Just made the switch to the retina world

[Karamazovmm]

I had the 1080p panel, loved it, but the build quality left with heartaches every time I entered the subway, sold it.

[kahuna0k]

At the end I returned the rMBP, 2880x1800 native is not usable and 1440x900 is really low on desktop space. The scaled resolutions would be an option at 1920x1200, but the impact on performance is too big, also it is quite heavy, I was hoping a lighter notebook. If just they would forget about that retina and make a 1920x1200 screen on the old MacBook Pro form factor. In fact the retina screen was brighter that my W520 1920x1080 screen, but I suppose that if you are used to WUXGA, retina is not as impressive as if you are used to 1440x900. It's a pity, I really would have liked to love that laptop, but I suppose I will wait until next generation, maybe next year.

Regards

[rrm998]

^^^^
It's interesting how different everyone's needs are when it comes to a notebook. Your decision is inline with what should have been the decision for myself. However, despite all data I've gathered and this excellent thread that details the exact two machine I now have, I still couldn't resist trying the rMBP myself.

MacBook Pro with Retina - Impressions from a Windows Guy

[Thors.Hammer]

At the end I returned the rMBP, 2880x1800 native is not usable and 1440x900 is really low on desktop space. The scaled resolutions would be an option at 1920x1200, but the impact on performance is too big, also it is quite heavy, I was hoping a lighter notebook. If just they would forget about that retina and make a 1920x1200 screen on the old MacBook Pro form factor. In fact the retina screen was brighter that my W520 1920x1080 screen, but I suppose that if you are used to WUXGA, retina is not as impressive as if you are used to 1440x900. It's a pity, I really would have liked to love that laptop, but I suppose I will wait until next generation, maybe next year.

Regards

The W520 FHD screen is 270 nits. I haven't tested the rMBP screen brightness but they seem pretty close to me. I feel the scaling performance pain some, but it is offset by excellent pixel density.

There's no way I would recommend a W520 over a rMBP. I have no such reservation (at the moment) with the W530. The W520 Optimus implementation is flawed and most of the issues are resolved in the W530. That and the W520 has a checkered reliability history. That remains to be seen with the W530.

[freeman]

According to notebookcheck, rMBP has the average brightness of 272.6 cd/m² and maximum of 292 cd/m².

[kahuna0k]

There's no way I would recommend a W520 over a rMBP. I have no such reservation (at the moment) with the W530. The W520 Optimus implementation is flawed and most of the issues are resolved in the W530. That and the W520 has a checkered reliability history. That remains to be seen with the W530.

I was comparing to w520 as it is my current laptop, I mean, I cannot justify 3000€ for the few improvements over the W520. About the W530 optimus, are you able to output to external display using the HD4000?

[Thors.Hammer]

The Intel iGPU only drives the laptop LCD panel. If you need other displays, Optimus must be enabled.

[Sphinx]

Still funny to see that the M4700 and the MBPr end up together on the short list of many folks. Each machine has its tradeoff. Part of it is the absence of the WUXGA option on the M4700 (and some versions before that) that makes people crave for the Retina display on a Precision like platform.

Basically why the rMBP would have made the shortlist had it been out when I needed to buy...

[DavidElias]

If you are into professional work such as professional CAD, heavy calculating programs, even photo/video editing, there would be many reasons why the m4700 is better than the rMBP:
1) m4700 is user serviceable
2) m4700 comes with standard 3 year onsite/nbd warranty
3) m4700 will probably last you longer in terms of build quality and "future proofing"
4) m4700 can have a total of 3 hard drives or ssd combos
5) although m4700 doesn't have a VERY high res screen, you can get one with much better color reproduction than the rMBP
6) m4700 has a professional-grade GPU which outperforms the gt650m in things like CAD..etc
7) m4700 can be configured with better processing and ram
8) Did I mention the m4700 is user serviceable?? That is extremely important for a lot of professionals who don't want to be stuck with soldered down components.

[freeman]

I disagree with #1&7 and #8 is duplicate with #1 so you basically only have 5 points. Entry rMBP can now be configure with better CPU &SSD. Sure it won't get you 32GB Ram, but they are still configurable. It is true that rMBP is not user servicable is it's not neccessary a good reason for say Professional CAD, photo/video editor. You can't assume that they are also geek that want to service the notebook themself.