rMBP Preformance

[063945711]

Just like many of you, I am debating whether I should wait for the presumed update of the haswell rMBP, or go ahead and get the current model. I will definitely need one before I go to school in September, so I was wondering how your experience has been with the current rMBP. I would be getting the 13-inch model with an upgraded SSD and CPU. I herd there were issues with the retina screen "lagging" as the haswell processor is not sufficient enough for the screen. I would not be doing any gaming what so ever, but I herd this "lag" comes from normal scrolling?

Just trying to get an idea here if it comes to September and I need to get the current model, are there any common issues people have.

Thanks!

 

[BuCkDoG]

Hello there. The "Scrolling" lag is actually a software issue rather than a Hardware issue. Many speculated that is was the hardware and that the ivy bridge and GT 650m weren't really ready for that resolution and increase in power, but it turns out that they are capable of running things just fine. Apple has fixed a lot of the issues in OSX 10.9 (Mavericks) which is make things much much better for retina models. For a temporary fix for UI scrolling, just install webkit and you should be fine. As far as Haswell is concerned, it will bring the most tangible benefit to the 13" MacBook Pro (the one you want) rather than the 15in. The 13" does NOT have a discrete GPU which makes gaming much worse, but with Haswell the Integrated GPU is 2x of Ivy Bridge which is a big deal so gaming is at least playable, plus the power savings is where you want to be with the 13in. The 15in won't have a big improvement at all from Haswell as compared to the 13in. So my verdict is if you need it now, get it. Otherwise wait out a few more months and hopefully they release the Haswell version of the Pros.

 

[omgitscro]

Scrolling lag is definitely a software issue. Not even my maxed-out 13" Haswell Air is safe from lag a few times every hour. Mavericks will fix this issue though.

 

[Asuriyan]

Glad people have started to realize that GUI framerate issues stem from inefficiencies in pixel doubling rather than any hardware deficiency in the laptop.

If you're going to get a current model, look for a refurb, or a used one on which you can still purchase AppleCare. As much as I have no problem recommending my computer to others, I know how hard I would get hit by buyer's remorse if I bought it and a new one was released within 2 weeks of the return period expiring.

 

[sofianito]

Glad people have started to realize that GUI framerate issues stem from inefficiencies in pixel doubling rather than any hardware deficiency in the laptop.

Don't you mind to elaborate more on this point. I am keen to understand how and why Mac OS X engineers team wrote inefficient code?

 

[omgitscro]

Don't you mind to elaborate more on this point. I am keen to understand how and why Mac OS X engineers team wrote inefficient code?

It's not necessarily inefficient. Every once in a while, when the need arises, developers come up with neat and novel optimization tricks to boost performance.

With the rise of website complexity, there is now a need for improved rendering performance on the browser side.

This is what lead to the improvements in the latest version of Safari in Mavericks. Note that we can also get some of these improvements by downloading the experimental Webkit Nightly Builds online.