Should I buy a MacBook Pro 13 Retina?

  • Thread starter Thread starter LeadFootLiam
  • 40 comments
  • 2,681 views

Should I get a Macbook Pro 13 inch w/ Retina?

  • Yee-boa

    Votes: 7 43.8%

  • Hail No

    Votes: 9 56.3%
  • Total voters
    16
LeadFootLiam

LeadFootLiam

Messages
2,790
Canada
Vancouver, BC
Messages
liampage123
Waiting for my next paycheck. Should I get it? I will be using for light video editing since I have a YouTube channel, and also going to start up a new automotive channel. I will also be using it to edit photos, I plan to get a DSLR in the future, the retina display will come in handy for that.

Going to buy the base 1500 dollar model.

Do you have one? Let me know your thoughts.
 
You can do this on a similar PC with the same specifications at a very low price. Building it yourself is a great thing to do and you get better value than pre-made computers. Plus with a desktop you can have larger hard drives to store your videos or run a RAID 0 setup to make multiple hard drives into a single hard drive(1TB+1TB=2TB or 1TB+1TB+1TB+1TB=4TB and so on). If you go with RAID, external backups will be very important since if one hard drive fails the rest are worthless. The reason why is that RAID 0 cuts the data into sections that are stored in different hard drives. This process makes the accessing of data very quick. Even RAID is not out of your budget of $1500.
 
nick09
You can do this on a similar PC with the same specifications at a very low price. Building it yourself is a great thing to do and you get better value than pre-made computers. Plus with a desktop you can have larger hard drives to store your videos or run a RAID 0 setup to make multiple hard drives into a single hard drive(1TB+1TB=2TB or 1TB+1TB+1TB+1TB=4TB and so on). If you go with RAID, external backups will be very important since if one hard drive fails the rest are worthless. The reason why is that RAID 0 cuts the data into sections that are stored in different hard drives. This process makes the accessing of data very quick. Even RAID is not out of your budget of $1500.
Click to expand...

Unless he uses a RAID setup that isn't 0 :rolleyes: Also, RAID is pretty much accessible at damn near any budget.

Also, he was asking about a laptop, not a desktop. Learn to answer questions, not tangent off into PC talk.

The 13 inch is certainly appealing, and I've been considering one for photo editing on the go as well. However, the 15 inch MBP with Retina can be had, refurbished, for similar pricing and has discrete graphics.
 
I know that he was talking about a laptop. However video recording is much more accessible with a desktop computer than a laptop. Especially for storage and the ability to update parts if there is a need to update for a new generation of graphics. I suggested a desktop PC because it sounded like he might of been making a rash decision buying a expensive laptop that has less options. I was just concerned if he considered the value, sheesh.
 
Azuremen
Also, he was asking about a laptop, not a desktop. Learn to answer questions, not tangent off into PC talk.
Click to expand...

Learn to use a little tact, not bark at members like a 200lb rottie.

I think nick09 has a point, as mobility was never mentioned. If mobility/portability is a requirement, then a desktop is clearly off the table, but if a less mobile option can be considered, shouldn't it be?

The Macbook Pro's do have a nice appeal to them and I wouldn't mind having one myself, but if cost is a factor (just guessing because of the "base model" comment) then there may be a more economical solution that would be a better performer.
 
If you need a laptop then yes, Macs are pretty much the best you can buy within their price bracket. However, I suggest you wait until Apple refreshes the MBP line with Haswell processors and makes OS X Mavericks available for the public - you should see gains in graphics, battery and SSD performance over the already very quick current line up.
 
I have a 13" MacBook Pro, it's older so it doesn't have the retina display, but it still works really well with editing photos and putting together videos. It's really light too so it's easy to take with me.
 
The 13" retina MBP is great for all kinds of uses, but if you're going to do photo and video editing, I think you will want more disk space than the base 128GB SSD.
 
I've had a Retina MacBook Pro for a year now. At first, I was very hesitant to spend that much on a laptop, but it's turned out to be one of the best and most satisfying tech purchases I've made, and it's the best computer I have owned.

I use it to create and edit all of the content for GTPlanet at all the Gran Turismo events. I'm often hard-pressed for time during these things, so performance and stability is a priority for me. It quickly processes video edits in iMovie, and keeps pace when I'm rushed or trying to move big files around quickly.

The Retina screen is both the best and worst thing about it - it's just so gorgeous to look at it. Have you ever experienced that feeling of having a hard time putting your iPhone or iPad down, or have just made up an excuse to use them? It's kind of like that. I go out of my way just to look at this thing. The only issue is that, although most popular apps are updated for HiDPI graphics, not all are, and something pixelated on such an amazing screen can be a bit jarring. A lot of graphics and photos on web pages also aren't in HiDPI, but you get used to it. (GTPlanet's new site template will be compatible with HiDPI displays.)

Another issue I have is the lack of USB ports - there are only two.

Battery life is great. At E3 this year, I had a full day of editing videos, posting and browsed GTPlanet heavily, and managed managed my questions for Kazunori using the computer, and never needed to plug in.

As mentioned, I do think it might be wise to wait another month or so to see if they begin offering Haswell chips (more on that here). Otherwise, I highly recommend it.
 
Last edited:
I have a 15" rMBP and I love the computer. It's fast, sturdy, great battery life and has a great screen. If money is an issue, you may get greater mileage going with a Windows machine, but if you can afford the rMBP, it's certainly worth it.

As others have said though, you should wait a little longer for the Haswell chips to drop. Apple will eventually put them in the MBP line; my guess is they're waiting for Mavericks to be ready to ship the new MBPs.

NLxAROSA
The 13" retina MBP is great for all kinds of uses, but if you're going to do photo and video editing, I think you will want more disk space than the base 128GB SSD.
Click to expand...

Depending on need for portability and whether he will edit things on the road (kind of gets back to the desktop question), he could store all his photos and videos on external hard drives and work off of those.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use the SSD as a scratch disk anyways. I don't know how much SSD technology has improved in the past couple of years, but IIRC, SSDs have a max write lifespan.
 
I think now is the best time to buy a PC/Mac due to the release cycle nearing its decline. I doubt prices will drop much more. As for what to purchase, you have two good options:

1) Custom desktop. Cheapest bang for the buck.
2) A high-end Windows laptop. My recommendation is a ThinkPad. Solid build quality, reliable, and customizable. Also a better value than the MBP:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...flow:item.detail?GroupID=37&Code=TWIST_PRO_CA
 
As much as the PC Master Race suggestion would be to build your own desktop, I think the Macbook is probably your best bet. The retina display is unbelievable, and it's hard to argue with Apple's build quality. You might be able to get a bargain PC, but you won't get one that has the same QC, build quality, display quality, and design (don't be ashamed to say you partially like the MBP because it looks nice :p). I'd have to echo Azuremen about buying a refurbished model though, you've likely get better value from that than a brand new base model. Think of it as buying a fully loaded 2011MY car vs. a 2013 base model.
 
My high school has given us MacBook Air 2013s without Retina and I really like mine; battery life and build quality are both extremely good. On the other hand, I don't particularly like the MacOS (and can't use BootCamp for aforementioned reason). What I'd recommend doing would be to goto a nearby Apple store and seeing for yourself rather than trusting us with such a large purchase. Not saying that GTP isn't a trustworthy site, but I certainly wouldn't spend that amount of money on something based on what some guys (and gals) on the 'Net said.
 
F1GTR
If you need a laptop then yes, Macs are pretty much the best you can buy within their price bracket. However, I suggest you wait until Apple refreshes the MBP line with Haswell processors and makes OS X Mavericks available for the public - you should see gains in graphics, battery and SSD performance over the already very quick current line up.
Click to expand...

That good to know. I really want to get a MBP a soon as possible, I would like to wait, but my laptop right now is useable, it crashes when I watching twitch live feeds. :yuck:
 
I have a 2012 15" Retina and it's awesome. It's extremely fast, start-up and shut-downs take no time at all, and the screen is beautiful. Looking at a normal MacBook now, it is much more easy to see the pixels. In terms of the physical laptop itself, the keyboard is very good to use. Perhaps I'm just used to MacBook keyboards, but I find them to be very well spaced. The trackpad is one of the best on laptops. Unlike my Vivo laptop, the trackpad surface isn't rough, it's very smooth and it doesn't hurt your finger when you use it.

The major drawback that I see is that you can't change the battery. Whether or not this may be a problem later in its life I'm not sure, but just throwing it out there. Also, I don't like how there are only two USB ports, and they are placed on each side of the laptop. I find this to be ergonomically stupid. It's also missing a number pad, which could be a problem for some.
 
Odds are the thing will be broken or obsolete before the battery becomes very problematic. Or your warranty will be over and you can try switching it yourself.
 
@1241Penguin: The battery issue will be a problem in the future. At least in the case that you can't replace the battery by yourself but instead you will need to go to a trusted professional that services Apple products or Apple to get it replaced(Under warranty or not). Repairability is also another factor you have to consider. Is it using a standard part? Is it using regular screws? It affects how easily it can be repaired and how much a repair will cost. That is a problem with purchasing a Apple Retina laptop or almost any Ultrabook PC since they use other methods to make the computer thinner and lighter.

Consider a Thinkpad as NissanSkylineN1 said. When my mother was looking to buy a laptop I suggested a 14" model with the i3 CPU, 2GB RAM(Upgraded to 6GB myself), and 500GB HDD that cost $400-450-ish. Removed most of the bloatware and it's quite good. More costly models are better built with better hardware such as this one. May be a business laptop but has enough graphics power to play games.
 
In my opinion, the 13" is a rip-off. Apart from the screen, you're getting very little for all that money. It's only dual-core and it doesn't have a dedicated GPU. Also, 13" is very small to edit photos/videos on, in my opinion.

It's a lot more money, but I feel like the 15" is much better value for your money. I'm not saying you should buy that instead, though.

And as far as I know, the Retina version is due for an update soon?
 
nick09
@1241Penguin: The battery issue will be a problem in the future. At least in the case that you can't replace the battery by yourself but instead you will need to go to a trusted professional that services Apple products or Apple to get it replaced(Under warranty or not). Repairability is also another factor you have to consider. Is it using a standard part? Is it using regular screws? It affects how easily it can be repaired and how much a repair will cost. That is a problem with purchasing a Apple Retina laptop or almost any Ultrabook PC since they use other methods to make the computer thinner and lighter.
Click to expand...

I doubt the battery will ever be an issue. I bought my MacBook in 2009 and I still get a ton of use on a single charge. If the battery is going to fail, it's probably going to do so while under warranty.

And anyone can fix an Apple computer as long as you have access to the Internet and aren't afraid to break open you electronics. I've fixed multiple things on my Mac just by Googling the problem and then buying the parts off Amazon. I mean if a service tech can do it, there's no reason you can't do it either.
 
Joey D
And anyone can fix an Apple computer as long as you have access to the Internet and aren't afraid to break open you electronics. I've fixed multiple things on my Mac just by Googling the problem and then buying the parts off Amazon. I mean if a service tech can do it, there's no reason you can't do it either.
Click to expand...

At least I know it's not for anyone. Mind you that battery in the retina laptops are glued down to the frame and the trackpad cable(At least in the case of the 15" 2012 model). You will have a very hard time removing the battery packs without bursting them or ripping cables.
 
nick09
At least I know it's not for anyone. Mind you that battery in the retina laptops are glued down to the frame and the trackpad cable(At least in the case of the 15" 2012 model). You will have a very hard time removing the battery packs without bursting them or ripping cables.
Click to expand...

Of course all computer repair isn't for everyone regardless of which brand you buy. I'm just saying if a tech can do it, you can probably do it too with a little bit of research. Quite a few techs just Google how to fix things anyway and follow the instructions, then charge you some insane amount of money.
 
Okay, I'll admit I'm not the most well-versed guy when it comes to Macs. But... I had a look at Amazon, and the 13'' Mac Book Pro costs about EUR 1,500.00. A simple 15'' Acer Aspire with comparable hardware will set you back EUR 799.00. That's barely more than half the price. Now, I'm not certain weather this would work, but wouldn't it be possible to buy a normal laptop and install OS X on it?

And that Mac Book isn't even the Retina version - that would cost about EUR 1,950.00. So... What am I missing here? After using a friends 13'' Mac Book - what is it that makes people rather spend twice the money on a Mac Book than buy a regular laptop? Surely, it can't just be the Apple logo*. You know, that's a genuine question, I'm not trying to mock anyone. I'd just think it'd be more bang for your buck, that way... Disregard it if you can't (for some reason I can't think of) run OS X on a "regular" laptop.

* Then again, I sometimes think it might be. A normal laptop probably seems more nerdy than a Mac Book, which might even be considered fashionable. Never got my mind around that way of thinking, though.
 
The Apple logo does add some to the price, as does the design of the thing, but I think the reason Apple charges so much is because they simply can. If you had a product that you could charge more for than every other similar product and still sell them by the millions, wouldn't you do it too?
 
I'm not asking why Apple's willing to sell at that price point, I'm wondering why people are willing buy at that price point. I, too, would sell my products at the highest price point possible, but I wouldn't buy stuff at whatever price point someone sees fit.

So: What do people see in a Mac that makes them pay twice as much as they would for a Windows laptop? I get yelled at daily by customers that are sorely pissed off by the fact that we're charging 30 bucks a year for a credit card, but Apple's customers don't mind paying a premium of 700 bucks or whatever the price difference is... I genuinly can not understand it. But that's probably for another thread, I suppose.
 
People were building FrankenMac's for a while when Apple first started using Intel chips. There is no legal way, to my knowledge, to install an OSX on vanilla hardware.

My experience with Apple products have been very good. I have a G4 Mac with dual 1.25gz processors in it that is over 12 years old that I used in the recording studio and it still keeps cranking away. Sure it was more than 2 and a half times as expensive as a generic PC, but it has lasted all these years with out even one issue. I have not owned a PC to date with that kind of track record. If, and that "if" is huge, Apple has been able to maintain that kind of build quality into their products today, I would not hesitate spending a little more for that kind of reliability. I have Lenovo's (ThinkPad's) that I use for work and purchase for all my field reps, and have had pretty good luck with those as well, they are tanks. Not the prettiest thing to look at, but they do seem to be built well.
 
Last edited:
Luminis
Okay, I'll admit I'm not the most well-versed guy when it comes to Macs. But... I had a look at Amazon, and the 13'' Mac Book Pro costs about EUR 1,500.00. A simple 15'' Acer Aspire with comparable hardware will set you back EUR 799.00. That's barely more than half the price. Now, I'm not certain weather this would work, but wouldn't it be possible to buy a normal laptop and install OS X on it?

And that Mac Book isn't even the Retina version - that would cost about EUR 1,950.00. So... What am I missing here? After using a friends 13'' Mac Book - what is it that makes people rather spend twice the money on a Mac Book than buy a regular laptop? Surely, it can't just be the Apple logo*. You know, that's a genuine question, I'm not trying to mock anyone. I'd just think it'd be more bang for your buck, that way... Disregard it if you can't (for some reason I can't think of) run OS X on a "regular" laptop.

* Then again, I sometimes think it might be. A normal laptop probably seems more nerdy than a Mac Book, which might even be considered fashionable. Never got my mind around that way of thinking, though.
Click to expand...

You could run OSX on non-Apple hardware, however that is against Apple's terms of use. Macs are never good value if you compare them spec for spec to a cheaper model - however they are around the same price as similarly specced (in terms of form and build quality) premium models from companies like Asus, Samsung, Sony, and Lenovo. Getting something light, fast, and durable is always going to cost a pretty penny whichever manufacturer you pick, which is why I find 'I switched to Mac and it was the best thing ever' stories quite funny since most people will be moving from a $400 flimsy piece of plastic to a premium product - they'd get the same experience if they bought a Lenovo X1 or something like that. Apple do have great customer service though, and I appreciate being able to walk into a store and having any problems sorted out in a matter of minutes.
 
Luminis
Okay, I'll admit I'm not the most well-versed guy when it comes to Macs. But... I had a look at Amazon, and the 13'' Mac Book Pro costs about EUR 1,500.00. A simple 15'' Acer Aspire with comparable hardware will set you back EUR 799.00. That's barely more than half the price.
And that Mac Book isn't even the Retina version - that would cost about EUR 1,950.00.
Click to expand...

The 1500-something euro ís the retina 13". As for the price difference: people always say 'comparable specs', but only look at CPU/memory. It's apples (:p) vs oranges. That 800-euro Acer (probably) does not come with:

- Retina screen
- An aluminium unibody
- An SSD
- Thunderbolt
- A battery that lasts ages

Especially the screen, SSD and battery are what makes it expensive (especially battery and HD are the first things manufacturers make cuts to get the price down). If you want to make an honest comparison then just take a look at some of the Windows Ultrabook alternatives. But you'll find they're as expensive or sometimes more expensive than Apple.

It's basically the same as with cars: for the price of an awesome handling hot-hatch like a Mégane RS or Scirocco R, you can also get a base BMW 1 or Mercedes A. Does that make the Mercedes and BMW overpriced or do they simply have different USPs?
 

Latest Posts

Back