Best advice I've read since joining MR. I'll be paying more attention to you from now on.
I was thinking of going the route of the MBA and a Dell IPS or some other nice monitor.
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Why the retina macbook pro isn't worth it/ why not to buy.
- Thread starter xriderx11
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Best advice I've read since joining MR. I'll be paying more attention to you from now on.
I was thinking of going the route of the MBA and a Dell IPS or some other nice monitor.
If yo can afford it why wouldn't you get retina? Topic is kinda silly because the retina is hands down the best display out. It will remain the top display for years and years. So why question the most important used part of any computer, the display. Even when the MBP Is old and beat up you will still smile at the wonderful display.
Whats the problem with people and gaming on the Retina? Seriously, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 and 1920x1200.. all of those resolutions look just as good as any other laptop with same resolution specs.. stop crying seriously.. this is not a reason to leave the Retina behind. Im looking at 1920x1200 windows 7 right now.. everything looks awesome and crisp, obviously you cant play hardcore at 2880x1800, and theres no reason to, when you have 1200p gaming, stop crying everyone.
Theres is option for 768 SSD
And good luck getting a 13" macbook air with same specs.
Theres is option for 768 SSD
And good luck getting a 13" macbook air with same specs.
The topic of this thread is idiotic. It's equivalent to starting a thread titled "Why Chocolate Icecream Is Better Than Vanilla."
It's all a matter of opinion. Stating one's opinion on something as though it were an objective fact is just goofy.
It's all a matter of opinion. Stating one's opinion on something as though it were an objective fact is just goofy.
It seems to me that you are already covered: the MBP for portability and the iMac as a desktop. (I previously missed the iMac...) You are good to go for at least your undergraduate years if you can resist the marketing/Apple fanboy hype...
I should edit my sig. iMac and MBP is gone. I switched to a gaming desktop since I needed power. But the desktop is taking up way too much space and I get too distracted with gaming.
Lag vs No Lag Videos
Everyone,
I found a video on YouTube showing the lag I think people are discussing. This is on a 2.3 GHz version of the rMBP w/ 8 GB RAM:
http://youtu.be/uixeNzzJBXQ
I believe this person was using a screen recording program, so I'm not sure how much overhead that adds and whether that could skew the results of what you are seeing on screen.
I took an actual video recording of my screen using a DSLR, to eliminate any processing overhead that a screen recording application may add. I scrolled through George Takei's Facebook timeline, which has a lot of images and comments, as well as theVerge.com which showed the choppiest scrolling in the above video.
I quickly shot off this video using the automatic settings, I wasn't going for a technically perfect video, so please forgive those shortcomings. However, I think you will see when comparing both of these, I am experiencing nothing even remotely similar to what is shown in the first video.
http://youtu.be/p5OLbKCi3ok
The only discernible differences between my RMBP and the one in the first lag video is that mine is the faster 2.6 model with double the RAM (16 GB vs 8 GB). Both machines are on 10.8 Mountain Lion using Safari 6. The other thing I did differently was that I pre-loaded the web pages to eliminate any lag associated with page or image load time. This is not something that was done in the first video, and the lag seen in that video may have something to do with the fact that the pages and images were also loading while the pages were scrolled. Pure conjecture on my part.
So as you can see, I'm not making this stuff up. I just don't see the lag that others are seeing and experiencing.
Everyone,
I found a video on YouTube showing the lag I think people are discussing. This is on a 2.3 GHz version of the rMBP w/ 8 GB RAM:
http://youtu.be/uixeNzzJBXQ
I believe this person was using a screen recording program, so I'm not sure how much overhead that adds and whether that could skew the results of what you are seeing on screen.
I took an actual video recording of my screen using a DSLR, to eliminate any processing overhead that a screen recording application may add. I scrolled through George Takei's Facebook timeline, which has a lot of images and comments, as well as theVerge.com which showed the choppiest scrolling in the above video.
I quickly shot off this video using the automatic settings, I wasn't going for a technically perfect video, so please forgive those shortcomings. However, I think you will see when comparing both of these, I am experiencing nothing even remotely similar to what is shown in the first video.
http://youtu.be/p5OLbKCi3ok
The only discernible differences between my RMBP and the one in the first lag video is that mine is the faster 2.6 model with double the RAM (16 GB vs 8 GB). Both machines are on 10.8 Mountain Lion using Safari 6. The other thing I did differently was that I pre-loaded the web pages to eliminate any lag associated with page or image load time. This is not something that was done in the first video, and the lag seen in that video may have something to do with the fact that the pages and images were also loading while the pages were scrolled. Pure conjecture on my part.
So as you can see, I'm not making this stuff up. I just don't see the lag that others are seeing and experiencing.
I haven't read much of this thread, so I don't know if you've discussed your financial situation... But with available financing options, especially from Best Buy where they continually offer financing at same as cash, there's very little chance that if you can afford a MBA you can't afford the base rMBP.
I don't doubt that it's very likely the MBA can do what you want it to, and you don't need the rMBP. If you're strong enough mentally to know that, and not worry about it over the next 3 years (or however long you keep the computer you are about to purchase), then I really can't see a reason that you should purchase the more expensive option. What it comes down to is are you going to experience regret for not purchasing the computer you really want, if there is even one that you really want.
I acknowledge that it's not always about buying what you want, sometimes it's about buying what you need, but if you're anything like me, and the average consumer, you are constantly using your computer, and it becomes the most valuabe/important piece of equipment you own. It makes sense to me to put out a little bit of extra cash for a "want" in a situation like this, where the equipment you use will greatly affect your life, because of the role it plays.
That being said, I think the MBAs are a pretty sweet piece of technology... I own a rMBP and often think how nice it would be to have the extreme portability of a MBA even considering that I have what is known to be a very portable computer. It just didn't fit specific needs I had (primarily for a discrete graphics card).
Point being, there are plenty of ways to save money, just because you find yourself wanting for something that you may not necessarily need doesn't mean that you should starve yourself of it. You just have to do a bit more thinking to decide if you can accomodate it.
I'm able to purchase either computer, but I just like to know if the money I save can be put towards something else like a monitor in the MBA case. It will be a main desktop replacement and something that will be used every day of my college career from now on. I can see myself benefiting from using the screen for books and other texts, but I can always use the MBA and monitor for that.
This is an especially weird and difficult decision for me since I always go with my gut feeling, but this time the gut is split between the rMBP and MBA+Display.
I completely agree. For instance, I spend a significant portion of my time in front of a computer. I'd rather invest few hundred $ more and get something which gives me pleasure to work with.
The crucial thing is not 'getting only what you need and not what you want' (because by doing this you will die a rich person who never had any fun) but rather 'understand what you really need and want'. If you want to get the rMBO just because its new and shiny, then don't get it. However, if you believe that working with a rMBP will be more fun for you, then by all means go grab it.
No offense, but this is a specious argument that relies on some seriously erroneous assumptions... I propose that in the long run one can have fun and be financially responsible. In fact, if you can manage to resist spending money on things that aren't really necessary the resulting financial security will allow you to do plenty of fun things and you won't wind up in the poor house in old age (or sooner...)
Consider this: $1000 of Apple stock purchased in 2004 is worth around $140,000 today. (Dates and amount approximate due to the fluctuations in the stock price, but the amount is in the ballpark...) $1000 is the difference in price between a base model 13" MBP and a 15" rMBP.
$140,000 can pay for a heck of a lot of "fun."
I realize that it can be difficult to resist the newest technological bauble dreamed up by the marketing and engineering geniuses at Apple. And that it can also be a drag to take the long view when you are just starting out in life. But there are important lessons to be learned from all those people who are currently suffering big time because they chose to mortgage their lives in the pursuit of bigger houses, more stuff and vacations paid by credit card and refinancing.
I prefer to learn from others' mistakes (not that I haven't made a few of my own over the years!) Digging-out of financial problems can take years to accomplish; a lot of people negatively affected by the housing and credit collapse will likely never be able to accomplish it in their remaining lifetimes.
Based on what Rockyroad55 has written previously, I think that his needs would be better served by a less expensive Mac and an external display. Doing research and writing on a large external display is going to be a lot easier and more pleasant than working on even an ultra high resolution 15" display for long periods of time.
Having done a LOT of work on 12", 13" and 15" Macs I would go with a 13" and an external monitor. (I actually used a 12" iBook as my primary computer for four years...
) I wouldn't want to be doing a lot of research and writing on any portable Mac screen, even a 15" ultra-high resolution display like the Retina. It is simply not a replacement for a good quality external display 24" or larger.I was very interested in the 11" MBA but I discovered that its display was painful for me to use due to LED sensitivity. (There is a long thread about user problems with Apple's current LED displays on the Apple forum.) I didn't spend any time with the 13" MBA assuming that I would probably have the same problem with it.
And when I compared the 13" MBA to the base model 13" MBP the difference in cost and features led me to purchase the MBP. I got a new MBP for $909 and a soon to-be-discontinued high-end 24" NEC for $550 vs. the regular $899 cost. Sweet!
The base model 13" MBP has been available recently for $929 in the refurb store and $999 at Frys. (Unfortunately, the online store is currently out of stock and the sale ends 8/9/12.) There have even been some early 2011 13" MBP in the refurb store for only $800. That is a terrific deal and if another appears I'll be on it like a dog on a bone. (I already have that MBP and it meets all my needs and then some...)
Some university bookstores that sell Macs routinely snag large numbers of previous-generation new Macs and sell them to students and faculty at significant discounts. I have saved up to 50% on brand new iMacs and MacBook Pros going that route. So be sure to check with your college bookstore to see if this is an option for you.
I want to mention that on the DP Review forum a university computer tech recently reported that he sees a lot more MBAs coming in for repairs vs. MBPs due to normal wear-and-tear from typical college student use. His take on the situation is that the MBAs are not as robustly constructed as the MBPs.
I think that his perspective is worthy of consideration even though I expect some Macrumors denizens will see things differently. I value his input because he obviously sees a LOT more Macs than I ever will and he knows the hardware inside and out...
I just want to mention that in addition to hardware you are going to need software to run on whichever Mac you wind up with. Being in the research and writing biz myself I suggest demoing DEVONthink (http://www.devontechnologies.com/products/devonthink/overview.html) and Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php). Both programs are reasonably priced (DT is usually discounted 30% on Black Friday if memory serves me...), very powerful and great time-savers. Be sure to check for student discounts.
No offense, but this is a specious argument that relies on some seriously erroneous assumptions... I propose that in the long run one can have fun and be financially responsible. In fact, if you can manage to resist spending money on things that aren't really necessary the resulting financial security will allow you to do plenty of fun things and you won't wind up in the poor house in old age (or sooner...)
Consider this: $1000 of Apple stock purchased in 2004 is worth around $140,000 today. (Dates and amount approximate due to the fluctuations in the stock price, but the amount is in the ballpark...) $1000 is the difference in price between a base model 13" MBP and a 15" rMBP.
$140,000 can pay for a heck of a lot of "fun."
I realize that it can be difficult to resist the newest technological bauble dreamed up by the marketing and engineering geniuses at Apple. And that it can also be a drag to take the long view when you are just starting out in life. But there are important lessons to be learned from all those people who are currently suffering big time because they chose to mortgage their lives in the pursuit of bigger houses, more stuff and vacations paid by credit card and refinancing.
I prefer to learn from others' mistakes (not that I haven't made a few of my own over the years!) Digging-out of financial problems can take years to accomplish; a lot of people negatively affected by the housing and credit collapse will likely never be able to accomplish it in their remaining lifetimes.
Based on what Rockyroad55 has written previously, I think that his needs would be better served by a less expensive Mac and an external display. Doing research and writing on a large external display is going to be a lot easier and more pleasant than working on even an ultra high resolution 15" display for long periods of time.
Having done a LOT of work on 12", 13" and 15" Macs I would go with a 13" and an external monitor. (I actually used a 12" iBook as my primary computer for four years...
I was very interested in the 11" MBA but I discovered that its display was painful for me to use due to LED sensitivity. (There is a long thread about user problems with Apple's current LED displays on the Apple forum.) I didn't spend any time with the 13" MBA assuming that I would probably have the same problem with it.
And when I compared the 13" MBA to the base model 13" MBP the difference in cost and features led me to purchase the MBP. I got a new MBP for $909 and a soon to-be-discontinued high-end 24" NEC for $550 vs. the regular $899 cost. Sweet!
The base model 13" MBP has been available recently for $929 in the refurb store and $999 at Frys. (Unfortunately, the online store is currently out of stock and the sale ends 8/9/12.) There have even been some early 2011 13" MBP in the refurb store for only $800. That is a terrific deal and if another appears I'll be on it like a dog on a bone. (I already have that MBP and it meets all my needs and then some...)
Some university bookstores that sell Macs routinely snag large numbers of previous-generation new Macs and sell them to students and faculty at significant discounts. I have saved up to 50% on brand new iMacs and MacBook Pros going that route. So be sure to check with your college bookstore to see if this is an option for you.
I want to mention that on the DP Review forum a university computer tech recently reported that he sees a lot more MBAs coming in for repairs vs. MBPs due to normal wear-and-tear from typical college student use. His take on the situation is that the MBAs are not as robustly constructed as the MBPs.
I think that his perspective is worthy of consideration even though I expect some Macrumors denizens will see things differently. I value his input because he obviously sees a LOT more Macs than I ever will and he knows the hardware inside and out...
I just want to mention that in addition to hardware you are going to need software to run on whichever Mac you wind up with. Being in the research and writing biz myself I suggest demoing DEVONthink (http://www.devontechnologies.com/products/devonthink/overview.html) and Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php). Both programs are reasonably priced (DT is usually discounted 30% on Black Friday if memory serves me...), very powerful and great time-savers. Be sure to check for student discounts.
I don't think I mentioned this in one of my previous posts but I plan on using this as a desktop replacement. I know I will never need more than 8GB RAM and I actually prefer smaller storage size with faster speeds. This actually disciplines me to watch what I do on my computer and how I save things. Great practice for organization.
However, my current everyday setup is a Windows gaming rig. I just want to make a permanent transition to Mac once and for all. I tried this once but got back to Windows. Long story but I have the kinks worked out now. The reason I may "need" the retina is because of the 1GB graphics card to satisfy my gaming needs. Now I know I can get the low end 15" but that only comes with 512MB and the high end classic 15 is the same price as the retina so this is where I am stuck at. I will also be commuting sometimes with it.
I'm aware I can keep my gaming rig and get a cheaper MB but I would like to just make a permanent switch to one OS and live simpler if that makes any sense at all.
Criticism welcomed since it helps.
Mea Culpa...
Sorry about that! I did this from memory; I should have checked before posting...
One would have had to purchase the stock when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997: http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=7ba70f76-54af-4065-baad-922b90a789b5
To add insult to injury, it wasn't $1000 either; it was 100 shares.
At any rate, I think that you get my point. Even a 2004 investment would have resulted in an excellent profit after taxes.
Sorry about that! I did this from memory; I should have checked before posting...
One would have had to purchase the stock when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997: http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=7ba70f76-54af-4065-baad-922b90a789b5
To add insult to injury, it wasn't $1000 either; it was 100 shares.
At any rate, I think that you get my point. Even a 2004 investment would have resulted in an excellent profit after taxes.
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It sounds to me like you haven't read a single review about this laptop, nor have you explored any of the upgrade options on the rMBP. You can get a 768 GB SSD through the Apple store. As for games, it screams on most modern games. You don't have to run games at the insanely high native resolution... you can turn the resolution down to something more reasonable from high to ultra settings on a good portion of games and get high frame rates.
You pulled the battery nonsense right out of your nether region. You can view over 7 hours of video on the rMBP... and the battery lasts even longer with normal tasks (web browsing etc.).
I don't own a rMBP, but I will early next year when my funds are more applicable. Having the ability to choose between a wide variety of resolutions on a laptop has always been a HUGE desire for me, and now the option is here and I couldn't be more excited.
There's really no point in spewing false information about a product you can't afford to try and justify your own purchase. Just be happy with what you got. There's nothing wrong with the non-retina MBP... except the fact that it isn't a rMBP.
I see your point about the gaming. I've only done a little looking into the GPU/gaming connection but from what I can recall Mac GPUs don't come close to a Windows box configured for gaming. I haven't looked specifically at the rMBP. Depending on what games you play you may have to make some compromises. There is plenty of info online to help you decide if you can live with it...
I can appreciate your desire to consolidate your computer usage into one platform. But serious gamers who use Macs tend to have a separate computer for playing games. And there is always the game console route if the games you like are available. One upside to keeping the Windows computer is that you would have a backup computer should something go wrong with the Mac.
I can appreciate your desire to consolidate your computer usage into one platform. But serious gamers who use Macs tend to have a separate computer for playing games. And there is always the game console route if the games you like are available. One upside to keeping the Windows computer is that you would have a backup computer should something go wrong with the Mac.
Sorry about that! I did this from memory; I should have checked before posting...
One would have had to purchase the stock when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997: http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=7ba70f76-54af-4065-baad-922b90a789b5
To add insult to injury, it wasn't $1000 either; it was 100 shares.
At any rate, I think that you get my point. Even a 2004 investment would have resulted in an excellent profit after taxes.
yes, I sold my July 1997 shares about three years ago and considered it a win.. paid for grad school and macs for the rest of my life. ;-)
Well, since this isn't my area of expertise and there is plenty of info available online and on the Macrumors gaming forum (https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/101/) I'm going to take my leave from this thread. I don't think that I can add anything more to the discussion. It's been fun.
Good luck with your decisions and college.
Sorry about that! I did this from memory; I should have checked before posting...
One would have had to purchase the stock when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997: http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=7ba70f76-54af-4065-baad-922b90a789b5
To add insult to injury, it wasn't $1000 either; it was 100 shares.
At any rate, I think that you get my point. Even a 2004 investment would have resulted in an excellent profit after taxes.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered a long lost investment account where I had 100 shares of Apple stock purchased a while back My investment is up over 30x!
I'd like to know what you think about this today that things are not as you'd expected. I personally don't like the RMBP but I do think what you're stating doesn't apply to most of the intended users.