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Buy 15" MacBook pro now or wait?

M

mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
Within the next year, I am definetly going to buy a 15" MacBook pro, most likely refurbished. The only thing holding me back from buying the $1350 one now is that I am waiting for the current gen to appear on refurb. The model I am eyeing is the mid-range 15" with the nvidia 9600.

I am hoping to get that model for ~$1500 refurb because I think I would value the extra battery life. When do you think it might appear in the refurb store? Is my $1500 reasonable?

Also, is it true that the MagSafe power adapter is pocket-sized and portable? If so, I may just buy the $1350 MBP
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
mossme89 said:
Within the next year, I am definetly going to buy a 15" MacBook pro, most likely refurbished. The only thing holding me back from buying the $1350 one now is that I am waiting for the current gen to appear on refurb. The model I am eyeing is the mid-range 15" with the nvidia 9600.

I am hoping to get that model for ~$1500 refurb because I think I would value the extra battery life. When do you think it might appear in the refurb store? Is my $1500 reasonable?

Also, is it true that the MagSafe power adapter is pocket-sized and portable? If so, I may just buy the $1350 MBP
Click to expand...

If the current gen appears on refurb, you can expect maybe 10-15% off of list price until a new model comes out. I've never seen a current model refurb for 25% off original price.

The magsafe can easily fit into a side pocket of a notebook bag. A front or rear jeans pocket....not unless you're one of those little punks who wear oversized carpenter's jeans hanging around your knees.

The $1350 mpb is so close in terms of performance and features to the current models for such a low price that it's a steal for a newish mac laptop. Go on ebay and buy an oem spare battery for a fraction of what you'll be spending on the new model.
 
Jay42

Jay42

macrumors 65816
Jul 14, 2005
1,416
588
I'm also in the same boat. My 4+ year old PowerBook G4 is really starting to show its age recently (still 512 ram!). I bought it as a refurb and its been great so I see no reason to shell out the extra cash for a 'new' one when I've had good luck with this machine.

Just hope they hit the refurb store before the iPod/education deal runs out. Are refurbs eligible for this?
 
M

mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
clyde2801 said:
If the current gen appears on refurb, you can expect maybe 10-15% off of list price until a new model comes out. I've never seen a current model refurb for 25% off original price.

The magsafe can easily fit into a side pocket of a notebook bag. A front or rear jeans pocket....not unless you're one of those little punks who wear oversized carpenter's jeans hanging around your knees.

The $1350 mpb is so close in terms of performance and features to the current models for such a low price that it's a steal for a newish mac laptop. Go on ebay and buy an oem spare battery for a fraction of what you'll be spending on the new model.
Click to expand...


Thanks. The feature that sticks out for me on the new model is the long lasting battery, but I just can't justify spending $650 for a longer lasting battery.

Is the battery life on last gen's model still decent? Regardless of what I buy, I'd be using the MacBook pro at home 90% of the time. The few times when I'm out, I wouldn't hesitate to bring the AC adapter as long as it's not overly huge and clunky.

Just out of curiousity, do you guys think battery life might be improved in Snow Leopard? Snow leopard is all about performance, so it wouldn't surprise if they worked on making the battery more efficient
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
Jay42 said:
I'm also in the same boat. My 4+ year old PowerBook G4 is really starting to show its age recently (still 512 ram!). I bought it as a refurb and its been great so I see no reason to shell out the extra cash for a 'new' one when I've had good luck with this machine.

Just hope they hit the refurb store before the iPod/education deal runs out. Are refurbs eligible for this?
Click to expand...

Max the ram out for your specific model, and tweak the os to turn off some unnecessary eye candy. If you're up to the task, swap out your hard drive for a larger and faster one. Compared to the original specs, it will be a night and day difference.
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
mossme89 said:
Thanks. The feature that sticks out for me on the new model is the long lasting battery, but I just can't justify spending $650 for a longer lasting battery.

Is the battery life on last gen's model still decent? Regardless of what I buy, I'd be using the MacBook pro at home 90% of the time. The few times when I'm out, I wouldn't hesitate to bring the AC adapter as long as it's not overly huge and clunky.

Just out of curiousity, do you guys think battery life might be improved in Snow Leopard? Snow leopard is all about performance, so it wouldn't surprise if they worked on making the battery more efficient
Click to expand...

Over the original 2.4 uniMBP, the newer models have a sd card slot instead of mini express card, and the ability to take 8 gigs of ram officially rather than the 2.4's unofficial 6 gigs. The pr says the screen is better, but I don't know if it's a night and day difference.

If you're primarily going to be using the unit at home, the 2.4 for the money is a no brainer. For a couple of hundred more, you can get the 2.66 same model that will even take 8 gigs and have a 9600 video card with twice the memory.
 
J

joehahn

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2009
149
0
CT
wait about 5 years then you can get an 8-core at 5GHZ, 32GB ddr4 ram, and a 1TB ssd :D

but if you can wait a little longer then that then you can get a better one!
 
X

xhambonex

macrumors 6502a
Apr 17, 2008
655
0
The previous gen had that great quick swap/replacement HDD feature. So I'd go with the previous gen refurb.

If it was me, I'd wait till they gave me back my matte option.:p

and no the magsafe adapter isn't pocket size...I guess I could stuff mine in my pocket, but not comfortably.
 
3N16MA

3N16MA

macrumors 65816
Jul 23, 2009
1,011
177
Space
Best time to buy is when Apple replaces these models with a new ones, it seems that updates come around every 6 months give or take 1 or 2 months. They should be popping up in the refurb store perhaps in September? but the discounts wont be as big as when they are being replaced by new models.
 
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