Macbook pro 13" with retina Display

[theheyes]

Have you used one?

I've only had a quick dabble with one but I'm familiar with the displays. I believe the iPad 3 is a similar PPI.

For retina aware video/photo editing apps, you get all the benefits of a large res (more real estate to fit images/video in) without the downsides (having the UI look tiny).

Don't get me wrong I like pixels as much as the next person, but you're getting quickly diminishing returns on a screen this size. I just don't think it's worth it personally and have no problems photo or video editing on just "decent" resolution screens.

If it came as standard and didn't come with any caveats then fine, but the reviews suggest the GPU is flying by the seat of its pants at the highest resolution settings. I mean, seriously? One of the founding tenets of the Mac is hardware + software integration and yet they are charging a fortune for something that potentially struggles with its headline feature.

It's not for me, but for those who have one I'm sure they enjoy it.

 

[GTRacer]

Personally I'd pick a normal 15" MBP with 1GB 650m, so I can get a Matte screen. Then buy a 256gb SSD and remove the optical drive and place the normal HDD in there for storage.

That would be the perfect setup for me.

I also already have a 27" ips monitor if I'm at the desk and need a bigger display.

I have to agree with you on the 13" though. I don't even think it should be called a Pro, considering it only has integrated graphics.

Yeah that would be quite a nice setup, but the retina display won me over in the end - I opened up a 30MP scan of one of my 6x6 slides in Preview and was honestly floored at how much it looked like a good print. Adobe need to get their shiz together though, CS6 (aside from Premiere Pro) looks like crap. Once they do though, Illustrator and Photoshop are going to be amazing to work in. Storage doesn't bother me as I use an external so I can work between the MBP and PC at home.

Don't get me wrong I like pixels as much as the next person, but you're getting quickly diminishing returns on a screen this size. I just don't think it's worth it personally and have no problems photo or video editing on just "decent" resolution screens.

If it came as standard and didn't come with any caveats then fine, but the reviews suggest the GPU is flying by the seat of its pants at the highest resolution settings. I mean, seriously? One of the founding tenets of the Mac is hardware + software integration and yet they are charging a fortune for something that potentially struggles with its headline feature.

It's not for me, but for those who have one I'm sure they enjoy it.

Running it at native res is definitely unusable, but the high DPI modes are very nice - having a 1920x1200 UI and a 3xxx*2xxx working area for images is pretty sweet as I can see more of the image even if I'm zoomed in at 100% - it makes seeing exactly how your small adjustments work with the image as a whole a lot easier (having to constantly zoom in and out on 1680x1050 is pretty annoying after using the rMBP for a session). Though this is with the 15" where everything is a lot smoother... they both use the same integrated GPU, which is fine for browsing the web, so perhaps the difference lies in the quad core v dual core? Although the 650M does kick in every now and then on some sites. I think the 13" is a lot like the first gen Air - an interesting tech exercise but version 2 will be a lot more usable.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

Yeah that would be quite a nice setup, but the retina display won me over in the end - I opened up a 30MP scan of one of my 6x6 slides in Preview and was honestly floored at how much it looked like a good print. Adobe need to get their shiz together though, CS6 (aside from Premiere Pro) looks like crap. Once they do though, Illustrator and Photoshop are going to be amazing to work in. Storage doesn't bother me as I use an external so I can work between the MBP and PC at home.

Id jump at the Retina if I was able to have a Matte screen, it's just the extra premium on it for decent SSD storage is punch to the gut, especially without an extra HDD or hybrid drive.

 

[AbsenceJam]

Overpriced.

I don't get the fascination with these insane resolution displays personally.

The screen is the the most important part of a computer, and retina = amazing quality. It's not an insane resolution, more pixels gives you resolution independence. I use my rMBP as a primary display over much bigger monitors now, that good.

 

[theheyes]

The screen is the the most important part of a computer, and retina = amazing quality. It's not an insane resolution, more pixels gives you resolution independence. I use my rMBP as a primary display over much bigger monitors now, that good.

I disagree that it's the most important part. Like I've said, it's nice to have, but with diminishing returns on smaller screens and not without caveats. If you have one and like it - that's great. Opinions can differ.

And while the resolution itself might not be "insane", Apple pairing it with a GPU that clearly struggles to handle some configurations is clearly "not of sound mind."

 

[Antowns]

I've gotta say I'm very disappointed with the price, I paid that price or near enough for my top of the range 2010 17 inch MBP back in the day. I'd still choose that over any of the new proprietary Mac's nowadays.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

I've gotta say I'm very disappointed with the price, I paid that price or near enough for my top of the range 2010 17 inch MBP back in the day. I'd still choose that over any of the new proprietary Mac's nowadays.

Proprietary? How so?

All the ports, parts, everything is commercially available. I guess the Retina Display is kind of, but that'll hit the rest of the market eventually.

Now if these still use PPC, they would be.

I 100% agree on the price though, this is more of an extremely over priced MacBook than, MB Pro.