Buy Montevina Macbook or wait for Nehalem?

[tkiss]

I am currently saving up for a Macbook, and since I am too young for a job, it will take quite some time, at least until the Montevina update. If I am able to raise enough money after the Montevina update but before Nehalem, should I go ahead and buy a Montevina Macbook or wait for Nehalem?
This year I will only be a freshman in high school, so I am in no dire need for a computer, as we have a functioning (but just barely) PC.

So basically my three questions are:
1. Should I go ahead and buy a Montevina Macbook or wait for Nehalem?
2. During which update do you expect to see the greatest changes?
3. When do you expect to see the new Nehalem Macbook released?

Thanks in adcance!

 

[kabunaru]

All, I got to say is to buy the Montevina MacBook. If you are going to wait for Nehalem, you are going to wait too long and miss out. The Montevina MacBook will be good enough for you and will last you a while.

Check this rumour:
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/05/15/apples-next-macbook-due-in-q3-2008/

As for release of Nehalem MacBook, I guess the middle of 2009.

 

[tmelvin]

All, I got to say is to buy the Montevina MacBook. If you are going to wait for Nehalem, you are going to wait too long and miss out. The Montevina MacBook will be good enough for you and will last you a while.

Check this rumour:
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/05/15/apples-next-macbook-due-in-q3-2008/

As for release of Nehalem MacBook, I guess the middle of 2009.

I agree. Get it now and don't look back. Don't get me wrong, this board is great and has a lot of great people. But you'll wait forever for the "Latest and Greatest". You'll never have the latest and fastest. Be happy with what you need, and go for it. You won't regret it.

 

[tkiss]

I agree. Get it now and don't look back. Don't get me wrong, this board is great and has a lot of great people. But you'll wait forever for the "Latest and Greatest". You'll never have the latest and fastest. Be happy with what you need, and go for it. You won't regret it.

Well the thing is that I don't really need a Macbook, and it will only be a few months wait for Nehalem, so why not wait?

 

[arctic]

Get the Montevina when it comes out. Nehalem would eventually come out mid-09 but since you need a computer now, I don't think its practical to wait that long. If you can eventually generate more savings while you have your Montevina book, sell your old book and add money for a Nehalem when it comes out. Also, rule of thumb, "something awesome is about to come out". So a few weeks before Nehalem arrives, we will be discussing about the powerful chips after Nehalem. You wouldn't want to wait for that either, would you?

So get a Macbook whenever you can. Even the present Penryn books are powerful enough for regular use.

I remember when I was anticipating the release of Core Duos . Now everyone is in a hurry to ditch Penryn . Truth be told, there isnt a day when I woudn't fantasize what the Nehalem Macbook Pros would look and perform. Or the late '09 Macbook Air.

 

[Insulin Junkie]

Well the thing is that I don't really need a Macbook, and it will only be a few months wait for Nehalem, so why not wait?

And then the Nehalem Macbooks turn up, and you'll find out that in another 4 or 5 months they're gonna be receiving an upgrade... what do you do, wait or buy? All I can say is that there's always going to be the promise of something better in the immediate future, that's the way capitalism works, and it's especially true in the tech industry.

Get a macbook now if
1.) You're happy with the specs of the current macbooks

Wait if
2.) You're not

As simple as that. I'm with the other posters on this thread... get it now if you want one, because rest assured that the moment they bring Nehalem out people will be drooling over the next anticipated product. What's the point.

 

[bob vansteel]

if you want the best top of the line computer than you either have to get a full out Mac Pro or a custom built pc...but seriously buddy, do you really need that much processing power! i mean until you actually have had extensive use of even the current macs then you can't realize how much power they already have....unless you are doing some major 3d rendering or trying to cure cancer, an average user won't see much of a difference between the penryn and nehalem....you simply will never use that much processing power.

as for waitong for a montive mac.....don't. Why? becuse, the only difference between the current centrino's and montiva(centrino 2) is that the montiva chips will have a bigger FSB...and the penryns already have that new large FSB, so apple has no reason to update them until nehalem comes a year from now.

verdict: you will see virtually no difference between the penryn and the nehalem, unless you are doing some major major stuff(ya that stuff that scientist, do not gaming, if you are a gamer you should only be waitng for GPU's, because 2 cores is better than 4 cores for gaming at the moment)

and finally....you won't see a nehalem macbook untill late 2009 not Q2.....the Mac pros might get them when they release the xeon version Q4 of this year...the iMac's will get them Q2 of next year....while the macbooks will be stuck waiting for them to create a more power effecient nehalem processor...so you might see them in laptops sometime around Q4 next year.

 

[tkiss]

But I am also asking during which update do you expect to see the biggest changes (i.e. LED screen, Multi-touch, etc.).

 

[Insulin Junkie]

But I am also asking during which update do you expect to see the biggest changes (i.e. LED screen, Multi-touch, etc.).

bob vansteel already answered that question for you. In fact all the questions you posted in your first post have been adressed. Bottom line is you'll see little realistic difference in performance between montevina and nehalem a.k.a. no bigger changes.

Why are you so set on an LED screen? Those are the ones most problems were reported with.
And waiting over a year for a notebook that promises minor improvements (I've had a pro for a while and multi touch can be more annoying than it is functional some of the time...and honestly I prefer the macbook's glossy screen to a matte one. I saw no obvious improvement in LED backlit screens, quite to the contrary actually) strikes me as a little bit silly, unless you need an ultra high power notebook, in which case get a top of the range pro model and customize it.

I muck around with final cut pro simultaneously to GIMP and my macbook's powerful enough to handle that right now.

As for what major hardware updates for the MB are coming, it's all speculation as of yet, as you should know, browsing macrumors and all. You're welcome to wait over a year to know for sure, or you can just get on with it and get a current macbook, which highly probably meets all your demands.

 

[Neil321]

In fact all the questions you posted in your first post have been adressed. Bottom line is you'll see little realistic difference in performance between montevina and nehalem a.k.a. no bigger changes.

Are you joshing Nehalem will smoke Montivena

 

[illidian]

bob vansteel already answered that question for you. In fact all the questions you posted in your first post have been adressed. Bottom line is you'll see little realistic difference in performance between montevina and nehalem a.k.a. no bigger changes...

You're free to have your opinion about waiting, but as Neil321 pointed out, "Nehalem will smoke Montivena." Nahalem, once it's complete, will be nearly 50% faster than the Penryn processors that Montevina will utilize.

Penryn (using the Montevina chipset) = 2 cores
Nahalem (using the Montevina chipset) = 4 cores

You're doubling the number of CPU cores with Nahalem - that will be a substantial change.

 

[Butthead]

You're free to have your opinion about waiting, but as Neil321 pointed out, "Nehalem will smoke Montivena." Nahalem, once it's complete, will be nearly 50% faster than the Penryn processors that Montevina will utilize.

Penryn (using the Montevina chipset) = 2 cores
Nahalem (using the Montevina chipset) = 4 cores

You're doubling the number of CPU cores with Nahalem - that will be a substantial change.

Why do you think all notebook versions of Nehalem will be 4 cores?
Please cite your sources for such performance, I do not think that is correct at all:


Wonder how you're going to shoehorn a 4 core into the tiny enclosure of a MB, MPB 17in might get quad but don't expect to see it on a lower price point MB until 25nm process tech around 2011 or so. MB will likely get Nehalem after the MBP, which may not get Nehalem until well into 2009. Even Penryn/Montevina has been delayed a few months.

As far as the desktop versions of Nehalem, performance on some apps, *not* all apps is a little faster, probably not anything a freshman in high school is going to notice, better to have that Blu-Ray drive option .

Also note in the pre-production test here TDP is the *same* as Penryn , don't expect identical performance from the lower TDP notebook CPU's.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3326&p=9

With a larger socket and more pins, the CPU itself is obviously bigger. Here's a shot of our Nehalem compared to a Core 2 Duo E8500:

Final Words

First keep in mind that these performance numbers are early, and they were run on a partly crippled, very early platform. With that preface, the fact that Nehalem is still able to post these 20 - 50% performance gains says only one thing about Intel's tick-tock cadence: they did it.

We've been told to expect a 20 - 30% overall advantage over Penryn and it looks like Intel is on track to delivering just that in Q4

Hardly consider that 'smokes' anything. But if you need higher performance for games, then better integrated GPU's that Intel will have with Nehalem, might be worth the wait. Only limited instances will the performance matter that much, and all the while the classmates who already have MB using Tiger & M$, are gaining valuable experience on how to use those OS's, something a newer model computer can not give you. Worry more about learning to know as much as you can about software apps and the OS, rather than hardware geek tech.

You can do most things a desktop Mac does, on a notebook, just they will take longer. Stuff like intensive computational things, in video or photography, example: PTGui Pro, 4 cores 3.5Ghz and fast Raid-0, I/O between storage and CPU is limiting factor, need more less expensive, really fast SSD's if you want to complete some 200+ megapixel multiple stacking/blending of images with something like PTGui Pro, otherwise you can count your wait in hours, not minutes!

 

[Phillyzero]

Err..I think you (OP) are sort of just in love with idea of a laptop...there's no reason to get a laptop other than portability, and if you're only a freshman in High School...go buy yourself a desktop.

Check out an iMac. If you REALLY want to get a macbook (I don't know why, smaller HD, poor graphics for most things, small screen etc..) than I suggest Mont if you want it now or Neh if you want the big change.

 

[brokoli]

Wait.

 

[Neil321]

Why do you think all notebook versions of Nehalem will be 4 cores?
Please cite your sources for such performance, I do not think that is correct at all:

With respect Butthead i was the one who originally put Nehalem will smoke Montivena and to honest i was generalizing when i said it,not just notebooks but desktops also.I'm waiting for a nehalem MacPro now you cant tell me that wont "SMOKE"

 

[fewture]

Don't wait

Get montevina.

You don't know when Macbook will get the Nehalem.

The only reason why MB got Penryn at same time as MBP was because Intel was pushing Apple to use 45nm cpu's in mass.
But before that happened in February, Macbook was 6 months behind MBP in terms of latest CPU/chipset.

If you get Montevina, then you get a whole year to use the Macbook (which is what a computer is for: for using it, not thinking about how fast it is!)

I waited 1.5 years for my Penryn Macbook, and it wasn't worth it. I should have gotten one of the first Core 2 Duo versions and then would have had a year's extra time using it - and the difference between the two is negligible.

Even if Nehalem is significantly faster:
a. You will have 1 years of use ahead of you
b. Montevina is already fast - what do you need it for?
c. up to 40% faster is fast but are you going to see that performance in the programs you are going to use regularly? If not then who cares beyond resell value?

BUT: if Montevina doesn't come with new case/update etc and nehalem might, then maybe wait for that?

If you don't need it, then wait till you actually need it.

 

[illidian]

Why do you think all notebook versions of Nehalem will be 4 cores?
Please cite your sources for such performance, I do not think that is correct at all:

All versions of notebook Nahalem being four cores? The "Value" versions, Havendale and Auburndale, (both for desktop and mobile systems, respectively) will be available in dual core. The "Standard" versions, Lynnfield and Clarksfield, will be available in quad core.

Wonder how you're going to shoehorn a 4 core into the tiny enclosure of a MB, MPB 17in might get quad but don't expect to see it on a lower price point MB until 25nm process tech around 2011 or so.

Wait, so how did that logic apply when going from single core systems to dual core?

MB will likely get Nehalem after the MBP, which may not get Nehalem until well into 2009.

I agree with you on this point, but I don't believe it's going to be more than a month or two.

Even Penryn/Montevina has been delayed a few months.

Is Intel even using the same team on the Montevina chipset as Nahalem? I don't know.

As far as the desktop versions of Nehalem, performance on some apps, *not* all apps is a little faster, probably not anything a freshman in high school is going to notice, better to have that Blu-Ray drive option .

That's the same as any other update. Even a "70% speed increase" would likely not be noticed by the OP. The difference is that in four years, the one with the 70% increase will be holding up substantially better as technology improves.