how beneficial would waiting to buy a macbook be?

[asdfsdf]

im interested in a macbook, and i don't really want to wait

here are a couple questions:
will the new (montevida-sorry i really have no idea what the name of the new one is) be worth the wait? will it really make it that much faster?
will the 1099 macbook be sufficient? or is that extra 1gig ram and the boost in speed worth the extra money?
is there anything other than the new processor worth waiting for?

-im not a fan of the leaked new aluminum cases, although i like the mbp cases(but im interested in the macbook)
-and if this would be a good time to buy, im eager to jump on bestbuy's no intrest financing for 2 years since i am not a college student yet (but i have an acceptance letter to my state college- im not going there though)
-i will be using the macbook for work, and it would help with organizing all of my projects/college apps/hw

so should i wait or not based on that info?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Montevina is an updated chipset, not a processor. The biggest performance increase for the MacBooks should be the jump from the current IGPU to the Montevina IGPU (I won't bore you with product numbers... mainly because I forget them. 3100 and 4500, right?)

If you're not burning DVDs, the base model is fine.

 

[Apple Ink]

im interested in a macbook, and i don't really want to wait

here are a couple questions:
will the new (montevida-sorry i really have no idea what the name of the new one is) be worth the wait? will it really make it that much faster?
will the 1099 macbook be sufficient? or is that extra 1gig ram and the boost in speed worth the extra money?
is there anything other than the new processor worth waiting for?

-im not a fan of the leaked new aluminum cases, although i like the mbp cases(but im interested in the macbook)
-and if this would be a good time to buy, im eager to jump on bestbuy's no intrest financing for 2 years since i am not a college student yet (but i have an acceptance letter to my state college- im not going there though)
-i will be using the macbook for work, and it would help with organizing all of my projects/college apps/hw

so should i wait or not based on that info?

Its Montevina

Except for new design changes, I really wouldnt have cared standing in your shoes.
You've made it pretty clear that you have no interest (and idea) about this new platform of Intel's and thus you really shouldn't care about it as its not going to boost performance in the apps/work you've mentioned you would be doing!

Also, since you are not THAT excited by the new designs (everything a big, but expected, speculation) I strongly suggest you to go ahead and buy it!

As for the recommendations, Please buy the 1299 version since it offers the best value for money! And yes, if not the better processor, the memory increase, Superdrive and the larger HDD are all going to come in really handy for the type of work you're going to do!

 

[Steven.nevets]

what apps will the updated chipset improve performance in? i'm in the same situation, desperately wanting a blackbook but holding off in case of an update... even though i need my macbook before school next year.

 

[Apple Ink]

what apps will the updated chipset improve performance in? i'm in the same situation, desperately wanting a blackbook but holding off in case of an update... even though i need my macbook before school next year.

All graphics intensive apps (games, pro software, etc..)
Memory scaling may also improve (pdf readers, web browsers, mail clients etc...)

 

[illidian]

im interested in a macbook, and i don't really want to wait

here are a couple questions:
will the new (montevida-sorry i really have no idea what the name of the new one is) be worth the wait? will it really make it that much faster?
will the 1099 macbook be sufficient? or is that extra 1gig ram and the boost in speed worth the extra money?
is there anything other than the new processor worth waiting for?

-im not a fan of the leaked new aluminum cases, although i like the mbp cases(but im interested in the macbook)
-and if this would be a good time to buy, im eager to jump on bestbuy's no intrest financing for 2 years since i am not a college student yet (but i have an acceptance letter to my state college- im not going there though)
-i will be using the macbook for work, and it would help with organizing all of my projects/college apps/hw

so should i wait or not based on that info?

Going from top to bottom here...

For most users, Montevina will not be a significant upgrade.

As for spending the extra $200 for the upgrades, the most important is the DVD burner. The extra RAM and HD could both be upgraded for far more than what the $1,299 model offers for the same cost.

LED Screen and multi-touch trackpad are possibilities with the next update. A new graphics chip will significantly improve gaming performance to a respectable level, if you're into that.

There are leaked MacBook pictures with an aluminum casing? That's strange; I haven't seen any.

If having a new notebook now will change the way you work and significantly improve your computing experience, then it's a good time to buy. Updates come and go; don't worry about them too much unless the current MacBook doesn't offer what you need in a laptop.

 

[Ladybug]

Evaluate your needs then decide. If the current machine specs meets your needs, then jump on in *the waters fine*. If you feel you'll benefit from an upgrade you may want to wait a little while. Just don't get caught up in the waiting game just because something new is on the horizon...there will always be something new coming and you'll never get your feet wet that way. All the current machines are fast and the slowest denominator will always be the user. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Jak3]

lol, that's a good story to stick to!

The only thing that would really be worth waiting for (slightly controversial) is USB 3.0, which would be coming probably around this time 2009, if not a bit sooner...

But if you need fast transfers, the current Firewire ports are more than sufficient, even if they are not the most popular.

 

[Apple Ink]

The only thing that would really be worth waiting for (slightly controversial) is USB 3.0, which would be coming probably around this time 2009, if not a bit sooner...

But if you need fast transfers, the current Firewire ports are more than sufficient, even if they are not the most popular.

Oh... yes, sorry... forgot to tell you about that! But I see jak3 has covered everything about it and I'll completely stick with his point!

 

[asdfsdf]

LED Screen and multi-touch trackpad are possibilities with the next update. A new graphics chip will significantly improve gaming performance to a respectable level, if you're into that.

woah theres a possibility for a new graphics chip??

 

[Apple Ink]

woah theres a possibility for a new graphics chip??

Not a possibility (its sure) and not a chip either. Its gonna be the same ol' IGP but a new version! Like, Original Intel MBs (Napa) used GMA950 then Santa Rosa's use X3100 and Montevina will use Cantiga

P.S.: Intel claims the Cantiga will perform 2x faster than X3100

But ultimately, its IGP and you can only compare an IGP with another IGP not a VGA. (If you need graphics performance, this defiitely is a feature worth waiting for!)

 

[asdfsdf]

Not a possibility (its sure) and not a chip either. Its gonna be the same ol' IGP but a new version! Like, Original Intel MBs (Napa) used GMA950 then Santa Rosa's use X3100 and Montevina will use Cantiga

P.S.: Intel claims the Cantiga will perform 2x faster than X3100

But ultimately, its IGP and you can only compare an IGP with another IGP not a VGA. (If you need graphics performance, this defiitely is a feature worth waiting for!)

oh but it wont be like a nvidia or ati graphics card? so it wont really do anything for gaming?

 

[Apple Ink]

oh but it wont be like a nvidia or ati graphics card? so it wont really do anything for gaming?

Let me make this clear.... If IGPs get better in performance, so do games in demands.
When X3100 (SRosa, current) came out, Intel claimed 1.5x to 2x performance gains, but ultimately it ended up same as 950! So my guess is even cantiga will end up there. (What it will improve in is playing current games {a gen old when it comes out})

P.S.:What we actually wait for is the AMD ATi Hybrid IGPs which will change the current IGP scenario in the market! (Apple and AMD, though, dont make a good team as of now!)

 

[Jak3]

man, new chipset, new GFX card (even if it is integrated) if they upgrade the screens as well, I'll be in heaven...I don't really care about a case rehaul
I'm all about what's on the inside

 

[CWallace]

As noted, the biggest jump will be in the performance of the X4500 integrated GPU. However, even so, it's still going to be around that of an entry-level nVidia 8000 series (8300/8400) so you're not going to be able to play graphics-intensive games at high settings and frame-rates.

The faster FSB and memory buses will likely return single-digit performance improvements. Apple might move to an LED backlight for the display (ala the MacBook Air), but the component price might be too high to make it standard so it could become a BTO option or perhaps standard on the more expensive MB Black.

 

[savvos]

When Santa Rosa came out last year, the MBPs were updated in June but the MBs weren't updated until November 1st. If you need a MB by the end of summer (like some people do for school) chances are pretty good you won't see an update by then. The MBP on the other hand probably will see an update.

I had a friend in law school waiting for a MB update last year and it was a loooong wait.