Give me one reason why should I go for an MBP 15 retina

I am pretty much imperssed with the 15 inch MBP retina. After using iPads, I don't find Apple OS any way suprior or inferior to Windows, but different. Yes the GUI in Mac good (maybe because after working on Windows, I find it different, therefore excited) and the number of applications available in the store are amazing.
But over my existing HP Envy 15, how will an MBP 15 be helpful to me in terms of.
1) Productivity
2) Entertainment
3) Education (I always carry my laptop in my MBA classes and use OneNote. The only challange in laptop is making block diagrams) and
4) And other daily life activities
Things that I admire about MBP is the design, retina display and the amazing GUI. The retina display will definately make it feel better compared to my HP Envy laptop and the fact, that Mac doesn't have virus.
My colleagues, who are iOS developers always tempt me to buy an MBP, they gave me several examples, to show the life will become much easier by switching to Mac. I am an IT professional, so it won't take more than a day or 2 for me to get used to Mac. But will it overall help me, that I will consider a WOW factor?

 

OS X isn't really any better than Windows. It probably needs less daily maintenance than Windows but it can still fall prey to slowdown from the same kinds of security flaws as a Windows computer. From an IT perspective, it is a UNIX OS and for those who are familiar with UNIX command line, that means the OS X terminal is an extremely powerful tool.

It is literally a matter of personal preference though. Windows and OS X have the same (or similar) types of software with Windows potentially getting a leg up on games. Macs come with a lot of software out of the box, which is great if you are using Apple software but somewhat negligible if you're using third party software. Now if you have friends who are iOS developers then it is no surprise they prefer Macs as OS X is where the iOS development tools are. OS X is also popular with creative types because of Final Cut Pro and Logic X but there are competitors on Windows (particularly from Adobe) that can accomplish the same thing.

Now for me, I prefer the layout of OS X and I use Apple software (iWorks mainly) but if I was given a Windows desktop or a Linux desktop (I actually used Linux as my main platform for years) I could still get software to meet all my needs.

Apple has traditionally pushed their own connectivity solutions such as FireWire, Thunderbolt, etc. They're not exclusive connections but it is i.e. relatively rare to find a Windows machine with Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is outstanding for data transfer if you need a large amount of data on external storage. An example of this is film editing.

 

Viruses are not a concern as much as malware, which tends to be OS agnostic.

 

If you could borrow a fairly recent OS X machine, then here's what I'd do: give OS X a try and see which OS you like the most, Windows or OS X. Choose a laptop in function of the OS you prefer.

 

I bought one in December and use it for 90% of my PC computing now. I don't use my home desktop (Nehalem i7) much and my office PC is under the desk unplugged. I do software development, mostly in a Linux environment and Mac OS X fits very nicely into that environment.
I use Growly Notes which is a One-Note knockoff for Mac OS X.
Virtual Desktop is one of the biggest productivity features for me. Windows is supposed to get this in W10 but I haven't looked at it and what took them so long?
I think that Time Machine is very nice for backups that I don't have to think about.
I have a Windows 7 Pro VM on my rMBP so I can run Windows programs if I need to. The main program that I like to run on Windows is QuoteTracker which only runs on Windows. It does not run 100% on Wine and Wine gives me a little indigestion. There are a lot of niceties in Yosemite but also lots of minor bugs but I don't see the bugs that often.
One other nice thing about MacBooks is the compatibility of power supplies over the years. Apple had the MagSafe I power adapter for many years and now have MagSafe II. A cheap adapter allows you to use your MagSafe I adapters on newer computers. I bought extra adapters many years ago for home office and work office so that I don't have to carry the adapters around with me.
Other brands seem to change the power bricks every release and even most models so buying an extra for the office is only good for that machine. It can also be a benefit if someone needs to borrow an adapter at the office or in school as you only need to look for someone else with a Mac, not a particular make and model.
I'm not a particular fan of Thunderbolt and hope that Apple goes to USB Type C for high-speed interconnects on their next model upgrades.

 

Thanks for providing the openions.
I do like Windows. Although I somehow dislike Windows 8, but I think Windows 10 will be very exciting. I am not looking for a switch. I want to try something different. I will keep my HP Envy, which my wife uses these days. I want something different, exciting with which i don't get fed up for atleast an year.
I have another query?MBP retina 15 offers almost 3-4 times more resolution than a full HD screen. I mostly watch movies that have a display resolution of full HD 1080P and sometimes 720P. Nothing lower than that. So how does it feel to watch movies in an MBP? I won't use MBP primarily for watching movies. But while travelling, watching movies is a good passtime.

 

I had a MBPr 15 and the screen is really sharp, great for media. The movie will depend on the format though, 1080p is still 1080p, even on a 1800p display. The MBPr does have an IPS display though, where as the air line only uses TN panels, so the picture will look better on a retina just due to just that anyway.

I recently switched back to mac from being only on windows for the past 3 years. The simplicity of everything and having things just work really sold it to me. Maybe I am lucky, but Yosimite has been great for me and I am only currently using a sandy bridge 2011 MBA 13. I didn't want to go all in again only to go back to windows, so I got this as somewhat of a placeholder until the new air or pro comes out. The design has been somewhat stagnent and some will praise that, I on the other hand, can't wait to get my hands on the "best new thing".

 

I'll give you two reasons not to.

1. Alienware 15 + QHD option
2. Hackintosh

 

In fact I like the design of MacBook Pro. I find MacBook Air bit WIERED in terms of design. Alienware 15 with QHD screen is twice more expensive than MBPr 15

 

I use my Retina MacBook Pro mostly for work and use mobile devices for viewing media but I occasionally use the rMBP for watching tennis matches on ESPN3 or sometimes YouTube videos and I think that the display is fine. I'm often doing something else though so I'm not 100% focused on the display. The rMBP is hooked up to an external HD display at the office and is mirrored on the laptop so it has the bands above and below - it's not a HD display.

A coworker bought the Razer Blade and loves the machine and I think that he uses it for most of his work and gaming now. It gets a little hot for gaming but I think that the rMBP does the same if you have the discrete graphics option.

I know that you're looking for something new and exciting but what I want from a system is something that gets the job done efficiently, that doesn't get in the way of what I need to do and that doesn't offer any surprises - in other words, I want something reliable and boring that I can always count on.

One more point is your proximity to an Apple Store. I work about 12 minutes away from an Apple Store which means that I can get accessories and service with a short drive. If I lost my rMBP, either due to theft or damage, I could go to the store, buy another one, hook it up to Time Machine and restore my system and be back up and running in a few hours. Part of the value equation of going with Apple, in my opinion, is the proximity to an Apple Store - if you have one nearby, there is some tangible value and peace of mind knowing that service and accessories are nearby.

Sure, you can do thing online but that can mean using a delivery service which can result in not having your system for an indeterminate amount of time.

Mac OSX system cost also includes future operating system upgrades. This can save you a little bit of money depending on which version of Windows you like to use unless you have a job where you can get them for free or have a kid in college or are in college yourself in certain majors through the Microsoft Alliance program. Microsoft has been somewhat hazy about future license pricing. They have indicated that they would like to move to a subscription model for Windows, similar to what they have for Office 365 and I guess that would mean paying an annual fee for Windows. I think that I'd say goodbye to Windows if they did that and just stick with older versions that don't require a subscription.

One other thing - if you want the most reliable system, go with Intel Integrated graphics and skip the discrete graphics. Apple has had a history of problems with AMD and nVidia discrete graphics over the last almost decade. Our family has had about six motherboard replacements due to faulty nVidia discrete graphics hardware problems since 2007 - I've heard that some generations with AMD have had problems too. Discrete graphics can generate a lot of heat in MBPs too which probably isn't the best in terms of keeping your system running well over the long term. I believe this approach is best for Windows systems as well as I've seen nVidia issues in Windows systems too. Intel Integrated graphics has gotten better and better with each generation and this has been squeezing revenue and profits from the discrete graphics divisions at AMD and nVidia as more and more systems are sold without discrete graphics. AMD and nVidia seem to be stuck at larger process geometries as well as they may be getting squeezed out by chip orders from mobile companies on smaller geometries. (can you tell that I'm an Intel fan?)

I also don't like the MacBook Air and prefer the MacBook Pro but I like overall symmetry so the rectangular prism shape appeals to me more than the wedge shape. The mobility of the MBA is nice but I couldn't live with the current display. I work at WUXGA resolution and the MBP is one of the few notebooks out there that gives me this. Those extra 120 pixels above HD mean a lot to me for coding.

 

Like I said earlier, I am not looking at switching. I will keep my HP Envy series, which my wife uses most often. I want to try something different. The main purpose of trying mac is not to get rid of virus. But are these anti-malwares in MAC free of cost? Or do you have to take subscription which you have to renew yearly?

 

There are free anti-virus programs for OS X though I ran into performance problems with one of the ones that I tried so I removed it. It never caught anything while it was running. The statistics on viruses on Mac vs Windows is amazing but that shouldn't lull one into a false sense of security.

I generally run multiple scans on Windows machines once every three to four weeks with multiple anti-malware products.

In some ways, you can feel better on Windows because there are multiple companies always looking for new malware out there and there are multiple free scanners that you can run on your system as no one product catches everything.

 

Yes. But lets say, when you watch a DVD quality video (480P) maximized in a 1080P display, the video looks crappy. So similarly the resolution of MBP 15 retina is 2880 X 1800 which is slighlty less than 4K and is almost closer to 4X more resolution than 1080P. So does the full HD movies look crappy when maximized in an MBP 15 retina?

 

I just looked at a HD movie clip on YouTube at fullscreen and it looked great. Mac OSX scales the resolution to WUXGA, WSXGA and one other resolution. The quality of the rendering may be a function of your video-player doing the scaling work. In general, I don't have any complaints about watching videos on it but I generally do that on an external monitor.

If you have an Apple Store or Best Buy in your area, you could always just try one out.

 

Thanks.
Last weekend I want to an Apple store and did spend 20 minutes in an MBP 15 inch retina

The whole UI, the ICONS and everything looked so amazing, that I though that I should immediately, but then I realized, how much debit I am into

Most likely I will save some money and then buy this MBP. Maybe the next generation MBP might be out by that time, I hope that this top end MBP they double the SSD space from 512 GB to 1TB keeping the cost same.

 

Technically is it possible to upscale the resolution of a video clip? So you watch even a 480P or 720P video it will be upscaled to WUXGA, WSXGA, without affecting the quality??

 

Yes, you can see examples of upscaling images in the source code for Mozilla Firefox. I did some optimization work on that many years ago. There are algorithms for rescaling images and movies are just images strung together. So the quality of the scaling will be dependent on the software doing it and performance will depend on efficiency. Though I think that common programs don't require much in the way of resource of modern processors.

I wouldn't go into debt to buy hardware to supplant hardware that I already have.

 

I have a macbook pro 15 retina. It an amazing all around laptop with no real weakness. Its powerful, great build quality, quiet, thin/light, good battery, great screen, good keyboard, and AMAZING TOUCHPAD. Using another touchpad is extremely frustrating once you get used to the mac gestures. The only caveat (other than $$) is gaming, the 750m is pretty mediocre is you need to play games with high-end graphics.

 

This is much easier said than done. Due to locking down of the BIOS, it is impossible to shut off nvidia graphics without extensive DSDT edits, not to mention power management and tons of other customization requirements. Most people don't have the time to hackintosh unfortunately, though it would surely present a better platform when all said and done.

 

There are two downsidesa to Macs. If you need constant cpu and pu power i.e. games/cad/video edit it will throttle and run hot other being the price. But as a daily driver where not so much computational power is needed its a great machine. Has solid build, good battery life and gorgeous screen.

 

Battery Life, Battery Life, Battery Life and form factor. On my numerous flights from JFK to LAX the macbook will survive playing 2 or so movies and still have half battery upon landing. What system can do that? and still have enough power to run other high utilization applications. My friends Ghost GS60 doesn't even come close to battery life.

 

There are a few Windows laptops that can do so, but they are the exception rather than the norm. Dell has gotten pretty good with battery on a few of their higher end units. However, this kind of battery life is still the exception rather than the norm. It requires a lot of research to find a windows laptop that has battery life similar to that of a mac however. Still, with laptops like the new XPS 13 and the M3800, I'd say some manufacturers have started to up their game, hopefully they'll keep it up.

 

My Razer Blade can get me over 5 hours of Netflix streaming on power saver before giving me the 5% warning and it's thinner than a rMBP. It also has a lot more horsepower than the rMBP. I get between 5 and 7 hours depending on what I do. I believe Apple quotes 8 hours for the 15" rMBP which is much less in Windows.

 

Windows doesn't have switchable graphics on the MBPs in BootCamp so you can't use the more power-efficient Intel-integrated graphics. If you want to run Windows most of the time, you're better off with a Windows laptop.

 

1) If you *need* OSX, or an OSX-only program.

Otherwise, you don't *need* to go for a rMBP (but may do so if you like).

 

You do realize how long a flight from New York to LAX is right? or 2 movies? Translation a Macbook can get 9-8 hours easy... And where you say your Razer is 'thinner' I can say my PSU is half the size... It's easy for you though to get a Razer when you also own a MBA, however most people don't have both a MBA and then a gaming laptop. If you're going with one system it's easier/more practical to go with a Macbook Pro Retina, who really games on the go? It's a myth that people often try to convince themselves that they are doing but it's not really worth it nor practical when spending real time analyzing it... I would know, I've been there, I've done it and I've learned from it... And I'll never go back to it.

Oh and I'll give you another reason why I prefer Mac's the resale value for these things is UNREAL especially if you have apple care. Call the Apple Users Stupid or whatever you want but I've noticed two things. The Pre-owned market for these things is HUGE when compared to that of Razer, Alienware etc etc. And they are willing to pay good money for used systems.


If you were to look through my posting history you would see that Ive owned about 4-5 alienwares (Lost Count) before finally going with a desktop Macbook setup. I can tell you my personal experience I have never seen a laptop resale so high/so well. You can literally buy a macbook and sell it a year or 2 later at around $600 depreciation locally. You can't even come close to that with another system. I mean it's great I don't even have to use these forums to buy/sell my systems I can just use my local Craigslist... which makes life alot easier overall.

 

Laptop gaming isn't a myth at all. Hell, I do it from time to time, though I do it on a Quadro (so I guess I'm weird ).

Though I agree that gaming on an airliner isn't all that practical, given that you're unlikely to find a power outlet on a flight and gaming laptops tend not to do well on battery life when gaming...

 

Since I've gotten my hands on HP NC8430 9 years ago, with a Radeon, which I flashed to FirePro and I've been gaming on business class workstations with professional graphics ever since. I just cant have something with me that I feel will brake apart due to cheap plastics.
PS. I can easily get over 8 hours on my M6800 as long as I'm not using FirePro and I'm dancing on integrated.

 

I was talking about Macs with a coworker as his fairly new desktop stopped working recently (it has his tax software on it which he needs to work on). I have everything for work and most of my personal stuff (outside of my iTunes library) on my current system and I have a Time Machine disk at the office so it gets backed up throughout the day. If I lost or damaged my system, I could drive over to the local Apple Store (10 minutes), buy a new one, hook it up to my Time Machine disk and be back up and running in a few hours.

Most people don't need that kind of redundancy but it's nice to know that it's available. I just happen to work near an Apple Store - if you don't live near an Apple Store, then the value of Apple products may be less. I could buy one at a Best Buy as well but I wouldn't get my employer discount.

 

What does my Razer have to do with your PSU? This is the most irrelevant remark I've read today. Your Macbook will not get you 9 hours of streaming videos. It will get you 7 hours at best. As my Air gets me just over two more hours of continuous video streaming than my blade so between 5 and 7 hours although significant should not be a deal breaker. I don't know why you brought up my macbook air as it has nothing to do with this argument but anyway. I don't see how the macbook pro is definitely the more practical device. A rMBP will realistically last 8 hours, A razer blade will last 6. But the razer has a higher resolution, a GPU miles ahead of the rMBP and a slightly faster CPU. These benefits to me are superior to the 2 hours of battery life gain but the OP would have to make that decision for himself. I'm not even going to comment on your supposed myth. Yes, it's a myth that people ever game away from home. Since you don't game on the go, obviously no one else does. Thank you, complete internet stranger for understanding my uses for a computer better than myself. As for the resale value, I can not comment with absolute certainty but I wouldn't consider it unrealistic to sell my Razer for 1700 in a year's time at all if it's in great condition. It's not like I would be trying to shift the machine in 5 minutes.

 

I have both the 2013 razer blade 14 inch with 256gb SSD and a mid 2014 15 inch retina MacBook pro with maxed specs 2.8 ghz i7 with 1tb SSD and battery life is drastically different from my razer blade to my retina MacBook pro.

with my 2013 14" razer blade to get even a decent amount of battery life I would have to set the brightness to 0% the dimmest and just browse web pages no videos and no music playing to even manage to stretch it to 6 hours, if I DO start to watch videos online ( streaming youtube or any flash videos ) then my battery life is cut 1 hour short and if I increase the brightness to 50% my battery life would be down to 4 hours 30 minutes.

with my mid 2014 retina MacBook pro my brightness is at 50% watching streaming youtube videos ( html 5 ) no flash I would reach a peak of 6 hours.

1: 30 hours is pretty big difference especially if you're outside working on your laptop without being close to an AC adapter.

My advice is if you need to be away from a very long and extended periods of time without being plugged into an outlet go for a rMBP.

If you want to game go for the 2015 razer blade however the newest blade has around 5: 43 hours of battery life with light web use I assume no streaming videos according to anandtech with heavy use on the new blade they got 253 minutes so that's 4 hours 13 minutes on 200 nits of brightness ( 45%).

 

People say, that Mac Book Pro 15 retina has a good build quality. Just like iPhones, we cannot perform drop tests with MBPs but those who own these high end MBP retina, have your MBPs survived accidental drop once or twice? Investing 1999 for a laptop with no Accidental Damage Protection provided by the company is a tension.

Another importatnt thing is, those of you, who are using MBP retinana for more than 2 years, have you ever faced any issue or dead pixels?

 

I think of good build quality as fit and finish whereas what you're talking about is durability. The current rMBP 15s have Apple's typically good fit and finish.

We haven't gone around dropping any of our MacBook Pros (we have six of them from 2007 to 2014) but all of our Apple laptops still work fine. One of them has an issue with the DVD drive but we have an external drive that can be used on that one.

My two MBPs are a 17 inch 2008 model and a 15 inch 2014 model and I've used them both today. The 2008 model runs fine except for the screen "spotlights" problem. I debate getting it fixed or leaving it as is as it holds my iTunes library.

I consider them durable but we also take very good care of our equipment.

If I were to lose my MacBook Pro, I'd just get another one.

 

That's not really answering maverick's question though. Fit and finish are a property of aesthetics and neither quality has anything to do with durability (for example, a Hummer is pretty ugly imo, but it can take a beating since it's pretty durable).

 

I can't specifically answer the question as we take reasonable care of our electronics. I imagine that most other owners here take care of their equipment too.

I was at a conference where I knew of a guy that went through a couple of MBPs in a week though he didn't have to pay for them. I saw younger people propping up MBPs on their knee while typing with one hand. I suppose that doing things like that, particularly with a little alcohol, would greatly increase the chances for drops.

 

Fair enough. I'm also sure most NBR members take decent care of their laptops (though I admit I've dropped my laptops a few times for stupid reasons). And people should be taking care of their laptops regardless of if their company-issued or personal, consumer-class or business-class.

 

That guy was young and high-up in the management chain. I guess money and power can do odd things.

 

From experience of people I know who own macs, they can handle a light drop, but they won't handle repeated drops or drops from mid heights. Say you're dropping it from "couch" like heights, it'll have some dents, but that should be it (unless it lands on the side of the display or something). Drop form higher or repeated drops will usually cause some damage. It could be as simple as the video out no longer working to needing some components to be replaced.

Do note that while an Elitebook is likelier to survive higher drops/multiple drops on average, if it lands badly, it may also take damage. On average though, from what I have seen, business laptops tend to rake more beatings than macs. Take for example, the T420 I told my parents to buy, it has handles spills, a fair amount of drops and quite a bot of food. Aside from a crack in the chassis, it's still very much alive and kicking after over 3 years of intensive use.

Macs are definitely better than your average cheap Windows laptop by miles though, so if you even remotely take care of your laptop, it should last a decent amount of time.

I'll say this again though, it all comes down to which OS you want to use first and foremost. OS X is a pretty decent OS, just like Windows is, so if you want OS X, I'd say get a mac for sure. If you need to be in a Windows environment most of the time, then get a Windows laptop, if you only need Windows occasionally, then a mac is still a good contender.

 

We all take care of our expensive electronic devices. But accidents can strike any time. My HP Envy, which is a preimum laptop came with one year of accidental damage protection. Despite taking all extra precaution and care. There was one incident when I was reading in my laptop on the bed. Somehow I went to sleep, and suddenly realized that my ankle was stuck on the laptop, breaking the screen. But I got it repaired for free, becausae of ADP. So no matter how much you take care of your devices, accidents like this could happen.

 

We have a bunch of laptops dating back to 1999 and they're all in good working order - though nobody today would probably want to use the older ones. I suppose that we could have paid for insurance for those laptops for many years but it would likely have cost more than at least one laptop for insurance. So we essentially self-insure. If something were to break, we'd just replace it. I typically have a budget each your for electronics and ask family members if they want upgrades to what they use.

Warren Buffett writes about what a great business insurance is. I read this in one of his annual reports many years ago and it convinced me to self-insure where possible.

Fortunately, we have iPads which are better devices for reading in bed.

 

Unless you like OSX I can't see any reason to go Apple vs PC. Apple is nice in that none of their systems are low end junk. Of course if you restrict yourself to Windows machines that are over $1000 the same is basically true. That's a bit like saying All Mercedes are at least nice on the inside. Well when you spend that kind of money on a Ford, Toyota or Honda you also get a nice interior but not all Fords, Hondas and Toyotas have nice interiors.
Anyway, many people are less familiar with the great Windows options since they often are not in stores. The Dell XPS systems (and the Precision M3800 which is largely an XPS-15) are great Mac like systems. The XPS-13 and 15 are basically MBPr competitors. They compare in size and run time, have great (mildly better than Mac) screens, and Mac like build quality. They also have touch screens (the only reason to tolerate a gloss screen is to have touch). If extra durability is important the top end business class systems (Thinkpad T&W, Latitudes, HP somethings) are more abuse tolerant than Apple systems (but heavier and bulkier). Thin systems such as the XPS models are likely no more robust than a MBP.

Apple gets high marks for pushing new ideas and often moving the market. Screen resolution was stagnate for years with Apple trailing (15" Apples at around 1400x900 and PCs at 1920x1200). But while some PCs were clearly better, most were lower resolution screens. Apple leapfrogged the industry with the MBPr. Now the PCs are again leading with 3k and 4k screens. Apple gets credit for moving things but they aren't better. The XPS-15 screen (the older 3.2K and the new 4K) are both better than the MBPr screen in terms of resolution and reportedly color.

Anyway, I don't see any reason to move to Apple hardware unless you want to use OSx. I don't for many reasons and these days the best PC hardware is just as good (at near Apple prices).