Haswell rMBP 13" first impressions

[Bootleg Betty]

So, how often does that happen on 13" version? And does it happen from the beginning, or is it something that happens over time? with warranty being what it is here, my only chance is to get one, and test it, and return it right away if it happens.

Damnit. That sucks.

 

[TreVader]

The Haswell MBA seems crazy fast for it's clock speed.

I want to see if the 13 rMBP 13" is worth upgrading to the 2.6GHz spec.

Choices
2.6GHz, 16GB and 512GB
2.4GHz, 8GB and 256GB

Hmmmmm...

4 cores on the 13" would be insane. I read that Ivy bridge had a 4 core that would work in the laptops but it was very expensive.

Koing

I have a 2.6Ghz/16GB/512GB 15" rMBP coming before next friday. Hopefully Anand will have a review up by then but if not I will run benchmarks.


It's too bad they don't put quad core in the 13" rMBP

 

[Koing]

I have a 2.6Ghz/16GB/512GB 15" rMBP coming before next friday. Hopefully Anand will have a review up by then but if not I will run benchmarks.


It's too bad they don't put quad core in the 13" rMBP

Cool man, cheers.

But considering I'm bowling about in a 2008 Macbook, 4GB, 256GB SSD that apparently scores about 700 on the geekbench the new machine should be fast.

Software lock ups seems annoying and should be fixed before I shell out a fair amount of money.

Koing

 

[StinkyPinky]

Mines got quite bad IR on my LG panel. Display is flawless otherwise. Will get it replaced towards the end of my 3 year Apple Care though.

And is this on the new Haswell macbook?

 

[StinkyPinky]

So, how often does that happen on 13" version? And does it happen from the beginning, or is it something that happens over time? with warranty being what it is here, my only chance is to get one, and test it, and return it right away if it happens.

Damnit. That sucks.

Apparently pretty common on the 13 and 15's with LG. People are trying to determine if its fixed in the newer Haswell laptops but it's too early to tell. They do use a different generation of panel however so hopefully it's at least improved.

I actually find it annoying that reviews fail to mention these things. Apple seem to get a free pass over this type of stuff. Hopefully Anand does a test.

 

[Bootleg Betty]

Apparently pretty common on the 13 and 15's with LG. People are trying to determine if its fixed in the newer Haswell laptops but it's too early to tell. They do use a different generation of panel however so hopefully it's at least improved.

Some people on macrumors are talking about how their newest rMPB have this issue. Apparently, the 13's only use LG displays.

Also, there seem to be some problem with yellow patches on the screen?

I actually find it annoying that reviews fail to mention these things. Apple seem to get a free pass over this type of stuff. Hopefully Anand does a test.

Well anand was the only one to actually measure the lag on last generation, so maybe he'll look into this.

 

[joshhedge]

And is this on the new Haswell macbook?

Sorry I should have said it's on my 2012 rPro in my signature. Merely reinforcing the point that LG screens are prolific for IR.

 

[TheStu]

Sorry I should have said it's on my 2012 rPro in my signature. Merely reinforcing the point that LG screens are prolific for IR.

Isn't the IR something that crops up over time though, it happens after a while, right? So in limited testing it probably wouldn't even show up.

 

[joshhedge]

Isn't the IR something that crops up over time though, it happens after a while, right? So in limited testing it probably wouldn't even show up.

I'm sure mine was bad right from the beginning, although yes, it is had got slightly worse. Using Aperture where it has a grey background is horrific as it just displays so clearly what I was previously viewing, such as a web browser window.

I'm putting up with it for the time being to extend the life of the laptop by replacing the screen as late as possible.

Worth mentioning mine is an LG display.

 

[Smartazz]

I never knew that there were two different panels used. Apparently I have the Samsung panel, which is why I guess I've never seen IR. In case people are wondering here's how you can tell: https://discussions.apple.com/message/21863183#21863183

 

[EvilYoda]

I'm in Philly for work, so I swung down to Delaware to avoid paying sales tax on my new MBP 13". I had a 2010 MBP which now belongs to my sister...not sure if I care for this keyboard compared to the older one. Everything else is fantastic so far.

Really wishing I wasn't in a hotel with sucky wifi.

 

[Bootleg Betty]

I just ordered one. I'll get back with reports regarding the ghosting and color problems the new retinas seems to have as soon as I get my hands on it.

 

[Eug]

Hmmm... Ghosting Haswell RMBPs. I guess that is another reason to wait until next year.

 

[Koing]

WTF at IR? I'll have to read that link that someone posted on here. Totally unaware of that.

Koing

 

[ValidUsername]

Here's an unboxing of the new rMBP 13" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ih5TcW0dOk

 

[Bootleg Betty]

WTF at IR? I'll have to read that link that someone posted on here. Totally unaware of that.

Koing

Here's one thread at MacRumors: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1662379 and here's another about different problem the displays seems to have: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1660649

About IR, there's one person there who's talking again and again and again and again in every thread ever about how "every rMBP 13" has LG screen and every LG screen has image retention sooner or later", but there's no proof. Maybe he's just trying to make people miserable and anxious, who knows.

It's more relevant to me than to usual Anandtech people, because while we have mandatory 2 year warranty for computers, Apple has no physical presence here, and warranty repairs are doing other companies who are generally dicks and do everything to screw with you. I am pretty sure they wouldn't do anything about IR. So if my machine develops IR, I can pretty much just throw it away.

So yeah. I'm curious to see how it develops and get zenbook instead or something (but they I'll have to fiddle with linux to get reasonable OS, oh well)
...

On a brighter note, notebookcheck done their review, but the english translation is not online yet, but if you can read German, or want to look at pictures or benchmark results, you can do it here: http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-13-Zoll-Late-2013.104688.0.html

What I got from the review (I can't read German, so just from the pictures) is that comparing it with Zenbook Infinity (that's 400 € more expensive, though)
- MBP's the display gets worse viewing angles and lower brightness,
- MBP's is way louder (39 to 44 dB, that's about four times as loud, isn't it?)
- MBP is almost 10 degrees C colder under full load and has bit better battery life.

 

[Koing]

Here's one thread at MacRumors: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1662379 and here's another about different problem the displays seems to have: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1660649

About IR, there's one person there who's talking again and again and again and again in every thread ever about how "every rMBP 13" has LG screen and every LG screen has image retention sooner or later", but there's no proof. Maybe he's just trying to make people miserable and anxious, who knows.

It's more relevant to me than to usual Anandtech people, because while we have mandatory 2 year warranty for computers, Apple has no physical presence here, and warranty repairs are doing other companies who are generally dicks and do everything to screw with you. I am pretty sure they wouldn't do anything about IR. So if my machine develops IR, I can pretty much just throw it away.

So yeah. I'm curious to see how it develops and get zenbook instead or something (but they I'll have to fiddle with linux to get reasonable OS, oh well)
...

On a brighter note, notebookcheck done their review, but the english translation is not online yet, but if you can read German, or want to look at pictures or benchmark results, you can do it here: http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-13-Zoll-Late-2013.104688.0.html

What I got from the review (I can't read German, so just from the pictures) is that comparing it with Zenbook Infinity (that's 400 € more expensive, though)
- MBP's the display gets worse viewing angles and lower brightness,
- MBP's is way louder (39 to 44 dB, that's about four times as loud, isn't it?)
- MBP is almost 10 degrees C colder under full load and has bit better battery life.

Man that sucks. Hmmm...

Gus can your rMBP pass the checker board test? Thanks,

Koing

 

[EvilYoda]

Man that sucks. Hmmm...

Gus can your rMBP pass the checker board test? Thanks,

Koing

Post a link to the test and I'll test on mine as well.

 

[gus6464]

Wheres the link? I will test it.

Found it:
http://www.marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html

Run in full screen mode so it covers pretty much the whole screen. I will test later and report.

 

[gus6464]

Run this command as well to see panel manufacturer:

ioreg -lw0 | grep -i "DisplayVendorID"

If it outputs 1552 you have a Samsung screen.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Run this command as well to see panel manufacturer:

ioreg -lw0 | grep -i "DisplayVendorID"

If it outputs 1552 you have a Samsung screen.

cool! I have a Samsung screen

 

[joshhedge]

cool! I have a Samsung screen

Both screens have their merits and drawbacks. LG displays on the rPros tend to have better colour reproduction and good saturation while Samsung displays seem to be overly warm and tinted, but don't suffer anywhere near as frequently from IR.

Wheres the link? I will test it.

Found it:
http://www.marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html

Run in full screen mode so it covers pretty much the whole screen. I will test later and report.

After a minute of running that the black squares are extremely noticeable on the grey background for me.

 

[Galatian]

I have to say I am both happy and disappointed at the same time about the new late 2013 13" rMBP ad here is why:

I have the late 2012 model and while I was already really upset about Apple dropping the price pretty heavily early 2013 (I guess their idea how much a 13" rMBP should cost, was not the same idea customers had), I could easily live with the first adopter tax.
Actually what I was hoping for was a quad core version with Iris Pro 5200. When you look at the fan configuration of the 2012 models it is identical to the 15" version, which is capable of cooling both a quad core mobile chip and a discrete graphic card. Also Apple could have chosen to use the cTDPdown version of the Crystalwell chips.
While the new chips are nothing to sneeze at, I still think they purposefully didn't get the bigger chips inside, because that way they would have hurt the bottom line of the 15" rMBP.

All in all I'm not happy Apple just did an "normal" evolutionary step with the late 2013 version, but I'm quite glad my 2012 version still stays relevant. I hope to see a quad core version with Broadwell though!

 

[Bootleg Betty]

The whole issue is pretty weird, the probabilities don't match up.

Not many people are complaining. On MacRumors, there are about 50 of them or so (with the one guy who claims that IR is inevitable on all LG displays with no proof whatsoever). That would fit if about of of hundred units was defective and about one of ten people noticed or something, because Apple probably sold tens of thousands of the units.

On the other hand, there are people who're like "I'm on my third Haswell rMPB 13" and all had this problem", which is pretty improbably even if half of the unites were defective.

That's strange. What I'm thinking is some combination of
1) the complainers on MacRumors are astroturfers/haters who are trying to make people miserable with their Macs,
2) it's blow out of proportion,
3) a lot of units has this problem, but most people don't notice?

I'll see when mine gets here.

 

[meister]

I'll offer a different, or perhaps only seemingly different perspective.

a month or two ago I ordered an 13 MBA, 8 gig ram, 256 SSD. has the new intel 5000 graphics.

I only use the thing so far for mail, web, normal office stuff, but my oh my… this is my first mac device and I'm blown away. Actually a joy to use. I can't tell any slow downs, poor screen issues or nothing.

what are you guys using these things for that show weakness?

Mark