Buying a macbook today?

[neith]

I see that macrumors lists the current macbook as neutral - mid cycle.
I'm very tempted to go to the apple store today and pick one up, the higher end aluminium one with 4GB ram and a 320GB HD.
At this point in time is it a good buy or would you suggest I wait for the next revision?

I currently own a white macbook 2.4ghz 4GB ram which is a factor, I was going to sell it to my mom and put that cash towards the new one.

I want the new one as I love the design and material, and the 9400M will be vastly superior to the graphics on my current macbook.

[smurfjammer]

Wait until after WWDC just in case...

[Apple Ink]

You should get one today.....

P.S.: Why do kids "sell" their ol' stuff to their parents??

[neith]

My white macbook is much, much better than her 3 year old ibook.
She asked me if I would sell it to her, which I will, and for not much.

[dalvin200]

P.S.: Why do kids "sell" their ol' stuff to their parents??

shouldn't it be the other way round? ;) hehe

[shoppy]

Get it today and enjoy it today, I never get why people wait when it comes to technology. There will always be something better coming out around the corner. So you might as well as get what you that does the job. I have just picked up a new 2.4UMB and am loving the new screen very good in contrast to the older UMB's.

[PolySciSurfer]

Get it today and enjoy it today, I never get why people wait when it comes to technology. There will always be something better coming out around the corner. So you might as well as get what you that does the job. I have just picked up a new 2.4UMB and am loving the new screen very good in contrast to the older UMB's.

Agreed! Buy it now, although I hear you get a free iPod after June 1st. But you still have to pay for it up front, then you get a rebate.

[Germwise]

Agreed! Buy it now, although I hear you get a free iPod after June 1st. But you still have to pay for it up front, then you get a rebate.

Do you really need an ipod though? the new alu is 1599 plus play for an ipod 250 thats 1850 plus tax which is around 2k. Then get 250 off of that, you still spent 1750.

Instead get a refurbished 2.4 for 1299 plus tax at 1400 and save yourself 350 which is essentially less than buying one anyway.

I wonder if there is an apple reseller that sells refurbished with no tax? that would be the optimum solution.

Eitherway I would wait for wwdc as its only a few weeks away.

[Toofan]

I see that macrumors lists the current macbook as neutral - mid cycle.
I'm very tempted to go to the apple store today and pick one up, the higher end aluminium one with 4GB ram and a 320GB HD.
At this point in time is it a good buy or would you suggest I wait for the next revision?

I currently own a white macbook 2.4ghz 4GB ram which is a factor, I was going to sell it to my mom and put that cash towards the new one.

I want the new one as I love the design and material, and the 9400M will be vastly superior to the graphics on my current macbook.

Within days of buying the latest and greatest technology, something better comes out. If you want to wait until WWDC (and have the patience to do so) go for it. Coming from a technical background though, the changes you will see in any form of update will be negligible unless they decide to completely revamp the CPU architecture (fat chance). Enjoy sir :)

[neith]

Well I bought it. Awesome. Could only get the 250GB HD from the store, the upgrade is only for online shop.

It is a sexy machine I'm psyched. Now I'll play with it :D

[Toofan]

Well I bought it. Awesome. Could only get the 250GB HD from the store, the upgrade is only for online shop.

It is a sexy machine I'm psyched. Now I'll play with it :D

Now you can have the pleasure of changing your siggy :P

[shoppy]

Well I bought it. Awesome. Could only get the 250GB HD from the store, the upgrade is only for online shop.

It is a sexy machine I'm psyched. Now I'll play with it :D

Congratulations and enjoy your new machine. They are fabulous to use and teh backlit is amazing.

[txhockey9404]

Well I bought it. Awesome. Could only get the 250GB HD from the store, the upgrade is only for online shop.

It is a sexy machine I'm psyched. Now I'll play with it :D

If you wouldn't mind commenting on this, how is the battery life? Also, how well does it do for video encoding and multitasking? I am considering an upgrade from a mid-2007 iMac (2.0ghz C2D with 3gb RAM), and I really want to know how well these Macbooks stack up.

[SPEEDwithJJ]

I have just picked up a new 2.4UMB and am loving the new screen very good in contrast to the older UMB's.

If you have the time, would you mind taking some high quality photos of the older & newer Alu MB screens for us? I'll really appreciate that. :) A big thanks in advance. :)

[t0mat0]

Hope you enjoy it -

Quick general point - How is the MacBook still:

Product MacBook
Recommendation: Neutral - Mid product cycle
Last Release October 14, 2008
Days Since Update 213 (Avg = 195)

[NinjaHERO]

I would have waited. Nothing pisses me off more than buying something and then two weeks later an updated product is out for the same price. Especially since apple seems to refresh their macs twice a year. So close now.

But since you got it, I hope you enjoy it.:D:D I can't wait to get a new one. But I am waiting to see the next refresh.


By the way, how can the product be in a neutral buy if it's past the average wait for a refresh? Am I the only one who finds that odd on the buyers guide?

[NinjaHERO]

Hope you enjoy it -

Quick general point - How is the MacBook still:

LOL, sorry, you beat me to it. I keep asking the same question.

[pellets007]

Do you really need an ipod though? the new alu is 1599 plus play for an ipod 250 thats 1850 plus tax which is around 2k. Then get 250 off of that, you still spent 1750.

Instead get a refurbished 2.4 for 1299 plus tax at 1400 and save yourself 350 which is essentially less than buying one anyway.

I wonder if there is an apple reseller that sells refurbished with no tax? that would be the optimum solution.

Eitherway I would wait for wwdc as its only a few weeks away.If you have a military ID, the PX is an excellent place to shop without tax.;)

[Zillicah]

I just bought mine on Monday and it's coming tomorrow!
I don't care if I have the latest and greatest. I actually don't need latest and greatest, so this is why I don't care if Apple releases a new one every month.

:)

[Myyke]

I agree generally with all the "technology advances anyway so don't force yourself to wait" sentiment but when the possibility of a refreshed macbook is only a month away, it does change things a bit.

I for one am waiting, see what happens and will then get one either way :D.

[paolo-]

Do you really need an ipod though? the new alu is 1599 plus play for an ipod 250 thats 1850 plus tax which is around 2k. Then get 250 off of that, you still spent 1750.

Also known as paying only the taxes on an ipod (what 25$ ?). Plus the possibility of getting a speed bump.
;)

Mind you, I don't know if the OP is still in school. Anyways, I'd personally wait if your current computer is still cutting it.

[Germwise]

Also known as paying only the taxes on an ipod (what 25$ ?). Plus the possibility of getting a speed bump.
;)


my point is that if he really wants an ipod its actually cheaper to buy a refurbished UMB and then buy a new ipod.

they make you think you are saving money, but in reality, nothing beats the refurbished MBs.

[J&JPolangin]

my point is that if he really wants an ipod its actually cheaper to buy a refurbished UMB and then buy a new ipod.

they make you think you are saving money, but in reality, nothing beats the refurbished MBs.

...good point to an extent...

[neith]

I got a 15% student discount and applecare for £50 instead of the normal rate of £195.

Deducting the sale of my previous macbook this new one cost £600.

If it gets upgraded in June I will be mildly disappointed, it will be something like a 200mhz cpu increase, larger HD and possibly a standard 4GB of ram. I can live without these improvements if I have to.

[amabo]

I just bought a white refurbished macbook last week as well, although it was necessary since my other computing device is slowly melting...

I couldn't be happier. This thing boots up faster than my Santa Rosa MBP and I love the keyboard layout with the chicklet keys. I never used the backlit keyboard (I still don't understand why it's so sought after...) and I don't mind the loss in screen space (although I have to buy a dongle now to connect my external to this laptop).

I don't know why everyone thinks they're going to upgrade the macbooks at WWDC. It has been less than a year since the laptop refresh and they're not going to touch it again until after the college buying season is over. The white macbook will definitely not be discontinued (for college students) and there will not be a speed increase - there's no reason for it.

And for those hoping for a firewire port to be added onto the UMB - dream on. I don't think Apple will outcast all those who bought one less than a year ago.

[skye12]

I think it would be fine, but don't think the current MB is all that much
better than your white MB for everyday tasks. I'd hold out for the next
revision, albeit minor, and also hope to get Snow Leopard included.

[neith]

Yeah, it is true that this macbook will not perform much better than my previous one. Excluding games. I get 50-90 FPS is counter-strike source, settings on high, native resolution. Excellent, better than I expected. My previous macbook got around 13 FPS.

It is also true that I won't be using it for gaming very often. It was however good fun to bring it over to a friends house for some CS and Left 4 Dead.
I won't bother gaming on it at home.

Not much point when my desktop PC gets 200-300 FPS at 1920x1200 w/ 8xAA 16xAF

[Zazoh]

Why pay Apple prices for the HD and RAM Get the processor you need and get the extra stuff from aftermarket retailers.