Do you really need a Retina display on your refurbished Macbook Pro?

Do You Need a Retina Display?

The Retina display is a high resolution screen technology that was first available on Apple’s iPhones and iPads. It offers a much higher density of pixels per inch, giving images an extremely rich and detailed look. The pixels are so close together that you cannot distinguish them at normal viewing distance.

Retina display resolutions

The 13-inch refurbished Macbook Pro with Retina display has a screen resolution of 2560 x 1600, while 15-inch refurbished Macbook Pros with Retina display have an amazing 2880 x 1800 screen resolution.

Compare this to a regular 13-inch Macbook Pro without the Retina display. It has a 1280 x 800 pixel screen. The 15-inch Macbook Pro without a Retina display has a 1440 x 900 pixel screen.

There are two major differences you’ll see with the Retina display. The first is that the high resolution gives you extremely sharp text and images. This is great if you are running graphics or video programs on your refurbished Macbook Pro with a Retina screen. You’ll be able to see much more detail in your images. The other difference is that you can have a much larger desktop using a refurbished Macbook Pro with a Retina display.

Using the extra pixels in a Retina display

There are two ways to take advantage of the Retina display on your Macbook Pro.

The first way is to use all of the extra pixels to make your desktop size bigger. Of course, a 15-inch refurbished Macbook Pro with a Retina screen still has a 15-inch screen. The physical size is the same. But with the extra resolution, you can pack more information into the same screen size.

This image shows the difference between a 13-inch and 15-inch Macbook Pro with Retina display compared to an HDTV screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. The difference is striking.

The only problem with the additional desktop space is that everything on the desktop, including icons, menus, text and application windows, are smaller. The benefit is that your applications have much more screen space than before, so they can display more data and tools. This is great if you are using complex business software, spreadsheet programs, graphics editors, or music and video production applications.

Oh yea, and games. Retina is great for games!

But for some people, it’s difficult to see the icons and read the menus when they are so small. Fortunately, you can adjust the scaling to get the best balance between desktop size and text size. You can set the scaling to use all the extra Retina resolution to increase the desktop size, or keep everything the same size but with much more sharpness and clarity.

Do you need a Retina display?

The extra desktop space and sharper images are great, but a refurbished Macbook Pro with a Retina screen is a bit more expensive than one without. There’s no need to pay more if you don’t need to.

You use an external monitor

You absolutely do not need a Retina display if you are connecting an external monitor to your refurbished Macbook Pro and using that most of the time. The output resolution for an external display is 2560 x 1600 for both the 13-inch and 15-inch Retina Macbook Pros, and the same is true for the non-Retina Macbook Pros. They have the same resolution for external displays.

External displays are physically much larger than a Macbook Pro display. Using an external monitor with roughly equal resolution as a Macbook Pro Retina screen allows you to use all of the resolution for a larger desktop. And because it’s physically larger, you can easily read the menus and make out the icons.

You're satisfied right now

One of the best ways to know if you need a high resolution Macbook Pro with a Retina screen is whether or you are currently satisfied with the resolution of the laptop you are using now. If you sometimes wish you could pack more information on the screen at one time, or you find that there is not enough detail in your graphics, or you do a lot of reading on your laptop and would appreciate if the text was sharper – more like a real book, then a Retina display is for you. Otherwise, you probably don’t need one.

Take your pick at GainSaver

Macbook Pros with a Retina display are all you can get now if you are buying new. The great thing about shopping for a refurbished Macbook Pro at GainSaver is that you can choose from Macbook Pros with or without a Retina display. We have a large inventory of both types, so you can select the one that is best for you.

Compare the features and costs

Take a look at the refurbished Macbook Pros at GainSaver. It’s really easy to compare the prices and features of the Macbook Pros you are interested.

Using the Compare feature, you can see your choices side by side and make a decision on which is the best fit your budget and how you use your refurbished Macbook Pro.