Is it a goodtime to buy a macbook pro?

[comthre3]

Hi guys, im sorry if im posting this in the wrong forum, i just got my computer allowance today, and i was wondering if its a good time to buy a macbook pro 2.16 ghz core2duo, 1gb ram 15 incher, for 1999 canadian, so is this a good deal? or should i wait for the quad cores? thank you.

 

[Alexis]

Quad cores, if they ever appear in the Mac Book, would cost considerably more and not take the place of the dual core. You're talking 12 - 24 months for that to be a possibilty, and they may never even make it into the laptops.

Apple announces things out of the blue anyway, so nobody can ever say 'wait until such and such a date'. It's always the right time to buy, otherwise you'd never buy at all.

 

[Village Idiot]

Intel has released details on the new C2D successor. Who knows how long it's going to take to be released and if and/or when Apple's going to use it. Could mean a new chip in the macbooks, but it's definitely not worth fretting over.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...sse4-faster-virtualization-bigger-caches.html

 

[comthre3]

thanx. so basically i should just go ahead and buy it right now? no need to wait? cuz its a pretty sweet deal, any news on when the Leapord is coming out? cuz that might cause a price drop also. thanks for the quick response

regards

 

[Village Idiot]

thanx. so basically i should just go ahead and buy it right now? no need to wait? cuz its a pretty sweet deal, any news on when the Leapord is coming out? cuz that might cause a price drop also. thanks for the quick response

regards

Macs hold their value relatively well at this point. Even if they came out with something in the next 6 months and you just had to have it, you could probably sell it with very little loss and buy yourself a new one.

 

[Discerptor]

Don't buy now! My friend at Apple told me that in 3 weeks they're going to release the super ultra turbo MEGA Core40 Duo MacBook Pro with support for up to 160GB of RAM and a 2560x1610 resolution screen! It'll also have dual Blu-Ray-burning drives and be a HALF-INCH thin at only 2 pounds and have a built-in camera that records VIDEO in HD, while the machine has an overall battery life of 100 hours and sports the never-before-seen ability of a Mac to cook your breakfast. It will obsolete EVERYTHING on the market today, making everyone who's ever bought a computer before now sorry they did! Fo realz, yo. :batman:

 

[fleurya]

Don't buy now! My friend at Apple told me that in 3 weeks they're going to release the super ultra turbo MEGA Core40 Duo MacBook Pro with support for up to 160GB of RAM and a 2560x1610 resolution screen! It'll also have dual Blu-Ray-burning drives and be a HALF-INCH thin at only 2 pounds and have a built-in camera that records VIDEO in HD, while the machine has an overall battery life of 100 hours and sports the never-before-seen ability of a Mac to cook your breakfast. It will obsolete EVERYTHING on the market today, making everyone who's ever bought a computer before now sorry they did! Fo realz, yo. :batman:

So now we know what your dream computer would be! Maybe someday we'll look back on this post and realize what a visionary you are.

Seriously, I don't see any major changes in the MBP's any time soon, other than Leopard, but that's not enough to wait.

I read a post where a guy broke down every major Apple change and announcement on a timeline. He found that Apple does major upgrades on a pretty regular basis. I forget how long the intervals were that he found, but it showed that the MBP is about in the middle of this interval, so a major change is not likely any time soon, while an upgrade in the OS is long overdue.

I tend to believe the theory because it's only natural that Apple would determine the length of time a product would sell favorably and when the best time is to introduce an upgrade an whip people back into a buying frenzy.

 

[proodaman]

Personally, I'd wait on the new O.S. unless you need a new laptop for school/work now. It's like 150-200 dollar upgrade I'd say it's a safe bet we'll see some minor hardware boosts when Leopard drops (but I have nothing to back this up). Only like 2 more months...

 

[mac57]

...and my oft posted response to this oft posted question: wait a bit, you will save money. Here's why:

Firstly, you shouldn't have too much longer to wait. Leopard has been planned for release in the first half of 2007. There are only three months of that half left, so the maximum wait *should* be about three months, and possibly less. That is not that long to wait. Admitedly, there are no guarantees that Leopard will be released in that time frame, but it is a good bet. I wouldn't be surprised to see it released any day now. I am rather surprised that it is not out already actually.

Secondly, remember that if you get a machine now with Tiger on it, and you want Leopard when it comes out, you have to buy the upgrade. I am guessing, based on past experience, that this will be about $130. So you will be out an extra $130.00 right off the bat. You also need to consider the time and effort it takes to install the new OS. This is not huge, but depending on your level of comfort with doing this sort of thing, having it come pre loaded could be quite a benefit.

Finally, and this is just a guess on my behalf, I am suspecting that iLife 07 will come along for the ride on new Macs sporting Leopard. This is just a guess, but a reasoned one. If this is the case, waiting for Leopard before buying the new Mac makes quite a bit of sense, since I have heard that, for example, when you buy Tiger, you don't get iLife 06 included - you have to buy it separately. Thus, waiting for Leopard before buying may save you not just the $130 for the OS upgrade, but also the $xx.xx (not sure what the price will be) for the iLife upgrade.

For myself, I am waiting to buy a new MacBook Pro until Leopard comes out, for all these reasons. I realize that this means that I may have to wait for a few months, but I see it as worth it.

In the end, this is a VERY personal call. How badly do you want a new Mac? Getting the Mac now, with Tiger, is not a bad move. We are all of us, by definition, currently using Macs with Tiger on them, and we are all generally very happy with them. There are some perhaps tangible benefits to waiting for Leopard, but these must be weighed against the benefit of having your shiny new Mac right now! As I said, a very personal weighing of priorities is in order I think.

 

[Village Idiot]

...and my oft posted response to this oft posted question: wait a bit, you will save money. Here's why:

Firstly, you shouldn't have too much longer to wait. Leopard has been planned for release in the first half of 2007. There are only three months of that half left, so the maximum wait *should* be about three months, and possibly less. That is not that long to wait. Admitedly, there are no guarantees that Leopard will be released in that time frame, but it is a good bet. I wouldn't be surprised to see it released any day now. I am rather surprised that it is not out already actually.

Secondly, remember that if you get a machine now with Tiger on it, and you want Leopard when it comes out, you have to buy the upgrade. I am guessing, based on past experience, that this will be about $130. So you will be out an extra $130.00 right off the bat. You also need to consider the time and effort it takes to install the new OS. This is not huge, but depending on your level of comfort with doing this sort of thing, having it come pre loaded could be quite a benefit.

Finally, and this is just a guess on my behalf, I am suspecting that iLife 07 will come along for the ride on new Macs sporting Leopard. This is just a guess, but a reasoned one. If this is the case, waiting for Leopard before buying the new Mac makes quite a bit of sense, since I have heard that, for example, when you buy Tiger, you don't get iLife 06 included - you have to buy it separately. Thus, waiting for Leopard before buying may save you not just the $130 for the OS upgrade, but also the $xx.xx (not sure what the price will be) for the iLife upgrade.

For myself, I am waiting to buy a new MacBook Pro until Leopard comes out, for all these reasons. I realize that this means that I may have to wait for a few months, but I see it as worth it.

In the end, this is a VERY personal call. How badly do you want a new Mac? Getting the Mac now, with Tiger, is not a bad move. We are all of us, by definition, currently using Macs with Tiger on them, and we are all generally very happy with them. There are some perhaps tangible benefits to waiting for Leopard, but these must be weighed against the benefit of having your shiny new Mac right now! As I said, a very personal weighing of priorities is in order I think.

But as some one said before, Vista support was just released for boot camp and there's still some issues that need to be ironed out. Wouldn't Apple wait until they have a fully functioning product before they release it? I'd hate to see "Hey, here's leopard with full bootcamp, but you don't have all the compatibility that you should".

 

[Nevrsadie]

Look at it this way, if you have to have it get it. If you can wait for Leopard, wait. Either way you are getting a 1 inch thick powerhouse laptop!

 

[comthre3]

this sux i went to buy a mbp from my univ today, but the store was closed! i cant wait for leopard to be honest! its taking too long! and i dont wanna waste my money on stupid stuff life (FOOD FOR EXAMPLE! ) i think im making the switch on Tuesday! im sick and tired of this crappy HP laptop that i have right now! btw does anyone know a good place on Montreal to get a MBP?

 

[netguy]

...and my oft posted response to this oft posted question: wait a bit, you will save money. Here's why:

Firstly, you shouldn't have too much longer to wait. Leopard has been planned for release in the first half of 2007. There are only three months of that half left, so the maximum wait *should* be about three months, and possibly less. That is not that long to wait. Admitedly, there are no guarantees that Leopard will be released in that time frame, but it is a good bet. I wouldn't be surprised to see it released any day now. I am rather surprised that it is not out already actually.

Secondly, remember that if you get a machine now with Tiger on it, and you want Leopard when it comes out, you have to buy the upgrade. I am guessing, based on past experience, that this will be about $130. So you will be out an extra $130.00 right off the bat. You also need to consider the time and effort it takes to install the new OS. This is not huge, but depending on your level of comfort with doing this sort of thing, having it come pre loaded could be quite a benefit.

Finally, and this is just a guess on my behalf, I am suspecting that iLife 07 will come along for the ride on new Macs sporting Leopard. This is just a guess, but a reasoned one. If this is the case, waiting for Leopard before buying the new Mac makes quite a bit of sense, since I have heard that, for example, when you buy Tiger, you don't get iLife 06 included - you have to buy it separately. Thus, waiting for Leopard before buying may save you not just the $130 for the OS upgrade, but also the $xx.xx (not sure what the price will be) for the iLife upgrade.

For myself, I am waiting to buy a new MacBook Pro until Leopard comes out, for all these reasons. I realize that this means that I may have to wait for a few months, but I see it as worth it.

In the end, this is a VERY personal call. How badly do you want a new Mac? Getting the Mac now, with Tiger, is not a bad move. We are all of us, by definition, currently using Macs with Tiger on them, and we are all generally very happy with them. There are some perhaps tangible benefits to waiting for Leopard, but these must be weighed against the benefit of having your shiny new Mac right now! As I said, a very personal weighing of priorities is in order I think.

And if you look at the flipside of that, is not having a notebook for 3 months, worth the saving of $130? Not in my book.
Waiting is for people, who think they are going to live forever. Every day you wait, is another day, you dont have a Macbook.

 

[comthre3]

nice philosophy. true that, thats why i went to buy my mbp the other day and the store was closed for some bunny festival or something. (I KNOW ITS EASTER!).

 

[Smell The Glove]

I saw on the Apple store retail sites that all the Apple stores were closed on Easter. I wasn't going to one that day, but it saddened me to know that I couldn't if I wanted to do so.

I had been waiting for Leopard since my current laptop has been working just fine save for one weird night a month ago (I recently replaced a failed hard drive in Feb). After having another night of repeated BSoD crashes, I had convinced myself that I wasn't going to wait any more. When the laptop was fine again, I was able to walk out of the Apple Store without buying the MBP. I'm on the road right now and having to drag TWO laptops out through airport security for six days in a row, carry around the MBP box, etc. just seemed a bit inconvenient. So though I'm waiting until I'm home to make my purchase, I'm finally off the waiting wagon.

It's just really weird. My current pc laptop runs just fine right now and the two weird repeated crash nights were in the same hotel and didn't happen in safe mode. So now I'm wondering if there was some sort of network conflict that might have been causing it. In any case, I'm not going to wait much longer. I've already ordered a couple of items for it, so I'm committed.

 

[BethanyLieb]

The guy that said it's a 200 dollar upgrade is crazy! If you are a student it will only be $99 to buy the new operating system (Leopard) and if you're not it's around $139 if I'm correct... somewhere in that ballpark. I ran into this problem also and opted to buy the mbp and just purchase leopard later. i really needed a computer and when leopard comes out, the MBPs are not changing or coming out with a new version so you'll be fine.

 

[comthre3]

nice, so when it comes out i just mention that im a student and i should get a discount? cuz i got my mbp around 2 months ago, its a pretty sweeeeeeeeeet computer! im loving it!

 

[D3v1L80Y]

nice, so when it comes out i just mention that im a student and i should get a discount? cuz i got my mbp around 2 months ago, its a pretty sweeeeeeeeeet computer! im loving it!

As long as you meet and can prove your status, then yes you can get a student rate.