Thinking of returning my maxed out rMBP

[thekev]

... ZERO PROBLEMS, ZERO WARRANTY issues, nothing.

I'm envious of your lack of problems. I do run things pretty hard at times, but I take appropriate precautions with everything I own. I generally don't move notebooks when they're hot. I'll wait for temperatures to decline before putting them to sleep. I keep the areas around desktop computers clean and free of debris. I've still encountered problems.

 

[schaibaa]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that lots of people might use the rMBP with external display(s) - so the lag may not apply there. If I purchase one, it will be a desktop replacement that can travel with me if I need to - but spend most of the time plugged in on larger displays.

I know the whole point is that you're buying it for the screen - but it's not much more than the standard MBP - and you get an SSD In reality you're probably only paying a hundred bucks or so for the retina display over the high res..

Just my opinion

 

[thuchu1]

Sony Vaio Z, cost less than half the price for 2.1Ghz quad core i7; 4Gb ram; 128gb ssd; 1080p screen, weight less than 13" mba.

Review here inc comparison with rMBP.


P.S. Get down-voted for suggesting an alternative to answer OP's question, I guess this reflect the maturity of some members reading this thread.

Down-voting just means they disagree. Don't get so offended.

 

[flipnap]

sorry. but that thing cant compare to a rMBP. maybe an alternative if you're strapped for cash but its super ugly, little over half the pixel density and the trackpad and build are sub par. Why is everyone trying to compare these things to a rMBP, i dont get it. why cant they just be an option for people who dont want to spend 2100 dollars? Theres nothing wrong with that. Its like seeing a commercial for a honda civic saying "not a bad alternative for a ferrari".. doesnt make sense.

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not to mention you can only get 8 gigs of ram on that thing. And id like to see some serious tests to support "the display is unparalleled for white levels and gamut: even the MacBook Pro with Retina Display falls short for these. " If this is opinion its pretty laughable. I looked and couldnt find anything to support this

 

[blow45]

well it's good that apple don't make ferrari's because judging by the choppiness in the rmbp they 'd be killing quite a few people.

In addition apple unlike ferrari don't engineer their own engines, they just stick other people's parts in.

let's face it, the analogy simply isn't apt.

 

[xlii]

Why not stick with your 2008 machine for one more year and revisit this then. Return the rMBP and wait it out. Let someone else beta test for you and see what improvements Apple makes in mid 2013.

 

[SR71]

Why not just get a 13" or 15" 2012 non-retina MBP and buy an SSD for it and 16GB of RAM (cheaper to order from other retailers instead of buying direct through Apple). This would be considerably cheaper, but you'd be getting the benefits of the speed that the rMBP has, while not having to worry about the current specs being to ahead of its time.

That's what I'd do. You could easily get a 13" MBP with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in it for $600-$700, which would make it a hell of a lot cheaper than the $3,000 you spent on your maxed out rMBP, while still giving you the same performance, albeit in a slightly thicker and slightly heavier form factor.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Boe11]

Decided to return mine. They're really impressive rigs, I just wasn't 100% satisfied. To be honest, I kind of wish they would offer a non-retina next gen MBP (especially a 17" ).

But seriously, they're great rigs, and I'm sure all of the kinks will be worked out shortly.

 

[wethackrey]

Exactly. Pretty sure the "lag" will be fixed in ML.

I just really don't get it. I've been using a new MBPr now for about a week and the notorious "lag" in an incredibly minor issue. It's hard to even recreate it consistently. Frankly I REALLY love this machine. I'm migrating from a less-the-one-year-old 17" MBP and I was concerned about the smaller display. It turns out to be a non-issue. The retina display is just incredibly easy to read.

 

[revenent]

The solution is simple. Return the rmbp.

You still have your old mbp around, keep using it. Decide what OS you prefer to use. This is purely your own preference. If its windows, then go read up some reviews for the laptop of your requirements. I personally prefer an IBM thinkpad. Pretty sturdy enough build quality to me.

If you prefer to stick to OS lion or whatever variation it is going to come up with, then get the mac that fits your needs and budget. You think you can afford top of the line specs, go for
It.

Technology keeps changing and getting better. No such thing as future proof. Buy whatever fits your needs, budget, preference. No one can convince you otherwise than yourself.

Enjoy whatever you have purchased.

On a side note, i have owned numerous HP laptops and i have to keep biringing it down to the service center for repairs. With an IBM, i never had to.

I have the 2009 MBP and use it for Starcraft 2/Diablo3 gaming. I even leave the games running overnight with all the fans blasting on my bed and until now never had issues with it whatsoever. I personally feel IBM and Apple make pretty decent machines.

 

[SphericalPear]

yes, return it

everyone here is just trying to justify their own rmbp purchase...

 

[Greg M]

I just really don't get it. I've been using a new MBPr now for about a week and the notorious "lag" in an incredibly minor issue. It's hard to even recreate it consistently. Frankly I REALLY love this machine. I'm migrating from a less-the-one-year-old 17" MBP and I was concerned about the smaller display. It turns out to be a non-issue. The retina display is just incredibly easy to read.

Exactly.

It's amazing that people are being this petty about something that's a non-issue!!!

People nothing is perfect. You want an incredible screen and all you really give up is a very slight uneven movement when you're resizing something??? You people are being incredibly petty.

This is so dumb!

Put the retina next to any other Apple laptop and it makes all of them look horrible! You'll take an inferior screen over a tiny bit of lag that only happens a little bit? What do you do, sit there and constantly resize windows while you're reading or typing?

Now if you are having trouble spending this much money on a laptop when there are less expensive options that are more then capable of doing what you need then say that.

If this is the "big issue" with the Retina then it just proves that Apple engineers have done a fabulous job of putting this machine together.

 

[auero]

I have the same feelings towards the rMBP as you but luckily I didn't buy one. I fought myself and after stepping back to look at the bigger picturr I'm glad I didn't. If I were you I'd get a classic 15" MBP and buy a Samsung 830 SSD. Itll be a very fast machine. You can't go wrong. The display on the retina Mac is beautiful but it'll take time for many apps to be updated. I don't think the retina MacBook pro is a bad machine and I hope that those who bought it enjoy it but as a first generation product, it isn't for me and it doesn't sound like it is for you either.

 

[Greg M]

The display on the retina Mac is beautiful but it'll take time for many apps to be updated.

This is the REAL issue.

If your apps aren't retina friendly then stay away from the retina until they are or until you can find alternatives. I almost returned mine until my most used app was updated (very quickly) and I switched from Word to LibreOffice.

 

[wethackrey]

everyone here is just trying to justify their own rmbp purchase...

Yeah. Either that or everyone else here is trying to justify not wanting to spend the money on a clearly better machine.

 

[Beta Particle]

This is the REAL issue.

If your apps aren't retina friendly then stay away from the retina until they are or until you can find alternatives. I almost returned mine until my most used app was updated (very quickly) and I switched from Word to LibreOffice.

If you don't have a retina display, everything looks bad. If you do have a retina display, some apps look amazing, and others look bad. Over time, most apps will look amazing.

How is that a good argument against buying a retina Mac?

 

[Greg M]

Yeah. Either that or everyone else here is trying to justify not wanting to spend the money on a clearly better machine.

Very funny but probably true!

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If you don't have a retina display, everything looks bad. If you do have a retina display, some apps look amazing, and others look bad. Over time, most apps will look amazing.

How is that a good argument against buying a retina Mac?

Where do get that I'm against a retina? I'm typing this on my retina. Earlier today I went to use my wife's MBA and thought, yuck! I went and got my retina to finish what I had started on her MBA.

 

[joewillmott]

Regular MBP or a MBA for now, either upgraded to last 3-4 years or just use it until the retinas improve at the next upgrade, sell and get a much better, improved retina?

 

[flipnap]

Regular MBP or a MBA for now, either upgraded to last 3-4 years or just use it until the retinas improve at the next upgrade, sell and get a much better, improved retina?

if youre gonna do this, why not wait until the next year for a more improved retina, but then instead you can wait another year for an even better improved rmbp.. in ten years i would suggest not buying the holographic mbp because in five more years there will be retinal implants guided by thought impulse.. but you could wait till 2030 for the........

 

[73CortinaV8]

You do realize you could just SELL the rMBP in two years so you can upgrade to an even better one. Like I said, Mac's have a great resale value.

I'm not so sure about this. Past performance blah blah.

With NAND memory/SSD prices in free-fall, even the upgrade 512Gb SSD will look small in a couple of years.

Where as a $2000 cMBP might lose 25% of its value in 2 years and sell for $1500, I could totally see a rMBP losing 33% or more of its value (e.g. a $3000 rMBP ending up $2000 used)

but all we can do is speculate.

 

[Nutdotnet]

everyone here is just trying to justify their own rmbp purchase...

Jealous eh?

 

[macmastersam]

Why not just simply lower the resolution on your rMBP?

 

[Southernboyj]

everyone here is just trying to justify their own rmbp purchase...

Not everyone, love mine. No justification needed.

 

[flipnap]

With NAND memory/SSD prices in free-fall, even the upgrade 512Gb SSD will look small in a couple of years.

the ssd is replaceable on the rmbp. when cheaper models become available just swap it out.

 

[revelated]

The Problem with Returns

THERE IS NOTHING BETTER OUT THERE.

I have looked extensively today, and found NOTHING.

For comparable slim and light build quality your options are limited to "ultrabook" unless you are happy with the arguable boat anchors that high powered PC laptops are designed with.

The closest slim and light build quality I found is the Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook - 15" 1.7Ghz i5 Ivy Bridge, 1600x900 matt screen, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Integrated Intel 4000 graphics only. (Price: £1,300)

So if I return my rMBP, the best I can hope to get is a saving of £1800, for a laptop with a weaker processor, poor poorly reviewed screen, half the RAM, and a tiny SSD with barely functioning integrated graphics?

Since when was the PC Laptop market this bad?

Your problem isn't the market. Your problem is the way you define "better". In your world, "better" is defined by the paper specs. Like saying that a Nissan Titan must simply be "better" than a Ford F150 because the Titan has greater torque. Or that a Prius must be "better" than a Nissan Sentra because of greater gas mileage.

Perhaps you should reconsider the definition of "better". For example, in my world, "better" is what device most effectively gets the job done regardless of specs.

I do a lot of video editing. On paper, the MacBook Pro should be sufficient, but I use the iMac. Why? It's better at it.

I do a lot of web chatting. On paper, it doesn't matter which machine I use, they all can do it fine. I primarily use the MacBook Pro. Why? The screen real estate and mobility make it better for that use case.

I travel a few times a year on business. On paper I could take the Pro or the Air. I choose the Air. Why? The Air is better for the cramped travel space.

I choose not to buy the Retina because I am an extremely heavy web user, and I already accept that the majority of sites I visit simply will not rewrite anything to support a minority of visitors. It's not going to happen now or in the future. Now maybe the browser makers will figure out a way to render things cleaner for Retina without the web developer doing much, but I seriously doubt it. And unfortunately, web has to look pristine because it's all about readability. On the MacBook Air things are well sharp enough.

Do you realize that the ONLY diff between what you have and the standard MacBook Pro is a screen that by your own admission cannot display things optimally for you? You totally ignored the regular MacBook Pro which is still available and functionally has identical specs.

You're trying to justify to yourself that this screen is "better" yet you are making concessions that you wouldn't normally make. You're trying to force yourself to like it, as it were. That's your choice, but again, it doesn't make it "better" simply because the specs are higher; you don't like what you see. Do something about it.