15 inch with 750M: Buy during summer or wait?

[Teuthos]

My current laptop is a 2-year old HP that is starting to lag even when editing Google Drive documents and is turning many games into slideshows despite supposedly being a moderately capable gaming laptop. I've also decided to make the switch to Mac from Windows.

I was almost certain that I was going to buy the 15 inch Macbook Pro with Retina (2,3 GHz, Nvidia 750M, 512 GB RAM) sometime over the summer holidays, but while reviewing the competition from the Windows side I came over the Razer Blade 2014 - with new 800M series Nvidia graphics. Thus I started exploring the new GTX 800M series and I became nearly certain that it would be worth it to wait for a rMBP with 850M/860M graphics.

However, many articles seem to indicate that the next rMBP is not coming out for a while, so now I face a dilemma - should I go with the current 15' rMBP (will be buying in June/July) or wait for better graphics in a possible fall/winter/spring 2015 release?

My needs are digital art, word processing and gaming (Civilization V, Minecraft, Anno 2070, etc.). Gaming is not the #1 priority but I need a portable computer (preferably with OS X) capable of running games and also something that is "future proof" - I want to be able to pick up some exciting game 2 years from now and still be able to play it on low/medium settings.

So should I go with the current model or wait for 800M series graphcis? When the new ones come out, what sort of graphics card can I expect (all integrated - if so, how powerful? 850M or 860M)?

 

[dusk007]

Nobody can say for sure whether Apple will update with a 860M or an 850M. I think 860M would be the qual TDP sustitute.
But new Intel GPUs are far out and it would be odd if Apple didn't at least update the GPU for about 9 months when the chips are available.
If gaming matters I would wait for about 2-3 months. If there are still no rumors by that time about a new model, Apply will probably skip it and waiting for Broadwell is just stupid that takes forever.

If anything it will be a tiny refresh with a new GPU available on the website and maybe a small press release. Usually a couple of rumors pop up a week or two before that happens from chinese suppliers.
It would make sense for Apple to update in the next two or three months. It isn't entirely impossible that you wait three months for nothing.

 

[thundersteele]

My needs are digital art, word processing and gaming (Civilization V, Minecraft, Anno 2070, etc.). Gaming is not the #1 priority but I need a portable computer (preferably with OS X) capable of running games and also something that is "future proof" - I want to be able to pick up some exciting game 2 years from now and still be able to play it on low/medium settings.

Why not the Razer Blade then? The 750M in the rMBP is not bad, but I wouldn't call it future-proof. You can wait and hope for a 850/860 model, but it might not happen at all, or only in early 2015.

It is also a question of how much longer you are willing to use your HP. I am surprised that it is becoming slow after only two years... what kind of hardware was it?

 

[Serelus]

My current laptop is a 2-year old HP that is starting to lag even when editing Google Drive documents and is turning many games into slideshows despite supposedly being a moderately capable gaming laptop. I've also decided to make the switch to Mac from Windows.

I was almost certain that I was going to buy the 15 inch Macbook Pro with Retina (2,3 GHz, Nvidia 750M, 512 GB RAM) sometime over the summer holidays, but while reviewing the competition from the Windows side I came over the Razer Blade 2014 - with new 800M series Nvidia graphics. Thus I started exploring the new GTX 800M series and I became nearly certain that it would be worth it to wait for a rMBP with 850M/860M graphics.

However, many articles seem to indicate that the next rMBP is not coming out for a while, so now I face a dilemma - should I go with the current 15' rMBP (will be buying in June/July) or wait for better graphics in a possible fall/winter/spring 2015 release?

My needs are digital art, word processing and gaming (Civilization V, Minecraft, Anno 2070, etc.). Gaming is not the #1 priority but I need a portable computer (preferably with OS X) capable of running games and also something that is "future proof" - I want to be able to pick up some exciting game 2 years from now and still be able to play it on low/medium settings.

So should I go with the current model or wait for 800M series graphcis? When the new ones come out, what sort of graphics card can I expect (all integrated - if so, how powerful? 850M or 860M)?

If you want to be able to play games 2 years ahead from now. Wait for the M800 series. I am aswell, I know it's pain because having a new device now seems like the best way to go. Just make sure you get it right when it comes out and you don't wait so you put yourself in that same position again.

 

[accountforit]

Buy used/refurbished now, and resell for minimal/no loss if you feel the need after a refresh.

There are good used deals out there. I landed a current model base 15" for $1,130 not too long ago.