Need your advices on MacBook Pro Retina

Question

Hi all !
I'm in the market for getting a new laptop.
To put you in context, I'm a student studying electronics. Normally, I know what I'm talking about ;-) lol
I work as a park supervisor. I could not get a better summer job since I can study while working ! Every day, I sits in the park, turn on my laptop and start coding, reading and studying. Being paid to study is sincerly amazing ! ahah !
So, I study most of the time in the park, on my laptop.
I also have a powerful workstation (Asus P8P67 WS Revolution, Core i7 2700K 4.5 GHz, Asus GeForce GTX 680 DirectCUII, 16 GB RAM, RAID 0 SSD, a beautiful monster) for long works and coding session. I also do a lot of virtualization with VMWare Workstation. In fact, I've built a virtualization concept which segregates each tasks in different VMs.
But, my laptop is an essential tool for me because I use it as much as my workstation. I'm used to carry it at school and at work. So usage is about 50/50 between my Workstation and my laptop.
I started learning the CUDA API and massively parrallel programming. I bought the Cuda By Example book ( http://www.amazon.ca/CUDA-Example-Introduction-General-Purpose-Programming/dp/01 31387685 ). My Asus UL30VT has a CUDA-Capable GPU in it, along with the integrated Intel chipset. So I setup everything for Visual Studio, install the nVIDIA SDK, and start programming.
Here comes the trouble.
Neither Visual Studio nor the nVIDIA SDK (which contains code samples) see the GeForce G210M in my laptop.
I searched a little over the internet and found that the integration of the graphics processors in this laptop is the worst kind of integration ever built in a laptop. The GPU switching technology is the "beta" version of the nVIDIA Optimus technology. The video drivers are more than obselete (197.xx driver version!!!!) and no more recent version is available, even with tweaks.
Absolutely no CUDA code would run in my laptop.
Sure, I could code on my workstation. But it's summer, and being stuck in the house basement while it's sunny outside ... ***** ... lol
And as I said, since I study most of the time (~90%) in my park, it's not very usefull to have a laptop that cannot do what you want anymore...
So I started my research to find a new laptop that would fit my needs. Easier to say than to do...
There is one month, Apple has announced the new MacBook Pro 15 Retina Edition.
I went in an Apple Store to take a look at these nothing else than piece of art.
And you'll guess it : I've fallen in love with this machine.
Thin, lightweight, good battery life, incredible display, amazing hardware. Everything on this laptop is incredible. Even the price ..................
Sure, the non-retina display is also a good machine, but being used to an ultraportable laptop (pre-ultrabook fashion), I would like it to be has thin and light as possible. And the non-retina has less high-end hardware too...
Since I saw this machine, the idea of getting one haunts me!
I tell myself that I could do more shots with one rock. I could learn the OS X environment which is, according to everyone who has an Apple computer, the best working environment ever created. And since I do a lot of virtualization but never could do this with my ultra-low-voltage CPU, the MacBook would also enable this possibility.
More and more programmers are adopting OS X to code. nVIDIA has also said that the new MacBook is one of the best CUDA development platform.
( http://blogs.nvidia.com/2012/06/new-macbook-pros-make-for-great-cuda-dev-platfor ms/ ). Sure, I have a long road to go throught before being a real developper, but as you might have seen, I like to work on things that really work well.
So, the 2700$-question : according to you and all the details I wrote here, does a MacBook Pro would be a nice choice for me ?
For this price (in Canadian dollars, I live in Montreal, Quebec), I have the MacBook, the Apple Care for 3 years and VMWare Fusion. It's a 400$-discount that I get because I'm a student (200$ on the machine, 100 $ on the Apple Care, and a 100$ gift card to get the iWork Suite and other softwares if needed).
The Non-Retina model is not an option, since I must upgrade it with SSD, 8 GB RAM et would like a better screen resolution. With all these upgrades, it's even pricier than the Retina which come more equiped.
I've looked to other laptop manufacturers too. Dell offers the XPS 15, but it's bulkier, doesn't feature has much as the MacBook, and I would not pay 1900 $ for a "Dell"......... Lenovo makes great laptop too, but I don't know ... Thinkpad are sure the reference as business laptops, but are heavy and bulky. Maybe I've missed a model... The IdeaPad is a nice ultrabook, but once again, it's an Ultra low voltage CPU, so virtualization would be so-so I guess... And Asus has nothing really exciting avalaible at NCIX (the main Asus online reseller in Canada and also the online shop where I buy all my system components).
One other thing : with all non-Mac laptops, I'm at the "mercy" of the manufacturer regarding GPU drivers, just like my Asus UL30VT... Most of the time, the Verde drivers would not install and you get the very nice message "Please refere to your laptop manufacturer for drivers" ......... -_-"
I request your experience and advice to clarify my choice.
Thank you very much !!!

Answer 1

I was going to try to convince you to go with a PC notebook, but I know nothing about them. As you're concerned about weight, CUDA development, etc., I think that the MBP-R would be an excellent choice. I'm in a wheelchair and carry my MBP around in my backpack on back of my chair, so I don't worry about weight too often...
It sounds as if you're bright enough to be able to learn new things quickly, so there's no need, I think, to go with the usual "if you're already familiar with Windows, why not... etc."
It also sounds as if you've both thought things through and have decided on what you need. My opinion? Go with your gut feelings and thoughts. Just remember that you're going to be on the bleeding edge, somewhat. There are some here who have had problems with their new MBP's - and not just the Retina models. But then, we don't hear about the thousands (tens of thousands?) out there who are having no problems.
Three things to remember - if you have trouble with your new computer during the first two weeks, Apple will replace it, refund your money, whatever. Second, AppleCare (which I always buy) extends your one year warranty and 90-day phone support to a three year warranty with three years of phone support. And third, this is a large community and there will always be someone here who can help you through minor glitches you may have.
Go with your gut - get that new MacBook Pro with Retina display. I'm sure that you'll be happy with it. I would go ahead, though, and pay the $79 for the external USB SuperDrive - not to carry around with you but just as insurance should you ever need an optical drive.
Best of luck,
Clinton