Windows 7 [virtualized] resolutions in Macbook Pro Retina

So, I was considering picking up a Macbook Pro Retina, but then I realized that Apple forces you to scale the resolution, so you don't actually see the true benefits of the 2880x1800 display. Instead, you see upscaled, pixelated icons -- I saw this for myself in an Apple store a couple days ago. That's ok though, because the main reason I'd purchase one is to run Windows 7 on it, however I understand that the bootcamp drivers have not been updated to work with the MBP Retina. Instead, the option would be to run Windows 7 virtualized, but I haven't found any conclusive evidence to indicate whether the entire 2880x1800 resolution would act the same virtualize (VMware Fusion, VirtualBox, Parallels) as running Windows 7 natively.

My question is: Does Windows 7 see the entire 2880x1800 virtualized, same as running it on bare metal (boot camp)?

Solution 1:

You can disable the HiDPI stuff and get full 2880x1800 on the macbook. See this screenshot:

http://cloudmancer.com/images/trueretina.jpg

You do it with SwitchresX or whatever. And yes you can also get the full resolution on windows. Official bootcamp stuf doesn't exist yet but it shoudl be doable if you really know what your doing so you dont have to wait for the official bootcamp. Nvidia drivers do suppor that chipset.

I plan to mainly run linux on mine (ariving the 20th) and yes I will be using native 2880x1800 with no scaling.

As for the virtualization it should be no problem as I have no problem doing 2560x1600 on virtualbox. I think i may have even done 3840x2400 on virtualbox before (one of my monitors is 3840x2400) but it might have required setting up some special things on virtualbox, I forget.

Solution 2:

Yes it does. I just got the laptop today and put Boot Camp. Windows 7 will see the full 2880x1800 resolution, making everything TINY!