Buy new or Save on old MBP

[mhk15]

Hi all,
I am new to macs, although everyone in my house has switched now , and I have been doing lots of research since they released the new ones back in the summer. I have searched on every single website that mentions Macs, but I have not been able to find a sound answer directly related to the following question . I also spend a few hours just now to make sure this question has not been answered recently, and I could not find an answer . This question could also be taken in a general way, but I want to know how it applies to MBP. For example, this would apply to a purchase of new car, shoe, ipod…whatever. There one thing that I need you guys to clarify for me:

When the new MBP comes our later this year, as the buying guide suggests. Which one the following would you recommend. Keeping in mind that I can only wait until the end of April and my budget is around ~$1,000-$1,200. Please explain, keeping in mind these three criteria: price, probability of defect and the amount of time the specs will be competitive.

a)buy a new macbook pro witch will be accompanied by higher prices and higher probability of defect but it will obviously have better specs and will last me longer (in terms of the specs being usable 2-3 years down the road)
b)buy the older generation when the new one comes out at a reduced price with lower probability of defect
Thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

You can also go the refurb route: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

And how can we give you proper advice (something a lot of people ask), when we don't know what you use the Mac for (a lot of people don't supply that information)?

I have an iMac, it's two years old and unless it does not break, it will hold another two or more years.
I also have an MB and MBP, one is 18 months old the other 8 months. Both will be with me until the end.

And I do highly CPU intensive stuff with those machines. More cores/threads would be great, but I manage to get things done anyway with my machines.

 

[mhk15]

My Usage

Hey thanks a lot for your resonse, and I fully understand where you are coming from. OK i will mostly be using it for regular school work, most intensive thing ever will be using is AutoCAD or dual boot into XP, but usually excel and word . No photo editing, no video editing, no gaming. Just I dont have big requirments, but I want a MBP first because its so nice to look at and second of all I want something that will last me.

Thanks again

 

[spinnerlys]

Then the current generation will be fine, unless you use AutoCAD extensively and have to render for hours/days what you have created. Then the new expected line might be better suited and save you some time.

If you want to go with the current generation, be sure to check out the refurb store I linked to. If you're not from the USA, every other Apple Online Store has a refurb section as far as I know. But those machines get cleared fast, so you have to be fast.