[David Lawrence] "I've never been a fan of the 17" form factor. To me it's too small to replace my 24" screen but too big to be comfortable to carry or use on a plane. I know lots of folks like it but it's not for me."
I see. Then a regular and new 15" should be perfect for you, minus the ExpressCard slot. They also still sell 15" refurbs of the older model with thunderbolt that are CS6 blessed. You'd still have to get the Sonnet thingy.
The only reason I consider a retina is that I don't want to go to less resolution than 17" (which I have been using since forever).
Here's an FCP7 retina report:
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1161034
And the official Adobe stance:
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/3/926591#926591