If I were to go the non-retina route...I would get either an '11 or '12 model and deck it out myself. You'd save up front on the system because it's a couple of years old, and you'd have the ability to up the RAM to 16GB, dual boot an SSD with an HDD, and you'd still be enjoying the performance of the i7 processor. You might take a hit on battery life a tad with the older sandy bridge or ivy bridge processors, but honestly, for horsepower...you'd be right in line.
I'm using a spec'ed up 2012 model and love it. Had a retina model for about 3-4 months and just didn't see the need, and absolutely hated the limitations set with customizing the internals. I sold it and quickly went back to the non-retina model and have zero regrets. The retina display is absolutely beautiful...there's no comparison between the two in that approach.
03-14-2014 07:25 AM