Please Replacement Advice(!) . . . Major Exam Laptop Down . . .

Questtt3 said:

I am taking two major professional licensing exams at the end of July (very stressful study period for myself and my family). I need a laptop for 4 days of essays and my current laptop just went out. I had planned to replace my PC laptop with a rMBP later this fall, but now I am faced with either borrowing someone's laptop for the exam or making the purchase/move now.

I would really appreciate advice on whether it is best to make this purchase now or wait until later this summer/early fall given it is so late in update cycle. With Broadwell looking less likely in the near term, do you think any upcoming updates to the rMBP will be significant and worth waiting for or should I make the purchase now?

Knowing that it will take a bit of time to get back up to speed with Macs OS (it has been quite a while since I was forced to switch to PC for science course/science job work), and given the limited time I have until exams (studying, etc) . . . I should probably buy now so I have time to get comfortable with system if I plan to use the rMBP for the exams.

I am not trying to chase technology--I realize the folly in that--however, would also hate to spend close to $2500 (w/ Apple Care and tax) and then very soon see significant changes made. So, what changes do you anticipate . . . are they significant? Should I make the purchase now?

Thank you very much for your help!

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First of all, you need one now so get one now. Sure two days after you buy it, Apple will come out with some cold-fusion-based laptop that reads your thoughts. That's not your problem. Your problem is that your machine is dead now.

One place to check is the Macrumors buyer's guides. There should be a link at the top of every page. A red light means wait and only buy if you need it. Of course in your situation you need it but if you want to choose a particular model that's just been released, check the MR buyer's guide.

If you can borrow a machine, by all means do it, IF the person you are borrowing from is flexible enough to make sure you can keep as long as you need it. It's usually not a good idea to buy anything under pressure, but relying on somebody else's computer to pass an important exam might not make much sense either.

When I bought my first Macbook, a new one came out 3 weeks later. I took it back and got the new one. Lucky I was able to afford having both machines on my credit card while the transaction went through to refund the slightly older model. I should have checked MR buyer's guide first. It wound up costing me over $100 restocking. So I paid "rent" of $100 to use a Macbook for 3 weeks. In hindsight it was worth it to me.

When you look back on your purchase a year from now, are you going to be glad you had a machine of your own in time to take your exam or are you going to be distracted by the fact you missed out on some shiny new feature? I'm guessing here but I think you'd be happy you had a machine of your own when you needed it.