New MBP, should I buy the one with the Retina screen?
New MBP, should I buy the one with the Retina screen? Posted on: 22.05.2013 by Karren Rantala I'll buy the machine primarily for DJing, but it will also be used browsing, reading mail, Photoshop and Indesign. My question is simply if I should buy the MBP with Retina, or without. Will it make any difference at all when using Tractor?Do you use MacBook Pro for DJ? Do you have the Retina option? | |
| Verlene Geevarghese 24.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
|
| Nancey Inderlied 23.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by Crem Brule
|
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by geminimech
|
| Verlene Geevarghese 22.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by city_boy07
|
| Rolanda Clodfelder 26.05.2013 |
My reason for wanting swappable RAM is not only for upgrades but also from a servicability point of view. If a stick fails, anybody can swap the RAM in the current MBP but not in the rMBP, its a return to Apple. Now that is fine if you are still in warranty not so good if your not.
|
| Patria Fotos 26.05.2013 | I use a 15' rMBP and absolutely love it. It's a big chunk of change, but I would say it's worth it. I believe Traktor looks just fine, and as a day to day machine its wonderful to use. I don't like that you can't really service it yourself, but with 16gb of ram I don't see the need to really ever try to. If you end up needing a bigger HD, you could always get a external drive. It's a huge upgrade from the 08 MacBook I was using. |
| Yukiko Spruell 24.05.2013 | My reason for wanting swappable RAM is not only for upgrades but also from a servicability point of view. If a stick fails, anybody can swap the RAM in the current MBP but not in the rMBP, its a return to Apple. Now that is fine if you are still in warranty not so good if your not. |
| Verlene Geevarghese 24.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
|
| Tesha Freudenstein 24.05.2013 | i'd just go for a non-retina one. sure a little heavier and all that, but the CD drive, exchangeable/expandable RAM and the lower price would do it for me. those with higher specs will still be able to run your DJ applications for years to come. |
| Kelvin Ogdon 24.05.2013 | No, I've read about LOTS of issues with them and Traktor/Serato, plus it doesn't have the CD drive, which is useful if you ever want to install an extra internal drive or SSD. |
| Maryam Fevold 23.05.2013 | Just to chime in and echo what others have said, if you spring for the retina, definitely get the highest-spec'd you can get. Also, I've had mine for about 3 months now, and I got the USB optical drive believeing I would need it. But to be honest, I've it used it once so far: to install some Ableton sound packs. I haven't touched it since. It's crazy how much everything has moved away from CDs/DVDs nowadays. |
| Nancey Inderlied 23.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by Crem Brule
|
| Len Lukawski 22.05.2013 | I have the 15" retina and adore it. Traktor may not be retina optimized but its soooooo much sharper than my previous windows laptop. The laptop as a whole is exceptionally well designed. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 22.05.2013 | http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/O...ro_Retina_2012 |
| Leon Albornoz 22.05.2013 | I run a rMBP 13', do you guys know if I can upgrade my SSD ? I currently have 128GB but would like 256 or even 512! Is it something I can buy and change at home? |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by geminimech
|
| Verlene Geevarghese 22.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by city_boy07
|
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.05.2013 |
ppl who use cdjs?
|
| Ervin Calvery 22.05.2013 | It definitely might pay to wait: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ I use a rMBP - I highly recommend it. Also, guys, you can make the Traktor text any size or font you'd like. |
| Monserrate Rupnow 22.05.2013 | I use a rMBP, and I find the increased resolution awesome for day to day things like web surfing and email. Traktor doesn't look particularly bad with the retina, most apps don't actually. Except Ableton Live, that still looks really bad on the retina. The biggest difference for me is my eyes are MUCH less stressed at the end of the day. |
| Alecia Soulliere 23.05.2013 | Well I can tell you that I went into best buy dead set on a non retina 13" mbp and it almost worked. The problem is once you put the retina next to the regular mbp its not even a comparison. The screen is absolutely incredible in comparison, not to mention its much lighter and thinner. It's like the form factor of an air with the functionality of the pro. I am 100% happy that I spent the extra money on the retina and would do the same again. I mainly use it for traktor, photoshop, and ableton (though admittedly ableton isnt exactly optimized for the retina screen) but it makes reading text and viewing images so much easier on the eyes. Choice is yours but I felt like if im already spending at least 1000 bucks on this, I want to feel like its not gonna be outdated in a year |
| Albertina Fay 22.05.2013 | if you are about to buy a new MacbookPro, I would wait it out until June 10 as Apple is have their annual WWDC where they usually announce newer model. Rumors say they are going to refresh the MBP too. It would def suck to spend 1k+ and it already be the "older" model after only three weeks. |
| Yukiko Spruell 22.05.2013 | I had to choose between a MBP 15" retina/sans retina recently and decided to go with the non retina display. The reason for my choice was due to the ability to upgrade the RAM on the current non retina MBP, I believe the Retina display MBP doesn't allow this as the RAM is soldered onto the board. In addition I understand the superdrive on the non retina MBP can be switched for a ssd should the fancy take you, obviously it cannot on the Retina version. The above not withstanding I have yet to do either as it runs like a trooper in its standard build. |
| Hayden Raugh 22.05.2013 | ppl who use cdjs? |
| Gaynell Rydberg 22.05.2013 | I really don't get why people can't make their own decision on what laptop to buy... All of the new laptops will be able to run any DJ/Production software easily... As far as lack of CD drive... who actually uses CDs anymore? |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.05.2013 | I'm going to assume you mean the 13' retina at which stage I'd say YES 100% the retina is well worth while in the 13' model... especially for Photoshop, Traktor or Ableton. If its the 15' model, its really up to you as the screen has plenty of pixels anyhow and you can upgrade a lil bit yourself.
less USB ports
However factor in there will be some Macbook revisions shortly, probably in July which may make the older non-retina models obsolete. |
| Verlene Geevarghese 22.05.2013 | The unibody pro only has 2 usb ports as well. I didn't give a rip about losing a cd drive. I can share the one plugged into my mini, or throw it into my bag for that rare occasion (read: never) that I might want to play a cd when I'm not home. If the non-retina optimized apps bother you, the resolution can be scaled from the display settings. It taxes the system a little bit more, but not enough that you'll ever notice. FWIW, I had a 2010 macbook pro with 8 gigs of a RAM and a Seagate Momentus XT prior to my upgrade and didn't notice a dramatic difference in speed/load times. Cost after my upgrades was ~1300 +, and my retina was 1600 with the 256gb drive. So 300 bucks for the panel and the SSD, which I personally found to be worth it. Others may not. Just remember you lose the ability for upgrades, so what you purchase is what you get. There are some 3rd party options for an SSD out there, but are expensive (not like it's much cheaper from Apple). |
| Lannie Kutay 22.05.2013 | NOOOOOOOO, less USB ports, no CD drive I wouldn't touch it. Get the older model = less money, more functionality. |
| Christiana Ercolani 22.05.2013 | You won't notice any improvement with Traktor, or many of the other music software packages, like Ableton Live. In fact, you may even notice a slight reduction in image quality as these applications haven't been optimized for the retina resolution yet. So, if anything, things will look a bit blurry. Personally, it doesn't bother me that much. When you're using a retina-ready app and go to something like Traktor, it's pretty obvious, but then you forget about it pretty quickly. Especially for something like DJing, and you're standing back from the screen quite a bit, you won't notice it at all. If I were you, just go for the retina display. Other computer companies are starting to do their own version of "retina displays," so it's definitely future-proofing yourself. |
| Ashanti Andreacchio 22.05.2013 | do you have good eyes? Traktor text might dam small on the retina display. I have an 15" Macbook pro (no retina) and it's perfect for Traktor |
| Grace Gatica 22.05.2013 | no its a waste of money. Would rather spend that 600 on upgrading the ram or HDD of the MBP |
| Shawn Vanhaitsma 22.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by djfreesoul
And if you are unsure if a high resolution screen is going to make a difference with a software application, you most likely dont need it. Its just a screen bro.. |
<< Back to General DiscussionReply