nwoods
Expedition Leader
I'm trying to decide (justify) how much to overspend my budget on a new MacBook Pro Retina.
At long last, I have an opportunity to replace my aging desktop computer. It''s pretty much a dinosaur at 8 years old, and though I've upgraded it over the years, it just flat out can't handle what I toss at it. I'm running a Dell XPS mid-tower, currently with a 3.2 Core 2 Duo CPU with an upgraded 8800 GTX video card and 4GB 1033mhz no-name RAM on a 32bit Win7 install (yes, that means I can only access 3GB of RAM, I know). I have two 7200rpm harddrives for 2TB of storage, and about 1.5TB is used up, mostly on photos. It runs Aero on Win7 fine, and gets a 5.6 on the Window's Index, mostly due to the crap processor.
Because of the older XPS tower, all the components are proprietary, including the motherboard and power supply. This box is just been pushed as far as it's going to go, and I'm done with it.
My wife has a 2009 15" MacBook Pro. My son has a 2011 13" MacBook Pro, and I find myself lusting after them daily. It's gotten to the point where I don't even power up the old PC unless or until I shoot some photos, and that's only once or twice a month, and that's only because I have what used to be considered a nice 24" display (another relic, with DVI only unfortunately). I prefer editing photos on the bigger screen connected to the PC. But for daily use, the instant on with the MacBookPro's (MPB) just can't be beat, and the keyboards are fine for typing on.
So a full zoot 2012 15" MPB with Retina, sporting a 2.6GHz quad-core i7 processor, with 16GB of 1600Mhz RAM, and 512GB SSD and the AppleCare warranty costs about $3400, and I would need to upgrade my old Photoshop CS5 Suite and replace my MS Office 2007 suite from Windows PC to MacOSX format (or install Windows, but on a Retina, that's not a good solution because the dpi resolution scaling only works on updated software, not my older programs). Figure a cool $4000, PLUS an external display and an external 2TB USB 3.0 hard drive for storage, now we are hitting $4500 easy.
That's twice my budget.... and then some.
Which leads me to my question (finally, right?). How much computer do I need?
I want the Retina because I will travel a lot over the next 18 months, working remotely several days a week every week. The Retina form factor is over a pound lighter than the previous 15" models, and actually meets the dimensional Spec for a 13" Ultrabook. No one else has anything like it, and I have looked at them all. The Dell XPS 15 laptop comes closest, but is 1.5 lbs heaver, and is notably bulkier in all physical dimensions, though it looks good and has similar speedy components except for a more conventional 1900xwhatever HD screen instead of the Retina 2880xwhatever screen.
So now I go into "justification mode": The 15" screen allows me to NOT use a larger display for most tasks, (I think?), and the Retina form factor allows me the portability of the 13" MPB without sacrificing screen size.... Is it good enough for editing photos and videos (Canon 7d, 1080p footage, 5200px sized, 8MB RAW images) on just the 15" screen?
Is the 2.3GHz quad-core i7 enough, or will I really lament not having the 2.6, or even the 2.7GHz processors? I haven't used anything fast and new in a while. Is the Quad-Core i7 at any speed significantly faster than the 2.4GHz dual core i5 in my son's MBP?
Is 8GB of fast RAM enough? I'd run a 64bit OS on it (either Windows or Max), so all that memory is available, and my Adobe suites definitely know how to use it. But the Retina's cannot be upgraded, ever. if you buy it with 8GB instead of 16GB, you are stuck for the life of the machine. Will I wish I had 16GB? I will be doing more video in the near future (I hope. Its painful on my current machine, so I hardly ever bother, and it's still kinda slow on my son's fairly new 13" MPB with 4GB of RAM on a Core i5).
Storage: Is 256GB of storage in SSD even close to being useful? Jumping up to 512GB costs another $500, and that's a painful pill to swallow. The SSD's are supposedly upgradable, but they are not industry standard drives, but are simply chips soldered to a proprietary board. Someone would have to mfr an all new board, not just a standard drive config. There aren't any replacement drives on the market yet that I know of, but its probable that someone will, someday. The question is, will it benefit me to wait for that "someday", or go whole hog now. Do any of you have just the 256GB drives? Are they full yet? Any regrets? A baseline 15" MPB with Retina and 3 year warranty is $2548, about $800 cheaper than the higher spec version quoted above. A full 25% less expensive. But will it be good enough to last me a while? I just don't know.
Alternatives:
The Dell XPS 15" is about $2500 with warranty, while not nearly as convenient to travel with, I would NOT have to replace all my software, saving quite a lot of money actually. But's its just not that comparable a machine, IMHO. I have owned about 7 Dell laptops over the years though my various places of employment. I have never had one who's battery lasted more than 30 minutes. Ever. Dell can't find a good battery if it hit them in the nose. I know first hand that the MBP's batteries are magical, and just last forever on a charge.
Thoughts? Experiences? First hand knowledge that you can share?
BTW, here is a terrific in-depth review the rMPB (MacBookPro with Retina):
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review
which includes this great dissertation on how the dpi scaling works on the Retina systems:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/6
At long last, I have an opportunity to replace my aging desktop computer. It''s pretty much a dinosaur at 8 years old, and though I've upgraded it over the years, it just flat out can't handle what I toss at it. I'm running a Dell XPS mid-tower, currently with a 3.2 Core 2 Duo CPU with an upgraded 8800 GTX video card and 4GB 1033mhz no-name RAM on a 32bit Win7 install (yes, that means I can only access 3GB of RAM, I know). I have two 7200rpm harddrives for 2TB of storage, and about 1.5TB is used up, mostly on photos. It runs Aero on Win7 fine, and gets a 5.6 on the Window's Index, mostly due to the crap processor.
Because of the older XPS tower, all the components are proprietary, including the motherboard and power supply. This box is just been pushed as far as it's going to go, and I'm done with it.
My wife has a 2009 15" MacBook Pro. My son has a 2011 13" MacBook Pro, and I find myself lusting after them daily. It's gotten to the point where I don't even power up the old PC unless or until I shoot some photos, and that's only once or twice a month, and that's only because I have what used to be considered a nice 24" display (another relic, with DVI only unfortunately). I prefer editing photos on the bigger screen connected to the PC. But for daily use, the instant on with the MacBookPro's (MPB) just can't be beat, and the keyboards are fine for typing on.
So a full zoot 2012 15" MPB with Retina, sporting a 2.6GHz quad-core i7 processor, with 16GB of 1600Mhz RAM, and 512GB SSD and the AppleCare warranty costs about $3400, and I would need to upgrade my old Photoshop CS5 Suite and replace my MS Office 2007 suite from Windows PC to MacOSX format (or install Windows, but on a Retina, that's not a good solution because the dpi resolution scaling only works on updated software, not my older programs). Figure a cool $4000, PLUS an external display and an external 2TB USB 3.0 hard drive for storage, now we are hitting $4500 easy.
That's twice my budget.... and then some.
Which leads me to my question (finally, right?). How much computer do I need?
I want the Retina because I will travel a lot over the next 18 months, working remotely several days a week every week. The Retina form factor is over a pound lighter than the previous 15" models, and actually meets the dimensional Spec for a 13" Ultrabook. No one else has anything like it, and I have looked at them all. The Dell XPS 15 laptop comes closest, but is 1.5 lbs heaver, and is notably bulkier in all physical dimensions, though it looks good and has similar speedy components except for a more conventional 1900xwhatever HD screen instead of the Retina 2880xwhatever screen.
So now I go into "justification mode": The 15" screen allows me to NOT use a larger display for most tasks, (I think?), and the Retina form factor allows me the portability of the 13" MPB without sacrificing screen size.... Is it good enough for editing photos and videos (Canon 7d, 1080p footage, 5200px sized, 8MB RAW images) on just the 15" screen?
Is the 2.3GHz quad-core i7 enough, or will I really lament not having the 2.6, or even the 2.7GHz processors? I haven't used anything fast and new in a while. Is the Quad-Core i7 at any speed significantly faster than the 2.4GHz dual core i5 in my son's MBP?
Is 8GB of fast RAM enough? I'd run a 64bit OS on it (either Windows or Max), so all that memory is available, and my Adobe suites definitely know how to use it. But the Retina's cannot be upgraded, ever. if you buy it with 8GB instead of 16GB, you are stuck for the life of the machine. Will I wish I had 16GB? I will be doing more video in the near future (I hope. Its painful on my current machine, so I hardly ever bother, and it's still kinda slow on my son's fairly new 13" MPB with 4GB of RAM on a Core i5).
Storage: Is 256GB of storage in SSD even close to being useful? Jumping up to 512GB costs another $500, and that's a painful pill to swallow. The SSD's are supposedly upgradable, but they are not industry standard drives, but are simply chips soldered to a proprietary board. Someone would have to mfr an all new board, not just a standard drive config. There aren't any replacement drives on the market yet that I know of, but its probable that someone will, someday. The question is, will it benefit me to wait for that "someday", or go whole hog now. Do any of you have just the 256GB drives? Are they full yet? Any regrets? A baseline 15" MPB with Retina and 3 year warranty is $2548, about $800 cheaper than the higher spec version quoted above. A full 25% less expensive. But will it be good enough to last me a while? I just don't know.
Alternatives:
The Dell XPS 15" is about $2500 with warranty, while not nearly as convenient to travel with, I would NOT have to replace all my software, saving quite a lot of money actually. But's its just not that comparable a machine, IMHO. I have owned about 7 Dell laptops over the years though my various places of employment. I have never had one who's battery lasted more than 30 minutes. Ever. Dell can't find a good battery if it hit them in the nose. I know first hand that the MBP's batteries are magical, and just last forever on a charge.
Thoughts? Experiences? First hand knowledge that you can share?
BTW, here is a terrific in-depth review the rMPB (MacBookPro with Retina):
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review
which includes this great dissertation on how the dpi scaling works on the Retina systems:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/6
