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How good is the pro and should I wait

B

benledgebob

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 8, 2010
50
0
ok so here is my story: I had a old gaming pc (core 2 duo) and was thinking of getting an iMac but in the end I upgraded the pc with more ram, 6 core CPU(AMD phenom ll x6 1090t black edition) and new motherboard and it is performing amazingly, I love it. So I'm not really wanting the iMac now unless a really good update comes out which I doubt will happen to August 2011. I also have an iPad wifi only which I love but I have found myself wanting a laptop/a Mac more and more recently. Now I'm kind of stuck between an alianware m15x with some custom upgrades about £1200 and a Macbook pro not sure which model but sort of leaning towards a 15 inch so say £1400. So I want to know how good are the current 13 inch MBP and how much better are the 15 inch ones? Also should I wait a bit as I'm no rush To get a Mac/pc as I have the gaming PC. I'm kinda hoping for a 13 inch MBP with an i series CPU around Xmas time. If I were to buy now I would have about £1500 to spend but if I were to wait to after xmas or maybe even longer as I said I'm in no rush what so ever. I would have about £2000 to spend. Also I don't have to spend all that money, say if I do wait and a 13 inch MBP with an i3 CPU comes out for about £1000 I would probably get it and just save the rest of the money. Last last thing I don't have to get a Mac if you think I would be better suited to the alien ware gaming laptop just say so.
Thanks in advance :)
 
You already have a powerful desktop so that should be able to take care of your gaming needs. If you need it now, just go ahead and buy it. If you don't, then I would wait for next gen. You didn't really specify what you do with your computer but as you already have a powerful desktop, I think you're fine with 13", it's more portable.
 
Ok uurm no I don't really need it I just kind of want it :) so I'm in no rush and at the moment I do alot of gaming MW2 and stuff on the pc also a lot of video editing for my YouTube channel. I do some work on Photoshop and dreamweaver. I also would like the laptop I buy to be able to handle a few basic games nothing to powerful like what I play on my desktop though. These days nearly all my web browsing is done on the iPad whilst laying in bed :)
The main things I'm looking for in the Mac/laptop I get will be basic games some photo and video editing and I might design apps if I get a Mac.
 
benledgebob said:
Ok uurm no I don't really need it I just kind of want it :) so I'm in no rush and at the moment I do alot of gaming MW2 and stuff on the pc also a lot of video editing for my YouTube channel. I do some work on Photoshop and dreamweaver. I also would like the laptop I buy to be able to handle a few basic games nothing to powerful like what I play on my desktop though. These days nearly all my web browsing is done on the iPad whilst laying in bed :)
The main things I'm looking for in the Mac/laptop I get will be basic games some photo and video editing and I might design apps if I get a Mac.
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Well, you would benefit from the extra power in 15". If you want it now, then I would get the 15" as C2Ds are ancient but if you wait, then it's hard to say as we don't know how powerful the next gen will be.
 
Hellhammer said:
You already have a powerful desktop so that should be able to take care of your gaming needs. If you need it now, just go ahead and buy it. If you don't, then I would wait for next gen. You didn't really specify what you do with your computer but as you already have a powerful desktop, I think you're fine with 13", it's more portable.
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i bet he has a ati 3450 gpu. :) Anyways op, id go with the 15in, i5. Just incase you wanted to game on it.
 
Hellhammer said:
Well, you would benefit from the extra power in 15". If you want it now, then I would get the 15" as C2Ds are ancient but if you wait, then it's hard to say as we don't know how powerful the next gen will be.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know C2Ds are really old but I just feel a little unsure whether I would want to spend about £500 more for the 15 inch when I'm pretty sure the next gen MBP 13 inch will have an i series CPU. But I don't want to fall into the trap were I'm always waiting as whenever I do buy it there will always be a better one released the yeah after. But I would ideally like to spend around £1000-£12000 on a 13 inch with an i series CPU. That's why I like the alianware as for £1200 I can get a i5 and a 1gb ati 5850 GPU. Though I would much prefer to have a Mac.
 
Ace134blue said:
i bet he has a ati 3450 gpu. :) Anyways op, id go with the 15in, i5. Just incase you wanted to game on it.
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No it's an Nvidia GTX260 though I'm soon going to upgrade it to a ati 5850. Also it's a good point about the 15 inch but paying £500 just in case seems a bit to much.
 
So do you think I should wait till after the Xmas period when hopefully the MBP line will have been updated and I will have more money to spend (£2000) or should I get a current gene MBP 13 inch for £900?
 
benledgebob said:
Yeah I know C2Ds are really old but I just feel a little unsure whether I would want to spend about £500 more for the 15 inch when I'm pretty sure the next gen MBP 13 inch will have an i series CPU. But I don't want to fall into the trap were I'm always waiting as whenever I do buy it there will always be a better one released the yeah after. But I would ideally like to spend around £1000-£12000 on a 13 inch with an i series CPU. That's why I like the alianware as for £1200 I can get a i5 and a 1gb ati 5850 GPU. Though I would much prefer to have a Mac.
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How about a refurb? Base 15" is only 1269$ (link)

benledgebob said:
No it's an Nvidia GTX260 though I'm soon going to upgrade it to a ati 5850. Also it's a good point about the 15 inch but paying £500 just in case seems a bit to much.
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Don't buy ATI 5850 now, 68xx is out in matter of days. Lower power consumption and cheaper price PLUS 58xx will be dirt cheap ;)
 
Hellhammer said:
Don't buy ATI 5850 now, 68xx is out in matter of days. Lower power consumption and cheaper price PLUS 58xx will be dirt cheap ;)
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ah cool i didnt know this thanks, as for the refurb its agood idea but if a new refresh is due in the next few weeks as i have been hearing and the buyers guide says so. I would rather wait and buy then.
 
I have my eye on a base 13 macbook pro. In fact, I have a friend going to the States in the next few days and they might pick one up for me. At the moment I am stuck using an anemic Toshiba with a core 2 duo T5750 2GHz with 3 gigs of ram and 2 meg cache....oh and intel integrated graphics. Its damn slow.

So I'm wondering, considering I would use the macbook for around 2 years, would it be better to wait a few months until January, or just go ahead and buy a 13 incher now? I could forsee upgrading to a ssd and maxing the ram later on. Would new models be out by mid January anyway????
 
arcite said:
I have my eye on a base 13 macbook pro. In fact, I have a friend going to the States in the next few days and they might pick one up for me. At the moment I am stuck using an anemic Toshiba with a core 2 duo T5750 2GHz with 3 gigs of ram and 2 meg cache....oh and intel integrated graphics. Its damn slow.

So I'm wondering, considering I would use the macbook for around 2 years, would it be better to wait a few months until January, or just go ahead and buy a 13 incher now? I could forsee upgrading to a ssd and maxing the ram later on. Would new models be out by mid January anyway????
Click to expand...

the reason im waiting is that ive seen and read a few things that could hint to an october refresh also macrumors buyers guidde is saying theres an upgrade soon (within the next month) so personally im thinking of holding off until the end of october. but as others have said if you realy NEED it then maybe you should get it now.
 
benledgebob said:
the reason im waiting is that ive seen and read a few things that could hint to an october refresh also macrumors buyers guidde is saying theres an upgrade soon (within the next month) so personally im thinking of holding off until the end of october. but as others have said if you realy NEED it then maybe you should get it now.
Click to expand...

Do what I do - watch the Apple Refurb listings (link right on the Store page) and get a decent deal on a current gen model (not that full price is all that bad really, but every penny saved is a good thing).

Did someone really call C2D "ancient"? That's pushing it! My 2007 MBP is still plenty fast enough for me (the later 2.4GHz CPU) for work, light gaming, and everything else I need.
 
Hey i read through most of it, i would wait, i just purchased a 15" i7 and it is truly an phenomenal machine and i am incredibly happy with it, but you have a wicked gaming setup and have no rush for it where as i had a 4 year old macbook and needed to get on star craft 2 immediately. The new refresh would be worth the wait for you, depending on what in the new 15" i may be upgrading again next year, i would have loved a gt 260 or similar graphics card in my macbook pro but the gt 330 does a great job of SC 2 with everything running around high i average 42 FPS. The new ix series processors are very very nice they run very fast i am really impressed with it and with you having a 6 core cpu already you would not want to go back to a core 2 duo, especially with the movie editing after doing tons on a old c2d and now on the i7 its like night to day. So i recommend wait and just watch and see what happens there is a lot of speculation of a lot of new product lines coming out for almost every aspect of the computer so it will be interesting to watch =D haha
 
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