The spec was better on the mac in my opinion;
15-inch: 2.2GHz with Retina display Specifications
2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory
256GB PCIe-based flash storage1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics
I cant see what software is not suitable to work with retina displays? What applications is your m8 using? but I guess your choice was a lot less in price. As long as your buddy is happy.