MacBook Pro 13: What's Pro About It?

The MacBook Pro 13 line has seen some big advancements in recent months. Regardless of your resolution needs, the entire current MacBook Pro 13 line has a few features that set its models apart from the general laptop pack. All boast extruded aluminum bodies, impressive battery life (~7 hours), speedy Ivy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, Thunderbolt ports, USB 3.0, and of course OS X Mountain Lion.

Retina Display: You Want It (But Do You Need It?)

The most hyped improvement over previous generation MacBook Pro 13s is the Retina display option. First seen on the MacBook Pro 15, the Retina display on the MacBook Pro 13 features a whopping 2560x1600 resolution. Based on the pixel pitch, most people won't be able to see the pixels at all. Losing the ability to see pixels is the first step into an ostensibly more natural, comfortable computing environment and opens up the possibilities of better photo and video editing in particular.

Whether the superior display is worth the several hundred dollar price premium depends on how you plan to use your MacBook Pro 13. If you want to edit photos, videos, or do graphic design, the Retina display will certainly be helpful. And there's something to be said for getting the best product available.

Yet the Retina display may not be the best display for you. If you're trying to do gaming (yes, Mac owners occasionally game), the graphics apparatus has to drive more pixels, leaving less room to boost framerate and responsiveness. The regular MacBook Pro 13 screen is very pretty by most standards and will do just fine for most purposes.

So if you've got a couple extra hundred to throw at the machine, upgrade the RAM or put in a big SSD. Your applications will load so fast you won't even see the pixels fly past.