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Retina Macbook Pro 15" Review

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Post by Ambush Wed Dec 19, 2012 6:39 pm

To start out, I have owned a total of 3 Apple computers in my life. All of them Macbook Pros. The OSX operating system to me is very nice and simple. It can perform any tasks I give it just like Windows. Maybe it is just that I prefer the layout of the OS. Still, I find myself turning to Windows for some things. I have all but become weaned off relying on Microsoft. One task I prefer to leave to the PC is gaming. This is an important aspect to someone who is interested in gaming. The solution? Run Bootcamp. No, this is not Parrells or VMware. This is an actual partition on the hard drive that Windows is installed to.

Macbook Pro has been a leading laptop for those interested in editing music and videos. Why? The applications work very well on it. The other thing to consider is how the hardware is made specifically for the Operating System when it comes to Apple products. Microsoft tends to allow any PC to run it's operating system, which is fine, but do not expect great quality every time. Stability is a big factor in customer satisfaction. And to be fair, my previous PC running a 64bit version of Windows 7 was very stable and able to perform. Most of the performance was from the SSD which is common place now days. It was not a basic SSD, but one with higher read/write rates. This made a big difference.

Apple introducted their Macbook lineup this year. Most of the improvements are what you would expect. The upgraded versions of last year's model. "If it ain't broke don't fix it." One newly added gem was the Macbook Pro 15" which included a Retina Display. Not only this, but the laptop physically was constructed be very thin, light, and quiet. It almost could be added to Apple's Macbook Air lineup, but not quite. The parts used were specifically designed for the laptop housing which makes it difficult for some basic-level users to upgrade.

The interesting thing about the Retina Display is that it still runs at the native 15" Macbook Pro resolution of 1440x900. The difference is that the pixel density is increased significantly. This change is noticable on most stock applications such as Calendar and Mail. The actual resolution is 2880x1800. Running normal applications at this high of a resolution on such a small display is not fesable. However, you can change to this resolution in game and notice incredibly better graphics. One game I noticed such increase in quality is Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. With the included 1GB GT 650m graphics card, this is possible for many games.

The graphics card does the job, but don't expect a full desktop experience from the likes of games such as Crysis. If running at 1440x900, most games can be run at full settings and decent FPS can be achieved. The games will run very nicely from your SSD which is included with this laptop. Boot up times are even more of a sweeter thing. The SSD and GPU combined with Intel's Quad Core i7 processor which includes Turbo Boost for a powerhouse of a computer. Even with all this power, the laptop overall is very quiet until you begin something graphic intentsive, then the fans go on full blast. This will save your internal components from being melted. The fans are very quiet in idle use due to the asymmetric fan movement that the engineers at Apple designed. Traditional fans put out a specific decibel frequency that is noticable to the human ear. The asymmetric design allows for distribution of sound between a few frequencies which in turn makes it more quiet.

The ports on the rMBP include 2 x Thunderbolt, 2 x USB 3.0, HDMI. SDXC Card Reader, Power Adapter, and Headphone Jack. Bluetooth 4.0 and Wireless A/B/G/N, and a 720p Camera are included internally. All in all, this is one solid laptop. It does everything I need it to do. Battery life is also incredible. I find myself never needing to charge it when out and about. The price may scare some away, but you are getting something out of the ordinary for sure. See below for specifications of my particular rMBP.

•2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
•16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
•512GB Flash Storage
•1GB Nvidia GT 650M
•Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Integraded Graphics)
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Post by Romanovski Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:53 pm

I wish I could aford one.
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Post by Ambush Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:56 pm

Next purchase, when they figure out better technology, is a Thunderbolt GPU Enclosure. I'll throw a next-gen Nvidia card in there and take it with me to LANs. Will be a really powerful GPU outside of the laptop case. So cooling won't really be an issue.
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