Is it really worth upgrading to the new MBP Retina yet?
Is it really worth upgrading to the new MBP Retina yet? Posted on: 16.08.2012 by Candy Vardy Hey guys, like many of you out there, I'm a sufferer of R.G.A.S. and this new MBP is looking really good, but on the other hand I already have a fairly new MBP (2011) already. Now since it came out I've been trying to justify to myself reasons to get it even though technically I don't really need it, as mine's still rocking it. Now I've also been reading about the USB 3 issues and how some DJ gear does not want to work, it's like the new MBP is ahead of it's time. So with these things in mind, is it really worth selling my current MBP and getting the new one, maybe waiting it out bit until the companies in the market release firmware updates to iron out the issues? So what do you believe, yes go for it, or wait? Oh but I reallyyyyyy want one.... | |
| Ervin Calvery 22.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
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| Dierdre Stillabower 22.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
Well that's not exactly true. MUSTANG V-6 AVERAGES 48.5 MPG; RUNS 1,457 LAPS AT BRISTOL ON A SINGLE TANK OF GAS |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 21.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
If they honestly replace the chassis thats a really good deal for the consumer @ $200 ...because after 3 years on the road I know my chassis is going to be scuffed and scraped and it would be a worthwhile investment for resale. Do you really believe that other companies design their laptops to be easily modified by the end user ? With the exception of Ram and HDD what exactly are you going to modify inside a laptop body anyhow? The exception to this of course is the screen on the retina which cannot be disassembled, the screen is a sealed unit in order to reduce the thickness. Now i'm sure they could have made it an unsealed unit, ditched the retina or made it proportionally thicker which probably would have looked like crap and increased the weight. Yes if the screen breaks its expensive to fix it, if its apple's fault - they fix it, if you drop it, you should have insurance to cover it. The screen replacement is no more expensive than any previous models @ $500 from Apple. And its not that difficult to buy a bit that will fit the screws if you really want to open it up, I just dont see the point in that particular line of laptops. If you can find a comparible laptop elsewhere with the same spec and profile out there, I'd say "sure its a crappy design" ... but right now there isn't. If you are into tinkering or upgrading laptops you don't buy a maxed out Mac anyhow, get a Dell or something. They did it for you already. As it stands the retina is their highest powered laptop, gorgeous screen and cheaper than their older technology 15' MBP which IMHO makes it bloody good value. To the OP's question - I'd wait till after sept 12' just in case they quietly update anything |
| Katelyn Hoctor 21.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by rdale
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| Noble Check 22.08.2012 | And now were basically back to the mac/pc debate that people can't leave alone. He's asking about macs -- who cares that pc's are more upgradable. Has been the case forever. Got a retina display from work. Had no problems with it after installing the beta drivers from NI. Ableton live, traktor, all work fine and look amazing. I prefer smaller text for more screen area which is really noticeable using traktor or ableton on the laptop screen. It looks amazing and is quite fast with a SSD. That said, if you have a mac purchased within the last year and half, you really don't need to upgrade. Just hold out a bit longer, install a SSD in your current mac if you want to push the performance. The base processor is a 2.3 quad core, so if you're 2.0 is a quad core, you're not going to notice much improvement... maybe if it's the dual core model. It is an adjustment having a computer without a CD drive and built in ethernet port, but I use adapters and have another computer I can use for burning, so it's not been an issue. Just be aware... and purchase an external CD burner or something if it's really that important to you. The thinness/weight + screen crispness are quite appealing, but ultimately it's going to depend on your current machine to determine if it's worth upgrading. |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.08.2012 |
The body is not more durable, a believepad will outlast any macbook. When your macbook is no longer supported by apple and impossible to repair believepad much older will still be going strong.
Other Ultrabook builders are moving in the non-replaceable parts area as well as I pointed out so that form factors can be met. And I would never in a million years consider any Lenovo machine to be better looking in the style dept .. and tell the body of my well abused 3.5 yr old Macbook Pro that it shouldn't last as long as a Lenovo, nicks dents, chips, bends it still works just fine, now factor in that most people do not abuse their laptops the same way I do - i'm notoriously hard on gear**. . . . . . . . And despite all that it still looks better than the most stylistic new IBM (IMHO or course). Now get back to hugging trees' you
Well that's not exactly true. MUSTANG V-6 AVERAGES 48.5 MPG; RUNS 1,457 LAPS AT BRISTOL ON A SINGLE TANK OF GAS
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| Ervin Calvery 22.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
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| Dierdre Stillabower 22.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
Well that's not exactly true. MUSTANG V-6 AVERAGES 48.5 MPG; RUNS 1,457 LAPS AT BRISTOL ON A SINGLE TANK OF GAS |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 22.08.2012 | Wow, you believe believepads are bad laptops? Seriously? The body is not more durable, a believepad will outlast any macbook. When your macbook is no longer supported by apple and impossible to repair believepad much older will still be going strong. Thinkpads are built to last forever, macbooks are built to look pretty. a perfect example would be the chargers. The cable breaks and disconnects from the brick really easily yet apple won't change their design because they don't like how our would effect their styling. you believe having a completely passive cooling system is a good thing in a hot club environment? Edit: actually in a twisted way this is an advantage, if you can't open the thing how would you clean the fan and heat sink? Also I believe black rubberised plastic, hard sharp lines and carbon fibre looks badass while the soft brushed aluminium looks like a generic dent magnet to me. Also that tacky glowering apple is just embarrassing... I can't believe they were allowed to two giant ones in grand central station, makes a beautiful historic building look really cheap. So yeah, I believe apples image is really garish. If I could get iOS on better hardware I'd probably go for it though. The new displays are also amazing, the industry has be stagnating on resolution for far far too long, good for them for forcing others to improve. |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 21.08.2012 |
There's no reason for this. If I can swap ram, hd and battery of a believepad x1 ultra book in under 2 mins why can't I with the apple ultra books?
You seem to be missing the point that there IS a logical reason for this, weight, design and profile .. simple really, if you want an ugly laptop with mediocre performance, vents everywhere you look, and lots of panels that you can readily screw off and access yourself sure go buy the lenovo, or dell or whatever. However You'd probably be better off comparing the Retina to a performance Ultrabook like the Asus UX31, which has a similar number of non-user replaceable parts to save weight and thickness, I guess their business practices are atrocious as well and they are the devil in their spare time. Somehow I believe this was (for the same reason) to save on weight and size. You wont get 50MPG from a Mustang and you wont get a machine to look or perform the same as a Retina without sacrificing user accessibility. Apple have made the Retina MBP only .03 inches taller than the X1 you talked about, managed to put in a display that is over 2/3 more Pixels density, More powerful Graphics card, more powerful CPU, more possible Ram, faster SSD and 2' more screen Realestate, and even thrown in a pretty decent speaker system, WITHOUT having fugly looking vents all over the place, a more sturdy (IMHO) body and kept the battery life similar. BTW every apple repair I ever had done, both in and out of warranty I was given a machine to keep me running while mine was being fixed. Honestly you should probably wear a tin-foil hat or go work for Dell. |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 21.08.2012 | Not modify, repair. If my ram gives out I should be able to open it with a normal screw driver and put a new 8 quid stick in. With these I have to pay apple to replace the entire motherboard. Want to replace an old battery? Or swap an empty one for a full one? Tough. Repair screen? Nope. There's no reason for this. If I can swap ram, hd and battery of a believepad x1 ultra book in under 2 mins why can't I with the apple ultra books? Now if your performance machine breaks you have to send it off, pay an excessive amount of money and hope it gets back in time rather than drive to your local computer store and fix it for pennies. Apple software is nice, their hardware is nothing special and their business practises are appalling. |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 21.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
If they honestly replace the chassis thats a really good deal for the consumer @ $200 ...because after 3 years on the road I know my chassis is going to be scuffed and scraped and it would be a worthwhile investment for resale. Do you really believe that other companies design their laptops to be easily modified by the end user ? With the exception of Ram and HDD what exactly are you going to modify inside a laptop body anyhow? The exception to this of course is the screen on the retina which cannot be disassembled, the screen is a sealed unit in order to reduce the thickness. Now i'm sure they could have made it an unsealed unit, ditched the retina or made it proportionally thicker which probably would have looked like crap and increased the weight. Yes if the screen breaks its expensive to fix it, if its apple's fault - they fix it, if you drop it, you should have insurance to cover it. The screen replacement is no more expensive than any previous models @ $500 from Apple. And its not that difficult to buy a bit that will fit the screws if you really want to open it up, I just dont see the point in that particular line of laptops. If you can find a comparible laptop elsewhere with the same spec and profile out there, I'd say "sure its a crappy design" ... but right now there isn't. If you are into tinkering or upgrading laptops you don't buy a maxed out Mac anyhow, get a Dell or something. They did it for you already. As it stands the retina is their highest powered laptop, gorgeous screen and cheaper than their older technology 15' MBP which IMHO makes it bloody good value. To the OP's question - I'd wait till after sept 12' just in case they quietly update anything |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 21.08.2012 | You're missing the point. This is a product that is deliberately flawed in order to get more money out of the customer. I don't support that shit and neither should you. And no, there are plenty of companies who design their laptops to be easy to repair and modify. apple don't swap out batteries. They replace the entire chassis. |
| Katelyn Hoctor 21.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by rdale
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| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.08.2012 |
Form factor my ass. other ultra books, including the old macbook airs, don't need glued in batteries, soldered ram and a glued in screen to get that small. It's purely money spinning. Fuck apple, no ethics in that company.
Next you'll tell me that the non standard screws are for form factor.
99.5% of people will probably never need to open their laptops anyhow and will get a technician who does have the correct tools them to do any upgrades that might necessary. Sure I like tinkering as much as anyone here, but your entire argument focuses on the tinkerer and not a regular consumer. |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 22.08.2012 | I'm not talking about recycling it myself, I'm talking about it being processed by a normal electronics recycling plant. If compare this gen with the previous you will notice that they no longer boast that they meet recycling standards. They pretty much have to go to a landfill. Even if apple can remove the batteries from the case cleanly, which I doubt, they do not have the means to recycle all the laptops they sell and the logistics and labour cost of removing batteries and then shipping them on would be too expensive. Form factor my ass. other ultra books, including the old macbook airs, don't need glued in batteries, soldered ram and a glued in screen to get that small. It's purely money spinning. Fuck apple, no ethics in that company. Next you'll tell me that the non standard screws are for form factor. |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 22.08.2012 | The price of the retina is actually better value than the 15' regular MBP. What exactly will do you plan to be upgrading or repairing anyhow ? Heck if you spend 3k + on a laptop you spend the extra $200 on a 3yr warranty and get them to fix it. The Hard Drive is really the only thing you should need to upgrade with a beast like that - and can be upgraded pretty easy. Sure the batteries cannot be taken out by the user but CAN be replaced by Apple in the event of failure- Any third party batteries out there for the current MBP are pretty damn shit anyhow (and little saving in cost) and I would not trust them at all having run into issues with my old white MacBooks third party battery's a few years back. And I'm currently trying to replace my own MBP battery so have done my research on them and come to the conclusion its better to get Apple to do it - they do last pretty well so long as they are not abused. Anyhow - run the numbers Regular Macbook Pro 2.7ghz 8gb Ram High Res Screen 1680 x 1050 512 GB SSD $3,449.00 Retina Macbook Pro 2.7 16gb Ram Retina Display 2880 x 1800 512 GB SSD $3,249.00 Now you can of course go third party on the SSD for the Regular Macbook which will save you around $400 and you can increase the RAM to 16GB for about $70... so you could save $200 by going DIY. @ Popinjay, the reason so many parts are glued in place and not user-recycleable is simply to fit the form factor. Agreed if you want something you can fuck around the internals with in a few years time its not the laptop for you. But Price to Spec its pretty damn good value. And Apple DO offer recycling of them. |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 21.08.2012 | Remember that ni are targeting average joe too, if their software won't run on your average mid level laptop that's a couple of years old suddenly a huge chunk if their users vanish. Check out the official specs, if you meet then you're more than ok. honestly I wouldn't writer about being a little under them, I feel ni are bring a little conservative with them. |
| Chrystal Gehlken 21.08.2012 | Well honestly though I'm not a novice at technology, I am when it comes to setting up gear for DJ stuff. I always knew Apple handles the demands needed with the gear
, but beyond that, not sure what would be "good enough". I guess I wanted to get something that will be able to stay relevant for future DJ gear
. Understanding how quickly technology changes, I was worried if I don't get the latest and greatest then when the manufacturers of the software and hardware I'm getting update, I would be left behind because I chose the older item. Considering I am planning to upgrade and add on later, just wanted to get a laptop that could handle the upgrades. However, your point about being user friendly and upgradable is very on point. I know Apple is using those proprietary screws and such to drive consumers back to them, plus an almost $3000 price tag with tax, insurance, etc is a steep price. I do plan on using it for more than just DJing, but all of my DJ software will be pumped into this, so if it's a good investment, I don't mind. But if the older one "juiced up" can still do what I need for the long haul, then I can put that extra money into other things. Thank you MrPopinjay |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 21.08.2012 | I'd go for an older second hand macbook. More than powerful enough for djing, easier to repair, much more reasonable price, more usb ports, etc Still don't know why everyone gets a top end current gen processor for djing. It's not exactly the most resource intensive thing you can do on a computer and you shouldn't be multitasking so what are you using all that power for? |
| Chrystal Gehlken 20.08.2012 | Maybe bad eye sight isn't quite me yet. LOL. But I do want a display that is sharp under different conditions. Sucks that it seems I won't be able to use Traktor 2.5.1 with my 4 Track and rMPB Mountain Lion. Has anyone deeply tested the new beta driver Numark has come out with using one of their mixers? All I really want is something that can handle the speeds I believe I will need with everything hooked up (with ability to grow to higher end stuff later), and that can stay relevant for a couple of years. Knowing technology though, my best bet is having something last 6 months, then devalue to half its price. SMH |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 20.08.2012 | The retina display won't make it easier to see if you have bad eyesight, It will just make it look nicer if you have good eyesight. Increasing the resolution yet keeping the screen size the same means that characters on screen either stay the same size but have more detail or actually get smaller. I wouldn't recommend buying these laptops to be honest. Every small bit of maintenance becomes expensive due to the fact they are designed to stop you swap out parts. Also they are extremely environmentally unfriendly, the aluminium and glass, materials normally you really want to recycle, have to be thrown on a landfill as they are glued to parts like the battery, which cannot be recycled. This also means replacing the battery means replacing most of the laptop... I'm not even sure you can open one at all without a non standard screwdriver bit, which is just them being deliberately difficult and trying you to force you to pay them to do jobs that would cost you a few quid and 5 mins of time on any decent laptop. Including the old macbooks... |
| Chrystal Gehlken 19.08.2012 | This is a question I have as well. This is what I am planning to buy: Numark 4 Track F1 Kontrol Midi Fighter 3D Traktor 2.5 Ableton Suite 8 External HD which is Thunder compatible I liked the idea of a clearer screen, but have also heard there have been glitches and issues of hardware not working (i.e. 4 Track or Traktor 2.5). Now I know they have a beta driver up but still not sure what to do either. So the MBP Retina can not be user upgraded for things like memory, RAM, etc? Would I need to? I just want to get a Mac that will be able to handle all the gear I am getting (with more later) that will also give me a clear enough screen for looking at fine print stuff on the computer while playing (eyes aren't what they used to be! lol). |
| Erica Charvet 19.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
Traktor runs fine on my 5 year old Lenovo T61 with far inferior specs |
| Kiyoko Wellisch 19.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by Dustin V
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| Candy Vardy 19.08.2012 | Thanks for all the prompt responses guys, reminds me why I love this community
so much. Anyway after reading all your thoughts and advices, I'm still believeing it through. I'm also wondering if it's possible to up the speed of the RAM on my current MBP as it's only a 2.0 GHZ i7, not like the all new powerful MBP. Is it possible to boost the power, cos then maybe I can pop in an SSD, and save some $$$. |
| Golden Faubert 19.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
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| Kiyoko Wellisch 17.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by elliot1106
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| Jonas Hanway 17.08.2012 | I chose the normal Macbook Pro over the retina display for a myriad of reasons.. But the main one being it had no CD drive. That probably sounds a bit ridiculous when I use Traktor/X1/Audio 8 but I've seen many times when the macbook is of no use. Poor setup in a club, booth too small for gear
, DJ forgetting the power cable for the mac and having to burn CD's before the battery drains. Always need a back up. The issues with USB 3.0 didn't apply for myself.. Simply because they were present in both MBP and RMBP. Haven't tried the beta drivers for Traktor for Mountain Lion OS.. I'm sticking with Lion for the time being with the USBKextEditor fix. Also... upgraded my macbook pro from 4GB to 8GB with memory from crucial. Better to spend |
| Linda Chavda 17.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
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| Freida Leash 17.08.2012 | My dream computer right now is your current one, the new one doesn't have much appeal to me. I'm hoping in the future releases the pro line is back to pro and user upgradable. I believe you probably got the last of generation and probably the best sitting in front of you right now. |
| Leeanna Ayla 16.08.2012 | Plus you can get more browser on the screen with track decks at the same time with retina. |
| Ervin Calvery 16.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by sss18734
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| Kiyoko Wellisch 16.08.2012 | Mac OS scales programs up. It will look exactly the same. edit: back on topic- there is zero reason to buy one of these for DJing. The older macbooks are much more suited to the task. |
| Erica Charvet 16.08.2012 | Wouldn't Traktor be almost unusably small at that high of a resolution? (2880 |
| Shonda Soulier 16.08.2012 |
Originally Posted by MrPopinjay
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| Kiyoko Wellisch 16.08.2012 | Personally I can't wait for other brands to bump up their resolutions in response. I'm not an apple fan in any way but man, I'm glad they made this move. Resolutions have been the same for way too long! |
| Geri Jarra 16.08.2012 | If you already have a newish mac book pro, then do not waste your money. You're better off buying an SSD for your mac. The new ones are way over priced right now anyway, for what is basically a high resolution screen and a few other doodads. The only thing that makes the new one truly stand out is the SSD, which you can easily swap your HD out for. This will make your mac run like the new ones for about $200 - $400 depending on the size SSD you want. I plan to get a 256GB for mine this christmas when prices go down |
| Fannie Ohayre 17.08.2012 | From the latest issue of MacLife (Kindle version); "...The Retina display is a a beauty-depending on which app you're using. If you use a lot of Apple apps (Mail, iCal, iPhoto or Aperture, iTunes, Safari, Final Cut Pro, and so on), everything looks great, with sharp text and bright images that look more like a printed page than a computer display. But if you're using an app built for a lower-resolution display, it's possible the text and images will appear blurry..." Traktor Pro, or whatever software you're using, may or may not look better with the Retina Display. Also keep in mind that RAM, hard drive and the battery are NOT user upgradeable. Since your current MBP is "still rocking it", I say save your money for better things. |
| Ashanti Andreacchio 16.08.2012 | simple answer is NO. If you have any of the controllers soundcard that don't work with USB3 and you sell your current already working fully capable of what you need it to do, to get a new not working with your other gear. you could be without a working setup that might take months or even need new hardware to get working again. Just so you can have a better screen that has a resoltion you might not need in everyday work. On the other hand if you do grapics or video then it's an other storry. I have a 1280x800 screen and thats fine for 2 decks in traktor and ok for 4 decks. Your current mac works new might not so it's a gamble and it's you money. also worth to remember they are not upgradable so want more ram you need to buy a new one. |
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