Macbook Pro with Retina Display (Review)

[Kirihuna]

Greetings all, this is my review (not fully in-depth yet) of the Macbook Pro with Retina display (rMBP).

 

Specs

i7-3820QM 2.8GHz quad core CPU (Turbo up to 3.8GHz)

16GB 1600MHz RAM

256GB SSD

15.4" Retina Display.

$2,100.

 

Review:

Apple has done it again. Disregard what you think about Apple, they make great products when it comes to build quality.

 

Trackpad:
Best I've ever used. It feels the best too. Most trackpads I've used (from Dell XPS to Samsung Series 7 Chronos), we're plastic or something. Not glass. This has no resistance to movement. My fingers glide perfectly.

 

Display:

IPS? Check. Glossy with little glare? Check. 2880x1800 resolution? Oh god. This is easily the best display I've viewed. Better than my TV. Better than my desktop IPS monitor. Better than anything. 

 

However, for some reason, looking at the screen for too long hurts my eyes. It gives me headaches. Or maybe it's just seasonal allergies. Can't determine. This happened when I went from the Samsung Galaxy S 1 to the iPhone 4S. 

 

Keyboard:

Definitely a great keyboard. I'm a huge fan of chiclet keyboard. However, it'll take awhile to get used to. F keys aren't F keys. They have functions as default buttons instead of being like F1 through F12. I'm currently typing this up on the keyboard. I'm used to using the backspace button to go back to the previous page, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It's been replaces by the delete key. Bottom left keys are fn, control, option/alt, and command. Feels weird after coming from Windows. 

 

Mac OS X:

First time using Mac OS X extensively. I can't give my full review (I'll give a Mavericks Review) because it's my first day with this laptop. I don't really mess with the settings on my work Mac to get the full effect. This one I have. 

 

Other:

This laptop is extremely light.  Lightest I've ever felt. These business laptops we have at university are about 7lbs for 15.4". This is half the depth and half the weight it looks and feels like. 

 

I would provide some benchmarks and some gaming benchmarks. But I'd like people's input on what games to play. This is mostly for work / school / Dota 2. 

 

The best thing about Macs is they don't depreciate in price. It's like a BMW. It'll depreciate. But it won't depreciate as fast a Civic or a Camry. 

 

Oh, and those "FPS problems when loading Facebook" don't seem to happen. Facebook is perfectly fine for me. No drop in FPS or stuttering. 

 

I need to learn the short cuts so I can screen cap.

 

I will be installing Windows 8 on this as soon as I get either Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro. I think I can make a Windows 8 USB so I don't have to buy the Apple SuperDrive

[CoolBeans]

Holy crap, I didn't know the MacBook Pro had a 3820

[Drown]

Nice review, this looks like a very interesting computer. Of course, awful for gaming but you don't get a Mac for gaming lol. I'm considering getting either a Macbook (Pro) or iMac as an 'everyday use' computer (web browsing, text editing, school work in general) and keep the custom build for gaming obviously.

 

2100$ is a bit pricy for me though (for a laptop) , I don't need a big resolution like that, I'd rather have a big resolution on a desktop PC that have a GPU that can actually handle that resolution, other than on Internet and Word =P

[Kirihuna]

Holy crap, I didn't know the MacBook Pro had a 3820

Highest CPU offered.

 

8MB L3 cache. 

[Kirihuna]

Nice review, this looks like a very interesting computer. Of course, awful for gaming but you don't get a Mac for gaming lol. I'm considering getting either a Macbook (Pro) or iMac as an 'everyday use' computer (web browsing, text editing, school work in general) and keep the custom build for gaming obviously.

 

2100$ is a bit pricy for me though (for a laptop) , I don't need a big resolution like that, I'd rather have a big resolution on a desktop PC that have a GPU that can actually handle that resolution, other than on Internet and Word =P

$2,100 was after discounts and such. CPU upgrade from 2.3 to 2.8 then RAM from 8 to 16GB. 

 

If you don't need the resolution, I'd recommend 13" cMBP or 13" MBA. Build quality is next to none. I would throw out the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus, but it uses 4400HD and has trouble with the graphics. MBA has HD 5000. 

[laxer]

Have you compared it to a non retina model?

 

My uncle bought a retina model for himself and the base one for his daughter.

 

It is very hard to tell the difference between the two and IMO, not worth the extra money you fork out.

[Kirihuna]

Have you compared it to a non retina model?

 

My uncle bought a retina model for himself and the base one for his daughter.

 

It is very hard to tell the difference between the two and IMO, not worth the extra money you fork out.

Yeah I have. It looks a lot clearer. But I also use it at the higher resolution. At 2880x1800 in Windows, it'll be noticeable since the cMBP 15" is 1440x900 or 1680x1050 max in Windows. 

[laxer]

Glad to hear that it is actually worth while.

 

I could notice the difference in resolutions only because of the clarity/sharpness of the text.

[Kirihuna]

Glad to hear that it is actually worth while.

 

I could notice the difference in resolutions only because of the clarity/sharpness of the text.

Retina is at 1440x900 but doubled the pixels. So it's 1440x900 on a 2880x1800 panel. It's upscaled then back down to what it is. You can scale it in Mac OS X to 1920x1200 or 1680x1050, or lower than 1440x900.

[MrSuperb]

Retina is at 1440x900 but doubled the pixels. So it's 1440x900 on a 2880x1800 panel. It's upscaled then back down to what it is. You can scale it in Mac OS X to 1920x1200 or 1680x1050, or lower than 1440x900.

 that's not how it works. It really is 2880x1800, no upscaling done.

[Kirihuna]

 that's not how it works. It really is 2880x1800, no upscaling done.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5996/how-the-retina-display-macbook-pro-handles-scaling

[MrSuperb]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5996/how-the-retina-display-macbook-pro-handles-scaling

 

yeah, there is no upscaling, but rather downscaling for resolutions other than '1440x900' (2880x1800)

[Geekazoid]

@Kirihuna: Glad you like your rMBP, Macs are on the more expensive side but they are worth the money. I myself have a MBA (2012) and whilst at first I found it a bit difficult to get use to the computer, what really took the longest was getting used to how OS X worked. It took me about 4-6 weeks to get pretty used to it and then a further, say, 2-4 weeks to really get use to it. I really love the machine now. One of the many reasons I got a MBA was because of the aluminum unibody, which is quite strong and sturdy (why can't Windows laptops be made like this?) and smooth trackpad, as you've mentioned.

I'm not sure exactly where you are at in terms of your familiarity with OS X, but I do know that it can take some getting use to. Installing Windows 8 on that rMBP is a good decision, it'll let you use what you're familiar with whilst also having the option of going back to OS X when you want to.

I will point out though that, because of the kind of custom build PC you can have for the same price as a Mac, I wouldn't get a Mac desktop computer for my main hobby, which is filming and video editing, because any custom PC will outperform a Mac any day. That is just a fact and not a fanboy-based bias opinion.

I'm glad to see that another person, who has used Windows, took the leap to buy a Macbook because they are solid computers (literally) and noone should bad mouth Macs unless they have actually used one. I personally can't say that I've never bad mouthed them, because I did for quite a while and that was until I used one. I will say though that my bad mouthing them was based on OS 9, and that was pretty crappy mind you, but after using OS X it really made me want to get a Macbook.

Anyway, have a great time with your new Macbook.

[Chatzev]

Well it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. I might get this for my sister as an upgrade.

[Kirihuna]

Well it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. I might get this for my sister as an upgrade.

Go with education discount or refurbished.

 

New will cost a lot, if you have the money, then I guess go for it. MBA is a great choice. I went with this one instead of waiting cause I needed a new laptop soon and dGPU was a plus to me. 

 

Mine was only that cheap from education discount + work discount. Would have been about $2800 I think.

[Chatzev]

Go with education discount or refurbished.

 

New will cost a lot, if you have the money, then I guess go for it. MBA is a great choice. I went with this one instead of waiting cause I needed a new laptop soon and dGPU was a plus to me. 

 

Mine was only that cheap from education discount + work discount. Would have been about $2800 I think.

Thanks for the advice!

[CyberJesus88]

 

Nice review, this looks like a very interesting computer. Of course, awful for gaming but you don't get a Mac for gaming lol. I'm considering getting either a Macbook (Pro) or iMac as an 'everyday use' computer (web browsing, text editing, school work in general) and keep the custom build for gaming obviously.

 

2100$ is a bit pricy for me though (for a laptop) , I don't need a big resolution like that, I'd rather have a big resolution on a desktop PC that have a GPU that can actually handle that resolution, other than on Internet and Word =P

id just build a hackintosh with bootcamp (dualboot). windows for gaming, mac osx for everything else. look into it.

[marc23]

Yeah, with Apple you sometimes get what you pay for (like in this case). But there is always an alternative. Apple is not the only choice. Not bashing anyone here.

[Kirihuna]

id just build a hackintosh with bootcamp (dualboot). windows for gaming, mac osx for everything else. look into it.

Do this. Because desktop Macs aren't worth it tbh. Hackintosh is very easy to do. Don't use Haswell right now. Apparently there are some problems using it currently. Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge should be okay. Use two SSDs that way they don't conflict with one another in case you have to reinstall / reformat.

 

If a Windows laptop had a better build quality and was this nice and my work didn't use Mac OS X software, then I would have probably bought something else.

[Rekx]

Damm what an awesome laptop, though im not a macbook fan i still get why people would want to buy a macbook over a ultrabook or something similary. Mac os is the worst thing about macbook if you ask me (the price set to side) But damm that screen res! love that they are pushing the res on laptops. 

 

Really cool review