I'm about to buy my first Apple computer, a brand new MacBook Pro.  Question is whether or not to get the Retina screen or stick with the slightly older version?  I don't need huge amounts of RAM or disc storage.

Got an Apple store near you? You could have a look at the screens side by side. It's pretty shocking to see a non retina and retina iPhone side by side.

Go with the retina screen.

Quote from: kopfjäger on August 31, 2012, 11:59:55 AM
Go with the retina screen.

another opinion:

i really, really want one (they're friggin gorgeous), but the graphics hardware is trying really, really hard to keep up with the actual display.

the gpu wasn't designed to push that many pixels.

i've read that, some cases, some screen elements/animations may lag. not really a big deal, but i decided to wait until the next round of graphics hardware gets integrated.

also, 13in retina models should be showing up soon.

I'm neither a gaming freak nor a photo freak.  I saw no difference in this "revolutionary" retina thing.  Just my opinion.

I have an iPad 1 and the new iPad with retina display. There is a considerable difference.

I thought you got a dishonorable discharge from the Apple Corp if you didn't have the latest greatest stuff.

I've seen them side by side. I can see the difference but to these old eyes I wouldn't call it as a wild difference but it is noticeable. More interested in the hardware reliability.

Quote from: muskrat on August 31, 2012, 01:19:18 PM
I'm neither a gaming freak nor a photo freak.  I saw no difference in this "revolutionary" retina thing.  Just my opinion.

have you had your eyes checked? the retina display has over 3 million more pixels than a non-retina macbook pro.

it's not about gaming or being a photo freak. it's about having a display that doesn't look like it's made out of dots.

that said, i've always thought the maximum display resolution on the macbook and macbook pro (13in and 15in models) were a little cramped, and i wasn't interested in "upgrading" to a 17in to get 1920x1080.

i just need more screen real estate.

part of the appeal (for me) of the retina models is the ability to bump the resolution up to 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (scaled), but i doubt i'll ever run it at it's "native" resolution of 2880x1800.

Quote from: MacDuck on August 31, 2012, 02:52:11 PM
I've seen them side by side. I can see the difference but to these old eyes I wouldn't call it as a wild difference but it is noticeable. More interested in the hardware reliability.

hardware reliability should be relatively the same.

if the pricetag doesn't bother you, get the retina. if you're looking for an exuse to save some money, see my previous post. 

You're f'ing nuts if you don't get a retina display. My only problem with it is Microsoft has no plans on updating Office for retina, so it kinda looks like smashed ass. 

That does it.  Getting a blue screen memory dump again last night when booting up was totally the last straw. Later I'll be posting on a new Mac Retina. 

Quote from: derby on August 31, 2012, 03:07:55 PM
have you had your eyes checked? the retina display has over 3 million more pixels than a non-retina macbook pro.

it's not about gaming or being a photo freak. it's about having a display that doesn't look like it's made out of dots.

that said, i've always thought the maximum display resolution on the macbook and macbook pro (13in and 15in models) were a little cramped, and i wasn't interested in "upgrading" to a 17in to get 1920x1080.

i just need more screen real estate.

part of the appeal (for me) of the retina models is the ability to bump the resolution up to 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (scaled), but i doubt i'll ever run it at it's "native" resolution of 2880x1800.

Put another way........I don't give a shyat and it's not this magical difference for another 800 dollar iPad or 2000 computer.  I'm surely getting banned from apple stores for posting this.   

Quote from: MacDuck on September 01, 2012, 09:55:44 AM
That does it.  Getting a blue screen memory dump again last night when booting up was totally the last straw. Later I'll be posting on a new Mac Retina. 

I'm doing a double take and may go for the regular MacBook due to serviceability issues. The Retina was dubbed the least serviceable laptop ever built and unleashed upon a public that worships at the alter of high tech without researching the long term aspects of the product that they are buying.  I see this everyday in the car repair industry. It's all good until the product goes out of warranty and then their eyes get ripped open with the cost of repairing the product.  After a couple of heart attack repair costs the parent company just waves the newest, latest, greatest high tech offering in front of the consumer and off they go without a thought about what happens to the product they leave behind. As long as the parent company can get these sales they have no incentive whatsoever to build long lasting, quality and reasonably repairable products.

It costs $200.00 to replace a battery in the Retina and it can only be done by Apple. As initially cool as the product is it seems to go downhill in a big way after a few years. This is somewhat of a brand new concept for Apple but given the sales success of the iPhone and iPad it is a direction that they are supporting more and more.

I expect to get exactly three years out of my laptops and I buy the AppleCare for the duration of that period. After that, it's usually time for an upgrade anyway.