I just bought a Mac.

[Lehyun]

And it's really good.

It's the Retina Macbook Pro 15" to be precise, but it's the 2XXmb ver' not the 512 and as such it doesn't have all the fancy stuff like faster gigahertzer or the upgraded picture disc, all of which I didn't realise before I bought - I thought it just had less memory!

I've just switched from PC (I've been using it my whole life) so I don't want my experience to be jaded, so please tell me I'm being stupid. I don't use my laptop for anything (much) other than surfing and the occasional rant... I know I'm being silly wanting the better processor and graphics card; I won't need the extra power for everyday computing will I?

This is my first post btw, I couldn't find a greetings section so I thought I'd say hi here. My name's Leh Hyun (Leh sounds like "ley") and I'm from Australia. As is the custom in Australia, here is a picture of my pet possum eating popcorn

as that is our custom. Her name is (coincidently) Apples.

Oh and just in case you were wondering: yes the screen is amazing, and yes I do feel superior now that I'm a Mac user.

 

[KeithP]

I know I'm being silly wanting the better processor and graphics card; I won't need the extra power for everyday computing will I?

For typical day to day needs, I can't imagine you would ever notice a difference between the 15" MacBook Pro machines.

The only time you would see a difference in performance between the two is when the GPU (video card) becomes a factor. Things like 3D games or other 3D accelerated software. Then, the upgraded GPU in the more expensive MacBook Pro would be a big improvement.

Welcome to the forum. Apples is welcome as well!

-KeithP

 

[Artdeco]

Welcome to the dark side

Dunno if you've found them yet, but here's a couple of good resource sites:

macrumors.com
imore.com (lots of guides and and tips)
appleinsider.com (info on upcoming stuff)

Enjoy, and I want a possum like yours, can you please mail me one?

 

[SearchMaster]

I have an older MBP, 13" Late 2011 model. I am a heavy user, doing website development, so I have a webserver, database, browsers, editors, Android development studio, virtual machines, emulators, etc. running on it all the time.

I do wish I had a retina screen because 1280x800 is limiting for what I do, but I make it work. Also, it came with 4GB of memory and the performance was woeful...it now has 16GB since Apple used to allow upgrades, and it will occasionally become memory limited but it's generally ok.

Given that you have a faster processor and SSD that I don't have, you should be just fine for surfing the web.

 

[purbeast0]

I have an older MBP, 13" Late 2011 model. I am a heavy user, doing website development, so I have a webserver, database, browsers, editors, Android development studio, virtual machines, emulators, etc. running on it all the time.

I do wish I had a retina screen because 1280x800 is limiting for what I do, but I make it work. Also, it came with 4GB of memory and the performance was woeful...it now has 16GB since Apple used to allow upgrades, and it will occasionally become memory limited but it's generally ok.

Given that you have a faster processor and SSD that I don't have, you should be just fine for surfing the web.

i just got a new macbook pro retina myself, coming from a hackintosh that had max resolution of like 1360x788 or something, and one of the major reasons i decided to cave and just get one is because of the screen resolution.

my primary use for it (other than day to day browsing, etc) is mobile development, and the small screen real estate always hindered me. but now that i'm working on a more serious side project for iOS i decided to splurge and get one.

i can tell you it is night and day difference lol. i feel so much more productive now on it simply due to the resolution. prior, working with storyboards was so painful because of the low resolution, now it's a lot better. same with just editing in xcode - the real estate is so much nicer.

i strongly recommend upgrading if you can do it!

 

[manly]

As an AAPL shareholder, I thank you. (I don't have nearly enough shares )

Unfortunately, Apple's cash hoard is all locked up overseas. Shareholders won't have any benefit from it unless a Republican is elected the next POTUS and pushes through a generous tax amnesty for repatriating foreign profits.

 

[SearchMaster]

i strongly recommend upgrading if you can do it!

Hopefully in early 2016. We're in the process of paying off damn near $30K in medical bills from the last two years (thanks Obama!). My son has a 13" retina that his grandmother bought him for school and it is quite nice. But I seriously am making do with this one - it works just fine.

 

[sportage]

Well God bless...
You're in for a treat.
You can now actually get something done without first sending an hour debugging your Windows machine, then forgetting why you ever turned on your Windows in the first place.

iMovie is fantastic! And this is a machine you will have for years and years without the need to upgrade to a newer machine, unlike with Windows products.
And the stress. You stress level will decline to near undetectable.
Why do you think Windows users are either totally bald, or totally gray haired by the age 31? And we all know Bill gates wears a wig.

 

[purbeast0]

Well God bless...
You're in for a treat.
You can now actually get something done without first sending an hour debugging your Windows machine, then forgetting why you ever turned on your Windows in the first place.

iMovie is fantastic! And this is a machine you will have for years and years without the need to upgrade to a newer machine, unlike with Windows products.
And the stress. You stress level will decline to near undetectable.
Why do you think Windows users are either totally bald, or totally gray haired by the age 31? And we all know Bill gates wears a wig.

eh i don't think this is a fair thing to say at all.

i haven't upgraded my windows pc in like 7 years and it still works great. i do development on it and a bit of photoshop stuff. never been hindered by performance issues, still running win7. i just don't use my desktop much because i'm at a desk all day and don't want to be at one when i get home, so my laptop is what gets used while lounging around or working on a coffee table or my lap.

also coming to mac from windows isn't going to instantly feel "good" for him, especially if he's used to windows. it could be a painful process to get used to OSX as it's completely different than windows. there are some UX design decisions that will have you scratching your head in OSX just like in windows.

there are some very limiting things about OSX that will make you pull your hair out too so it's not some magical OS. just trying to keep things in perspective.

 

[manly]

Well God bless...
You're in for a treat.
You can now actually get something done without first sending an hour debugging your Windows machine, then forgetting why you ever turned on your Windows in the first place.

iMovie is fantastic! And this is a machine you will have for years and years without the need to upgrade to a newer machine, unlike with Windows products.
And the stress. You stress level will decline to near undetectable.
Why do you think Windows users are either totally bald, or totally gray haired by the age 31? And we all know Bill gates wears a wig.

The reality distortion field is strong with this one.

 

[Childs]

eh i don't think this is a fair thing to say at all.

The reality distortion field is strong with this one.

I'm assuming he's being sarcastic. No one that has used iMovie recently would say its fantastic.

 

[manly]

I'm assuming he's being sarcastic. No one that has used iMovie recently would say its fantastic.

haha my sarcasm meter is broken today.

 

[purbeast0]

I'm assuming he's being sarcastic. No one that has used iMovie recently would say its fantastic.

lol okay maybe then. but there are blind apple fanboys so you never know!

 

[Zodiark1593]

Well God bless...
You're in for a treat.
You can now actually get something done without first sending an hour debugging your Windows machine, then forgetting why you ever turned on your Windows in the first place.

iMovie is fantastic! And this is a machine you will have for years and years without the need to upgrade to a newer machine, unlike with Windows products.
And the stress. You stress level will decline to near undetectable.
Why do you think Windows users are either totally bald, or totally gray haired by the age 31? And we all know Bill gates wears a wig.

Anyway, congrats on the Mac. Though not performance monsters by any means, the Macbook Pro is among the best balanced laptops on the market.