How many of you get a new MBP every year?

[andrhamm]

make the boss pay for it

I've gotten a brand new MBP out of my last two jobs... unfortunately I can't get a new job every year just for the MBP... eventually I'll be stuck with ancient tech lol

 

[Tarek]

This is the model I will be buying:

2.4GHz Intel Core i5
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

Seems good for $1799, and I think I might go for the refurbished one. $200 less is a good deal to me.

 

[Queen of Spades]

I used to try and do this - but with the re-selling of my old MBP, it never cost me more than $400 max. Basically because I'm a sl*t for technology, and I like new things.

That said, (I hope) I've finally learned how to get out of the vicious upgrade cycle of materialism and put my money toward more important things. Of course I have the latest MBP, so I haven't really been put to the test yet.

I'll probably keep my current MBP for at least another couple of years. It's actually nice keeping the same machine for awhile.

 

[Hunter5117]

Well, I've had 4 MBP's since January this year. Had a 15" original non-unibody model C2D bought in March 2008. This January I upgraded to a 15" Unibody. Then when i5/7 came out, local Microcenter put the 17" C2D 2.8ghz on sale so I decided I wanted the bigger screen and upgraded. Then I picked up their last of those 17"'s for $1440 and got my employer to purchase the first one I had, so now I have 2 of that model, one for work and one for personal/weekends. Hope to keep the personal one for at least 2 years. Also the wife upgraded from her 5yo 12" Powerbook to a 13" MBP at the same time in January so we have lots of Apple laptops in the house.

 

[Gabriel GR]

I thought about upgrading but instead I got 8gb of RAM and an SSD. Now I think I'll keep it for a couple of years until there's a serious performance bump or the ability to use 16gb of ram.

 

[uberamd]

every year? are you kidding me? I think you do. because I am not ****ing apple product collector. do you? if I have that much money (actually I have enough money though), I will spend for other things. with all respect, get a life.

As someone already pointed out, its very easy to recoup 70% or more of the cost of a system after a year. Especially if you sell it at 11 months so it still has some Apple Care on it. So it is easy to get a new one every year if you can save up a couple hundred bucks. How much do you think the average coffee drinker spends at Starbucks every year?

I got my first MacBook during my second year of college in 2007. I loved it and wanted something a bit bigger so in 2008 I got a 15" MacBook Pro (pre-unibody). Then I wanted to try out a 17" so I replaced my 15" in 2009 with a 17". I couldn't justify buying the same model with bumped specs every year though. Each time I changed Mac's it was to increase or decrease screen size.

 

[Rithem]

Had my old Macbook since I started college and recently go this MBP after it crashed. Not planning on upgrading for a while. It serves me too well in my daily needs.

 

[demonsavatar]

You would be surprised at how easy it is. The MBP holds its resale value extremely well, which covers at least 2/3 of the cost of a new one, which you can easily save money for to cover the other 1/3 remaining. I bought a 15" in July 2009, then sold it in March 2010 then got a 17 inch i7. If they do a re-design or significant hardware change like USB 3.0, Light Peak or eSata, I'm doing it again for a new 17 inch.

Usually my laptop upgrade cycle is 3 years, but that was with non-Apple machines which were worth ~20% of their value after 1-2 years. I might considering doing a 1 or 2 year upgrade cycle if I can sell my machine for 2/3 its original value.

It's really only worth it if there are significant hardware changes though. I will wait till at least next generation of processors and usb 3.0 for next upgrade. Then again, if a 13" comes out with a 1440x900px or higher resolution screen and Core i series processors (ridiculous, I know), I'm selling this brand new 15" immediately