Buy rMBP now or wait?

[BananRama]

Hey guys,

I know that the buyer's guide says caution for the 15 in. Retina Macbook Pro, but I was wondering if it would be that beneficial to wait until the next model is released? I presume it would come out around October, but due to some financial reasons, it would be cheaper for me to purchase a laptop now, as opposed to wait until the next release.

Yet, I do not want to miss out on a major upgrade to the hardware of the system. So I'm also wondering what are the speculated updates to the 15 in. rMBP? The buyer's guide does not have much recent information on the rMBP, so maybe someone will have some insight.

I appreciate any feedback I get!

 

[A Hobo]

Hey guys,

I know that the buyer's guide says caution for the 15 in. Retina Macbook Pro, but I was wondering if it would be that beneficial to wait until the next model is released? I presume it would come out around October, but due to some financial reasons, it would be cheaper for me to purchase a laptop now, as opposed to wait until the next release.

Yet, I do not want to miss out on a major upgrade to the hardware of the system. So I'm also wondering what are the speculated updates to the 15 in. rMBP? The buyer's guide does not have much recent information on the rMBP, so maybe someone will have some insight.

I appreciate any feedback I get!

the next update will probably include Broadwell, expect 5-10% speed bump, and 10% battery life jump.

why would it be cheaper for you to buy now?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

If you want the dGPU

Hey guys,

I know that the buyer's guide says caution for the 15 in. Retina Macbook Pro, but I was wondering if it would be that beneficial to wait until the next model is released? I presume it would come out around October, but due to some financial reasons, it would be cheaper for me to purchase a laptop now, as opposed to wait until the next release.

Yet, I do not want to miss out on a major upgrade to the hardware of the system. So I'm also wondering what are the speculated updates to the 15 in. rMBP? The buyer's guide does not have much recent information on the rMBP, so maybe someone will have some insight.

I appreciate any feedback I get!

If you want the dGPU then it's worth the wait, other than that broadwell is not a great boost over Haswell as the previous poster said 5-10% CPU, 10-20% GPU and about an hour extra battery...

 

[BananRama]

why would it be cheaper for you to buy now?

I'm graduating University soon, but my college fund has a few restrictions if I'm not in school/already graduated.

If you want the dGPU then it's worth the wait, other than that broadwell is not a great boost over Haswell as the previous poster said 5-10% CPU, 10-20% GPU and about an hour extra battery...

Which graphics card is expected to go into the machine? The higher end 15 in. has a dedicated graphics card, so how much does it improve over that one?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

We have no idea

I'm graduating University soon, but my college fund has a few restrictions if I'm not in school/already graduated.



Which graphics card is expected to go into the machine? The higher end 15 in. has a dedicated graphics card, so how much does it improve over that one?

Apples graphics card use is random to say the least and the criteria they choose them on is undecipherable. The high end 15 will most likely have a dGPU newer than the current one that is all I can say and that is because the broadwell iGPU is still not good enough to replace it otherwise I think they'd drop it altogether... I would guess due to thermals etc that it'll be an 850M all those hoping for a 9XX series are likely to be very disappointed..

 

[Gildarts]

What you'll be missing out on depends on what Apple uses as a CPU in the next refresh.

Broadwell & Skylake are both rolling out this year with Broadwell having began rolling out in 2014. Due to delays Broadwell cpus are still rolling out. Intel has explicitly stated that they will begin Skylake rollout starting the 2nd half of 2015 and reiterated that the delays of Broadwell have not effected Skylake.

Apple just might skip Broadwell altogether and go for Skylake. In that case you would miss a lot (wifi 802.11d aka Wigig, wireless charging, usb 3, thunderbolt 3 etc.).

If Apple opts for Broadwell you're not likely to miss out on a whole lot.

There's a lot of speculation going on in the MR forums.


There's also the possibility of going with Broadwell for MBA's (june/july) and Skylake for MBP's (fall).


The truth is. Nobody knows.

Maybe you can take the money as a cash withdrawal out of your college fund now and save it for later (about $3000 with apple care).

It's worth noting that the Broadwell cpus are pretty much a disappointment in regards to the promised performance by Intel and the real world performance. See www.ultrabooknews.com .

It should also be noted that despite CES 2015 having come and gone there are relatively few new ultrabooks with the Broadwell cpu.

There are two more (non Apple but computer related) important events this year the first being CeBit 2015
(in like 2 1/2 weeks, march 16th till 20th) and Computex 2015 (somewhere in june).

I don't expect a lot of ultrabook announcements at CeBit (we can wait and see) so that leaves Computex which is held in the same timeframe as the start of the Skylake rollout. Broadwell was introduced at Computex 2014.

Maybe this info will help make up your mind.

 

[Gildarts]

Here is some 'evidence' supporting the skipping of Broadwell over Skylake.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/leak-suggests-mobile-skylake-track-summer-release/

 

[twoehr]

I recently bought a 15" rMBP. I didn't see waiting for Broadwell this year to be worth it. If I was getting a MBA I'd wait to see what happens with that this year. I don't see much improvement, cost reduction, or additional features coming to the rMBP to wait 6-8 months, if not longer.

 

[calvol]

Buy a refurb now, and wait for Skylake.

 

[Naimfan]

Need now, buy now.

Best Buy has the 15" models on sale and you can use a 10% off coupon as well - I saw an open box 15"/2.5/16/512/750m for $1799 and bought it even though I don't need it. Came to $1620 minus rewards certificates plus tax.

So keep your eyes open for opportunities like that.

Also, B&H Photo, etc., often have them on sale for less than retail.