Waiting for Haswell MBP Mega Thread

[terekli]

Would the base 15 be better for casual gaming?

I wanna try out bioshock infinite for the mac but will not be a hardcore gamer who games all the time. I just wanna play a couple of games on my mac just because I wanna see how they are on the laptop but console gaming is really my thing.

I already have a windows computer so I will not be using bootcamp at all.

So based on all of this which is a better computer for me. The 15 base or the high end 15 with the dgpu? And if I do get the base model should I get 16 gb of ram or is 8 good enough for the next 3-4 years?

I have the same question. Honestly I don't think I need the power of 750, that being said I am not sure if 5200 is enough for the games I play (minecraft, cs:go, at highest setting).
ram is another issue cuz the laptop i am using now has 2gigs of dedicated graphic ram and another 8gigs for the system, so now we ONLY get 8gigs for both the graphics and cpu, makes me sketchy if it is enough.

 

[scrauny]

Does FSX stand for Flight Simulator X?
The only game I play is FSX and I am worrying if the Iris 5100 in the 13" models can handle it...

Yeah that's what I mean. And same as me, just FSX for gaming for me. I can't play anything else!

I don't see why it won't, I mean the game is CPU-bound and you spend most of your time looking at a fairly static instrument panel. 5100 is also much better than the card that was in my 2006 MBP and that ran it passibly. Probably getting the fastest processor available will be the most effective upgrade for FSX.

FSX can also only use 4Gb RAM so I was wondering if I splurged too much on 16Gb.....

Then again, I will code apps on OSX etc so perhaps 16Gb is better. Can't hurt, except my wallet

 

[astalavistathes]

Yeah that's what I mean. And same as me, just FSX for gaming for me. I can't play anything else!

I don't see why it won't, I mean the game is CPU-bound and you spend most of your time looking at a fairly static instrument panel. 5100 is also much better than the card that was in my 2006 MBP and that ran it passibly. Probably getting the fastest processor available will be the most effective upgrade for FSX.

FSX can also only use 4Gb RAM so I was wondering if I splurged too much on 16Gb.....

Then again, I will code apps on OSX etc so perhaps 16Gb is better. Can't hurt, except my wallet

I agree. FSX can also utilize 1 core so you basically don't need a quad core but a good dual core. 1 core for FSX and the other for OS. I will go for the 16GB for the same reason with you... It seems to me that we have exactly the same needs so the fact that we both ended buying the same model probably means that we took the correct decision.

 

[JamonBull]

Did it. I pulled the trigger. Ordered a 15" rMBP. Ended up going with the 2.3 GHz with 512GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M. My only hesitation is that I didn't max out the CPU. But with the high end model, the Australian price starts at $2949 and I didn't want to spend over $3000. I will be using this machine for GPU intensive tasks like video editing and gaming and am hoping I get a good four years out of it. REALLY happy with my purchase but just can't help being a little bit jealous of those who got the high end 2.6GHz processor hehe.

 

[xjrlokix]

I guess I take the 13"/8/256 and save 1000$ (compared to the maxed 15") and for this 1000$ I build myself a gaming PC just for gaming. I was ready to pay 2200$ for a dGPU rMBP but 2600$ is a bit too much for my taste.

I also don't believe the "upgrade to 2.3 and you get the dGPU" rumors. There is an Apple store here in Munich. Maybe they can tell me more about it. I will go there this evening.

 

[mehdiHK]

I guess I take the 13"/8/256 and save 1000$ (compared to the maxed 15") and for this 1000$ I build myself a gaming PC just for gaming. I was ready to pay 2200$ for a dGPU rMBP but 2600$ is a bit too much for my taste.

I also don't believe the "upgrade to 2.3 and you get the dGPU" rumors. There is an Apple store here in Munich. Maybe they can tell me more about it. I will go there this evening.

I got this one too and will compensate my gaming needs with a ps4, or if it's really not enough a 150usd vita. Adding 1000usd didnt make so much sense.
I had the rmbp with the HD4000 before that, so i think it's gonna be a very good upgrade for me. Battery was an important factor too, and i didnt feel like payin more, for a (slightly) shorter battery. I had about 5hrs and a half with my previous retina. This one claimin 9hrs should take me easily to 7 or even more with Mavericks.

 

[apptastic]

I need to get the 15" rMBP. Can't figure out which one to get

Which one are you guys opting for and why ?

 

[Vanillian]

I'm quite happy with the update. A little better battery and the discrete graphics is still there. I'm getting the 15" upgraded 2.6ghz 16gb with the 750m model. Looks like I'll be skipping class next week one day to wait around for it. Looks like my poor MacBook Air is going to be put up for sale. She served me well but I'm looking forward to having enough hard drive space to do bootcamp properly.

I went with the 2.6ghz upgraded model because I work a lot with huge adobe suite files, work in autocad, do some video editing, 3d animating, photo editing, and architectural rendering. And hell I might want to play an occasional game of Battlefield 3 sometime. I think I'm going to be holding on to this laptop for a while.


Also, when do you think the first review will be out?

 

[scrauny]

I agree. FSX can also utilize 1 core so you basically don't need a quad core but a good dual core. 1 core for FSX and the other for OS. I will go for the 16GB for the same reason with you... It seems to me that we have exactly the same needs so the fact that we both ended buying the same model probably means that we took the correct decision.

Great, enjoy it!

I'm sure people will tell us if we got it wrong!

Just to say:

2.33 GHz Core2 Duo in my 2006 MBP scores 1997 on 3DMark06 benchmark whereas the Haswell i7 2.8 gets 4264.

The ATI X1600 dGPU from '06 got a 1836 on the same benchmark whereas the 5100 gets 7382.

I think I'll be happy.

 

[Chris5488]

I need to get the 15" rMBP. Can't figure out which one to get

Which one are you guys opting for and why ?

Why should we tell you which one you need?
Anyway, I bought the cheapest 15" and added a 512GB SSD.

Why: GT750M would have been nice but I'm not paying 600 dollars extra for it, so I'll stick with the Iris Pro. I kept the basic CPU since it's more than fast enough and the performance difference with the more expensive CPU's is tiny. I kept the basic 8GB RAM since my iMac has 8GB as well and I never use more than 6GB of it, combine it with Maverick's Memory Compression (which should be equivalent to 12GB of RAM for a 8GB machine) and I know it's more than I would ever need.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

Why should we tell you which one you need?
Anyway, I bought the cheapest 15" and added a 512GB SSD.

Why: GT750M would have been nice but I'm not paying 600 dollars extra for it, so I'll stick with the Iris Pro. I kept the basic CPU since it's more than fast enough and the performance difference with the more expensive CPU's is tiny. I kept the basic 8GB RAM since my iMac has 8GB as well and I never use more than 6GB of it, combine it with Maverick's Memory Compression (which should be equivalent to 12GB of RAM for a 8GB machine) and I know it's more than I would ever need.

if you upgraded to 16gb RAM, it's the same price as the base dgpu model

 

[Chris5488]

if you upgraded to 16gb RAM, it's the same price as the base dgpu model

Nope, would still have been 100 dollars extra, and I don't need 16GB.
I don't game on my notebook anyway and the difference is not that big between the Iris and the 750.

Now I saved 300 dollars and that's what counts to me Otherwise you can keep adding stuff till you're at 3000 dollars

_____


Talking about the new rMBP's, they were just like I predicted

Sep 9, 2013, 12:56 PM

Well I'm no fortune teller or insider at Apple so I can't say what they will do. We can only speculate what will happen and the story I wrote above is just my opinion.

What I think Apple will do:
-13" Retina Macbook Pro with HD5100 graphics (4MB L3 cache i7's)
-15" Retina Macbook Pro with HD5200 graphics (6MB L3 cache i7's: i7-4750HQ and i7-4950HQ)
...

I think you're way too focused (like a lot of people here) on the rMBP and forgets about the other Apple-products: The Mac Pro has Thunderbolt 2 and will be released soon (probably simultaneous with Mavericks), so your question as the answer is irrelevant to know if the rMBP will have Thunderbolt 2.

My opinion: I'm 99% sure the rMBP will have Thunderbolt 2.
Why: They've postponed the rMBP till now (while the Mac Pro release with Thunderbolt 2 is imminent).

Don't get your hopes up for IGZO this refresh.
Sharp showed their first 15" UHD samples this month, while mass-production would start february 2014. Explain me how Apple could release an IGZO rMBP this month/year when mass-production would commence in february?

I don't think Apple will update the MBP this close to OSX Mavericks' release while the iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro are due for an update too.
...
Don't get your hopes up for september and start counting towards mid/end october

C'mon Apple! Base 15" at 1999 and high-end 15" at 2499!!

Well I wasn't correct about the battery life improvement (thought it would be bigger), but the rest was correct
(and yes I like to praise myself and I feel good about posting this )

Anyway enough with it... I just wanted to say I'm therefore pleased with this refresh, however it's a bit of a bummer they only get 1 hour extra battery life. I mean they said during the presentation the Air is able to get 1 to 1.5 hours longer battery life thanks to Mavericks alone! Summarize it with the 40% more efficient Haswells and they left out the dGPU (which was said to be SUCH an improvement in terms of battery life according to many) and you'll see it's a dissapointment. I expected 9 hours

On the other hand, 7 hours was already very good and now it's even more, we should be happy with what we get instead of moaning about what we didn't get.

 

[jz-]

But with the high end model, the Australian price starts at $2949 and I didn't want to spend over $3000.

Where did you find it for A$2949?

 

[jatinklad30]

Where did you find it for A$2949?

Education pricing

http://store.apple.com/au-hed/buy-mac/macbook-pro

 

[MrAronT]

if you upgraded to 16gb RAM, it's the same price as the base dgpu model

That's why I chose the 15" higher end base model! The dGPU is just a gift for me. Wanted 16GB of RAM so it practicly didn't matter to BTO. And because I want it right away because my uncle was until a few hours in the tax free paradise of Hong Kong, I am now the first buyer of a new rMBP in Hong Kong.
I'm so happy right now

 

[greenglue]

So, my base model 13" ($1249 CAD) shipped from Shanghai and left there at 4am EST time or so via UPS Worldwide Express/UPS WORLD EASE. Says it'll be here by Friday the 25th at noon (I live in Montreal, Canada).

 

[mehdiHK]

That's why I chose the 15" higher end base model! The dGPU is just a gift for me. Wanted 16GB of RAM so it practicly didn't matter to BTO. And because I want it right away because my uncle was until a few hours in the tax free paradise of Hong Kong, I am now the first buyer of a new rMBP in Hong Kong.
I'm so happy right now

Bought it this morning, abt 6 hours ago in the apple store of Causeway bay

 

[warplane95]

So, my base model 13" ($1249 CAD) shipped from Shanghai and left there at 4am EST time or so via UPS Worldwide Express/UPS WORLD EASE. Says it'll be here by Friday the 25th at noon (I live in Montreal, Canada).

****, im from new-brunswick and i'll receive my 15'' between oct 31-nov 1

 

[greenglue]

****, im from new-brunswick and i'll receive my 15'' between oct 31-nov 1

I paid for the express shipping for $18 extra and ordered shortly after the APple store came online

 

[astalavistathes]

****, im from new-brunswick and i'll receive my 15'' between oct 31-nov 1

I believe that shipping is based on the model. For me, in the UK, if I buy a BTO model it is delivered in 2 days. If a buy a customized one, it needs 1 week.

 

[warplane95]

I paid for the express shipping for $18 extra and ordered shortly after the APple store came online

I paid for express shipping also and I order my command by phone after the event also

 

[jafingi]

I paid for the express shipping for $18 extra and ordered shortly after the APple store came online

No express shipping for Denmark (if I could have chosen it, I would).

Delivering on Tuesday.

 

[forgetcolor]

Went for it. 2.6, 16GB, 1TB. Cost a fortune, but I'm an artist who uses it for video, coding, teaching Photoshop, sound, robotics, etc. Coukd have gone 2.3 but the test was no question, so it didn't seem right to not max out.

hoping for no image persistence issues

 

[wiredbox]

** TO ALL LONDONERS ** Regent Street store has the new rMBPs! Got mine an hour ago: 15", 2.3, dGPU. What's NOT cool though is that I overheard a sales person tell another customer that they'll be getting them later on today. In fact the person who served me first said they don't have them in stock, but luckily his colleague was next to him and confirmed they do in fact have them. Anyway, got mine, so I'm a happy bunny right now!

 

[jafingi]

Went for it. 2.6, 16GB, 1TB. Cost a fortune, but I'm an artist who uses it for video, coding, teaching Photoshop, sound, robotics, etc. Coukd have gone 2.3 but the test was no question, so it didn't seem right to not max out.

hoping for no image persistence issues

Holy moly I would just have taken the 512GB and then bought an external USB 3.0 drive