Buy now or wait for Penryn?

Hey,

I've been looking into a MBP for a while now, and have decided on the 2.4ghz MBP 15". Then I found out about Penryn... ugh!

I'm a senior in high school now and was eager to get the laptop because it would help me get back on track with school (my 12" powerbook g4 broke on me.) I'll be using it all through college, so I want the best one out there. But now I'm thinking, should I wait for Penryn? Is there some way to get a MBP 15" now and then when Penryn comes out, to "upgrade" to Penryn with a minimal loss of money?

Thanks,
George

You could always buy now, maintain everything like new (keep the keys clean, the discs preserved, the styrofoam packing unbroken, and save all your data and program packages on an external drive, etc...).

Then when the next line comes out, eBay your current system, and put the money you make from the auction toward the new Penryn system. That'd be the only way to "upgrade" that I can think of...

J

You need to consider your current needs. If you need it for school, get it for school. Run it 2-3 years, then get the current version.

Never wait for The Next Model when you need it now. You'll just keep waiting.

If you can wait, then wait. If you need it, then get it. And who's to say when the new chipset will be put in the MBPs?

You have two choices.

Buy a MBP now and eBay it when new ones come out.

or

Buy a last gen Powerbook or iBook on eBay and use that for the lease money lost.

The difference in day to day use between the G5 and the Core 2 Duo is minimal. The difference between the Core 2 and Penryn will also be minimal.

I think it would be a mistake to wait for a possible release 3 months away.

Yeah. Penryn will most probably come to the MBP at Macworld if not later. Apple usually waits to see if the chip performs stable and only then does it release it. I'd say go now, cause you are not going to feel much of a difference in the new chip.