after refresh are the older models cheaper?

[soni2926]

Hi,
we're looking into getting a macbook pro, but i noticed the buyer guide said to hold as a refresh might be coming. Just curious is after the refresh are there stores, like amazon/best buy that still sell the previous version at a discount?

Thanks.

 

[yusukeaoki]

If you need it now, buy it now.
The refresh isnt probably coming until next year April-ish.

And since Apple will stop making 2011 model after 2012 comes out, it depends on the stock of amazon/best buy

 

[soni2926]

oh wow, april...i thought it was coming in a month or two, if it's going to be next year and we might get one now and not wait. thank you.

If you need it now, buy it now.
The refresh isnt probably coming until next year April-ish.

And since Apple will stop making 2011 model after 2012 comes out, it depends on the stock of amazon/best buy

 

[Centient]

There are rumors of updated processors coming to the current line-up of Pro's very soon. A minor 'refresh' like that would probably drive the current crop down a bit in pricing. The expected big refresh won't happen until next year when the new processor architecture (Ivy Bridge) gets released.

A couple of other ideas to consider. Buy a refurbished Macbook from Apple. You can usually shave a couple hundred dollars off the price and enjoy the same benefits of having bought a new computer.

If you have a Microcenter in your area you might find that they have previous gen models still for sale. These would all be stock models, and wouldn't have the new GPU's or Sandy Bridge processors, but you can save several hundred dollars that way. Other retailers might have similar deals.

Finally, consider buying online from a retailer that doesn't have a brick and mortar store in your state. This is one way to save about $100 or so in taxes on a new computer if you state doesn't collect sales tax for online sales .

 

[Irock619]

The refresh is an increase in processing speed, not much though. If you just use your computer for normal applications then I would say the refresh would be useless for you. Unless you want to improve the clock speed of your computer just for the heck of it.

I just got my 2011 MBP at Best Buy. They currently have a sale of $100 off. And if you are a student that's an additional $100 off

 

[yusukeaoki]

I say the refresh is 2012 April since the new Ivy bridge processor that is suppose to come into the new MBP is delayed till next year april from march.

 

[Badrottie]

used 2011 MBP can be sold for less than 800

 

[soni2926]

thanks for the advise, i'll see maybe we'll go used if i can get it for 800, that's a huge discount. we were looking for it for daily use, surfing web, doing some word/excel work but also to run windows, as i go .net development, so i wanted it to be able to handle that without slowing down. wanted a mac mainly because i'm interested in also learning to program objectivec and get into iphone/ipad development at work.

 

[squeakr]

That low price will be for an entry level 13 if that is what you are looking for (as you never said what version of MBP you were after). Just food for thought, as the others will be quite a bit more.

 

[gtgrad95]

Apple is not going to wait till April to update the MBPs. The last update was Feb. 2011, so that would mean a 14 month gap between updates. The rumor is that the MBPs are getting a processor bump sometime this month, so I would at least wait a few weeks to see what happens. It would make sense for them do something sooner rather than later.

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Finally, consider buying online from a retailer that doesn't have a brick and mortar store in your state. This is one way to save about $100 or so in taxes on a new computer if you state doesn't collect sales tax for online sales .

Don't most if not all states require you to report online sales on your tax return?