution cranked up, I can see everything that I need to see, and 10 feet away from my desk I'm watching Netflix movies in bed which I HIGHLY prefer to my old 20.5" monitor. I have it setup on some aluminum stand (iRain I think?) and it is just a functional desktop sitting here, external keyboard, I haven't had a reason to use it on the go yet.
Having said that, if iMacs are released next week (namely retina screen iMacs) I may return the rMBP. It is very expensive and I'd rather have a desktop with more speed and upgradability for the same price. It would HAVE to have a retina screen though, or one capable of extremely high resolution; when people say "once you go retina you don't go back" it is true.
The only problems I've experienced so far is the annoying ML Safari (software) bug that sometimes makes your text invisible when typing in a box, some video glitches when playing WoW (random colors quickly flashing once in a while), and when playing games the fan does get rather loud (this might be more apparent with my stand which elevates it). The video glitches are not annoying, I just hope that they aren't indicative of serious GPU problems... when the GPU dies, even under warranty, it means I can't use the comp at all until the replacement arrives.
These forums are extremely unhelpful sometimes. I wouldn't put too much weight in what people say you "should buy." "Don't buy a rMBP, they're in beta, instead get a refurbished 2011 iMac and install your own SSDs, remove the optical drive, add another SSD, add third party ram, replace the video card, and you're good!!!" Yeah really ****ing helpful, days of effort to jack up a 1.5 year old model with USB 2 and crap components while voiding the Applecare warranty in the process -- just to save $500 on a rMBP of equal speed plus portability. Normal people buy computers then use them. I am happy paying off my rMBP by eating lentils and quinoa for a while, and not worrying about my frigging Hackintosh and whether the next ML update will even function on my computer or not. Just my $.02.
Edit: Btw, the rMBP I purchased is 2.6 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. Student discount helps and the $100 gift card (you can only use on app store or iTunes) I plan to use for professional apps I'd purchase anyway (MS Office, Adobe ____, etc.).
Last edited:
I really would like to advantage of the BTS promotion before it ends, and this is what is weighing me heavily toward getting the rMBP because I doubt the iMacs will be released prior to this. The rMBPs are really beautiful machines and very powerful and best current Apple machines, but I also feel as if I would regret not waiting for the 2012 iMac. I'll tell you one thing, if I did get a rMBP, then I'll definitely kiss the iMac goodbye and not look back. Apple is comfortable resting on their laurels while their supporters are left in waiting and torment.
It depends on how much you need a new comp I guess. I needly one badly, my life/work were suffering. I am so disgusted at how long I waited. If your comp is really unbearable I would just start financially planning around a rMBP, to at least order one before the back to school sale ends. You have 14 days starting at its delivery date to return it. If you order one on Sept. 21, depending on your location it will arrive in 1 week. So roughly speaking that means you have until Oct. 12 for new iMacs to come out in order to exchange for one, granted that you will lose some money buying accessories and so forth for rMBP. That puts you in a better position than me (Sept. 28), but honestly I don't care at all, the word "iMac" makes me cringe at this point.
Great advice! I shall see what the coming weeks will bring. If there isn't even so much as a tiny sliver of news or leaks pointing to a near imminent release, then rMBP it is. It's funny because I was talking with someone who owns all kinds of macs, and recently picked up the rMBP, and even he was telling me of the beast of a machine that it is. He even went as far to say that it trumps his two year old Mac Pro! He made an interesting statement, stating that Apple is moving towards retinizing its entire Mac lineup. This makes me think because it appears this is indeed what Apple is after and for all we know, Apple may very well pass on a 2012 iMac refresh, and just concentrate their efforts on bringing retina to the remainder of their lineups in 2013. If this occurs, this will no doubt be a huge devastation to the Mac community and I will not continue to bear this torture. So lets continue to wait pass day 500 and see if that will mystically produce an iMac refresh.
Computing power? rMBP thumps the base iMac (which I'm assuming this is based on), but for higher end iMacs, it gets more even. The most expensive iMac is obviously going to be better performance than the 13" rMBP.
Display quality? I've found that the retina display on the 15" has better contrast and deeper blacks than any other Mac display.
Meh, yeah, it's close, and the RAM in the rMBP is faster, and the flash storage on the rMBP will blow any SSD out of the water, but it's not like we are using the SSD or flash for video editing. I can spend a good 500 dollars more and get 512 or spend a grand and get 4tb of RAID 0 thunderbolt goodness.
I get that an iMac is good, and it's powerful, and last year I was telling everyone how good value it was, but what people don't get is that the rMBP is absurdly good value. Yes it's expensive, but look at this, spec a iMac and a rMBP the same
Top of the line 27 inch iMac (worse screen)
with a top of the line processor (worse then the top of the line rMBP processor in benchmark speeds at least)
and a 256gb SSD (far slower then the rMBP's flash)
16gb of RAM (slower then the rMBP because they aren't sodered to the mobo)
And graphics (better then the rMBP, fairly significantly, esspecially if you get the upgraded graphics)
ports (more then the rMBP but no HDMI (not that exciting) and no USB 3.0)
optical drive
All of this adds up to 3 grand. 16gb of RAM on the rMBP, 2.6ghz processor and 256gb of flash storage on the rMBP beat all of that (even without the 2.7ghz) and has a better screen, ONLY losing on graphics, ports (kind of, but also winning there) and optical drive. and it's 500 dollars less.
I know I sound like someone vigorously trying to defend his purchase or something, but I'm not, the 2012 iMac will undoubtedly destroy the rMBP, but I'm trying to make people understand, when Apple REALLY innovates, everything sodered to the motherboard, case design like that, screen like that, they do it WELL.
The iMac's graphics are better, the rMBP's are still great, I can play every game that I own at full resolution and with high everything (little do you guys know I only play civ I, no I'm kidding, this is like Starcraft II and Portal and Civ 5 and things). The rMBP beats it on EVERYTHING else, even price. And we didn't talk about portability, or being amazing looking, or battery life, or any of the other many things that it has.
I think you all think that the iMac will perform better because you think "desktops are better", but the iMac isn't REALLY a desktop
Sorry that was so long
----------
My TI 83 has better performance then the 13" rMBP
(It doesn't exist)
The most expensive iMac actually loses to both the 2.6 and the 2.7ghz processors on the rMBP. Remember, it's newer, it has newer things, newer = faster (generally)
The reason to buy the iMac is ALL graphics. The benchmarks for the iMac's graphics are way better then the rMBP