Buy a MBP... now or later?

[bigben2wardpitt]

If I order a MBP through my school before the end of April, it can be delivered to me directly when I'm there on june 10th when I go for summer welcome. However, June is also the month that there are rumors there will be a small upgrade to the macs.

So, should I just hold off and wait till the upgrade in June, and then buy THAT through the school (if possible), or just go ahead and buy through the school before the end of april? It is hard for me to justify getting a computer at summer welcome in june, maybe days or weeks before a new upgrade...

Any suggestions?

 

[secretanchitman]

wait...if its gonna get delivered in june theres no point in getting the last gen model...unless you REALLY need the mbp.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
wait...if its gonna get delivered in june theres no point in getting the last gen model...unless you REALLY need the mbp.

So June is the date for the new MBPs? Any information on what changes may be included in them?

 

[bearxor]

There's no solid date. June is a rumor right now to coincide with the release of Intel's new platform. It's a fair guess, but may not be accurate. However, I also don't see the point in buying one now and waiting to have it delievered in June unless it's a REALLY good deal. I'm talking under $1500 for the current gen. You can walk in to an Apple store today and get one with an education discount for $1800. If you're looking at one through your school for between $1600-$1800 I'd just go ahead and get one now.

I'm personally of the opinion that a major redesign is not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. if there is a major redesign of the MBP, I don't think it will happen until September (when they always release new ipods), or at Macworld in January. Although, Apple could change this up.

 

[dfdave12]

I have this problem too about whether or not to buy a Macbook now. I mean, I could always wait until the summer and see what updates Apple puts out, because college doesn't start until August... can't figure out what to do. $1400 is the current price I can get a Macbook through with 2.4ghz/ 160GB HDD, and that price won't change in the summer even with student discount..

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. if there is a major redesign of the MBP, I don't think it will happen until September (when they always release new ipods), or at Macworld in January. Although, Apple could change this up.

I think they need to spice things up. The MBPs have pretty much had the same form factor for what, 7 generations? Six? (Second to last G4, last G4, First Intel, Core 2 Duo, Santa Rosa and this last refresh? That's six. Am I missing any?). That's about three years where the only thing they've done, case-wise, is shrink the height.

We need something new, Apple!


(Think they heard me?)

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. if there is a major redesign of the MBP, I don't think it will happen until September (when they always release new ipods), or at Macworld in January. Although, Apple could change this up.

I think they need to spice things up. The MBPs have pretty much had the same form factor for what, 7 generations? Six? (Second to last G4, last G4, First Intel, Core 2 Duo, Santa Rosa and this last refresh? That's six. Am I missing any?). That's about three years where the only thing they've done, case-wise, is shrink the height.

We need something new, Apple!


(Think they heard me?)

I think they should make the Pro's more durable. The plastic 13" models are more durable than the aluminum junk they put on the Pro's, which gets dented and scratched VERY easily. I wish they'd release a Thinkpad-style design that was tough AND looked good. If anyone can do that, it's Apple!

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. if there is a major redesign of the MBP, I don't think it will happen until September (when they always release new ipods), or at Macworld in January. Although, Apple could change this up.

I think they need to spice things up. The MBPs have pretty much had the same form factor for what, 7 generations? Six? (Second to last G4, last G4, First Intel, Core 2 Duo, Santa Rosa and this last refresh? That's six. Am I missing any?). That's about three years where the only thing they've done, case-wise, is shrink the height.

We need something new, Apple!


(Think they heard me?)

I hope they did..

 

[Illusio]

If you need one now, buy one. I agree, there is not much point in buying now and having it shipped in june. They delivery time is only a couple days (without customization). That said, the rumor mill is always churning about system updates. And you could wait a few more months, only to realize you have to wait another few months. I got a new MBP a few weeks ago and they are very nice. Even if they update in june, you won't be stuck with a bad machine by any stretch.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi
If you need one now, but one. I agree, there is not much point in buying now nad having it shipped in june. They delivery time is only a couple days (without customization). That said, the rumor mill is always churning about system updates. And you could wait a few more months, only to realize you have to wait another few months. I got a new MBP a few weeks ago and they are very nice. Even if they update in june, you won't be stuck with a bad machine by any stretch.

Such a true statement. You always want the latest and greatest, but with recent revisions in the MBP line, you really can't go wrong. There might be new features in the upcoming update, but if there is.. you can always sell yours on eBay and pay a nominal upgrade fee. One of the great things about owning an Apple product IMO.

 

[Ultima200]

You will NEVER have a machine that is not exempt from being eclipsed from upcomming technology....I used to have the same mentality in that if I wait, maybe my machine will last me a bit longer. just buy new when you need it, do not plan your purchase around the next apple announcement as you will likely be frustrated and disappointed. months ago, back in late october/nov I decided it was time to get a new MBPRO...many people advised me to hold off because apple would SURELY realease penryn models at macworld.....well I am glad I did not wait as this was not true... (penryns took another 2 months to ship) and there was not performance increase.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Ultima200
You will NEVER have a machine that is not exempt from being eclipsed from upcomming technology....I used to have the same mentality in that if I wait, maybe my machine will last me a bit longer. just buy new when you need it, do not plan your purchase around the next apple announcement as you will likely be frustrated and disappointed. months ago, back in late october/nov I decided it was time to get a new MBPRO...many people advised me to hold off because apple would SURELY realease penryn models at macworld.....well I am glad I did not wait as this was not true... (penryns took another 2 months to ship) and there was not performance increase.

There NEVER is much of a performance increase. It's ALWAYS incremental upgrades. I would I could do a V8 slap on the Mac community in general and tell them that. The Mac community suffers from never-upgrade-itis because on the whole they're OCD. Combined with RSS and magical rumors from neverland about upcoming X and Y products, it can start getting on your nerves. The bottom line is, if you need a machine now, buy the machine now. Unless there's a major feature upgrade that you absolutely know is around the corner (which is rare with Apple), there's no point in waiting. For example, the only reason I was waiting on the new 17" MBP's was for the LED screen upgrade and now they're here (too bad my Hackintosh has sucked up my funds, haha). Big things like that, like the future upgrade to mobile quad-core packages, are worth waiting for if you want that particular machine, but otherwise buy it and quit reading about Apple updates!

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: Kaido
There NEVER is much of a performance increase. It's ALWAYS incremental upgrades.

QFMFT!

 

[LiquidIce1337]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. if there is a major redesign of the MBP, I don't think it will happen until September (when they always release new ipods), or at Macworld in January. Although, Apple could change this up.

I think they need to spice things up. The MBPs have pretty much had the same form factor for what, 7 generations? Six? (Second to last G4, last G4, First Intel, Core 2 Duo, Santa Rosa and this last refresh? That's six. Am I missing any?). That's about three years where the only thing they've done, case-wise, is shrink the height.

We need something new, Apple!


(Think they heard me?)

I think they should make the Pro's more durable. The plastic 13" models are more durable than the aluminum junk they put on the Pro's, which gets dented and scratched VERY easily. I wish they'd release a Thinkpad-style design that was tough AND looked good. If anyone can do that, it's Apple!

I disagree, a lot of White and Black Macbooks have cracking hinges and lots of obscure scracking around the frame, I would prefer an aluminum frame and all like the pro's. Although a little brasso and some elbow grease can go a long way on minimal scratches on the aluminum books. Although, you can't reverse dents so much My powerbook G4 12" is fallin apart like a chinese bicycle. I don't know if they have fixed the cracking macbook plastic, hopefully they have because thats the only thing keeping me from buying one and springing for their pro models..

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: bearxor

Originally posted by: Kaido
There NEVER is much of a performance increase. It's ALWAYS incremental upgrades.

QFMFT!

Why does it have to be performance?

I mean, look at the add-ons like Magsafe, iSight and Frontrow (which all came at the same time). None of those have anything to do with "performance", but if you bought a Mac three weeks before, and missed out on those "features", you'd probably be pissed.

So while performance is, for the most part, incremental, often times "features" are big jumps (LED screens, expansion ports, etc).

It's well documented that I want built in WiMaxx or something similar. That's a pretty big feature.

 

[Ultima200]

Why does it have to be performance?

I mean, look at the add-ons like Magsafe, iSight and Frontrow (which all came at the same time). None of those have anything to do with "performance", but if you bought a Mac three weeks before, and missed out on those "features", you'd probably be pissed.

So while performance is, for the most part, incremental, often times "features" are big jumps (LED screens, expansion ports, etc).

It's well documented that I want built in WiMaxx or something similar. That's a pretty big feature.

That is not really a legitimate argument...feature upgrades happen even more rarely than performance upgrades. When you buy a new Apple computer and 3 weeks later a drastically upgraded model comes out, all you do is call up AppleCare and 80-95% of the time they will allow you to either exchange your recently purchased machine for a new one or they will refund your money. It is really that simple.

With that said, if you are that anal about having the most recent spec Apple computer you will most likely be reading the various rumor sites which in general are quite good at predicting updates 1-4 weeks out.

 

[Injury]

The way the product lines are released, no matter when you buy one you'll always hear about a better one coming out in a matter of months. Wasn't it only a month or two ago that a new MBP with a few new options came about? Now there's a rumor of another revision coming in only a couple of months?

Just get it now and enjoy it.

Will any changes made REALLY be THAT noticable to you?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Injury
The way the product lines are released, no matter when you buy one you'll always hear about a better one coming out in a matter of months. Wasn't it only a month or two ago that a new MBP with a few new options came about? Now there's a rumor of another revision coming in only a couple of months?

Just get it now and enjoy it.

Will any changes made REALLY be THAT noticable to you?

I think that I will not have a huge urge to upgrade my MacBook until they have the LED backlit screen (noticeably brighter) maybe with the new 1440*900 panels that Lenovo is using in the X300 (noticeably higher res). Then, it would need to have at least a 50% processor speed jump, or even better a quad core at the same speed, with at least 4GB RAM.

All of this is feasible within the next 2-3 years, so it isn't like I am asking too much. But honestly, my system is more than snappy right now, and I wouldn't want to plunk down another grand+ just to get a moderately faster version of what I have now.

I mean sure, I have considered selling mine for a MBP, but I simply don't need it, and over the past 1.5 years have become adjusted to everything about my MacBook. How sensitive the trackpad is, the brightness of the screen, the keyboard response, the width of it when it is on my lap, everything. I would have to go all through that again if I got a new system.

I think the main way I would be driven to upgrade sooner than normal (that is, when those specs outlined above are on the MacBook) is if the next OS will not run on my system. Leopard is great, don't get me wrong, but I like to keep up to date.

 

[LtPage1]

Wait for June. Quicker, cooler, longer battery life.

 

[Parasitic]

Stu you haven't even upped the memory in your MB have you?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
Stu you haven't even upped the memory in your MB have you?

Well, I went from the base 512MB to the 1GB that I am running now. I am bouncing around the idea of getting 2GB since it is just so damn cheap these days, but I don't real feel constrained by 1GB on this system, so it isn't a pressing issue.

Why do you ask?

 

[LiquidIce1337]

I would get 2 GB while it's cheap! Plus memory to a Mac is a world of difference. I am not sure if it's the same as it was for G4's but I think it's the OS that allocates it much better than Windows. Memory in a Mac has always shown significant performance boosts imho or at least from what I have seen with my Powerbook.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: LiquidIce1337
I would get 2 GB while it's cheap! Plus memory to a Mac is a world of difference. I am not sure if it's the same as it was for G4's but I think it's the OS that allocates it much better than Windows. Memory in a Mac has always shown significant performance boosts imho or at least from what I have seen with my Powerbook.

Oh, I know that i would see benefits, and after all the slowdowns that my system was going through tonight, I was close to buying the 2GB kit (I can get 2 separate 1GB stick from corsair for $9.99each after mail in, i think i might do that) but it isn't high on my priority list of computer parts.

Getting my friend's old mobo (One of those fancy Asus Socket 775 systems with 3 PCIe x16 ports and you know, more features than I can possibly use) and then build a system around that. But $40 before rebate is a really good price for 2GB RAM... it is a touch decision.

 

[FP]

I am in the same boat. I jumped on the new MBPs simply because it is tried and true.

If there is a complete redesign in the works I don't want to be buying 1st gen. especially when I use my laptop for work.