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What are some reasons to get the 13" rMBP over the 13" Air?
- Thread starter saintforlife
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Seriously? Display - the resolution is 2560x1600. The screen is four times the size of MBA, just packed denser.
The CPU is also a tad better, but if you go for i7 MBA you might not feel it immidiately. It definitely has better integrated GPU (MBA comes with HD5000, and rMBP comes with HD5100).
The CPU is also a tad better, but if you go for i7 MBA you might not feel it immidiately. It definitely has better integrated GPU (MBA comes with HD5000, and rMBP comes with HD5100).
The screen upgrade is obvious of course.
Is the rMBP more future proof? Can stuff like RAM, SSD be upgraded or all they all soldered on to the motherboard just like the Air?
Is the rMBP more future proof? Can stuff like RAM, SSD be upgraded or all they all soldered on to the motherboard just like the Air?
Nowadays you can't upgrade anything in rMBP.
RAM is soldered. SSD seems to be pretty easy to take out, but there are no parts on the market from what I know. So even if you take it out, what are you going to put in its place (it's not usual form factor SSD, PCIe based)?
RAM is soldered. SSD seems to be pretty easy to take out, but there are no parts on the market from what I know. So even if you take it out, what are you going to put in its place (it's not usual form factor SSD, PCIe based)?
For me it was a few things, but the biggest, by far, was the ability to run a high resolution (1680x1050 in my case). Also, in the store, I was suprised to find it wasn't really that much heavier, and the physical size seemed smaller! I think its just about the perfect laptop.
The only thing I like better about the air is the battery life, but to be honest, I've been quite happy with the battery life on my retina 13.
Good luck, they both rule.
The only thing I like better about the air is the battery life, but to be honest, I've been quite happy with the battery life on my retina 13.
Good luck, they both rule.
Hi,
As said above, the screen will be the primary reason. At first, I was skeptical about the display since it's scaled to 1280*800, which gives very little screen real estate. However, upscaling works so flawlessly that the "low" resolution doesn't matter at all.
The multi-threaded CPU performance is slightly better. The graphical performance is almost the same since the HD 5000 and HD 5100 GPUs are identical (5000 is for the 15W processors while the 5100 is available in the 28W processors).
The size isn't really that big a factor. The Air does look and feel a wee bit smaller and lighter, but the size and weight are almost the same.
The keyboards are also more or less the same, as is the trackpad.
The battery life is the only major point of difference. The Air nets around 12 hours with simple web browsing while the rMBP will net around 8-9 hours.
I suppose that the only reasons to go for the Air would be that every gram lost counts and that the buyer just can't stand uneven upscaling (i.e. 1440*900 or 1680*1050 on the 13" rMBP) and just needs the screen real estate, and the battery life.
Personally, I would go for the 13" rMBP.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Raptor
As said above, the screen will be the primary reason. At first, I was skeptical about the display since it's scaled to 1280*800, which gives very little screen real estate. However, upscaling works so flawlessly that the "low" resolution doesn't matter at all.
The multi-threaded CPU performance is slightly better. The graphical performance is almost the same since the HD 5000 and HD 5100 GPUs are identical (5000 is for the 15W processors while the 5100 is available in the 28W processors).
The size isn't really that big a factor. The Air does look and feel a wee bit smaller and lighter, but the size and weight are almost the same.
The keyboards are also more or less the same, as is the trackpad.
The battery life is the only major point of difference. The Air nets around 12 hours with simple web browsing while the rMBP will net around 8-9 hours.
I suppose that the only reasons to go for the Air would be that every gram lost counts and that the buyer just can't stand uneven upscaling (i.e. 1440*900 or 1680*1050 on the 13" rMBP) and just needs the screen real estate, and the battery life.
Personally, I would go for the 13" rMBP.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Raptor
Although the rMBP is heavier, it is smaller than the Air.
A 13" Air won't fit in my satchel, but by 13"rMBP does. So the rMBP is more portable for me.
It makes no sense to me at all to buy an Air over a 13" retina unless cost is your major determining factor.
The retina is only a little more in cost.
The screen is killer and is worth it alone.
The retina is smaller in circumference and only a little thicker and heavier.
The retina has three stream wifi and the Air is two stream.
Keyboard travel on the retina is a little better.
The retina has a better video card.
It used to be true that the retina started with 8 GB of ram but no longer is since there is a 4 GB model. Get 8 GB whatever you buy. You will be glad you did.
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Agree with your other points but I would not say graphical performance is almost the same. See this;
http://www.barefeats.com/rmbpc.html
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The SSD is not soldered on.
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