I have decided that after Apple revises their Macbooks and releases Snow Leopard, that is when I will be buying my first Macbook Pro. My question would be that when Snow Leopard does get released, will that be the OS that would come with my Macbook when I purchase it? Or will it be Leopard and I will still have to buy Snow Leopard? Thanks
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Buying a Macbook Pro Next Year
- Thread starter derek1984
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When it is released it will be on it. Wait a month for the drop-in disks to go through. Oh, but then you'll be waiting for Nehalem, as that will come out for laptops very soon after Snow Leopard. You may as well buy now.
I thought about waiting for SL, but I bought now because there's nothing obviously lacking in the current MBPs. I'm taking the pretty good bet that SL will be fully optimized for this current computer.
For instance, when the first generation of Intel stuff was using Core Duo, Core 2 Duo was not only an obvious successor and was going to improve performance considerably. But when Merom was the current generation and Penryn was on the horizon, I didn't wait for Penryn because the benefits were marginal (to me). Currently, we're far enough away from the next great architectural change (having just had one - 9600M) and the next great design change (having just had one - unibody) that now is a pretty good time to buy. The only other consideration that I gambled on was early adoption (Rev. A), but I waited long enough for the true early adopter problems to be ironed out, it appears.
For instance, when the first generation of Intel stuff was using Core Duo, Core 2 Duo was not only an obvious successor and was going to improve performance considerably. But when Merom was the current generation and Penryn was on the horizon, I didn't wait for Penryn because the benefits were marginal (to me). Currently, we're far enough away from the next great architectural change (having just had one - 9600M) and the next great design change (having just had one - unibody) that now is a pretty good time to buy. The only other consideration that I gambled on was early adoption (Rev. A), but I waited long enough for the true early adopter problems to be ironed out, it appears.
Agreed. If you are going to buy there is really no point in waiting for SL. If I were you i would buy now but that just my OP.
Waiting on an OS (who knows when it will even come out) is silly...unless you don't really need the computer in the first place...do you have a desktop that suits your needs?
I've got a Dell Inspiron 6000 Notebook right now that I've had for a few years. It's okay. It gets me by as far as surfing the web and making cd's. As long as it keeps working, I'm not too much in a rush for a new Macbook Pro. However, a Macbook Pro is definitely going to be the next laptop I purchase.
I think if you are just waiting for snow loepard you might as well just buy now. The mbps where just updated so it's a great time to buy. I was in a similar situation as you a while back before leopard was released. I was in the market for a new iMac, and since I was going to be new to mac I was nervous about buying the computer before leopard was preinstalled on the system b/c I thought it would be a huge hassle to install the new OS and I thought it would be buggy and not work right. Turns out, I was all worried about nothing. I got the machine with tiger installed and leopard discs in the box. After it was booted up I stuck the leopard disc in, and within the hour my computer was running leopard smooth as ever. So yeah, if you wait until a bit after it's released it will come installed on the computer. If you buy now you'll have to buy the OS separately and if you buy right when it's released you'll get the discs in the box for free and just have to install yourself.
hey I am also in the same situation as yours... I am also waiting for the Snow Leopard to come and then buy the MBP it, however this is because I will only have the cash to buy it by May... I am actually thinking of waiting till Nehalem comes out... but I am guessing it won't come in MBP till 2010. This is after doing some research on the web.. that is just a safe estimation, but you never know as no one can really predict the future... Even though if they launch it October next year, I might have it on hand somewhere between December and that's just too long too wait... If I were you and you had the money now, I would really buy it now.. different case for me as I don't have money now
Tallest Skil, You sure do like promoting the idea of buy now! if there isn't a genuine need or compulsion, no issues in waiting as long as you know what you're waiting for.
That said, if the only thing you're waiting for is 10.6 - i think you may be misguided. If you're looking for hardware to take advantage of Grand Central or OpenCL, it's already here. Any 8600 or 9600 or 9400 GPU is up for the challenge.
There will be two revisions next year. One will be a speed bump early on (possible graphics update, but highly unlikely), i'd guess at end of first quarter, but it depends how long apple wants to sit on discounted chips. The second will be the calpella (nehalem) upadate, likely towards the end of the year around october/november. Which will be a significant and something that is worth waiting for, if you can wait that long.
Buying now, as darwinian said is a safe enough bet and represents decent value if you're buying with US$, while it is Rev.A, many of the early manufacturing bugs appear to be worked out.
Need is a very vague idea, basically if you're going to use it a lot from today until march next year, buy today. If you'll be taking some nice christmas holidays, maybe wait until the next revision. If you just have to plan your purchases around the 'best time to buy' because you're obsessive, like so many, calpella is where it's at.
simple, non?
That said, if the only thing you're waiting for is 10.6 - i think you may be misguided. If you're looking for hardware to take advantage of Grand Central or OpenCL, it's already here. Any 8600 or 9600 or 9400 GPU is up for the challenge.
There will be two revisions next year. One will be a speed bump early on (possible graphics update, but highly unlikely), i'd guess at end of first quarter, but it depends how long apple wants to sit on discounted chips. The second will be the calpella (nehalem) upadate, likely towards the end of the year around october/november. Which will be a significant and something that is worth waiting for, if you can wait that long.
Buying now, as darwinian said is a safe enough bet and represents decent value if you're buying with US$, while it is Rev.A, many of the early manufacturing bugs appear to be worked out.
Need is a very vague idea, basically if you're going to use it a lot from today until march next year, buy today. If you'll be taking some nice christmas holidays, maybe wait until the next revision. If you just have to plan your purchases around the 'best time to buy' because you're obsessive, like so many, calpella is where it's at.
simple, non?
I like the way you approach this, however how do you know that the Nehalem(calpella) will surely be available around November/December? I am sure nobody knows about this and we'll only know as time approaches.. From my personal opinion it will be available in the first quarter of 2010. I really don't know once again why people really make a big deal of Nehalem... I think it's really better to get a 3.0 GHz dual core rather than the Nehalem... Just my thoughts and I can be wrong..
Thanks for all the advice guys. Yeah, my Dell Inspiron is nothing great but it gets me by. The one thing I do like about it is the fact that it has a matte screen, something I wish Apple would offer as an option for their Macbooks. Right now, I'm not in a rush but do see myself getting a Macbook Pro sometime in '09. I may decide to wait and see what kind of revision they make in the spring and get it then. I don't play any games so basically I'll be using it for the internet, making cd's, watching dvd's, and Logic Express. I'm not even sure if something like Neahelm would even be worth me waiting since that's all I will be using it for.
I have been in the same position as you, for years. I finally pulled the trigger and got the previous penryn 2.5 MBP with the 512 8600 for 1200 through my university bookstore. I just couldn't wait any longer.
If you are going to wait to buy a MBP, don't wait for software. Software will more than likely run well on these systems because they are fairly high end. If anything, you need to pay attention to what is happening in the hardware world. Core i7 IS OUT, and it absolutely SMOKES core 2 duo. And they can be had for as little as 250-300 bucks on newegg for PCs. Intel is following their intended road map fairly closely, this means mobile Core i7 nehalems have a good chance of being out by the end of 2009. That means major improvement in architecture AND quad core for MBPs. Thats what you should be waiting for, not snow leopard.. because it will run well on even today's machines.
Also heres to hoping they will put a real video card in, especially with the integrated graphics option for battery life.. and not one with the same exact architecture from a year and a half ago.. with a simple die shrink and frequency boost.
If you are going to wait to buy a MBP, don't wait for software. Software will more than likely run well on these systems because they are fairly high end. If anything, you need to pay attention to what is happening in the hardware world. Core i7 IS OUT, and it absolutely SMOKES core 2 duo. And they can be had for as little as 250-300 bucks on newegg for PCs. Intel is following their intended road map fairly closely, this means mobile Core i7 nehalems have a good chance of being out by the end of 2009. That means major improvement in architecture AND quad core for MBPs. Thats what you should be waiting for, not snow leopard.. because it will run well on even today's machines.
Also heres to hoping they will put a real video card in, especially with the integrated graphics option for battery life.. and not one with the same exact architecture from a year and a half ago.. with a simple die shrink and frequency boost.