Thoughts on MacBook Pro retina 18 months later

[zettabyte]

And where I work if an HP or a Dell goes down the the Dell tech or HP tech is there in three hours to take care of the problem even if that means a loaner with all SW and preferences installed you get what you pay for. If my Mac at work goes down I mac an appointment at the Apple store take it to them if they cannot fix it by the end of the day they give me a loaner with my HD in it.

When you buy PC's at the same price point as Mac's you get the same longevity it's not a Mac thing it's a price point thing.

No they don't fall short though they may not be as pretty

There's two different ways to look at it I guess. I'd much prefer the Premium care such as Apple...over a AAA service. In terms of the price point of a computer, with a windows laptop, you're paying for upgraded parts that drive up the price. However, most often times than not the quality is still remains relatively the same as their mid line at best. With a Mac, you can buy the cheapest configuration, yet still have the same Premium build quality across the line. I guess that's my point here and as I've mentioned, the gap is narrowing. In this regard, they still fall short. There's no way around it.

 

[Tenashus1]

There's two different ways to look at it I guess. I'd much prefer the Premium care such as Apple...over a AAA service. In terms of the price point of a computer, with a windows laptop, you're paying for upgraded parts that drive up the price. However, most often times than not the quality is still remains relatively the same as their mid line at best. With a Mac, you can buy the cheapest configuration, yet still have the same Premium build quality across the line. I guess that's my point here and as I've mentioned, the gap is narrowing. In this regard, they still fall short. There's no way around it.

I have recently been very close to pulling the trigger an an HP hybrid. Very close. Beyond the audio issue I ran into which I have described in another thread already, I had to pause as well when considering an HP Care Pack for the computer. I have heard mixed things about their tech support. I have also read where computers get sent in for repairs and come back worse than before. Of course, you hear and read a lot of things. Nonetheless, I have never heard such things about Apple's tech support, or experienced any issue with them myself. Apple support is solid, and not "iffy." Sadly, extended warranty and tech support uncertainty was another factor that held me back from going with an HP. Part of what you pay for with an Apple product is for your confidence in it's quality, and support. It is what it is at least at this point.

 

[JHUFrank]

I took out a loan to buy my rMBP on launch day. No regrets. It's still going strong, pretty much indistinguishable from a 2015 model.

That said, don't buy an rMBP today. The current models are going to be obsolete in a year. You are much better off getting an older model on ebay for less than half the price of a new one, and it will give you 90% of the performance. Apple has really let the MBP go over the years. It was amazing when it came out - absolutely incredible for its time- but they haven't really moved it forward at all in the past 3 years.

I just went out and threw my 2013 rMBP in the trash because it's now obsolete. Any scroungers can come get it now. Heading home to throw my 2 2010 MBPs, and my 2008 imac in the trash too.

 

[\-V-/]

I just went out and threw my 2013 rMBP in the trash because it's now obsolete. Any scroungers can come get it now. Heading home to throw my 2 2010 MBPs, and my 2008 imac in the trash too.

I'll take all of them.

 

[JHUFrank]

What I'm saying is that the basic function of a computer for most people will be similar. Email, Word, internet browsing, etc etc.

A Windows will do that just fine. A Mac will do that better.

If you can afford a Mac, then it might be worth it, but if you're having to take a loan etc then just get a PC and save your money for more important things.

A Honda will take you from point A to B just fine. A Mercedes will do it better.

If you can afford the Benz, it might be worth it. If not, Honda is great.

A Benz is a rMBP, a Honda is a middle of the road Dell. The $400 laptop is a Geo Metro. I have to work on $400 laptops now and then. They are worlds apart from an Apple, a Thinkpad or a decent Dell.

 

[Cricketman]

A Benz is a rMBP, a Honda is a middle of the road Dell. The $400 laptop is a Geo Metro. I have to work on $400 laptops now and then. They are worlds apart from an Apple, a Thinkpad or a decent Dell.

A Honda will last you 10-20 years though, if you take care of it, without a hitch. That's not to be said of a 'middle of the road dell'

Benz although very nice have maintenance issues, which is not really the case with Apple products!

 

[lowendlinux]

There's two different ways to look at it I guess. I'd much prefer the Premium care such as Apple...over a AAA service. In terms of the price point of a computer, with a windows laptop, you're paying for upgraded parts that drive up the price. However, most often times than not the quality is still remains relatively the same as their mid line at best. With a Mac, you can buy the cheapest configuration, yet still have the same Premium build quality across the line. I guess that's my point here and as I've mentioned, the gap is narrowing. In this regard, they still fall short. There's no way around it.

There is no Apple premium service I have to take the broken computers to them and stand there while they d*ck with it. HP and Dell come to me bringing everything they need. Yes my employer has business accounts with all three so it's fair there. In the consumer space there aren't any better than Apple but the person I quoted along with you was talking business.

 

[Hieveryone]

This Hieveryone is like the nouveau-apple (infamous guy whose threads rhyme with scroll in the iPhone subforum) of the MBP subforum.

But a 400 dollar PC IS a 1600 MacBook for the many, many people who use their laptop for none other than web browsing, email, skype, etc

 

[dza]

Cooling for me is the big design flaw.

Selling an upgraded 2.8GHz with dedicated graphics card is a total joke when every program that utilizes that extra power drives it scolding hot!

Same happens on the model without dedicated gpu .. Incredible that some people even claim they are playing games on macbook pros- I always ask: WHICH? Because anything 3D and it pukes.

 

[matt2053]

But a 400 dollar PC IS a 1600 MacBook for the many, many people who use their laptop for none other than web browsing, email, skype, etc

That's like saying a BMW is the same as a Honda Civic for the many, many people who don't need to drive more than 100 mph.

 

[yjchua95]

Cooling for me is the big design flaw.

Selling an upgraded 2.8GHz with dedicated graphics card is a total joke when every program that utilizes that extra power drives it scolding hot!

Same happens on the model without dedicated gpu .. Incredible that some people even claim they are playing games on macbook pros- I always ask: WHICH? Because anything 3D and it pukes.

Then explain to me how I managed to run BF4 at 1680x1050, everything at a mix of high and ultra, 8xAF and FXAA, and average around 47-50fps, with the lowest being 35 fps and going past 60 fps in quite a number of situations. And this was for 3 hours non stop.

 

[Micky Do]

But a 400 dollar PC IS a 1600 MacBook for the many, many people who use their laptop for none other than web browsing, email, skype, etc

So, if a 1,600 dollar MacBook is for the few….. Do you, like the many, use your laptop for none other than web browsing, email, skype, etc?

Is it just a status symbol and a babe magnet, like the Benz?

 

[Freyqq]

The OP's advice is basically buy it if you can afford it. Sounds reasonable.

 

[scaredpoet]

There is no Apple premium service I have to take the broken computers to them and stand there while they d*ck with it.

Read your AppleCare agreement more carefully. Onsite repair service is available in many situations, both consumer AND business. We've taken advantage of it the few times we've had to repair our Macs at work.

Which brings about another point: With the big failure rates we've been experiencing lately from Dell and HP business systems, they'd better provide on-site support. If I had to lug iMacs in on the two incidents where we had issues to the Apple store, I might have tolerated it (thankfully it wasn't necessary), but transporting the windows side of things would've been a full time job, and our Mac/PC ratio is an even mix. The Optiplex GX520 and 745 failure rates we've experienced were abysmally bad, and the HP Eliteone 800s and Z230s we've purchased to replace the Dells aren't doing much better.

Oh yeah... we've been having to upgrade the PC side of things about twice as often as the mac side.

 

[dza]

Then explain to me how I managed to run BF4 at 1680x1050, everything at a mix of high and ultra, 8xAF and FXAA, and average around 47-50fps, with the lowest being 35 fps and going past 60 fps in quite a number of situations. And this was for 3 hours non stop.

I don't care. **** is worthless if it stays at 95-97c for me and there's a great expectation that it will get worse just like my late-2013, this is a mid-2015. I will wait for Skylake and hope they or Intel did something. This is getting stupid- retina macbook pros are notorious for getting hot since 2009 and they still aren't fixing it.

 

[Zxxv]

The price. It's a darn expensive item. Think about this: If your average laptop can run for 5 years, and you can buy 4 $400 dollar Windows laptops for the price of 1 $1600 MacBook, that's 20 years worth of computers. Literally.

20 years of headaches at any price is not worth it

you pay to not have that ****. Apple gets this part so right.

 

[rowdt1]

I have the late 2013 13" rMBP and I absolutely love it. Now powering an external monitor without any problems. It does the everyday tasks pretty well and although I'm not really into photo and video editing I don't foresee any performance issues when doing so. It's an incredibly well-build machine and I'm sure I can use it for many more years to come. I'm not sure though if I'd advice buying it. Just like OP said: If you can afford it, buy it. If not, look for cheaper options.

 

[Micky Do]

The OP's advice is basically buy it if you can afford it. Sounds reasonable.

I have the late 2013 13" rMBP and I absolutely love it. Now powering an external monitor without any problems. It does the everyday tasks pretty well and although I'm not really into photo and video editing I don't foresee any performance issues when doing so. It's an incredibly well-build machine and I'm sure I can use it for many more years to come. I'm not sure though if I'd advice buying it. Just like OP said: If you can afford it, buy it. If not, look for cheaper options.

The OP's advice is basically to buy what you can afford and get the bragging rights that go with it……….

Rather than what you need

for the many, many people who use their laptop for none other than web browsing, email, skype, etc

……….probably including the OP.