Current MacBook Pro Models Deleted From Best Buy's Inventory System? Updates Imminent?

[AidenShaw]

Still playing around while I wait for the refresh like all of you. Looking for a little help. Is it better to have 2GB or RAM with a 500gb HDD or 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD. It is the same price. I think the RAM would be easier to update to a higher amount down the road. thanks for any input.

How much disk space do you need from day 1?

If you're copying hundreds of gigs of music and video to the
system as soon as you get it, then the larger disk might be
the better choice.

On the other hand, more RAM will have an immediate benefit in
speed for much of what you do (run more programs at once without
interference, cache disk data to reduce IO delays, ...).

If you do plan on filling the disk, consider buying an external
USB bus-powered drive ($130 at Newegg for 750 GB) rather than
filling the internal drive with "archival" files that you'll
seldom use. You should be able to use the USB drive for backups
as well.

 

[mahdee]

RAM or HDD Space

Still playing around while I wait for the refresh like all of you. Looking for a little help. Is it better to have 2GB or RAM with a 500gb HDD or 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD. It is the same price. I think the RAM would be easier to update to a higher amount down the road. thanks for any input.

If the 2 GB ram is in single slot, it would be too easy. But i dont think, it is. So, to update it to 4, two 1GB would be useless. If you are not willing to work with heavy load, 2GB is great. And if performance is the target, get the 4GB one and update to 7200 RPM HDD when time and budget fits.

ps. its my first post here

 

[Mike58]

I am so ready, that when the store opens for new MBPs I will no doubt go overboard on specs, software and peripherals (this will be my first Mac).....

 

[OzyOly]

I've seen this several times when waiting for the latest and greatest product from Apple. Orders will be put on hold and customers will be notified. Yet on the Apple store it shows a shipping time of 24 hours or 1-3 days. I'd say the odds of it happening this Tuesday are very, very good.

Congrats to everyone who has waited this long. Looks like our wishes are finally going to be answered.

Thank you. I hope it was worth the wait.

 

[medic965]

I've seen this several times when waiting for the latest and greatest product from Apple. Orders will be put on hold and customers will be notified. Yet on the Apple store it shows a shipping time of 24 hours or 1-3 days. I'd say the odds of it happening this Tuesday are very, very good.

Oh how I wish I felt that you are right.......but I have heard this for the last few weeks and I have gotten more excited when I do hear it and now I am just ready to be let down again. There was even a supossed insider that had good information on it happening on the 23rd. Damn I hope it happens. My wife just told me that if I don't spend the money soon that she will do it for me!!!!

 

[gopalpatel]

Seems really funny to me (as a newbie to macrumors) watching the dell vs apple arguments, from what is essentially a standard vs premium brand. As a mac and PC user, seems more fitting to compare other premium pc brands against apple. Im a huge fan of dynamism as they always manage to source the premium Japanese carbon fibre edition sony vaios etc.

Either way OSX rules over Windoze

And apple hurry up and release the new mbps already blah blah blah !

 

[lilo777]

Seems really funny to me (as a newbie to macrumors) watching the dell vs apple arguments, from what is essentially a standard vs premium brand. ...

That is incorrect. Where Apple essentially has one laptop model for each screen size, DELL offers at least five models with wide range of options each. You are probably talking just about DELL Inspiron. In addition to Inspirons, DELL sells the following models of laptops: Studio, Studio XPS (which is very close in quality to MBP), Adamo, Latitude (business model) and Precision (premium business model). Here is one example, starting price for DELL Precision M6500 Covet (Orange) is $4,286. Even the base model offers things like i7-720QM Quad Core CPU, RGB LED screen, 1.0GB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3800M Graphics - none of them available on MacBooks at any price.

 

[complexcommunic]

I've seen this several times when waiting for the latest and greatest product from Apple. Orders will be put on hold and customers will be notified. Yet on the Apple store it shows a shipping time of 24 hours or 1-3 days. I'd say the odds of it happening this Tuesday are very, very good.

Congrats to everyone who has waited this long. Looks like our wishes are finally going to be answered. I'd love to get a 15" with a higher res screen. I've bounced around from 15" to 12" to 17" to 15" and currently running on a 13" MBP. If Apple bumps the res on the 15" I will go with that. Otherwise I'll probably be going back to a 17" with a 1920x1200 panel for the screen real estate. I vowed I would never buy a 17" again because of the less than stellar resale value but I'm having a change of heart; it's such a beautiful piece of art.

Wait, what have you seen several times? What's going on in this thread? It looks like an old thread...

 

[plaxico44]

Still playing around while I wait for the refresh like all of you. Looking for a little help. Is it better to have 2GB or RAM with a 500gb HDD or 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD. It is the same price. I think the RAM would be easier to update to a higher amount down the road. thanks for any input.

I would go with 4gb ram. 500gb is a hell of a lot of HD space lol. Unless your storing hundreds of movies 320 will be plenty. There is a world of difference between 2gb and 4gb ram

 

[ElDogman]

That is incorrect. Where Apple essentially has one laptop model for each screen size, DELL offers at least five models with wide range of options each. You are probably talking just about DELL Inspiron. In addition to Inspirons, DELL sells the following models of laptops: Studio, Studio XPS (which is very close in quality to MBP), Adamo, Latitude (business model) and Precision (premium business model).

You're dead on that many people who like to compare brands forget that some brands have different notebook lines which include separate warranties and service. I'm a prospective MBP buyer who currently has a Dell Precision M4400 and has owned consumer inspiron models in the past.

The level of service is day and night. With the Inspiron, it took forever to get through on the phone, the build quality was average, but the notebook was cheap in price. This Precision I'm using, when calling I often go straight to support (and usually some one in the US, instead of a Panamanian I often get when calling the inspiron support line). The precision model came with a 3 year warranty. I've had to replace the keyboard over something minor once and Dell Business was quick to send parts over w/o cost, and a prepaid box to send the old keyboard back.

Some nice things about this Precision M4400 is that it came with both a vista and xp install disc, something missing in many brands nowadays (including Dell's other line up). There's a huge plethora of ports, express card, 4 usb with 1 combined with e-sata, displayport, pc card slot. the m4400 is similar to the E6500 but has a sturdier magnesium lid. the build quality is sturdy and the Keyboard is close to Thinkpad levels (but not quiet). I certainly enjoy typing on this much more than my past Vaio SZ (one of the worst keyboards I've used). Driver and bios updates are frequent. The screen is very bright, brighter than the 2009 MBP 15" glossy. The 9 cell extended battery gives me about 6 hours of battery life at best and the video card (FX 1770) (while not optimized for gaming) is good. I wish i got the RGB LED screen but settled for the regular white LED backlit one. Upgrades have been easy since the bottom is one giant panel.

But there are some things I don't like about it either. It is heavy. its not the thinnest 15", but the power supply that comes with it is huge and bulky!
The notebook also had some audio stutter which was not really resolved until the release of a more recent BIOS. The screen, while being super bright, has a blue-ish tint.

I'm looking to replace this M4400 with an MBP because i need something lighter and I realize I don't game so much anymore on a computer. I also want to learn app development so a Mac will be necessary. It also helps that I really like the unibody design of the Mac.

 

[AidenShaw]

Sounds like another vote that perhaps some Dell laptops are worth
more than $600....

I also want to learn app development so a Mac will be necessary.

I assume that you mean "Iphone App" by "app", since applications
can be developed on many platforms.

I wonder how long it will be before Apple makes the Iphone SDK multi-
platform - so that they can kill the Apple OS (that is, the non-
Iphone OS) lines completely. Maybe 10.7 will never see the light
of day.

 

[fynwine350z]

I wonder how long it will be before Apple makes the Iphone SDK multi-
platform - so that they can kill the Apple OS (that is, the non-
Iphone OS)

why would they do that? The mobile OS serves its purpose well, but doesn't translate to the full range of hardware and services that a computer (mobile or desktop) offers.

 

[plaxico44]

For the past month ive died a little bit every Tuesday... Please let it be tomorrow!

 

[Rezn]

For the past month ive died a little bit every Tuesday... Please let it be tomorrow!

I so want them to come out already!! I can't believe it's taken this long!

 

[dysturbed1]

For the love of my sanity!!!

I have been waiting for this MBP to be released since November when I first read that there were signs pointing to an i7 MBP. I need a new one and I know if I get one now that in a week or two and my luck three, they'll release the new one and I'll be cursing like I was when I bought my G5 and they released the intel chips a few months later. Yes, time for a new machine, and Mac stole my soul.

Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,3
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 2.5 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 1.25 GHz

 

[alent1234]

You're dead on that many people who like to compare brands forget that some brands have different notebook lines which include separate warranties and service. I'm a prospective MBP buyer who currently has a Dell Precision M4400 and has owned consumer inspiron models in the past.

The level of service is day and night. With the Inspiron, it took forever to get through on the phone, the build quality was average, but the notebook was cheap in price. This Precision I'm using, when calling I often go straight to support (and usually some one in the US, instead of a Panamanian I often get when calling the inspiron support line). The precision model came with a 3 year warranty. I've had to replace the keyboard over something minor once and Dell Business was quick to send parts over w/o cost, and a prepaid box to send the old keyboard back.

Some nice things about this Precision M4400 is that it came with both a vista and xp install disc, something missing in many brands nowadays (including Dell's other line up). There's a huge plethora of ports, express card, 4 usb with 1 combined with e-sata, displayport, pc card slot. the m4400 is similar to the E6500 but has a sturdier magnesium lid. the build quality is sturdy and the Keyboard is close to Thinkpad levels (but not quiet). I certainly enjoy typing on this much more than my past Vaio SZ (one of the worst keyboards I've used). Driver and bios updates are frequent. The screen is very bright, brighter than the 2009 MBP 15" glossy. The 9 cell extended battery gives me about 6 hours of battery life at best and the video card (FX 1770) (while not optimized for gaming) is good. I wish i got the RGB LED screen but settled for the regular white LED backlit one. Upgrades have been easy since the bottom is one giant panel.

But there are some things I don't like about it either. It is heavy. its not the thinnest 15", but the power supply that comes with it is huge and bulky!
The notebook also had some audio stutter which was not really resolved until the release of a more recent BIOS. The screen, while being super bright, has a blue-ish tint.

I'm looking to replace this M4400 with an MBP because i need something lighter and I realize I don't game so much anymore on a computer. I also want to learn app development so a Mac will be necessary. It also helps that I really like the unibody design of the Mac.

i haven't called dell support in years, but every time i used the express service code i swear it always took longer than calling the general 800 number and going through the IVR menu.

 

[AidenShaw]

why would they do that? The mobile OS serves its purpose well, but doesn't translate to the full range of hardware and services that a computer (mobile or desktop) offers.

Why doesn't Apple offer an affordable mini-tower?

The answer is that it doesn't fit into the turtlenecked overlord's
world view.

How long will the Apple consumer gadget company keep producing
professional workstations? Or high-end laptops? Or mid-range
laptops? Or any laptops?

If the turtlenecked overlord doesn't see a long-term place for
full featured systems (by which I mean systems that aren't
dependent on the walled garden called Itunes for applications
and content) - they'll be history faster than you can say "bag of hurt".

 

[Rocketman]

Why doesn't Apple offer an affordable mini-tower?

The answer is that it doesn't fit into the turtlenecked overlord's
world view.

As it turns out, no. Apple offers an expandable mini-tower. It's called the Mac Mini. There are several stackable third party expansion boxes and bays for this computer and the device itself is internally adjustable in components.

The folks who rail against Apple not having an expandable computer and only offering all-in-ones, are contradicting themselves. If they BOTH want a tower AND and all-in-one, they have the MacPro. But for an EXPANDABLE tower, mini or otherwise, the mini rocks. Not only can you add RAID and multiple styles of optical drives in a form factor that cleanly visually stacks, you can add a TV box, a wireless router, and even ganged CPU's in either grid or server formats. In fact you can get an actual server in the form factor as well.

Be VERY careful what you wish for.

Rocketman

 

[jcque]

tomorrow

 

[AidenShaw]

As it turns out, no. Apple offers an expandable mini-tower. It's called the Mac Mini. There are several stackable third party expansion boxes and bays for this computer and the device itself is internally adjustable in components.

A rat's nest of 1394 and USB cables is not the same as an internally
expandable mini-tower.

If it doesn't have PCIe slots so that you can add most anything,
it's not "expandable". If adding a second hard drive means an
external cabinet and multiple extra cables, it's not "expandable".
If adding a second optical drive means an external cabinet and multiple
extra cables, it's not "expandable".

How do I connect my eSATA RAID tower to the mini-Mac?

 

[kobewankenobi]

Why doesn't Apple offer an affordable mini-tower?

The answer is that it doesn't fit into the turtlenecked overlord's
world view.

How long will the Apple consumer gadget company keep producing
professional workstations? Or high-end laptops? Or mid-range
laptops? Or any laptops?

If the turtlenecked overlord doesn't see a long-term place for
full featured systems (by which I mean systems that aren't
dependent on the walled garden called Itunes for applications
and content) - they'll be history faster than you can say "bag of hurt".

the turtlenecked overlord made apple and since he is back brought it to shine in a way nobody ever thought could happen
so yeah, sorry if i trust stevo more than i trust you
apple marketing has always been give less products at a higher standard, it worked, they will not change, fortunately
they focus on less products and offer less than other companies but what they offer usually is great
if you dont like it or do not suit your needs go buy a pc and enjoy all the problems

 

[plaxico44]

Can anyone tell me what L2 cache means? The 2.53 ghz and 2.66 ghz models have 3mb shared and the 2.8 ghz has 6mb shared. I just dont know what that means. Any help is appreciated! Maybe Tomorrow!

 

[6-0 Prolene]

tomorrow

Based on.... ?

 

[plaxico44]

Based on.... ?

probably just pure speculation

 

[silky2woods]

I bought a MBP 15" this morning @apple.com (long story - had to spend the money today) and it just shipped an hour ago. They couldn't ship that thing quick enough. Now I just hope new ones come out in 14 days or less.