Haswell rMBP 13" first impressions

[Eug]

128 GB SSD is somewhat limiting for me. I don't really need 512 GB, but would if decide to move some files around so I that my iMac becomes a secondary machine (or if I get rid of it altogether). However, 256 is probably right.

Yeah, 8 GB is OK now, but I wonder about 2 years down the line. But I'm thinking you're right the $1449 machine is perfect... but I don't actually need it. Dammit you 2009 Core 2 Duo MBP for being such a good machine!

 

[JAG87]

Yes you do, trust me. Once you use the retina display, every other display looks like smeared dog feces on a window.

 

[Eug]

This is what I'm really wanting, if it has good viewing angles that is:

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/09...n-on-apples-display-plans-for-future-devices/
http://9to5mac.com/2013/10/12/comin...nch-retina-macbook-sharper-ipad-cheaper-imac/

I know that 12" MacBook is a completely unsubstantiated rumour, but it's a juicy one.

EDIT:

By my calculations, if Apple were to release a 2304x1440 Retina MacBook at 12" (or 11.97"), it would be exactly the same pixel density as the 13" Retina. Exactly.

That would mean it could use the exact same display technology as the 13" Retina. We know that the displays in the current Airs are inferior, and many attribute that to cost. It's true that cheaper displays cost less, but then again it should be noted that the $500 iPads have awesome Retina screens with great viewing angles, so there should not be any real barrier to putting a high quality screen in a 2014 12" MacBook.

I don't need the compute power of the Pro, nor do I need the 1 TB SSD options, etc. This would be perfect for me:

12" Retina screen at 2304x1440
1.4 GHz Core i5 dual-core Haswell 15 W
Intel Iris HD 5000
8 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
802.11ac
USB 3 x 2
SDXC slot
Backlit keyboard
10 hour battery life
Thunderbolt (or Thunderbolt 2)

The thing about the 2304x1440 screen is that it works out to 227 ppi, or equivalent to text sizes on a 113 ppi screen with a resolution of 1152x720. One of my beefs with the current Airs besides the poor display quality is the small text. However, with Retina, you get the best of both worlds. For people with old eyes like mine, you can run it at native with big text, but for other people who like the current Airs' resolutions, you can run non-native with similar resolutions and still have it look good.

In addition, Apple is due for an Air form factor update. The original Air came out in 2008, and the 11.6" came out in 2010. 2014 would mark 6 and 4 years since release, respectively.

Furthermore, Apple left a placeholder 13" MacBook in the Pro line. Apple sometimes does this when they intend on replacing it the following year (although admittedly they also sometimes do this just to cater to the edu and corporate groups who want something cheaper that will run older OSes).

The more I think about it, the more I think Apple will go this route or something similar, sooner rather than later. Thus, I'm holding off on replacing my MacBook Pro for now.

 

[Tweak155]

Yes you do, trust me. Once you use the retina display, every other display looks like smeared dog feces on a window.

That kind of gives incentive to NOT use retina then. I don't want to stare at dog feces at work.

 

[JAG87]

That kind of gives incentive to NOT use retina then. I don't want to stare at dog feces at work.

Haha it's so true. I just slouch and sit really far from my screens at work to make the best of it.

Eug, I don't know how I feel about the 12". At that size I start to feel cramped. Even 13" sometimes isn't enough, but it's okay for 90% of things. Font size on the 13" at native (1280x800 look-alike) is just perfect.

 

[Koing]

128 GB SSD is somewhat limiting for me. I don't really need 512 GB, but would if decide to move some files around so I that my iMac becomes a secondary machine (or if I get rid of it altogether). However, 256 is probably right.

Yeah, 8 GB is OK now, but I wonder about 2 years down the line. But I'm thinking you're right the $1449 machine is perfect... but I don't actually need it. Dammit you 2009 Core 2 Duo MBP for being such a good machine!

I'm thinking 8GB and 256GB and if later on I need more I can always sell it and upgrade to 512GB.

I don't need to keep all of my files on the laptop but it's very nice to not have to keep plug in external drives etc. But this will also be only machine as well so I may just spoil myself a bit. I'm just waiting on for reviews and for my bro to get back to me...

Koing

 

[Eug]

Eug, I don't know how I feel about the 12". At that size I start to feel cramped. Even 13" sometimes isn't enough, but it's okay for 90% of things. Font size on the 13" at native (1280x800 look-alike) is just perfect.

Yeah, I can see how it would be cramped for a lot of people, but honestly, I was fine with our 1024x768 12" iBook until the G4 became too slow.

The difference here is my main machine is a 27" iMac, so I value portability more in the laptop. The 3.5 lbs of the 13" Retina MBP kinda is a nice improvement over the previous MBP, but still is disappointing ***pared to the Airs, and the footprint is still fairly large for my tastes.

My on-the-road business usage isn't heavy duty either. All I need is Office and iWork, email, internet, and occasional light image editing, etc.

I'll go check out the new Pros soon and may change my mind, but I'm leaning toward just waiting until 2014 Q2.

EDIT:

For some reason, "c o m p a r e d" is being starred out to "***pared". Weird.

***munication
***post
***muter

...and of course:

***puter!

 

[jalaram]

EDIT:

For some reason, "c o m p a r e d" is being starred out to "***pared". Weird.

***munication
***post
***muter

...and of course:

***puter!

This would explain why many of the hyperlinks are broken. www.anything.c o m would replace the domain www.anything.com with asterisks.

[edit] of course, now it works when I'm trying to explain it.

communication about the comparison of computers is income for telecom bloggers.

 

[JAG87]

The 3.5 lbs of the 13" Retina MBP kinda is a nice improvement over the previous MBP, but still is disappointing ***pared to the Airs, and the footprint is still fairly large for my tastes.

Lol, aren't we getting a little too fastidious? I mean with that train of thought you won't be satisfied until we get laptops that resemble a piece of paper. For what the rMBP offers, it's payload is unbelievably small, and justifiably larger than the MBAs.

 

[Eug]

Lol, aren't we getting a little too fastidious? I mean with that train of thought you won't be satisfied until we get laptops that resemble a piece of paper. For what the rMBP offers, it's payload is unbelievably small, and justifiably larger than the MBAs.

Yes, but I guess what I'm getting at is I would prefer something like an Air but with a better screen. I don't need the compute power of the Pro.

In fact, if the Air had had a better non-Retina screen with a more appropriate pixel density and with better viewing angles, I would have bought one years ago.

What's holding me back from the Air is not the CPU/GPU performance. It's the crappy screen.

 

[JAG87]

Yes, but I guess what I'm getting at is I would prefer something like an Air but with a better screen. I don't need the compute power of the Pro.

In fact, if the Air had had a better non-Retina screen with a more appropriate pixel density and with better viewing angles, I would have bought one years ago.

What's holding me back from the Air is not the CPU/GPU performance. It's the crappy screen.

So let me get this straight, are you talking about the 11" MBA, or does .5 pounds extra bother you... Just wondering because personally I would not choose a non-retina 13" MBA even if it did have an IPS display just to shave .5 pounds off.

 

[tokie]

How does the Iris GPU work on games like Dota 2 / CS:GO?

Can it manage medium-high settings on 1280x800 at 60fps?

 

[JAG87]

How does the Iris GPU work on games like Dota 2 / CS:GO?

Can it manage medium-high settings on 1280x800 at 60fps?

I play CSGO on the HD4000 at 1280x800 on low-medium settings at 60 fps, so my guess is that the HD5100 should be able to cope with slightly higher settings. Maybe not all on high though, and certainly no MSAA.

 

[Eug]

So let me get this straight, are you talking about the 11" MBA, or does .5 pounds extra bother you... Just wondering because personally I would not choose a non-retina 13" MBA even if it did have an IPS display just to shave .5 pounds off.

I was hoping for something well under 3 lbs. I hear ya about the Retina though, which is why a find the rumour, however unlikely, of a 12" Retina MacBook so intriguing.

A 2.75 lb Retina Air-replacement would be awesome.

 

[Eug]

AI: Apple's new MacBook Pros get 65% graphics performance boost from Intel's Iris

 

[StinkyPinky]

128GB is enough for me. I never store much on a laptop, I use external devices for primary storage.

 

[Bootleg Betty]

I'm just thinking about this one. I'm waiting for the reviews if there are any unpleasant surprises like the ghosting on the first retina, or batches with terrible drives, or something, like last time (or was that zenbook?)

How is the screen? And is there really no lag? I'd be upgrading from 2007 macbook, so I can't imagine there being more lag than on my computer, but still, intel GPUs are inherently terrible.

Also, how hot is it? How loud?

 

[mmntech]

Same here. I really want the 13", but I'm still undecided, and the only things holding me back are the faint hope of a 12" Pro model (extremely unlikely) and of course the cost:

Edumacation pricing (CAD$):

$1249 - 2.4 GHz i5, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD
$1339 - 2.4 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD
$1449 - 2.4 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
$1629 - 2.4 GHz i5, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
$1749 - 2.6 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
$1929 - 2.6 GHz i5, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
$2199 - 2.6 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
$2379 - 2.6 GHz i5, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD

I need none of the above, as my Core 2 Duo is fine, just heavy with no USB 3 or Retina. I want one of the above in bold.

You save about $100 with the education discount. Apple is still screwing over their Canadian customers despite the currencies being nearly on par for years now. Better to buy a refurb or go cross border shopping.

I've been debating doing a Hackintosh MacPro for my next gaming PC build, dual booting with Windows. Might sink the money into that since my iPad does most of what I've been using my laptop for lately.

 

[Lotheron]

I'm interested in the new 13" rMBP, but only when bootcamp supports it.

Has anyone with one tried to install Win7/8/8.1 on theirs with any luck?

 

[Eug]

People are having random trackpad and keyboard lockups for both the new 13" and 15", requiring hard reboot.

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/28...nd-trackpad-freezes-boot-camp-install-issues/

I'm interested in the new 13" rMBP, but only when bootcamp supports it.

Has anyone with one tried to install Win7/8/8.1 on theirs with any luck?

Yes. See article above. There have been errors, but an interim solution is provided in an Apple support thread.

 

[Tweak155]

People are having random trackpad and keyboard lockups for both the new 13" and 15", requiring hard reboot.

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/28...nd-trackpad-freezes-boot-camp-install-issues/


Yes. See article above. There have been errors, but an interim solution is provided in an Apple support thread.

Seems disingenuous to attribute these problems to the models. If you can work around the problem selecting specific settings, obviously this is a software issue.

 

[Eug]

It is likely a software issue, but it is happening to these specific models. IOW, there needs to be some OS X bug fixes to address issues that occur specifically with these new models.

 

[MrX8503]

The 3.5 lbs of the 13" Retina MBP kinda is a nice improvement over the previous MBP, but still is disappointing ***pared to the Airs, and the footprint is still fairly large for my tastes.

MBA is running a ULV, the rMBP isn't. If you look at competitors, there aren't any that can compete with the rMBP on size and processor speed. The footprint is smaller than the MBA and its funny you mention its fairly large when the MBA's footprint is huge.

 

[Eug]

That's exactly what I'm getting at. I want an ULV 12" MacBook. I don't need the performance of the Pro, but I don't like the current Airs.

If I HAD to get a new laptop today, I'd get the 13" Retina. However, I'm thinking I may just wait to see what 2014 brings. ULV 12" IGZO 2304x1440 at 227 ppi?

 

[Koing]

Well that is just great. I was going to order but I'll wait until this dies down.

Koing