I'm looking at getting a laptop that's as powerful or as close to as powerful as my current desktop rig. The only thing I've found so far is the new 15.6" Macbook Pro with retina display. The Macbook's specifics are as follows:

• 2.3GHz 4th Gen i7 Turbo's at 3.5GHz
• 16GB of RAM
• 15.6" Retina Display
• NVIDIA GeForce GT750M 2GB's dedicated graphics.
• 512GB's of PCIe based Flash Storage.

The price tag at Best Buy is listed as $2,499. I'm looking at using this laptop for graphic work as well as programming, my question is has any used this particular Macbook before, if so how was the experience? Was it work going to the more expensive 15.6" model? I'm trying to get this thing ASAP, but at the rate I'm saving I won't have the money for it til August, which would be fine if I didn't need it to work while out and about. I'm trying to find out if it's worth going to the higher model, or if the lower tier will work just fine or if I may have some kind of other option out there. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Okay...

You told us what you want.

Why do you need it? What is the purpose of the box? Why do you need it to be as powerful as the desktop?

Also, why are you asking? Some people ask about high-end computer specs somehow asking for the forum for permission. That is part of being an adult, making responsible choices and all that. Other people are asking to see if parts work well together or if they have known issues; a MacBook Pro is going to be well built and you don't need to worry about component mismatch.

A computer is a tool. Get the tool you need. Sometimes you need a $5 hammer, other times a $100 hammer, and sometimes a $500 air-powered hammer, it all depends on the job you are doing.

Sure, having a brand new $2,500 laptop would be nice. I wouldn't mind a few of those myself. But is it what you actually need? If you only need a portable modern Mac, you can go from "high-end new" to "adequate refurbished" and save yourself $1700 in the process.

Why do you need it? What is the purpose of the box? Why do you need it to be as powerful as the desktop?

Doing 3D Rendering/Video editing, and programming, geared towards game development.

Also, why are you asking? Some people ask about high-end computer specs somehow asking for the forum for permission. That is part of being an adult, making responsible choices and all that. Other people are asking to see if parts work well together or if they have known issues; a MacBook Pro is going to be well built and you don't need to worry about component mismatch.

I may not have been very clear on this in my original post, so I apologize for that! I'm asking if anyone on here has used the new Macbook lineup for similar work and if the $2,499 model is what I need or if the lower cost $1899 model works just fine for my needs, as I'm trying to speed up the process of getting this laptop so I can be up and running and at the rate I'm currently saving up it's taking longer than I'd like,..

To be more detailed, I'll be writing in C++ and using 3DS Max/Maya to render 3D models. I'll also be using bootcamp to run Windows for all my current programs as my desktop is a windows based machine.

I'm currently running my desktop with 4TB's of hard drive space and a SSD for my programs and OS, 16GB of RAM and an 8-core processor clocked at 3.5GHz.. So I'm fairly used to a higher performing machine, I just want a laptop that can keep up with what I'll be demanding of it.

To summarize, the question at hand is; Do I need the higher model for this, or will the lower end $1899 model work fine? And, if anyone has had any experience using the two how their experience has been. This will be my first dive into the Macbook world.

Why are you looking for a laptop then if you are already used to a desktop machine? You can get a much faster desktop machine at $2500 if speed is that much of an issue to you.

You need to understand that laptops will generally be slower than desktops. Laptops with comparable specs to desktop machines will carry hefty price tags. If you can pay for it, sure, but it doesn't look like you are willing to, judging from your posts. The advantage you get from using laptops is mobility, and that is it. Screens are smaller, you normally get half a keyboard, need an external mouse, battery life issues, fans noise, you get all these problems with laptops.

If your workstyle is mostly sitting at one stationary place, then upgrade your desktop. If you travel around to different places, then get a laptop, but don't complain for lack of speed and all of the above issues.

I would never buy a laptop on performance grounds. The fact is: they all suck because:

1) They lag Desktop performacne by at least one generation, often two

2) They cost twice as much for the same as one-generation old desktop technology

Good luck!

Yes the Macbbok Pro Retina is a very good. I personally buy the non retina Macbooks with the best processor but the lowest Ram and HDD then upgrade them myself (Usually works out around £500 cheaper than from Apple). However it sounds like you would be taking advantage of the Retina display so go for it.

I love how folks will throw lots of money out the window for the word "Retina" .

On a modern laptop "pixel density" makes no real difference .

err - correction. It makes a difference if your nose is literally presses against the screen.

I'm currently running my desktop with 4TB's of hard drive space and a SSD for my programs and OS, 16GB of RAM and an 8-core processor clocked at 3.5GHz.. So I'm fairly used to a higher performing machine, I just want a laptop that can keep up with what I'll be demanding of it.

That's simply not going to happen.

I'm currently running my desktop with 4TB's of hard drive space and a SSD for my programs and OS, 16GB of RAM and an 8-core processor clocked at 3.5GHz.. So I'm fairly used to a higher performing machine, I just want a laptop that can keep up with what I'll be demanding of it.

That's simply not going to happen.

Why are you looking for a laptop then if you are already used to a desktop machine?

I need it for school, if I could carry my desktop with me I would much rather do that lmao.

I love how folks will throw lots of money out the window for the word "Retina" .
On a modern laptop "pixel density" makes no real difference .

err - correction. It makes a difference if your nose is literally presses against the screen.

You can't tell me that a 2880 x 1880 resolution display doesn't sound nice or look more attractive than standard 1920 x 1080! Really, I'm looking at the newer models because they are the closest I can find to what I'm looking for.

Add to it that the OP is buying a macbook pro, and then running a windows virtualization on it. That combination has its costs.

I can see why you are asking about the top-of-the-line, highest listed macbook. With bootcamp it will drop in performance to that of a $1000 PC laptop.

It was my understanding that Bootcamp literally ran windows on a separate partition, not in a virtual environment like Parallels? Is this different from what I've heard? This is the exact reason I come asking this question, I want to know before I drop money on a computer.

I was told that there is a company out there called Sager (sp?) that I can custom order ANYTHING I want into a laptop and they'll have it sent to me in 2 weeks time.. Anyone ever hear of them or know of them?


Keep in mind I fully understand I won't get the same performance out of my laptop as I will my desktop but I want as close as humanly possible.