The AnandTech MBP with Retina display review is UP!

[corvus32]

could you check the performance on Facebook? This whole thing has me very worried about me order....

I don't have a Facebook account, but this is a very taxing webpage:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikondigital/pool/

There are A LOT of images. Again, AdBlock disabled and Flash installed.

Screen resolution set to Best for Retina.

Screenshot shows a frame rate of 32 FPS, but they can dip into the teens or spike to around 40.

 

[ixodes]

<snip>I've been loving my RMBP (running with ML is better!) <snip>

I'm very interested in your take on Mountain Lion, especially since you've made a point to tell us that it improves your experience with your new Mac.

I respect everyone's individual preferences, especially when expressed as an open intelligent conversation.

Quite frankly I've not followed the ML project as close as I'd like, works been getting in the way

Thanks

 

[JPOWA]

Thanks for the results!

I said Facebook because its probably the most stressful website for scrolling! The combination of text and images its worst than images by it self...

But I'm really happy with your results and with ML will be even better!

If isn't asking to much you could try the very same tests with Safari 6 DP2 to see the improvements

 

[BigZ9]

'The Verge' with AdBlock disabled and Flash installed.

The first screenshot shows a frame rate of 39 FPS.

The second one shows a frame rate of 45 FPS.

Thanks for the help Sorry if this has been a burden. I'll probably order a base model with 16GB ram closer to the release of Mountain Lion. After I test drive it at the apple store.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm very interested in your take on Mountain Lion, especially since you've made a point to tell us that it improves your experience with your new Mac.

My experience w/ ML on the RMBP is similar to what Anandtech reported in regards to scrolling stutter, for lack of a better description, being almost a non-factor compared w/ Lion - at least on Safari. I haven't bothered trying w/ FF yet b/c Safari looks so good I don't want to leave it, and as yes, no web site has given me a reason to. I keep meaning to try out one of the Retina-ready daily builds of Chrome, but, the main reason I use Chrome is the all-in-one URL/Search bar, which Safari 6 now has so gotta fight inertia.

 

[juicywaterhouse]

My experience w/ ML on the RMBP is similar to what Anandtech reported in regards to scrolling stutter, for lack of a better description, being almost a non-factor compared w/ Lion - at least on Safari. I haven't bothered trying w/ FF yet b/c Safari looks so good I don't want to leave it, and as yes, no web site has given me a reason to. I keep meaning to try out one of the Retina-ready daily builds of Chrome, but, the main reason I use Chrome is the all-in-one URL/Search bar, which Safari 6 now has so gotta fight inertia.

I'll agree here... just upgraded to DP4 yesterday. IMO the machine was clearly built with Mountain Lion in mind (also keep in mind, everyone who bought one gets mountain lion for free). Speaking candidly, there is still some noticeable scroll lag when compared to my 13" Air.

With that said, given the vast improvement from 10.7.4 to 10.8 (DP4), I have confidence by either the GM (or an update shortly after), the issue of lag will be universally negligible.

Overall, I don't see the logic in waiting until next year's model... unless it's wise financially to wait until next year.

 

[KPOM]

My experience w/ ML on the RMBP is similar to what Anandtech reported in regards to scrolling stutter, for lack of a better description, being almost a non-factor compared w/ Lion - at least on Safari. I haven't bothered trying w/ FF yet b/c Safari looks so good I don't want to leave it, and as yes, no web site has given me a reason to.

I'll agree here... just upgraded to DP4 yesterday. IMO the machine was clearly built with Mountain Lion in mind (also keep in mind, everyone who bought one gets mountain lion for free).

Interestingly, Apple was in the exact same position 12 months ago (new processors just released by Intel, a new OS 1 month away), and elected to delay the new MacBook Air (which was clearly designed with Lion in mind) by 1 month. This year, they decided to release the new Macs with the "old" OS and then give everyone free upgrades. Maybe that's another subtle difference between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs (though Cook was already effectively in charge last year).

Overall, I don't see the logic in waiting until next year's model... unless it's wise financially to wait until next year.

Haswell will bring an entirely new micro architecture, with better battery life and supposedly a significant improvement in CPU performance. It will be more akin to the leap from Core 2 Duo to Sandy Bridge (or at least to Arrandale).

 

[RealEyes]

Interestingly, Apple was in the exact same position 12 months ago (new processors just released by Intel, a new OS 1 month away), and elected to delay the new MacBook Air (which was clearly designed with Lion in mind) by 1 month. This year, they decided to release the new Macs with the "old" OS and then give everyone free upgrades. Maybe that's another subtle difference between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs (though Cook was already effectively in charge last year).




Haswell will bring an entirely new micro architecture, with better battery life and supposedly a significant improvement in CPU performance. It will be more akin to the leap from Core 2 Duo to Sandy Bridge (or at least to Arrandale).

I'm still going to get mine. By the time I order and it's shipped, should have ML out of the box. If these small problems don't get fixed, then I will hang on to it for a year and resell it for ~1k less and upgrade to the newer one. Easy!

 

[mac jones]

You have to love all these people rationalizing not spending the money.

 

[Boe11]

Holy reviews batman! I've occasionally read anandtech reviews (or at least skimmed cause they're so long) but never really paid attention to the author nor did I know who Anand was. I'm awaiting a rMBP which will be an incredible upgrade from my 2007 MBP so I was particularly interested and read the whole thing. Anand really seems to be quite an impressive person. Extremely knowledgable, analytical, intelligent, insightful, and writes very well. I'm in a completely unrelated field (academic cardiologist) but have always been a computer nerd. It's always a pleasure coming across such experts in their respective fields (not me - I'm just a worker bee). If you read Macrumors Anand - strong work!

He's the best. I always love reading his reviews and watching his videos. So much knowledge is rarely paired with the ability to convey it to others in such an enjoyable and informative manner. That and he just seems like a hell of a nice guy.

 

[calderone]

I'm still going to get mine. By the time I order and it's shipped, should have ML out of the box. If these small problems don't get fixed, then I will hang on to it for a year and resell it for ~1k less and upgrade to the newer one. Easy!

Trash.append("$1k")
poster.hasMoreMoneyThanSense()
===> True

 

[Jiten]

Trash.append("$1k")
poster.hasMoreMoneyThanSense()
===> True

Unless you are a student or just starting out, 1K is not really a lot of money. Its not like he's buying a luxury car or expensive property. If the man can afford to lose 1K in depreciation then he is probably earning enough to afford the loss.

 

[RealEyes]

Unless you are a student or just starting out, 1K is not really a lot of money. Its not like he's buying a luxury car or expensive property. If the man can afford to lose 1K in depreciation then he is probably earning enough to afford the loss.

Maybe not that big of a depreciation, but figure it this way.

You might end up spending $1K per year on a laptop like this.

3-4k, 3-4 years... Buy new, sell only a year old, end up with the newest [haswell] machine or whatever it is without having to spend twice the money.

Not a big loss if you think about it.

Let's hope all these small issues are fixed with ML and with updates that are soon to come. None of us will really know until the time comes.

 

[calderone]

Unless you are a student or just starting out, 1K is not really a lot of money. Its not like he's buying a luxury car or expensive property. If the man can afford to lose 1K in depreciation then he is probably earning enough to afford the loss.

I can afford the loss, doesn't mean I am stupid enough to do it.

 

[Jiten]

I can afford the loss, doesn't mean I am stupid enough to do it.

Then why are you so bent out of shape of what other people do with their money?

 

[theSeb]

I can afford the loss, doesn't mean I am stupid enough to do it.

It's a good thing that we have smart people on the Internet posting from their parents' basements to remind us how smart they are and to give out solid financial advice for free. I must add though that my father always said to not take financial advice from beggars.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Interestingly, Apple was in the exact same position 12 months ago (new processors just released by Intel, a new OS 1 month away), and elected to delay the new MacBook Air (which was clearly designed with Lion in mind) by 1 month. This year, they decided to release the new Macs with the "old" OS and then give everyone free upgrades. Maybe that's another subtle difference between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs (though Cook was already effectively in charge last year).

It is kind of curious, unless Apple has another major h/w update coming when ML is released and they don't want each all-new product stepping on each other. I'm thinking new iMac, w/ or w/o Retina, but no optical and super thin display. Apple does have a history of letting every all-new product have it's own time in the sun, and iMac has been a better seller than the 15" MBP in recent years. So if this theory is true it makes sense to let the 15" go first, even if it's better under the coming OS.

 

[Backing]

I can afford the loss, doesn't mean I am stupid enough to do it.

You remind me of my friend who called a rich acquaintance stupid for splurging 300K on a Lamborghini. For those who can't afford, spending 300K on a car is indeed stupid and they are absolutely correct. However for high net worth individuals like this millionaire acquaintance of ours, this is simply a luxury expense that brings him enjoyment.

If the fellow enjoyed his Retina MacBook Pro for a year and has the means to quickly earn it back then the 1K would have been worth it for him.

 

[JPOWA]

Well back to the review...

I remember reading that the hardware (meaning GPUs) aren't ready for the retina resolution (2880x1800), because the GPUs ate tested at 2560 x 1440 and 2560 x 1600.

How can this be true and Nvidia put the specs of its 650M GPU saying it supports 3840x2160?

Here: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook-gpus/geforce-gt-650m/specifications

I thinks its a great review but he talks a lot of things that are beyond his knowledge! Because guys, do you really think Apple would use some display without the hardware that support it?

In my opinion, the problem its 100% software based. Safari 6 on ML may use more GPU and its better, but when they are able to use it all for the renderings (specially the images) it will fly

just my 2cents

 

[stevelam]

Well back to the review...

I remember reading that the hardware (meaning GPUs) aren't ready for the retina resolution (2880x1800), because the GPUs ate tested at 2560 x 1440 and 2560 x 1600.

How can this be true and Nvidia put the specs of its 650M GPU saying it supports 3840x2160?

Here: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook-gpus/geforce-gt-650m/specifications

I thinks its a great review but he talks a lot of things that are beyond his knowledge! Because guys, do you really think Apple would use some display without the hardware that support it?

In my opinion, the problem its 100% software based. Safari 6 on ML may use more GPU and its better, but when they are able to use it all for the renderings (specially the images) it will fly

just my 2cents

Seeing as apple had to write custom software scalers to make it work, yes obviously apple had to cobble together what they could to make it work because hardware wasn't enough.

 

[JPOWA]

Seeing as apple had to write custom software scalers to make it work, yes obviously apple had to cobble together what they could to make it work because hardware wasn't enough.

They write its custom scalers because the hardware was not prepared for the 2x scaling, meaning, keeping the size and increase 4x the pixels just like the iPad and the iPhone.

Thats nothing to do with the GPU supporting those many pixels or not!

 

[juicywaterhouse]

I'm still going to get mine. By the time I order and it's shipped, should have ML out of the box. If these small problems don't get fixed, then I will hang on to it for a year and resell it for ~1k less and upgrade to the newer one. Easy!

From my past experiences, you'll get more than 1k in a year from now...

 

[stevelam]

They write its custom scalers because the hardware was not prepared for the 2x scaling, meaning, keeping the size and increase 4x the pixels just like the iPad and the iPhone.

in other words, the current hardware isn't ready.

Thats nothing to do with the GPU supporting those many pixels or not!

except it has EVERYTHING to do with it. the scaling part is what we're concerned about and is basically the key to retina display. obviously regular high resolution support has been around for years. whats your point?

 

[juicywaterhouse]

Interestingly, Apple was in the exact same position 12 months ago (new processors just released by Intel, a new OS 1 month away), and elected to delay the new MacBook Air (which was clearly designed with Lion in mind) by 1 month. This year, they decided to release the new Macs with the "old" OS and then give everyone free upgrades. Maybe that's another subtle difference between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs (though Cook was already effectively in charge last year).




Haswell will bring an entirely new micro architecture, with better battery life and supposedly a significant improvement in CPU performance. It will be more akin to the leap from Core 2 Duo to Sandy Bridge (or at least to Arrandale).

I still don't think that makes much sense. You're basically saying to never buy in "tick, but rather wait for the tock".

 

[KPOM]

I still don't think that makes much sense. You're basically saying to never buy in "tick, but rather wait for the tock".

That's not what I'm saying at all. There are advantages to the "tick" processors. In the case of Ivy Bridge, Intel made some real improvements to the GPU. Plus, although the stated power requirements and battery life are the same, the CPU is about 20% faster than last year's models across the board, and a number of reviewers have noticed minor increases in battery life.

My main point is that if longevity is a bigger concern, upgrading at the "tock" may be more significant. Core 2 to Sandy Bridge was essentially two tocks, since Apple skipped the Arrandale processors in the MacBook Air range. Thus, the 2010 vs 2011 Air situation may not be quite the same as 2012 vs. 2013. Sure, Haswell will bring a significant increase in power, but we don't have details yet. If they will have quad-core CPUs, or a GPU capable of powering a Retina display at the equivalent of 17W TDP then perhaps it will be as significant a leap. If not, then it won't.