To Retina Or Not

[Sensa]

Hi All,

I need a new portable computer for work and I'm seriously thinking about using the same computer as my main personal computer at home.

I've priced out the various options and they are pretty closes in price - regular 15 Macbook with 650 M with 1 gb, 8 gb ram, 2.6 processor, 128 mb flash and anti glare screen (plus hard-wired ethernet and optical drive included)

VS

base 15 in Retina Macbook with same video card and ram, 2.3 processor and 256 mb flash plus external optical drive (I will need this to run some pc stuff in paralells)and router

Both come out about $2400 cdn. I do not do any video editing or anything like that. My current 2006 imac still has 154 gb available on the hard drive so 128 mb of flash will actually probably be sufficient (correct me if I'm wrong about that).

I also will play games like Civ 5 and maybe Guild Wars 2

So, considering my uses, is there any reason to go retina? or should I go with the more proven and reliable regular macbook pro (no ghosting issues etc)?

any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Snarl]

Good luck with this one, it really depends on your personal requirements.

I went cMBP as I wanted a built in Optical Drive, ability to upgrade, wanted more built in storage to start with, was okay with 1680x1050 Screen.

the next guy may have a completely different take on this and would be just as right.

 

[liVec]

Personally, when I was buying my laptop, I had considered both versions before the purchase. But when I got my hands on the retina's thin design, super clear display and power, I just couldn't pick anything else.

Go for retina, and if you lack space, you can always get an external HDD. I've noticed that once I got my external HDD, my laptop almost always has like 80% free space.

As for faulty displays, well, that's why you get warranty... if the display is faulty, Apple will change it. I had IR on my LG screen, went to the store, said that "I sometimes have ghost images", and they replaced the screen in 2 days, no further questions asked.

 

[bill-p]

I think... if you end up not using the optical drive or ethernet that often, then go Retina.

The extra 128GB flash storage will help if you plan on storing PC stuffs either in Parallels or Bootcamp.

Thinner and lighter chassis will help if you travel a lot. I'd assume that that's a given since you're getting a MacBook and not some other desktop computer.

And last but not least, the display is a lot better than what the last generation has to offer.

Personally, I'd choose the reduced-glare glass of the Retina over anti-glare on the older models. Glass fares better with wear and tear from my experience, and it's easier to clean glass than to clean a thin plastic film. Plus anti-glare doesn't really reduce glare that much. It's just a less defined, more blurry reflection.

 

[mslide]

I would never pay extra for a retina display but that's just me. How often will you have it hooked up to an external monitor? Are you hooking it up to an external monitor at work and when playing games at home? Paying extra for a retina display is somewhat of a waste of money if you are usually staring at an external monitor. Just something else to think about.

I'd go cMBP if it were me but my needs/wants are probably different than yours.

 

[Naimfan]

Go with the cMBP and then upgrade the RAM and change the HD to an SSD on your own - MUCH cheaper that way, and you get to keep the original HD for whatever you want to do with it.

An external HD or optical drive defeats the purpose of having an all-in-one laptop.

 

[msh441]

I just went through this same decision process.

For me, I went with the old MBP with the faster 2.9 processor, threw in 16GB of RAM and a 1TB old school spinning hard drive.

My tipping point was upgradability, servicability and no on board optical drive. The pretty display just seemed like more money and too many sacrifices to live with.

At least in a year, when prices come down, I can throw in a SSD and notice some gains in file access speeds. And if anything tanks on me, I can swap parts, versus needing a new system.

The rMBP, though gorgeous, just has too many limitations an too short of a shelf life engineered into its design for my own personal needs.

 

[JellyFish]

I went with the rMBP 13 inch. I love it. However, you have to figure out what you want and what you need, and what you're willing to pay for.

I strongly suggest that you do NOT even look at the rMBP when you go into the Apple store. The screen will seduce you, and the older MBP screens will look much less attractive.

Apple cleverly puts the rMBP closer to the front of the store so you have to walk by them to get to the older models. A cunning move on their part!

Anyway, you've been warned. I went into the Apple store mostly intending to get an 11 inch macbook air, and walked out with the 13 inch rMBP.

 

[vpro]

you should or should you hmmm?

if it is just for the retina display to read really crisp and in your face text all day on line - i say do it !!

the rest of the computer overall is 'meh' -- it tis just the beginning of what is to come obviously there to keep the consumer giddy about something "latest & greatest", but non the less still just a teaser and is definitely still deep in the testing stages.

get a current MBP or last years even and upgrade the heck out of one, more reliable, stable, zippy, quiet, cooler and all that jazznids !

besides, it's your money right? either be wise with your cash or just give it away and expect things to be rainbows. not.

enjoy !

 

[ForceGhost]

Go with the cMBP and then upgrade the RAM and change the HD to an SSD on your own - MUCH cheaper that way, and you get to keep the original HD for whatever you want to do with it.

An external HD or optical drive defeats the purpose of having an all-in-one laptop.

Not everyone likes doing upgrades themselves however.

 

[SantaRosa2.2]

Go with the cMBP and then upgrade the RAM and change the HD to an SSD on your own - MUCH cheaper that way, and you get to keep the original HD for whatever you want to do with it.

An external HD or optical drive defeats the purpose of having an all-in-one laptop.

This pretty much sums up why I purchased my current cRMB refurbished a couple months ago. THe RAM and SSD upgrade makes it a very formidable machine at a much lower entry price. Albeit with the lesser resolution screen.

 

[Sensa]

well, thank-you all for your thoughts and opinions. I decided to go for the middle of the road cMBP (2.6ghz, 750 MB HD, 650M /1gig) mainly based on the fact it had an optical drive, a wired ethernet connection and proven reliability.

Funny thing though apparently the majority of Apple Store employees, and I spoke to many over several days as I was deciding which way to go, have never heard of the ghosting issues associated with the rMBP's. The ones with more customer service skills admitted to having heard of it but then either said they had never dealt with a return related to it or assured me if there was a problem Apple would replace the machine.

The guy that closed the deal did acknowledge that the performance of the cMBP should be more robust because it didn't have to spend as much time and energy pushing out the pixels to support a retina display.

I came close to paying the apple tax for 256 mb flash but time constraints and, cross my fingers, good luck with prior Apple HD's convinced me it wasn't necessary (my current early 2006 iMac has been shut off at least every night without a problem).

Ultimately, I think the cMBP is the more versatile and reliable machine which is why I went with it.

 

[hawon]

I was debating this too but I had to go with new technology.

 

[anarti]

cMBP vs retina one is like a brick. Once you spend some time with retina, you would look at cMBP and you will say to yourself "man, that's thick!"

 

[Spetsnazos]

if you program as a hobby then honestly it was not a very hard choice. Look at the rMBP screen then the cMBP screen and the text just looks AWESOME.

Sure it might not matter but if I wanted to not care how the screen looked then I would of just kept using my 10" netbook.