The next-gen MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2012 4:14 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
- Apple
- MacBook Pro
- Laptops
- Notebooks
The Design
The problem with being on the forefront of design is every iteration is expected to significantly outdo the one before it. The unibody MacBook Pro design took build quality to a new level for Apple. By constructing all parts of the machine that you generally interact with out of the same piece of aluminum, Apple significantly reduced the amount of flex and creaks you’d encounter during normal use.
The next-gen MacBook Pro chassis doesn’t revolutionize the design, but it does make some significant evolutionary improvements. The most tangible impact as I’ve already mentioned is the reduction in size and weight of the machine. At its thickest part, the 13-inch MacBook Air is actually a little thicker than the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Unlike the MacBook Air however, the rMBP does not feature a tapered design. Instead you get a constant thickness which is definitely reminiscent of the previous design.
The backlit keyboard and glass covered trackpad remain, although the key travel has been reduced somewhat - likely to help thin down the chassis. It's not worse, just different in my opinion.
The reduction in thickness also comes at the expense of a missing optical drive and no mechanical storage. Once again Apple has opted to use its own custom form factor and custom SATA connector for the NAND based storage in the rMBP. You’ll hear no complaints from me on the move away from mechanical storage as I’ve been recommending SSDs as upgrades for the past few years. The battery continues to be integrated but it’s no longer easily user removable as the custom cells are now glued to the chassis. A few years down the road your rMBP will have to take a trip to the Apple store (or a clever third party service center) to get its battery replaced.
The MacBook Pro with Retina Display, Image Courtesy iFixit
This is the first Pro appliance that Apple has ever produced. The CPU, GPU, DRAM, battery, display and, for now, the SSD are either non-removable or at least not user-upgradeable. On a $499 iPad that’s one thing, but on a $2199 professional notebook that’s a completely different matter. I can even make an exception for the MacBook Air as it is more of a consumer device, where computing needs have largely slowed down over the past several years. But for a professional machine, to have such a fixed configuration seems very worrisome.
MacBook Pro with Retina Display Comparison | |||||
15-inch Mid 2012 MacBook Pro | MacBook Pro with Retina Display | ||||
Dimensions | 0.95 H x 14.35 W x 9.82" D | 0.71 H x 14.13 W x 9.73" D | |||
Weight | 5.6 lbs (2.54 kg) | 4.46 lbs (2.02 kg) | |||
CPU | Core i7-3615QM | Core i7-3720QM | Core i7-3615QM | ||
L3 Cache | 6MB | 6MB | 6MB | ||
Base CPU Clock | 2.3GHz | 2.6GHz | 2.3GHz | ||
Max CPU Turbo | 3.3GHz | 3.6GHz | 3.3GHz | ||
GPU | Intel HD 4000 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M | ||||
GPU Memory | 512MB GDDR5 | 1GB GDDR5 | |||
System Memory | 4GB DDR3-1600 | 8GB DDR3-1600 | 8GB DDR3L-1600 | ||
Primary Storage | 500GB 5400RPM HDD | 750GB 5400RPM HDD | 256GB SSD | ||
Optical Drive | Y | Y | N | ||
Display Size | 15.4-inches | ||||
Display Resolution | 1440 x 900 | 2880 x 1800 | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 1 | 2 | |||
USB Ports | 2 x USB 3.0 | ||||
Other Ports | 1 x Firewire 800, 1 x Audio Line in, 1 x Audio Line out, SDXC reader, Kensington Lock slot | SDXC reader, HDMI out, headphone out | |||
Battery Capacity | 77.5 Wh | 95 Wh | |||
Price | $1799 | $2199 | $2199 |
Apple has definitely made accommodations to make this unupgradeable reality more palatable. Sure the primary silicon is fixed, but all Retina MacBook Pro configurations ship with a minimum of 8GB of DDR3L-1600 memory. The only available upgrade is a move to 16GB, which will surely suit most needs for at least a few years to come (if not more).
The SSD is physically removable although there isn’t presently a source of 3rd party upgrades. I suspect we will see some in the future although there are always concerns about any legal claims to Apple’s unique form factor and physical interface. Apple’s concession here is it offers as much NAND as is physically possible today: up to 768GB if you’re willing to pay the handsome upgrade fee.
We’ve long given up on upgrading mobile CPUs or GPUs, and more recently abandoning the removable battery in favor of increasing capacity and reducing form factors is a trade off we’ve accepted as well. Apple has tried to help on the memory and SSD sides but the whole package is still very...fixed.
Despite all of this my only real complaint about Apple’s fixed configuration is the $2199 spec comes with too little storage by default. If I want to carelessly use my machine and not worry about regularly deleting unused files I find that I need 512GB of storage. At 256GB it’s too easy to run out of space, particularly if I’m on the road and dealing with lots of photos and videos. If you’re like me then you’re shoehorned into getting the $2799 configuration as there’s no way to just upgrade the size of the SSD in the $2199 model. And if you’re spending $2799 you might as well get the 16GB memory upgrade, if you can convince yourself that you’re not going to buy the Haswell version next year.
Retina MacBook Pro Silicon: One Big Happy Family
Powering the Retina Display MacBook Pro is Intel’s latest and greatest quad-core Core i7. A part of the new 22nm Ivy Bridge family the Intel silicon in the system is well done as always. The default configuration ships with a 2.3GHz quad-core offering, while the upgraded option is clocked at 2.6GHz. Apple offers one more upgrade at 2.7GHz while upping the L3 cache to 8MB. Since these are i7s all of them have Hyper Threading enabled, making the major difference between parts frequency and cache size in the case of the most upgraded part.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display CPU Comparison | |||||
2.3GHz quad-core | 2.6GHz quad-core | 2.7GHz quad-core | |||
Intel Model | Core i7-3615QM | Intel Core i7-3720QM | Intel Core i7-3820QM | ||
Base Clock Speed | 2.3GHz | 2.6GHz | 2.7GHz | ||
Max SC Turbo | 3.3GHz | 3.6GHz | 3.7GHz | ||
Max DC Turbo | 3.2GHz | 3.5GHz | 3.6GHz | ||
Max QC Turbo | 3.1GHz | 3.4GHz | 3.5GHz | ||
L3 Cache | 6MB | 6MB | 8MB | ||
AES-NI | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
VT-x | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
VT-d | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
TDP | 45W | 45W | 45W | ||
Processor Graphics | Intel HD 4000 | Intel HD 4000 | Intel HD 4000 | ||
GPU Clock (Base/Max) | 650/1250MHz | 650/1250MHz | 650/1250MHz |
Turbo Boost is supported and active on all options. As always I verified its support in OS X as well as its functional operation:
889A refers to the max number of speed bins supported by Turbo Boost for 4, 3, 2 and 1 active core, respectively, in hex. For example, the 2.6GHz base clock of the Core i7 in my test system can turbo up a maximum of 8 bins with three/four cores active (2.6GHz + 800MHz = 3.4GHz), or 9 bins with 2 cores active (3.5GHz) or 10 bins (A in hex) with 1 core active (3.6GHz). Just as with previous mobile Macs, CPU clocks remain unchanged regardless of whether the system is running on AC or battery power.
Intel's quad-core 22nm Ivy Bridge
All of the CPU options feature Intel’s HD 4000 graphics, which handles the majority of graphics duties unless you fire up an application that triggers the discrete GPU. All of the rMBPs feature NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 650M equipped with 1GB of GDDR5. Apple went aggressive on the Kepler implementation and ships a full 384 core GK107 in the rMBP. The GPU clock is set at a very aggressive 900MHz with a 1254MHz memory clock. I do appreciate that there’s no variance in GPU/memory configuration across all of the Retina MacBook Pro options, it greatly simplifies the purchasing experience.
471 Comments
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seapeople - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - link
Wow, is that the Sony everyone here has been harping about "outdoing Apple" years ago?Reading that review basically says that while the general specs of that Sony are outstanding, every other possible aspect of user experience (keyboard, hinge design, trackpad, thermals, and noise) is completely terrible.
Oh, and it looks like it costs more than the rMBP and comes loaded with bloatware.
There's a reason that didn't get an Editor's choice award, and it's not some great conspiracy...
OCedHrt - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Not really. You can buy it without the bloatware, you just need to select Windows Pro. They got a review unit from Sony, and Sony shipped them their "consumer" version which is loaded with bloatware (although I agree, that is even more reason to not have bloatware).The hinge is by design and something Sony engineers are quite proud of. Not everyone likes it when something is different, especially when it comes to keyboards.
Simply read the comments (http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/5530?cPage=5&a... and you can see only the reviewer had an issue with the hinge that he couldn't even explain very well.
I have been using the Z1 for 2 years now and the experience is awesome. It may just take some time to get used to a small laptop.
Trackpad can glitch every once in a while and for noise you can make it silent in the Sony control center (change fan from performance to silent).
There is always going to be fan noise in a high end laptop when stressing the system. This applies to the rMBP as well (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=13918...
Spunjji - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Moron.mlambert890 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Were you two on the design team of the Z? LOL!You just called the guy a moron for pointing out why *ANAND* didnt like the Z.
OK you guys are right. The Z is amazing and it is a crime against humanity that only you and your fellow crusader "get it". Sony should be the #1 PC maker rather than approaching junk bond status and it is only Apples "marketing hype" their ability to "buy off" guys like Anand and the "stupidity" of everyone on earth (except you two) that keeps Apple profitable. What an amazingly arrogant pile of crap that is
Im a huge Vaio fan and Im 100% sure Ive spent more on them than you two have combined over the years and even *I* think the two of you sound nuts.
UltraTech79 - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - link
You're talking out your ass.KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - link
Amazing argument.Truth hurts dude, sorry
KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - link
Nothing you noted is cutting edge, and it is also thicker and heavier than Apple's machinesOCedHrt - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - link
How is 2.5 lbs and 0.66" thick thicker and heavier than Apple's machines? Apple does not have a single laptop lighter and thinner than Sony's Z. Not even the ridiculously slow MBA can compete.KoolAidMan1 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Since when were Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 CPUs ridiculously slow?Spunjji - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Comparatively? Since forever. Stop trying to undermine people's valid arguments by failing to read them, jackass.