HARDEST DECISION of my LIFE!

[CanadaRAM]

I always feel empathy for people who ask these types of questions, mainly because I've asked them myself and received similar responses.

My sense is the OP would like to know how much better the next MacBook is likely to be than the current model. For example, you can buy the baseline MacBook today with a 1.83GHz processor or the "upgraded" model with a 2.0 GHz processor. For someone not interested in the "SuperDrive," the slight bump in gigahertz may not be worth the extra cash.

Most of you follow the chipsets and have a sense of what's most likely to make its way to the MacBook. So if the OP can choose from 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz today, what are the likely choices in June/October? 2.16 GHz and 2.33 GHz? Or could it be worth waiting for: 2.5 GHz and 3.0 GHz?

I think that question is the one that drives these types of questions. Sure, nobody wants buyer's remorse, but they're also looking for an answer more substantive than "If you need it now, buy it now," especially when so many people on this board have real perspective to share.

I think the OP just wants someone to say, here are the most likely scenarios of what could happen in June or October. If that is worth the wait, to you, then wait. If not, buy now and enjoy.

But not a one of us knows
1) when upgrades will come
2) what they will be (chips, configuration etc)
3) what the impact on real world OSX performance will be (as opposed to benchmarks and synthetic tests, or tests on other OS platforms which may or may not have any relevance)
4) what the relative prices will be
5) other than one game title, what the OP is using the putative machine for, and what the performance implications would be for those unknown programs

let alone " Will the new macbooks absolutely BLOW the current models out of the water" - whatever that means to the original poster.

Accept that There are no likely scenarios - especially if you want it pinned down to June or October, there are only wild-@$$ guesses.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I'm hardly inclined to believe this is the hardest decision of your life. If this is the case, buy the computer and lock yourself in a closet.

 

[mac 2005]

But not a one of us knows
1) when upgrades will come
2) what they will be (chips, configuration etc)
3) what the impact on real world OSX performance will be (as opposed to benchmarks and synthetic tests, or tests on other OS platforms which may or may not have any relevance)
4) what the relative prices will be
5) other than one game title, what the OP is using the putative machine for, and what the performance implications would be for those unknown programs

let alone " Will the new macbooks absolutely BLOW the current models out of the water" - whatever that means to the original poster.

Accept that There are no likely scenarios - especially if you want it pinned down to June or October, there are only wild-@$$ guesses.

I agree that the people who "know" likely keep their mouths shut. It's a career-preserving thing.

Maybe it's a bad metaphor, but I follow the automotive world the way many of the people here follow the computer world. I don't "know" what engine a given automaker will put in a given model for the new model year, but I can speculate based on what I've been reading in industry publications and what engines that company would have in its consideration set. And I think that's the sort of insight people in "Buying Tips" are hoping to find.

 

[roland.g]

new MacBooks, July to early August. Would be surprised to see them late June but it's possible.

And please don't call waiting to buy a computer the hardest decision of your life. That is like my 5 year old nephew saying that chicken is his favorite and 10 seconds later saying that hotdogs are.

 

[SMM]

Whatever your decision is, once you commit to it, do not regret your choice. Life is full of decisions. Often people just cannot make them. That is why good decision-makers are usually well-paid. Do not feel afraid to 'pull the trigger'. Otherwise, you will end up working for the people who do not quaver at making the call, even when it involves a certain amount of risk.

 

[mac 2005]

Whatever your decision is, once you commit to it, do not regret your choice. Life is full of decisions. Often people just cannot make them. That is why good decision-makers are usually well-paid. Do not feel afraid....

Nice. A bit of philosophy to transcend the mundane decision at hand. So many decisions do we human beings make in this life, yet it is the financial ones that find us confronting the most angst. Did you buy the fastest car? The most eco-friendly car? The finest suit? The latest [insert techno gizmo]? Superlatives define us as a species, even if we seek deeper truths.

I am typing this pointless message on a Dell PC that is three-inches thick, weighs close to two pounds and runs Windows 98. Why? Because my iBook died a few weeks ago, and the replacement MacBook is in the mid-product cycle. I'm looking at paying $2000 whether I buy today or six months from today, but I can't quite pull the trigger because I'm afraid the next MacBook will have a faster processor than the current model.

[Interestingly, though, this Dell is just about bulletproof. Battery still going strong. Hard drive still going strong. It chugs on Web sites, but once the page loads, it seems a-okay.]

 

[jotadeo]

robPOD- I am sick of some of these threads too, but if you don't like them don't visit them...but we are in the buying tips, advice discussion and not everyone is in the same boat or has the same reasons for starting a thread too.

I agree. Instead of asking a mod to delete a thread I don't like, I either a) stop consulting those types of threads. (They are clearly labeled, after all.) or b) add the poster to my ignore list. It's a very handy feature that I thank vBulletin for including in the software and MacRumors for utilizing.

Ditto, more or less...I'd like to ask at least those that are asking for heads to roll (or threads to be removed, anyway) to visit a thread I started yesterday addressing this issue. Others are welcome of course. I think/hope it will be instructive to other members...it has been to me (you'll see that I changed my tune a bit through the course of discussion). Add your thoughts either way.

More on topic, I'm pulling the trigger on a MBP tomorrow (Fri.). No regrets, whether or not new ones come out the next day--ok Tuesday--with SR, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, new displays, Wonkavision(TM), AND a flux-capacitor. I'm planning on upgrading to the next latest thing...Penryn next year.

No, I don't NEED it, but it'll sure make my life easier (no more checking out Powerbook G4s for 3 days at a time from my school's library, for instance) and more enjoyable. And this most certainly has not been the hardest decision of my life (that was choosing between a MB and a MBP ).
jdo

EDIT: One more thing...I am anticipating a sort of letdown after I get my MBP. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll be highly pleased with it, but since I was waiting to get it with Leopard on it, I was expecting to be playing around not only with my new toy, but lots of new software toys as well. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to live with the super fantastically awesome Tiger...and a new MBP. *sigh*

p.s. teehee...I'm getting a new MBP!

 

[siurpeeman]

I digress, but has anyone ever see the movie Groundhog Day?

i have seen the movie. it's one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Andrew D.]

Pull the trigger now and get it if you are good financially. I really see now significant upgrade later on other than Leopard which can always be installed at a later time. Santa Rosa isn't really that big compared to Montevina to be released next year anyways. Just my two cents and a half.

 

[QCassidy352]

ok, the point has been made that this probably isn't the hardest decision of his life. No need to continue flogging that horse's corpse.

As for the actual question, I say wait. Some people seem to be of the mind that because you always can wait, you never should, because you'd be waiting forever. That's nonsense. When a current model has been out for several months, you know new tech will soon be available, and that tech will provide meaningful improvements, you absolutely should wait.

In this case, SR will be especially significant to the macbooks as it will replace the GMA950 with the x3000. Although still integrated, the x3000 will provide significant graphical improvements that will make both WoW and other games/programs significantly more enjoyable than with the 950.

 

[jotadeo]

As for the actual question, I say wait. Some people seem to be of the mind that because you always can wait, you never should, because you'd be waiting forever. That's nonsense. When a current model has been out for several months, you know new tech will soon be available, and that tech will provide meaningful improvements, you absolutely should wait.

In this case, SR will be especially significant to the macbooks as it will replace the GMA950 with the x3000. Although still integrated, the x3000 will provide significant graphical improvements that will make both WoW and other games/programs significantly more enjoyable than with the 950.

I agree. It's not such a black and white issue. I think the best answers to such questions are ones in which people give pertinent info to the OP's particular situation within the current state of affairs (including rumors) and then let the OP make the decision on his/her own.
jdo

 

[branharrison6]

As for the actual question, I say wait. Some people seem to be of the mind that because you always can wait, you never should, because you'd be waiting forever. That's nonsense. When a current model has been out for several months, you know new tech will soon be available, and that tech will provide meaningful improvements, you absolutely should wait.

In this case, SR will be especially significant to the macbooks as it will replace the GMA950 with the x3000. Although still integrated, the x3000 will provide significant graphical improvements that will make both WoW and other games/programs significantly more enjoyable than with the 950.

I can only wait so long though. I need this computer before school starts. If they don't release till Oct then...

 

[phillipjfry]

You obviously have never had to choose between rent and groceries

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

To the OP. If in doubt then you may as well wait. By you saying you'll need one at the end of the Summer, am I right in assuming that you'll be heading off to Uni/College or something then? You can go for a while at the begining of Uni or College without a computer since you'll be so busy 'elsewhere'.

To those of you getting angry and ranting over these threads... just don't read them. If you're getting irritated then rather than moan and rant about it to people who just want some advice, click the little red blob at the top left corner of the your window or the x at the top right corner and be done with it.

 

[Vtorch]

I ABSOLUTELY cannot decide whether or not to go ahead and purchase my macbook now or wait through summer and see what happens. I would have to purchase a new macbook by the end of summer regardless of what happens. But it seems as if people are waiting to see if in June new macbooks come out. If they come out in Oct though as some are suggesting then I'd have no choice anyway. Am I REALLY going to regret not waiting and going ahead and getting a macbook now. Will the new macbooks absolutely BLOW the current models out of the water with their new hardware? As far as I'm concerned the only new addition would be the new processor Santa Rosa? The most advanced thing I would use my macbook for right now is playing World of Warcraft and as far as I've heard there is NO problem playing World of Warcraft off of the current macbooks with 2ghz and 2gb of RAM? \

So..... WAIT or DON'T WAIT ?????

WAIT
for as long as you can. At the time you can't absolutely wait any longer, THEN buy. There is no use buying now, when you know that there is a great chance to regret it tomorrow.

 

[Legolamb]

Hey guys, cut the OP some slack. Stop telling him to "get a life", 'cause we're all pretty obsessed here otherwise there wouldn't be a MR forum. If you're too jaded, you can always move on.
My advice: Don't wait just because you think something better is coming (it always is, and always on Tuesdays ) Wait if you don't think you need it right now. If you really need a computer now, get it. (I for one could not justify getting a new computer just because of a game, but game issues are tied to video card and processor speed so that's tied to video capture in general).
Just remember that that all the hype is to create a "need" where there is really a "want".

 

[iowamensan]

I believe the Groundhog Day reference is in regards to the same thing repeating over and over and over (Buy or not to buy threads)

 

[jotadeo]

I believe the Groundhog Day reference is in regards to the same thing repeating over and over and over (Buy or not to buy threads)

Ned Ryerson: Do you have a thread on whether to buy now or wait, Phil? Because if you don't, MacRumors could always use a little more, I mean, who couldn't? But let me tell you something - I got's a feeling...[whistles] You ain't got any. Am I right or am I right or am I right?

Bing!
jdo

 

[Trogloxene]

There are ALWAYS new machines coming out, so waiting or getting one now really doesn't matter much. There are some times that you should wait a little bit such as when Apple did the shift to Intel chips, but these transitions are rare.

-T

 

[irishgrizzly]

i agree with lots of posters saying cut the guy some slack – we all started somewhere and we're all posting on a site called MacRumors, not MacCertaintys

It could be a good idea to have a sticky thread in each of the hardware forums talking about what each of the next systems will include and if they're worth waiting for.

As for the OP post, I'd say if you have a working computer now, wait til June if not buy now.

 

[booksacool1]

As for the OP post, I'd say if you have a working computer now, wait til June if not buy now.

Yeah wait. Santa rosa promises a few things which will increase battery life and increase graphics performance. Unless you really REALLY need one now, it would be silly to go out and buy now rather then wait a month or two.