MacBook Pro with Retina display or.....

SkidMarkKing · 29 Oct 2012 at 22:49

Hello.

My mates looking at getting a "MacBook Pro with Retina display" but I don't think he needs one and he could get the same spec if not better but at a cheaper price. He doesn't game on a laptop and will be editing photos, using the internet and watching videos.

Could anyone recommend a laptop that meets these requirements.

Thanks

scrlk · 29 Oct 2012 at 23:23

The screen is a massive selling point, but take that away and it's basically a £500 laptop with a SSD.

Dell XPS or HP Envy should be safe bets.

SkidMarkKing · 29 Oct 2012 at 23:27

Is it really worth paying that £600 for the screen for what he will need?

d_brennen · 29 Oct 2012 at 23:38

What do you spend 99.9% of your time looking at when using a laptop?

I'm not going to say that Apple's price is "worth it" as that is subjective. It is a damn fine screen though

SkidMarkKing · 29 Oct 2012 at 23:49

d_brennen said:
What do you spend 99.9% of your time looking at when using a laptop?

I'm not going to say that Apple's price is "worth it" as that is subjective. It is a damn fine screen though

Yeah but full HD is enough, lol! For us 21 year olds why spend silly money on a screen. £1000 goes a long way!

aln · 30 Oct 2012 at 01:19

DriftKing said:
Yeah but full HD is enough, lol! For us 21 year olds why spend silly money on a screen. £1000 goes a long way!

I disagree, however I'm hoping these become more common and thus cheaper in the future.

SkidMarkKing · 30 Oct 2012 at 09:45

aln said:
I disagree, however I'm hoping these become more common and thus cheaper in the future.

Yeah don't get me wrong im no Microsoft fan who hates Apple. I do like the look of the Apple Computers (never used one) but the spec's just seem so over priced!

wildman_33 · 31 Oct 2012 at 11:11

Is this the 15 inch or the 13 inch retina we are talking about here, the 15 although more expensive is a better value system. Most apple products are a bit of a rip off unless you can get the student discount. With student discount they are worth the money, you get a better built metal chassis, the better screen and an overclocked gt650m and a 256gb ssd. The equivalent dell XPS or sony vaio would cost a similar amount even with student discount. I agree you could get some kind of gamind laptop with a gtx680m or 7970m within the same budget but the build quality may not be as good and it would be significantly heavier and imo look uglier (but thats opinion really).

sunny007 · 31 Oct 2012 at 11:14

I'd Say MBPr

I've had my macbook pro for around 4years now and not once have had any problems, In that time I've bought a windows laptop which failed after 2years.

frenchcr · 31 Oct 2012 at 17:41

price/performance...this kicks the 13inch rMBP's ass..

Dell Latitude E6430

3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor (2.60GHz Turbo, 6MB, Upgradable to Intel vPro technology)
Windows 7 Professional (64Bit) English
8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
128GB Mobility Solid State Drive
35.6cm (14.0") HD+ (1600x900) Wide View LED-backlit LCD Panel
NVIDIA NVS 5200M (GDDR5 1GB) Discrete Graphics
Primary 6 cell 60W/HR ExpressCharge Capable Battery
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard (antimicrobial)
DVD +/-RW Media Bay Drive
Latitude E6430 : Standard Base
Integrated HD Camera with Microphone
LCD Back Cover HD+/Full HD LCD Panel
PowerDVD already included
English Shipping Docs
EMEA Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Half Mini Card
Intel vPro Technology Enabled
Fingerprint Reader and Smart Card Reader (Contact and Contactless) Palmrest (Dual Pointing KB)
Dell Wireless™ 380 Bluetooth Card 4.0 Low Energy Module
UK NetReady Internal Dell Wireless 5560 (HSPA+) MiniCard SIM included
Epeat/Estar 5.2 Info mod
3Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day
UK/Irish 90W AC Adapter with UK/Irish Power Cord
Intel® Core Label i7 for vPRO

£1350

Its also got mobile internet and upgradable parts.

wildman_33 · 1 Nov 2012 at 14:03

frenchcr said:
price/performance...this kicks the 13inch rMBP's ass..

Dell Latitude E6430

3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor (2.60GHz Turbo, 6MB, Upgradable to Intel vPro technology)
Windows 7 Professional (64Bit) English
8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
128GB Mobility Solid State Drive
35.6cm (14.0") HD+ (1600x900) Wide View LED-backlit LCD Panel
NVIDIA NVS 5200M (GDDR5 1GB) Discrete Graphics
Primary 6 cell 60W/HR ExpressCharge Capable Battery
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard (antimicrobial)
DVD +/-RW Media Bay Drive
Latitude E6430 : Standard Base
Integrated HD Camera with Microphone
LCD Back Cover HD+/Full HD LCD Panel
PowerDVD already included
English Shipping Docs
EMEA Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Half Mini Card
Intel vPro Technology Enabled
Fingerprint Reader and Smart Card Reader (Contact and Contactless) Palmrest (Dual Pointing KB)
Dell Wireless™ 380 Bluetooth Card 4.0 Low Energy Module
UK NetReady Internal Dell Wireless 5560 (HSPA+) MiniCard SIM included
Epeat/Estar 5.2 Info mod
3Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day
UK/Irish 90W AC Adapter with UK/Irish Power Cord
Intel® Core Label i7 for vPRO

£1350

Its also got mobile internet and upgradable parts.

Does it really? yeah the processor is faster but hte screen is a lower resolution (still a decent resolution but just lower) and its graphics chip technically isnt as powerful (although would perform better in cad applications) as its basically a last generation gt540m, it also has a significantly smaller battery and the cost difference isnt huge altohugh it does look like a nice system, dell business systems are built well