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Should the rMBP 13" be my first Mac?
- Thread starter vcash
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My god if only they gave 256gb default. Would definitely swing prospective buyers to go ahead, I think.
Yeah 256gb at the base price would convince many to buy it. I can't believe Apple is still trying to get 2010 prices for their SSD upgrades. Their ipad/mini 16-32-64gb prices are even nuttier. I think it costs Apple $37 more to make a 64gb ipad vs. a 16gb. The 16gb cheapies should be eliminated and 32gb should replace them at those price points. Crazy.
True, but then you can just speak to a supervisor who knows what they are talking about.
An external monitor scenario would be an ideal scenario once I graduate and settle down (Living out of a suitcase right now for the most part).
I'll take that as a compliment! cMBP & rMBP - I picked up from my research in this forum. Other Mac tidbits from observing colleagues and friends computers as well as reading engadget, etc. Geek at heart I guess.
I'm in my early 20's and work it retail, what are you suggesting? It pays the bills while i'm at uni. Lets not insult people for what they do for a living ok random internet troll
I'm not insulting anybody. I was once in my 20s, and had a job in retail myself. And, back then, I was much more argumentative on the Internet.
So I'm just speaking from experience. But you young whippersnappers might not remember Usenet.
On the "retinas" they do not consider those thing user replaceable. On the regular pros, yes....but not on the retinas and you would void the warranty. The only thing you may get slack with would be the SSD...everything else would void it. On the classic you can change the RAM and HDD w/o voiding it.
Ignorance is bliss.
There are no user-serviceable parts inside a rMBP. If people read the warranty language, and understood that within the legal context manufacturer warranties operate within, they would understand that any "unauthorized modification" voids the warranty.
Exactly, you can change the SDD, the wifi card, and the speakers. The ram is off limits though.
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Ignorance is bliss.
There are no user-serviceable parts inside a rMBP. If people read the warranty language, and understood that within the legal context manufacturer warranties operate within, they would understand that any "unauthorized modification" voids the warranty.
First off, there are several serviceable parts, just go look at the ifixit teardown to better inform yourself. Second, the warranty language, whatever it says, cannot overwrite the law. The MMWA considers it fair game to service your HDD, and other similar components, so whatever Apple says in their warranty, can't override that fact. Additionally, go look at the Apple warranty, nowhere does it say you can't change your SSD.
Ignorance is bliss.
There are no user-serviceable parts inside a rMBP. If people read the warranty language, and understood that within the legal context manufacturer warranties operate within, they would understand that any "unauthorized modification" voids the warranty.
So you're a law graduate working in retail then?
There are no user-serviceable parts inside a retina Macbook Pro. None. Zero. Note that there are no USER-serviceable parts inside a retina Macbook Pro. Hence, unless you are an authorized Apple service center, any "unauthorized modification" may void the warranty, at Apple's discretion. Magnuson-Moss doesn't apply in the way that you think it does, because Apple has specified that there are no user-serviceable parts inside.
Among other schools, yes.
No.
This is just blatantly false. You can remove the Airport Card, the I/O card, the speakers, the headphone jack, and the SDD. See this photo:
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/ibt2SIrUkYrNFesU.medium
Actually it does, it guarantees there is a limited warranty in place no matter what your actually warranty says or doesn't say, and according to the law, i.e. the MMWA, you can service any of the removable parts and replace them with third-party parts if you like, so long as in doing so you don't damage any of the other parts.
Trying to remove the RAM would damage the computer, trying to remove the battery would be a biohazard, so you can't mess with those. But everything else is fair game.
Anyway, I'm not going to further argue the point. First off you appear not to be aware of what the MMWA guarantees and the protections it offers to consumers. Second you claim that "any unauthorized modification" may void the warranty, but can you cite what part of Apple's warranties claims this? And specifically what counts as unauthorized according to that document? Don't tell me your interpretation of the warranty, it's clueless. Show me the actual text where Apple prohibits changing the SSD for instance. You won't find it since any such stipulation would be against the law. You made a claim so the onus is on you to back it up. Now show us the facts rather than your speculations.
I'm not going to estimate how much space that would take, as it's been a while since I did a clean OS installation. I wanted to mention that even if OWC does come up with something, the tiny stick form drives tend to be pretty expensive. These are specialized parts, and OWC wouldn't be able to move nearly as many as Apple can bundle, but you should take a look at pricing prior to factoring such an upgrade into your purchase. This is also a first generation product. I've had plenty of problems with first generation Apple products. It should last for a while. Just don't base your purchase on the idea that it will run forever.
Apple tries to be somewhat uniform in their ssd pricing across notebooks and desktops. I kind of wonder if the proprietary formats somehow add to costs there. The OWC ones are more expensive than standard drives, but at the same time that's a single shop making them as after market upgrades on a very limited scale. My point is only that I wonder if Apple marks up things that use standard ssds to maintain uniform pricing with other products such as the Air and rMBPs. Even then it's really annoying looking at the standard configurations. NAND based drives have plummeted in recent months. I would have expected pricing to shift somewhat with the refresh or capacities to go up somewhat, but at this point they may just be milking it. It's hard to be sure to what degree this affects their overall margins without more information, and I don't feel like looking up possible component costs right now
.I just want to point out that as ifixit shows, Apple uses different screws on any area they do not consider user serviceable. These things are always held together with pentalobe screws. In the case of the rMBP, they use them on the bottom of the case. At the very least, they've taken measures to discourage users from opening the case.
Apparently you failed reading comprehension. There are no USER-serviceable parts inside, per Apple. The parts that are serviceable may only, under the terms of Apple's warranty, be serviced by an Apple authorized service center, else the warranty is void.
As for Magnuson-Moss, I'm not going to waste any more time or typing on you - it's patently obvious you haven't the foggiest idea of how it works in the real world. That's OK - you're young, you might be able to understand it some day.
With all due respect, you can find many ultrabooks for under a grand, the Vizio line comes to mind.
That's still $400 or like 30% less than a mac.
That's still $400 or like 30% less than a mac.
Are you an Apple spokeperson? No? Then show us where Apple says what you claim they do. Put up or shut up. Facts and evidence only going forward please.
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Good point. I do agree Apple discourages it, however that is very different from forbidding it, which they have no legal authority to do. Notice pentalobe screw drivers can be purchased through third parties, as can many of the parts, just go to ifixit again.
So I went to the Apple store today and I compared the rMBP 13 to the MBA 13. I played with the rMBP 15 but I don't want to go down that path because of budgetary constraints. I compared the rMBP 13 and the MBA by launching applications including Office 2010 and Balsamiq as well as native applications such as Mail \ Calendar and web browsing including BBC, Engadget, CNN (The Verge did not open on any computer in the Apple Store - Maybe the site was down). I also played some 720p movie trailers and in my opinion, I did not see any difference in performance (Both models were set at 1440 X 900). No lag or stutter while switching between programs or going to launchpad.
So why am I picking the retina over the Air? Two reasons:
1) I requested an Apple Store employee to place a MBA next to the rMBP in the store and the panel quality in the latter blew me away - Now this was only apparent when looking at native applications, desktop and basically anything optimized for Retina. When you look at webpages, the quality looked more or less the same. Still when I looked at the Retina, it really impressed me and I am willing to pay a slight premium especially since I look at my screen for 6 hours a day.
2) At 1440 X 900, a full webpage would not fit in Balsamiq. In the rMBP, when I went up to the 1680 X 1280, the whole page would fit giving me the overview that I need. This option is not available on the MBA.
So based on these two facts, I am going ahead with the rMBP. I know it doesn't work for some people but I think I will be happy with this laptop. Thank you once again for your help.
Cheers,
V
So why am I picking the retina over the Air? Two reasons:
1) I requested an Apple Store employee to place a MBA next to the rMBP in the store and the panel quality in the latter blew me away - Now this was only apparent when looking at native applications, desktop and basically anything optimized for Retina. When you look at webpages, the quality looked more or less the same. Still when I looked at the Retina, it really impressed me and I am willing to pay a slight premium especially since I look at my screen for 6 hours a day.
2) At 1440 X 900, a full webpage would not fit in Balsamiq. In the rMBP, when I went up to the 1680 X 1280, the whole page would fit giving me the overview that I need. This option is not available on the MBA.
So based on these two facts, I am going ahead with the rMBP. I know it doesn't work for some people but I think I will be happy with this laptop. Thank you once again for your help.
Cheers,
V
No kidding.
I don't believe this thread was begun in an honest manner. By definition there is no "budgetary constraint " present.
The 13" Retina is a RIPOFF.
This afternoon Amazon had the 15" Retina for $2,059.
Second time I have seen that price at Amazon.
I have nothing to gain by lying in a public forum.
I am in Grad School which as you may imagine, is very expensive. I had budgeted around $1200 for an Ultrabook which I was going to get until I explored the Mac Option.
Will I go broke if I spend $2000+ on a laptop? (Incidentally with the 15% discount, I get the rMBP 15 for $1870) - The answer is no. At this point in my life, should I be a little more cost conscious - The answer is Yes. Does the 13" meet my requirements and is the price more palatable at ~$1450? - The answer is yes.
Thanks,
V
Thank You! I hope to be able to pick up the laptop on Friday - Will update the forum with my initial impressions.