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Is It Worth Getting the MBP 2011 or Should I Wait for the 2012 One?
- Thread starter Rammer1
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The next generation will have the Ivy Bridge chipset, with USB 3.0 built in and better battery life. They're marked for a May launch though, so you're looking at 4 month wait. Can you wait 4 months for the newest, latest, and greatest?
depends if apple puts all the upgrades in you read on here in peoples fantasy land 2012 speculations
Yes, expect the Macbook Pros to be updated to Ivy Bridge in April or May. The iMac, and Mac Mini should also be updated shortly thereafter, with the Macbook Air in Summer.
The Macbook Pro can see the biggest gains - 13" will see a healthy battery life boost, performance boost from dual core, and much better integrated graphics that it relies on.
The Macbook Air will also be a huge improvement.
The 15"-17" Macbook Pros will be faster and have improved performance but graphics won't matter as much.
Mac Mini will get faster and more useful, but iMacs - barring a big jump in GPU - will have similar performance on the high end to last year's models.
The Macbook Pro can see the biggest gains - 13" will see a healthy battery life boost, performance boost from dual core, and much better integrated graphics that it relies on.
The Macbook Air will also be a huge improvement.
The 15"-17" Macbook Pros will be faster and have improved performance but graphics won't matter as much.
Mac Mini will get faster and more useful, but iMacs - barring a big jump in GPU - will have similar performance on the high end to last year's models.
Worth is subjective, apple barely ever touches its prices, if anything, they've gone down a bit in the last few years.
All rumors. Some say Apple will redesign it and make it skinnier, some say it'll stay the same for at least one or two more refreshes.
It's all speculation at this point. If Apple indeed does a redesign, there are more chances we won't have the Disc Drive anymore to make room for either a better cooling system for the GPU (or bigger battery) while making the thinner design possible.
I'd say 99% possible unless stupid Intel gives another delay.
Since we're already a month off 2012, I'd suggest you wait for the next model. There'd be too much buyer remorse if you buy one now if they decide to add something like USB 3.0 or an outer re-design.
This. It always feels horrible when a new one gets announced and you had no idea it was gonna happen. Or if you have the added resources and can handle the hassle, buy an entry level now so you have something to use but have full intentions of Ebay-ing it when the new one gets available, lose a little (or none) amount of money and buy the new one.
Since we're already a month off 2012, I'd suggest you wait for the next model. There'd be too much buyer remorse if you buy one now if they decide to add something like USB 3.0 or an outer re-design.
USB 3.0 you can already get with the Sonnettech thunderbolt to express card slot accessory with the USB 3.0 express card thing, so nothing exciting there. Honestly, just get what you need, if you can't wait until April/May, then go ahead and buy one that will hold you over to Haswell.
I'm probably going to get the 2011 one next week. I'm going for the 15 inch, and while waiting seems like the better choice, I'll be content with what's on it now. I spilled liquid on my white 2009 MacBook and being in college, I need a laptop desperately to write papers. For you, id say to wait. University isn't starting till August, and you'll have all summer to play around with it. However in my case, I'll have to get one now
I have to disagree with this. Buying low end and selling a few months later will likely lose you a few hundred dollars. eBay is a great place and I've sold a hell of a lot of stuff there. But, eBay and PayPal take fees. For a ~$1500 item you'll pay at least $100 in fees. Any used item sells for less than a new one. That's another chunk of money gone.
The bottom line is just to wait. It's only a few months and you'll have the latest and greatest. If you're graduating this spring (like I am), a new Mac will make a great grad present (either to yourself or from your parents).
if you have to question it, just wait. you can find hundreds of post just like yours on this forum. all get the same answer. if you are hearing news about the 2012 MBP and it sounds worth waiting for, then why not? in 2013 it will be old anyways kidding. I didn't wait for the 2011 refresh and I am still happy. But if theres talk of total redesign then why not wait and see.
kidding. I didn't wait for the 2011 refresh and I am still happy. But if theres talk of total redesign then why not wait and see.
whats really awesome about mac products is that they have a GREAT second hand value. i buy all my computers through my company (i don't have to pay the 25% in taxes), and then i can sell 'em off in a year for almost the same price i bought it.
i upgraded from macbook 7.1 that cost me $899, sold it for $800 13 months later and bought the mbp 13" i5 for $950 ish (my currency is not in dollars so its just a rough estimate). if the new MBP is attractive enough, ill do the same process. if you can somehow do that too, why not buy one now and sell it if you like the new mbp better
i upgraded from macbook 7.1 that cost me $899, sold it for $800 13 months later and bought the mbp 13" i5 for $950 ish (my currency is not in dollars so its just a rough estimate). if the new MBP is attractive enough, ill do the same process. if you can somehow do that too, why not buy one now and sell it if you like the new mbp better
If there is indeed a redesign, I, for one, will not buy the first revision.
Interesting to see if they dump dedicated GPU's to make it thinner. If they do put Retnia displays on them, any GPU will have to work twice as hard when gaming. (If your into that sort of thing)
I think Apple will impress the MBA crowd with more power, but the heavy users, and those of us that want an all in one solution, might be dissapointed. (Unless Apple releases a TB-GPU)
We shall see...
Interesting to see if they dump dedicated GPU's to make it thinner. If they do put Retnia displays on them, any GPU will have to work twice as hard when gaming. (If your into that sort of thing)
I think Apple will impress the MBA crowd with more power, but the heavy users, and those of us that want an all in one solution, might be dissapointed. (Unless Apple releases a TB-GPU)
We shall see...
This, if Apple do as stated put in a 'retina' screen, you'll need one hell of a GPU to play games smoothly at it's native resolution. And that means more heat and less battery life. But maybe they'll pull it off?