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Should I get the retina MacBook?
- Thread starter iBilal
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yeah, I'm buying it ..
I don't think you should, actually.
For most of us, we walked into the Apple store just to check it out, didn't really need a new notebook, instantly fell in love, and bought one quite urgently. I am concerned about your indecisiveness, I don't think you will be happy with it.
BJ
Personally, I'd hold off, I think your current system is better but that's just my opinion
yeah, I'm buying it ..
Yes, get it. It's not that powerful. It should be great to have for fun and enjoyment
I got one and returned it. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine piece of industrial design, and fine as a second laptop, it's just so grossly underpowered that my suggestion would be to wait for the next processor update.
I do not, however agree with this whole, 'future of computing' comment. It's just a thinner laptop, that is underpowered because it's a thinner laptop. They've been making thin products for years. It's expected. It isn't mindboggling. I think the word innovation is so meaninglessly thrown around, people have forgotten what it really means.
For those who paid attention before buying, all Apple promised is that the RMB is extremely attractive and portable. If you know what you're buying and do a little research, you won't be disappointed. All of these "I bought it and was really disappointed by its power" posts don't make Apple look bad, they make the uninformed buyers look bad.
For those of us who put a huge premium on design, thinness, and weight, it exceeds all expectations. It is truly best-in-class for the traveling executive, first notebook we've ever owned that we can wear on our backs all day without even knowing its there.
As for the "future of computing", if you think that in 10 years all computers won't be thin and light and fanless with retina displays and a single universal port, think again. It's quite innovative if you have the vision to see beyond 2015.
BJ
I picked up an rMB the other day for programming/web/writing/light graphics/maybe 3D modeling. I can't +1 this post enough. For that it is; it's fantastic. My only complaint is MSRP (I encourage everyone to keep an eye out for deals; you can get it hundreds of dollars cheaper new with the full year of AppleCare out of the gate if you look online).
Beyond that, I'm actually really shocked at how powerful it actually is. It's NOT a gaming laptop by any means, aside from maybe developing iOS-level applications for it. But even that's not too terrible these days. I won't run Crysis, but it'll do 90% of what you want it to do. Hell, I'm gonna try Zbrush on it later today probably. It jutters every now and again if I try to do everything at once, but for what it is? Nearly perfect after purchasing a $20 USB-C pass through charger with a single USB-A port.
Well, this my first mac with a retina screen. I have previously owned non-retina screen macs. Honestly, I do not see much of a difference between the two types of screens. However, what I'd like is the keyboard and the slightly larger screen compared to MBA 11. In a strange way, the keyboard grows on you...
Again, you just proved my point. What you're talking about is progress. Not innovation. It's just a thinner laptop, it doesn't rethink the way we engage with computers, like an iPad does.
The RMB is a state-of-the-art notebook from a standpoint of design, weight, display, and connectivity. And that's all it needs to be to make hundreds of thousands of owners happy. That's significant "innovation" to those of us who travel extensively. I've owned just about every thin/light notebook on the Mac and Windows side since 1996 and the RMB blows the doors off of all of them. It's an incredible innovation where it matters most- portability.
And this "processing power" nonsense reminds me of what goes on in BMW forums with all these guys pumping their chests with their 400 HP M3's which they can only drive at 25 MPH in school zones just like the Camry they're tailgating. Very few people push their notebooks hard enough to tell the difference between a MBP and a RMB. Milliseconds can't be felt. It's just a number on a blog.
Look, you bought the wrong product. If you took half the time you're taking now to rag on it to research it before you bought it you wouldn't be so angry now. Get a Pro and move on.
BJ
I could never go back to a full size laptop. I do a lot of training remotely, and the portability is unmatched by anything. If you use the office suite, watch videos on the web, and other light task it is perfect. I would day 90% of people fall in that category.
Precisely. Let me think back to the last calendar year, think of what I've actually run on my notebooks (in order of usage):
Microsoft Outlook
Firefox
Skype
Dropbox
Microsoft Powerpoint
Adobe Reader
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
Adobe Photoshop
iTunes
Slingbox
And like you said, I'd bet that 90% of the planet is using even less apps than I am, and I'm not using much. Oh, and of the items on the list, I never have more than 3 or 4 in-use at the same time. Skype is always running, Outlook is always running, and then I'll have Powerpoint and Photoshop and Dropbox open simultaneously. It's not like Mr. & Mrs. Average Officeworker are straining their notebooks, ever.
Bunch of kids who rip DVD's on Handbrake, compile 4K HD videos, stream content on Hulu, and play online games all simultaneously are the ones causing this unfortunate false stigma about the Retina MacBook. Enough already. The thing is a beast when it comes to the average work done by the average person.
BJ
Well, bit the bullet and picked up a space gray macbook! Its freakin awesome!
congrats!!!
are you happy with it? .. any performance issues? .. which notebook were you using, before? ..
are you happy with it? .. any performance issues? .. which notebook were you using, before? ..
Well, bit the bullet and picked up a space gray macbook! Its freakin awesome!
I bought the 2015 MBP13 128gb and loved it. Got a great deal at Best Buy for $1099. Met all my expectations but seemed a little heavy. Screen was awesome and processing power was more than I needed. I use 2016 MS Office for Mac, Safari, SkillSoft player for online classes, Virtual Box and VMware for C++ coding, mail, youtube, facebook, sonos, xcode. Battery life was great, but I thought I wanted more.
I exchanged it for a 2015 MacBook Air 128gb. Awesome deal on this...$799 at Best Buy (my timing was great). The screen was not as good as the retina display but the battery life and thinness/lightness was better. Even though the Air was a little taller than the pro, it was thinner and just felt better to carry...also it is .5 pounds lighter. Battery life was insane...I went 8 hours using the programs above and still had over 40% battery life. I never carried the charger. I used this for about 30 days and the screen began to wear on me. My iPad Air 2 retina display was awesome and I wanted that on my laptop.
I exchanged the Air for a SG rMB 256gb. The screen is awesome, the speakers are way better than the pro and Air, and the size was perfect. I bought it for $1099 ($150 sale + $50 student discount). This came with 8gb ram and 256gb HD. The extra 128gb is easily worth $200, so if there was a 128gb model it would probably be about $899 including the discounts, putting it between the Air and pro. The tradeoff is size/weight vs processing power/battery life. I did not notice any significant speed difference between how my programs ran on the rMB vs the pro or the Air. My programs must not be very processor intensive and the 8gb ram and ssd helps a lot. If I was ripping DVDs or playing graphic intensive games, of course this would not be the machine I would pick. The battery life is easily close to 8-9 hours with my use.
To me, the size outweighed the faster processor and slight increase in battery life. This machine is awesome...its hard to explain but I like carrying it around the house and using it in bed or on the couch. It is not much bigger than my Air 2 and has a great keyboard. I know experts say that for the price, the pro has the best bang for the buck, but I think you need to prioritize what characteristics are most important to you and what programs you will run on it. The safe bet is to get the pro because it will run everything better, but if the rMB will run your program fine then find a good deal and get the rMB...that's what I did.
I exchanged it for a 2015 MacBook Air 128gb. Awesome deal on this...$799 at Best Buy (my timing was great). The screen was not as good as the retina display but the battery life and thinness/lightness was better. Even though the Air was a little taller than the pro, it was thinner and just felt better to carry...also it is .5 pounds lighter. Battery life was insane...I went 8 hours using the programs above and still had over 40% battery life. I never carried the charger. I used this for about 30 days and the screen began to wear on me. My iPad Air 2 retina display was awesome and I wanted that on my laptop.
I exchanged the Air for a SG rMB 256gb. The screen is awesome, the speakers are way better than the pro and Air, and the size was perfect. I bought it for $1099 ($150 sale + $50 student discount). This came with 8gb ram and 256gb HD. The extra 128gb is easily worth $200, so if there was a 128gb model it would probably be about $899 including the discounts, putting it between the Air and pro. The tradeoff is size/weight vs processing power/battery life. I did not notice any significant speed difference between how my programs ran on the rMB vs the pro or the Air. My programs must not be very processor intensive and the 8gb ram and ssd helps a lot. If I was ripping DVDs or playing graphic intensive games, of course this would not be the machine I would pick. The battery life is easily close to 8-9 hours with my use.
To me, the size outweighed the faster processor and slight increase in battery life. This machine is awesome...its hard to explain but I like carrying it around the house and using it in bed or on the couch. It is not much bigger than my Air 2 and has a great keyboard. I know experts say that for the price, the pro has the best bang for the buck, but I think you need to prioritize what characteristics are most important to you and what programs you will run on it. The safe bet is to get the pro because it will run everything better, but if the rMB will run your program fine then find a good deal and get the rMB...that's what I did.
I think you hit the nail on the head .. and pretty much summed it up for all of us who are on the fence about the rMB by saying .. "you need to prioritize what characteristics are most important to you and what programs you will run on it." ..
CPU power, I'd agree. Form factor, I disagree. I think the 12" display can be too small for people.
My company offers different sizes for their laptops, some people opt for the 12" laptop, while others go for the larger versions. I'd say for that small population sample, the 12" laptop is the least chosen laptop. Not because of its processing power but because the screen is too small for people to do their work
That is a good point. I dock when I am at work most of the time. If you are using a 13" laptop it is not a big change, but I could see someone coming from a 15"+ really struggling with the smaller real-estate.
Thanks bud! I'm very happy with it. So far so good, no performance issues and like what @Zamboni said, its so freakin lighte
I was using a 2012 13" mba and my applecare warranty ended in july. So instead of getting another mba, i tried this out and loved it. The screen size is perfect for me.
Yeah but the Macbook was never meant for people who want to do the stuff that requires that screen estate.
Well most people prefer bigger screens, so it makes sense with the person I quoted that people would choose a larger laptop. Until you try a smaller one you do not realize how nice the portability actually is.
My main system has three 27" displays, and I struggle with anything less than that. Yeah, I'm spoiled.
But compared to three big heads, which is what I'm used to, even using one 27" display is limiting. So, again for me, I find the difference between a 12" and 15" display to be negligible. The 12" on the rMB is about the minimum size I can work with, but the difference between that and a 15" isn't worth the weight and bulkiness.
Funny how spoiled we get with these things. My first work-issued system was an SE/30 with a 9" 512x342 mono screen.No idea how I got anything done on that?
But compared to three big heads, which is what I'm used to, even using one 27" display is limiting. So, again for me, I find the difference between a 12" and 15" display to be negligible. The 12" on the rMB is about the minimum size I can work with, but the difference between that and a 15" isn't worth the weight and bulkiness.
Funny how spoiled we get with these things. My first work-issued system was an SE/30 with a 9" 512x342 mono screen.No idea how I got anything done on that?
With El Capitan, I usually run my apps full size and 3 finger swipe between them. This gives me a full screen. Without mission control it would be a lot harder to navigate all of the screens, but a 3 finger swipe up or left or right gives you quick access to them. Also, if you hold down the green expand button, it allows it to quickly size to half the screen...so you can work with 2 windows at the same time without much hassle. This just makes it easier to work with less real estate.
