Should I buy one now, or wait?

"Buyers Guide"
Buy it only if you need it.

I say buy because no matter how much you chase tech you can never catch up.

ignisnocturna said:

I've been doing a little research on google and found that at most it has been a period or 10 months before macbook pro updates, which would hint at 02/11 at the latest before the next update. And the next few years also hintes at 8-10 months between every update, which would be 12/10 at the earliest.
But I could not find any rumors what so ever about the next update, but how long does it usually take from the time rumors start circulating about an update till it actually comes?

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I was in the same boat.
I've decided to wait to see what will be offered in the i3, i5 platforms, if they even offer them.

devilstrider said:

I say buy because no matter how much you chase tech you can never catch up.

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that's why you dont chase it, you jump in front of it

AdamRock said:

that's why you dont chase it, you jump in front of it

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For 6 months.

devilstrider said:

I say buy because no matter how much you chase tech you can never catch up.

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Not when there's a possibility it will be updated in 2 months.

IF they do update them, any Pro you buy now will be sold by Apple for at least $400 cheaper.

It's not so easy to just buy one when it's very possible the computer you just bought will be worth $400 less in 2 months....and that's brand new.

if you really need it-buy it; you you really want it-buy it; otherwise, wait until Q1. Then go through the same mantra.Repeat every quarter. Eventually, you'll buy something!

Just buy it if you need it. Like others have said don't spend your time waiting for the latest and greatest.

fcortese said:

if you really need it-buy it; you you really want it-buy it; otherwise, wait until Q1. Then go through the same mantra.Repeat every quarter. Eventually, you'll buy something!

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DAM-Photography said:

Just buy it if you need it. Like others have said don't spend your time waiting for the latest and greatest.

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Bingo. Because you will wait and buy that and then when they update again you will say man I waited for the small update but this is the big jump here. I would buy now and when the big update comes I'll sell the one I have and get the new one.

Honestly, I don't do the tech chasing thing (as you can tell from my 08 model). I got it less than a month before they announced the 13" MBP, and I honestly don't have a problem with that. (It was a graduation gift, so I didn't get to pick it out, but it's likely what I would have gotten anyhow) Honestly, I like that it's unique, and makes people ask about it. Sure the battery isn't as good as the one that came after it (don't really care that much, I am rarely too far away from an outlet for over 4 hours), and whatever other minor differences there are really don't bother me. Now if I knew that they were likely to come out very soon, I'd probably wait (I didn't when I got mine), but for me, a couple months really isn't all that worth it.

Just get it. I can spend day talking how much better the current MBP's in comparison to C2D previous gen. I believe now it's the perfect time for a MBP purchase.

willbro said:

"Buyers Guide"
Buy it only if you need it.

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Exactly. Computers depreciate fast. All this time analyzing is in the end not terribly productive. The currently available MBP's are excellent machines. All one can do is "get ahead" for a few months. But get ahead of what? It is going to catch up with you anyway.

WAIT

Wait for USB 3.0.

Optical drives are on the way out. USB-to-external drives are in and getting more so by the month.
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DVD9 said:

WAIT

Wait for USB 3.0.

Optical drives are on the way out. USB-to-external drives are in and getting more so by the month.
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Are you serious? Are you telling me that they don't have optical drives? In still kind of new to macs. How is that possible?

The MacBook Air doesn't have an optical drive – you either can use Remote Disk or an external drive. It's easily possible, considering that programs, updates, movies, music, etc – can all be obtained over the Internet rather than through a DVD. I haven't used the optical drive on my MacBook in years, and on my desktop not for a couple of weeks.

I'd personally wait if you don't need a new machine. I would also love to pick up an MBP, but I don't need it, so I'll wait.

Before the current MBP's were updated, i was expecting a Jan/Feb launch, all the rumors pointed towards that date.

It was September 09 and i had enough money to buy a base model C2D MBP but i figured i'd wait those extra few months and save up for extra specs in the mean time,

(i remember the "Official waiting for Core MBP" threads lol)

Then delays kept the new model from being released until April or May, but by the time they did arrive, i had extra money for the Core i7 15" with HD display and beefier hard drive,

Id recommend saving while u wait and just get a beefy model to hold u out,
This is my first MBP but i think i might replace every 2 refresh's

devilstrider said:

Are you serious? Are you telling me that they don't have optical drives? In still kind of new to macs. How is that possible?

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I don't know how you got that from what I wrote. However, getting rid of the optical isn't a bad idea. Especially when an external can be bought for around $30. Apple could just include one with the laptop.

I mean that optical drives are being used less and less, just as floppy drives were until they disappeared. Hard drives are getting smaller and with larger capacities. Media players are available-cheap-that will play all media formats off those drives. Just plug in the USB cable and play your movies on the big screen.

Mp3 players can be plugged into car radios.

Optical drives are on the way out just as floppies before them.

USB 3.0 is a big speed jump now that can be further increased by using an SSD, which will probably be mainstream two years from now.
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devilstrider said:

For 6 months.

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well yeah, for example light peak doesnt come out till '12, so why not bribe intel to give u a demo and put that in your mbp and while your at it put usb 3.0 and intel i8/9


ps: i never said it was humanly possible

DVD9 said:

However, getting rid of the optical isn't a bad idea. Especially when an external can be bought for around $30.
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That's what I did (as did many others, according to some threads here on MR). I took the SuperDrive out and replaced it with a 1TB HD. Now I can do a daily backup of my SSD using SuperDuper! and also have a bunch more storage space for iTunes and photos. I hope that in the near future this will become one of the options for MBP's from Apple (as it did with the iMac).