Can anyone give me some advice? I am looking to buy my first MBP. I am personally not bothered about retina, and would prefer to pay more for a higher processor, RAM and larger hard drive. I have seen a good deal on a 13" 1.7 8GB RAM, 750GB MBP. Now... I have seen the news about the new haswell processors, so given that they are due out soon, is it worth waiting and will the older models reduce in price as Apple try to sell off old stock?
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Advice for Macbook Newbie
- Thread starter Markoldbarn10
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Yes, I meant intel core i7 2.9. So you don't think the non retinas will get the new haswell processors in June?
No one knows, no one can telk you... There are rumors that cMBp wont be discontinued, but these are just rumors
I'm probably one of the few people who still uses the DVD drive in my 2011 13" MBP. I have a bookcase full of DVDs and it's not worth the effort to rip them all to disk. It's great to have when traveling - watch a movie in the hotel without paying the steep hotel movie fees. Don't know what I'll do when they drop the cMBP.. I can always get an external.
It's all just speculation, but we should find out soon. Given that Apple had to drop the price rather substantially back in February, my guess is that Retina MacBook Pro sales aren't exactly spectacular, and so it is more likely that we'll see the non-Retinas upgraded for one more year. Either that, or perhaps Apple will get even more aggressive with pricing, so it may make sense to wait and see. Worst case, there will be clearance and refurbished models at lower prices.
Typically "current" refurbished models sell for 15% below retail. "Old" refurbished models tend to go for 25% less than original retail, unless the "current" product has dropped in price below the original retail price of the model it replaced (such as in October 2010 when the MacBook Air was significantly redesigned).
A good Price now?!
I would recommend him waiting and buying the next series. Or wait till the next series is out, and buy one of the current ones at that time, but for a lower price
Thanks for the posts. Does anyone have any idea whether the new non-rMBPs will get the solid state hard drives, like the current rMBPs? If so, I dare say it will mean having to pay out a fair amount of money if I want a decent amount of memory, as I believe you can't upgrade SSDs once installed in a MBP. Is this correct?
The model in my original post gives me what I need, but I don't want to shell out a load of cash if it is pretty much redendant after June when Apple are supposedly launching the new models. Decisions Decisions!
The model in my original post gives me what I need, but I don't want to shell out a load of cash if it is pretty much redendant after June when Apple are supposedly launching the new models. Decisions Decisions!
The non-retina MBPs have fully user-upgradeable hard drives. You can install an SSD yourself and save some money over Apple's upgrade prices:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-120GB-internal-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-adapter-Internal-CT960M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8RGL6
If you don't absolutely need a huge amount of hard drive space onboard, I would definitely recommend an SSD.
The RAM is also upgrade-able in the non-retina models.
You can upgrade the solid state drives in the retina models, but they are a proprietary form factor that is only manufactured by one third party (OWC). The RAM in the retina models can not be upgraded after purchase.
As far as waiting, I would say just wait until WWDC unless you have a pressing need for a new computer right now. Chances are even if there's nothing for you in the newer models you will be able to get an older model at a better discount.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-120GB-internal-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-adapter-Internal-CT960M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8RGL6
If you don't absolutely need a huge amount of hard drive space onboard, I would definitely recommend an SSD.
The RAM is also upgrade-able in the non-retina models.
You can upgrade the solid state drives in the retina models, but they are a proprietary form factor that is only manufactured by one third party (OWC). The RAM in the retina models can not be upgraded after purchase.
As far as waiting, I would say just wait until WWDC unless you have a pressing need for a new computer right now. Chances are even if there's nothing for you in the newer models you will be able to get an older model at a better discount.
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You can replace a HDD on the non-Retina MBPs. I've done it before. It's pretty easy. You need to install a third party software fix to get TRIM running, though (but that's easy). However, you can also order a MacBook Pro with an SSD, though that is more expensive.
dusk007
macrumors 68040
I would at least wait and see how good the new chips are.
I doubt they release new ones quite as soon as some might think. WWDC I think is wishful thinking for new Macs. But the Haswells will be released and plenty of Windows notebooks will show up and be tested and displays just as well the chips properties.
You get cheaper notebooks even if you want the old one. SSDs can be upgraded just not very cheaply as Apple has its own connector and only few companies bother to offer SSDs in the right shape and they charge quite a markup.
This time around SSDs should be cheap enough to buy a 512GB directly from Apple. 256GB might actually end up being the entry config for all Macs.
I doubt they release new ones quite as soon as some might think. WWDC I think is wishful thinking for new Macs. But the Haswells will be released and plenty of Windows notebooks will show up and be tested and displays just as well the chips properties.
You get cheaper notebooks even if you want the old one. SSDs can be upgraded just not very cheaply as Apple has its own connector and only few companies bother to offer SSDs in the right shape and they charge quite a markup.
This time around SSDs should be cheap enough to buy a 512GB directly from Apple. 256GB might actually end up being the entry config for all Macs.