[Bojomojo]

I am deciding on which macbook to get..
The base model of the non retina macbook pro costs 1050 here, while the retina one costs 1200

I am tempted by the fact that the non retina version is ram upgradable, so i can get the base model and upgrade it later.
Also the 128Gb on the retina model is too low.

I will be using it maily for software development, web, mobile and embedded.. Its my first mac .. What do you guys think

[phreddyl]

take a look at this thread it may help http://forums.imore.com/imore-com-ne...-pro-well.html
I personally went with the non retina- suits my needs but I won't be doing any graphic design or web development

[DucmanVino]

I think you answered your own question. In the end, it really all depends on you. you will be the one who will be using it and can see the pros and cons of each model according to your need

[mikeo007]

Perhaps take a look at the Macbook air as well. The one thing with the plain Macbook pro is that you're getting the last generation's hardware.

[ammarmalik2011]

There is no reason why anyone in 2013 should buy a $1200 laptop with a spinning hard disk.

[phreddyl]

There is no reason why anyone in 2013 should buy a $1200 laptop with a spinning hard disk.

Good thing is only paid $950

[Darthstorm528]

I would suggest getting the retina especially doing graphic design works. I just got the 13-inch retina and I'm loving it, yes it's a little more money to spend but it's worth it. The retina displays are a way to go now.

[Algus]

Regular MBP is by far the worst SKU Apple is currently selling IMO. If you're looking to save a bit of cash look for a refurb of the 15'', at least get something with a respectable 1440x900 resolution. I don't have issue with the 5400 RPM HDD. It is rather ghetto, especially considering Apple purports to sell top-end gear but OS X loads well enough from it and 500 GB+ at 5400 RPM still has enough storage density for very good performance (not as good as flash memory but eh, if you're used to the slower drive, you'll be fine)

Unless you are planning to consistently use top-end software, 4 GB of RAM remains an adequate amount, particularly for OS X which isn't as memory hungry as Windows. I would't worry about buying the rMPB and being stuck with the 4 GB but if you absolutely believe you will need more RAM, better to buy it off the top then aftermarket as the difference between the two machines gets you flash memory, better battery life, and an Iris graphics chip, among other things.

[Peter Cohen]

If you value hard disk space and RAM upgradability, the choice is obvious - the MBP. Otherwise, you're squarely buying "last year's model."

[SeanHRCC]

There is no reason why anyone in 2013 should buy a $1200 laptop with a spinning hard disk.

Except for the very important fact that the hard disc can be replaced with an SSD...and you can run dual storage devices inside of the machine replacing the optical drive with a large storage HDD or another SSD.

So yeah...plenty of reason to buy the regular MBP.

Also, you can upgrade the RAM to 16GB for less than half of what it costs to do so on the retina model.

[taguluchi]

Do any of you buy the apple care plan when you buy your MacBook, and what are the reasons for purchasing or not purchasing the apple care plan

[SeanHRCC]

Do any of you buy the apple care plan when you buy your MacBook, and what are the reasons for purchasing or not purchasing the apple care plan

I bought Apple Care on my 2011 model before selling it...because I had never dealt with SquareTrade before. Now, I buy SquareTrade warranties on every piece of tech I ever buy (including my 2012 MBP I have right now).