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Very impressed with 2012 MBP - non-retina
- Thread starter MacBookProzak
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All I can say is out of all the computers I ever owned both windows and mac this is the fastest on load up less than 50 seconds much like my ps3's load up and shutting down is even faster this was well worth the wait i suffered for over the last two months without a macbook.
I ordered a Retina this past Tuesday, and cancelled my order today and opted for the 2.6GHz, 1GB GT 650M, Hi-Res Antiglare MBP.
I ordered with the standard 8GB of RAM and 5400 RPM 750GB HDD. I figured with the prices of RAM and SDD's dropping, in a year or two they'll be even cheaper for me to upgrade.
I had a tough decision deciding between the two. I'm sure the RMBP is a great machine, and will be even better once any issues that have/will come up are resolved. I am really looking forward, as are others that have posted above, to see prices of SDD's drop, and to replace the boot drive, and maybe even the optical drive with SDD's.
This forum really helped with my decision, and has also been very informative!
I ordered with the standard 8GB of RAM and 5400 RPM 750GB HDD. I figured with the prices of RAM and SDD's dropping, in a year or two they'll be even cheaper for me to upgrade.
I had a tough decision deciding between the two. I'm sure the RMBP is a great machine, and will be even better once any issues that have/will come up are resolved. I am really looking forward, as are others that have posted above, to see prices of SDD's drop, and to replace the boot drive, and maybe even the optical drive with SDD's.
This forum really helped with my decision, and has also been very informative!
Ditto. If that was the case, I probably wouldn't even be considering the rMBP as an option.
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14130876#post14130876
...gives you the correct answer.
What do you mean with "non unibodys"?If these '11/'12 non unibodys can go to 32gb I will be so stoked, though i can see apple limiting them through firmware just to give benefit to the retina models
I know. I restart my Macs also 10000 times each day, so the startup/shutdown times are REALLY important! Why should i use my machines for real work?
I'm in the same decision boat as you. I like your thinking, but I added SSD to my MBP last year alongside a 500 gig media drive in the optical bay. I don't really want to break open a brand-new MBP or spend too much on a big SSD, but I'm worried about the bottleneck caused by having a spinning disk as my only drive.
So here're main reasons hy RMBP is more interesting to me (priority descending):
1. IPS screen
2. Less glossy but still without diffusion AG layer and crystalline effect
3. Lighter weight
4. USB ports on both sides, separated from each other
5. Still 300$ cheaper than legacy 15.4" MBP with AG, 1Gb VRAM and aftermarket 256Gb SSD / 16Gb RAM upgrade
6. Two thunderbolt ports could be useful
7. Retina resolution - could be #2 if Mountain Lion is flawless at scaling
8. Thinner, so fits even better in my photo backpack
Everything else so far is worse.
It's Saturday and this new machine is at work -perhaps I will let it have Sunday off.
I just got done jamming a 7 hour long video (it is a series of meetings a client wanted all in one video) so I am running it through Compressor 4 right now with chapter markers for each meeting. The new machine ate through this in 1 hour and 15 minutes. I am continuing to love the performance improvement over my similarly configured 2011 MBP.
*** I think I should also mention this about the fan noise and temp:
I am pushing large videos through FCPX to Compressor 4. This 2012 runs way cooler and I have been running about 53-55c with the fan barely kissing 3000 rpm, whereas my 2011 MBP was always running at 6000 rpm and alot hotter under the same load.
Ohh, I also got rid of the lame grey login screen in Lion by using this free program called Deeper: http://deeper.en.softonic.com/mac
I just got done jamming a 7 hour long video (it is a series of meetings a client wanted all in one video) so I am running it through Compressor 4 right now with chapter markers for each meeting. The new machine ate through this in 1 hour and 15 minutes. I am continuing to love the performance improvement over my similarly configured 2011 MBP.
*** I think I should also mention this about the fan noise and temp:
I am pushing large videos through FCPX to Compressor 4. This 2012 runs way cooler and I have been running about 53-55c with the fan barely kissing 3000 rpm, whereas my 2011 MBP was always running at 6000 rpm and alot hotter under the same load.
Ohh, I also got rid of the lame grey login screen in Lion by using this free program called Deeper: http://deeper.en.softonic.com/mac
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I also ordered a 2.6 with the HiRes AG. Only difference is that I spent another $50 US to make the drive a 7200rpm so I can pull it and make myself a fast external USB 3 drive.
I have a Momentus XT Hybrid fresh in a box waiting to put in as the boot drive....I had actually purchased a 2011 refurb 2 weeks ago knowing that the announcements would come within my return period. This non-retina MBP was improvements in several key categories over what I thought was already an almost perfect machine for me so I returned the 2011 and did this BTO.
Couldn't be happier as I've had eyes and hands on the Retina and I know it's just not for me. Only problem is waiting for it's arrival - It shipped within 1 day of order and now tracking in FedEx through Shanghai!
I have the base model, and whatever noise it makes doesn't bother me. It isn't louder than last year, but not sure if it is much quieter. Going by first impressions, it is a reasonably quiet machine.
I have pushed it with a few tasks, and it has been warm (hot on the bottom) but has run within my personal noise/temp tolerances.
NB -
Have had trouble with the graphics card though, in that it won't switch to the HD 4000 and always uses the nVidia card. I am going to exchange it for another unit today. Watch for that if you buy.
thanks for your impression so far!
about your gfx problem; i wouldn't bother exchanging your unit, it sounds more like a software problem. Is it connected to an external screen? (in that case for example its always on nvidia)
I couldn't agree more with many of the comments made in this post, While the new rMBP is really slick, The sheer upgradability and horsepower the "regular" Macbook Pros have simply cannot be matched. The rMBP is an great to show off where apple computers may go in the years to come, but I hope the internals don't continue to get more and more proprietary/non-user serviceable.
I couldn't agree more with many of the comments made in this post, While the new rMBP is really slick, The sheer upgradability and horsepower the "regular" Macbook Pros have simply cannot be matched. The rMBP is an great to show off where apple computers may go in the years to come, but I hope the internals don't continue to get more and more proprietary/non-user serviceable.
You aren't going to be happy then. Every single product outside of the MacPro tower will move closer and closer towards their planned-obsolescence model. It makes business sense for them. They get more money out of the consumer if they are forced to buy a new product sooner. Probably something like 90% of Apple's customer base does not upgrade the internal components anyway. You are seeing it on the software side as well (no Siri on the iPhone 4, new sleep app for ML). It's obvious that their strategy is form over function and status over affordability.
Can anyone with the new non-retina 15" macbook pro open it up and see if the fan design is the same, or the new asymmetrical design?
hate to burst your bubble, but the momentus xt is NOT the fastest notebook hdd. I know i know, I thought so too. but when my hdd started faiing i started doing some research, initially planning on an xt myself (i currently have the 7200 rpm momentus) and saw this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/advanced-format-1tb-hard-drive,3046-12.html
looks like for MOST test the WD scorpio black is the fastest hdd. of course these tests don't do much with the whole caching ability of the xt. in addition you can see that normal r/w is slower for the xt, and it actually uses up a ton of power the most out of all the hdd in that review even at idle! (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/advanced-format-1tb-hard-drive,3046-11.html) its a really long article, but i suggest you take a gander and read the whole article, it was eye opening for me. you may end up trading in the xt for something else ???
what type of RAM will you be putting in
I am looking to upgrade the RAM on my MBP 13 but haven't seen any 3rd party RAM on Amazon or Newegg yet that looks compatible...please advise what RAM you go with as I would like to go to at least 8 but am still learning how things work in the mac ecosystem...(first MBP)
thanks
I am looking to upgrade the RAM on my MBP 13 but haven't seen any 3rd party RAM on Amazon or Newegg yet that looks compatible...please advise what RAM you go with as I would like to go to at least 8 but am still learning how things work in the mac ecosystem...(first MBP)
thanks