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The "I like my new 13"rMBP" thread ....
- Thread starter entatlrg
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Yes it's overpriced, but you have the abysmal competition to thank for that.. I was looking for a viable alternative for 3 months and couldn't find Jack..
How about the Asus Zenbook Prime? The specs are similar and the 1920x1080 screen is pretty good and it costs something like 1350$.
What are your requirements?
Looked into it, wasn't impressed. It's too slow (processor wise) and I'm not after an ultrabook, otherwise the Macbook air would've been a contender.
Also lots of reports on issues with trackpad, keyboard, etc, The customer service from Asus is apparently pretty bad as well.
Looked into it, wasn't impressed. It's too slow (processor wise) and I'm not after an ultrabook, otherwise the Macbook air would've been a contender.
Also lots of reports on issues with trackpad, keyboard, etc, The customer service from Asus is apparently pretty bad as well.
I believe there are versions of it that have a normal (non ULV) i5 processor and a discreet graphics card.
But anyway, we are getting off-topic, and your point that the competition in the 13inch area isn't very strong, is valid.
I had the 15in rMBP before selling it and going back to a 13in cMBP. There are just to many problems with the Rev A retinas right now (IR, safari lag, UI lag, expensive storage solution). I may be waiting awhile for 512gb flash to be cheaper, but the problems with the devices are the hardware, not the computer design itself. When Haswell comes out they will most likely perform better, but I plan to let this pro last me a good 3-5 years before going to the retina models. Maybe by then SSD's will be as cheap as regular HD's, cuz for now I can get a 256gb SSD for 100-120$ cheaper then apple charges, not to mention I do not have any UI lag or safari lag, also can change out the ram/hd myself which is nice if I ever need to.
Fair enough, but the screen quality downgrade would be immense for me after owning a 15" rMBP like you did. To each his own.
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Go to Apple's website and spec out a cMBP 13" with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. It comes to $1,499. The same specs for 4X the resolution in a Retina display along with a thinner/lighter design costs $200 more. To me, the Retina screen alone is absolutely worth the $200 upgrade and that cost is not surprising at all after thinking about it further.
For those who want a 13" rMBP, go get one. Don't let the spec-police or people waiting for the 2016 model get you down about the purchase you want to make. Buy it and enjoy it.
Hey. I have been waiting for the 13" rMBP for awhile and just bought one last night despite the sticker shock and criticisms here of which I contributed a bit.
For me, the base model 13" made sense and with the corporate discount I received on it, the price was justifiable for this beautiful Retina display and compact design. 128GB is a little low, but I have a Time Capsule I can drag and drop stuff on as needed. There are compromises with every Apple product for sure.
So far, I love it and am waiting for an update to the Thunderbolt Display to pair with this bad boy. I am coming from a 27" iMac so rMBP + TB Display is my dream setup
Are you still enjoying your purchase? Any regrets? Do you wish you had upgraded to 256GB? How much actual user useable memory was available from the 128GB?
Really sitting on the fence on this one ...
Love it. Paying extra for the 256GB SSD made no sense because I need additional external storage whether I have a 128GB or 256GB SSD built in to the rMBP. So decided to save $300 there and am just using my 1TB Time Capsule as a server for big files I only need to access from time to time.
I think the usable space by default is 121GB which is more than enough for the OS, my Apps, my entire music library, a handful of HD videos, and all my documents.
I may ask Santa for a LaCie Thunderbolt drive for faster file transfers than my Time Capsule, but am not losing sleep over it.
In the end, the 13" rMBP is an awesome machine for the vast majority of users and is worth the $200 increase over a similarly spec'd non-Retina MBP.
I love my base model too. By far the best computer I've owned with regard to craftsmanship, usability, and portability. I have a 2012 MBA as well and I like the rmbp a lot more.