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[Notebookcheck] Review Apple MacBook Pro 15 Retina 2.3 GHz Mid 2012

post #1 of 46
8/7/12 at 10:53pm
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Quote:
The hype surrounding the new Apple MacBook Pro 15 with Retina display immediately after the WWDC 2012 was immense. After several weeks of testing, we are able to draw our own conclusion and share our opinion. The now even slimmer aluminum unibody chassis still manages to impress and is the de-facto standard in this category. We appreciate the inclusion of HDMI and the USB 3.0 and two Thunderbolt ports.
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I've been waiting for this review. I noticed that in the gaming tests the GT 650M in the rMBP is performing more or less same as others in its category (on ultra) despite the overclock... I wonder why that is?
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post #2 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:19pm
Honestly, I drool over that screen resolution. Hope other manufacturers will soon implement higher resolution panels.
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post #3 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:26pm
Very detailed review, I hope they update with Mountain Lion.
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post #4 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:38pm
.if the GT 650M isn't fast enough for 1920x1200, then these guys are smoking something funny. XD The GT 650M is faster than the mobility 5870 from a couple years prior and the Radeon GPU can run Windows 7 at 1200p and it has no lag. tongue.gif That's something entirely different.

I'll stick to my Windows laptop though. wink.gif I like my 6970M.
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post #5 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:45pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imglidinhere View Post

.if the GT 650M isn't fast enough for 1920x1200, then these guys are smoking something funny. XD The GT 650M is faster than the mobility 5870 from a couple years prior and the Radeon GPU can run Windows 7 at 1200p and it has no lag. tongue.gif That's something entirely different.
I'll stick to my Windows laptop though. wink.gif I like my 6970M.

I bet very few people are buying any MBP to game on.
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post #6 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Throttling
This test wouldn't be complete if we didn't address the subject of throttling. Prime 95 and Furmark can extract the maximum performance out of the hardware. When both programs are run simultaneously, the core frequency drops (caused by Prime 95) to 1.2 Ghz. Running Prime 95 alone, we measured temperatures between 92 and 104 degrees Celsius (197.6 and 219.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and the word "Throttling" flashes repeatedly in HWiNFO. Furmark on its own cycles through all available Turbo Boost steps. After about one hour, the temperature settled at a fairly consistent 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit) with the fan system running. We never measured above 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) with Furmark. This limitation might be due to the power adapter: in the above scenario, the system would require 86.6 watts - but the power adapter can only supply a maximum of 85 watts. Immediately after running our different tests, we subjected the system to 3DMark 06 and CineBench R11.5. The results were identical to after a cold boot.

Throttling. Nuff said. Even the Dual Core Ivy is too warm for those slim heatpipes and aluminum unibody.

99 degrees is "not above 100 degrees C". rolleyes.gif
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post #7 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:52pm
I don't get it? It can run its limited selection of games fine, except chokes when it comes to scrolling on facebook? someone care to explain please? Or was the whole scroll lag a big deal over nothing.
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post #8 of 46
8/7/12 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbowhash View Post

I don't get it? It can run its limited selection of games fine, except chokes when it comes to scrolling on facebook? someone care to explain please? Or was the whole scroll lag a big deal over nothing.

Probably due to the fact of it running at Idle Clocks while on the desktop. I'm sure Apple has some power saving nonsense which prevents the GPU from going over Idle speeds on the desktop.
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post #9 of 46
8/8/12 at 12:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kand View Post

Throttling. Nuff said. Even the Dual Core Ivy is too warm for those slim heatpipes and aluminum unibody.
99 degrees is "not above 100 degrees C". rolleyes.gif

When running two demanding pro apps, it throttles as would most other thin and lights with comparable gpus Temps are comparable to most notebooks in its class overall. Not everyone wants to carry around an 8 pounder with awesome cooling, but low portability
Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbowhash View Post

I don't get it? It can run its limited selection of games fine, except chokes when it comes to scrolling on facebook? someone care to explain please? Or was the whole scroll lag a big deal over nothing.

This is supposed to be fixed under mountain lion (they were reviewing a pre-mountain lion model)
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post #10 of 46
8/8/12 at 12:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jNSK View Post

I'm holding out for the second revision of these - I don't like the fact that the 650M struggles when running the desktop at 1920x1200 which is what I would want to run it at.
It's funny when they mention running the system at it's limits when in 1920x1200 mode:
Case in point.
It struggles there because it is rendering at 3840x2400.
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