If I want a 13", am I better off buying now?

[joeshaw92]

Hi, I am currently a university student looking to upgrade to a mac from my old dell laptop.

I want a 13" macbook pro as my current laptop is the same size and it's one of the main things I like about it. I really like the current look of the macbook pro, which to be honest is the only factor making me choose it over the macbook, and I find the air to be too thin. I have a budget of roughly £800, which, with my university student discount, is about the cost of the macbook pro, with a free 3 year warranty thrown in.

Anyway, after reading many predictions of the upcoming update, a lot of people are saying that there's a chance apple will drop the 13" completely, or increase the price, which would put it out of my budget. I also like the idea of having discrete graphics, making it possible to play a few games, nothing heavy, but more so than integrated graphics which is becoming another possibility. The 13" air is out of my budget, and the 11" doesn't have enough storage space and is too small.

My question is, should I buy now, or wait until the update and buy then? I could buy it refurbished afterwards, but I'd lose my discount.

Any thoughts/opinions?

On a side note, has anyone come from using Windows 7? How did you adjust to the loss of some handy features, such as where you drag a window to the top/side of the screen and it resizes, and being able to control itunes from the taskbar?

Many thanks

 

[Dalton63841]

I will play good cop. If you need it now, buy it now. Otherwise wait.


Bad cop will be right behind me.

EDIT: I came from using Windows 7. Mac has tons of features that Windows 7 does not have, but Windows Previews and Window Snapping can be done on Mac with an app called Hyperdock. BetterTouchTool can also do this.

As far as controlling iTunes from the taskbar, you know you can minimize the iTunes window and use the F-keys for iTunes.

 

[croooow]

You're an idiot

"Bad cop"

 

[Dalton63841]

You're an idiot

Hi bad cop!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Hi, I am currently a university student looking to upgrade to a mac from my old dell laptop.

I want a 13" macbook pro as my current laptop is the same size and it's one of the main things I like about it. I really like the current look of the macbook pro, which to be honest is the only factor making me choose it over the macbook, and I find the air to be too thin. I have a budget of roughly £800, which, with my university student discount, is about the cost of the macbook pro, with a free 3 year warranty thrown in.

Anyway, after reading many predictions of the upcoming update, a lot of people are saying that there's a chance apple will drop the 13" completely, or increase the price, which would put it out of my budget.

I don't know about that, but it won't likely happen, as the 13" MBP is quite successful at this point, therefore dropping it completely or increasing its price is not really a winning situation for Apple.

I also like the idea of having discrete graphics, making it possible to play a few games, nothing heavy, but more so than integrated graphics which is becoming another possibility. The 13" air is out of my budget, and the 11" doesn't have enough storage space and is too small.

The 13" MBP doesn't have a discrete or dedicated GPU, it is integrated into the chipset (Nvidia).

My question is, should I buy now, or wait until the update and buy then? I could buy it refurbished afterwards, but I'd lose my discount.

Do you need it now? If so, buy now. If you can wait until Spring, then wait, and get one of the older models if the newer ones do not satisfy you.

On a side note, has anyone come from using Windows 7? How did you adjust to the loss of some handy features, such as where you drag a window to the top/side of the screen and it resizes, and being able to control itunes from the taskbar?

There are many ways to emulate the windows behaviour (snapping) in Mac OS X, one is using BetterTouchTool. Use MRoogle to find dozens of threads about that.
http://mroogle.*************/

And you can control iTunes via the media keys on the keyboard, but there are also ways to control it via the Menu Bar or the Dock icon.

 

[Dalton63841]

There are many ways to emulate the windows behaviour (snapping) in Mac OS X, one is using BetterTouchTool. Use MRoogle to find dozens of threads about that.

And you can control iTunes via the media keys on the keyboard, but there are also ways to control it via the Menu Bar or the Dock icon.

The app Hyperdock can do both of these things. I used to use Bettertouchtool for Window Snapping, but since I found Hyperdock, it more fits what I need.

 

[joeshaw92]

Thanks for all the replies, the hyperdock app sounds great, so thats one concern out of the way.

And as for waiting for spring and buying an older model (refurb would seem the only option), I would lose my discount of about 15%, which is a lot when spending a lot of money. And no, I dont need it now, but the reason I was asking is more to avoid there not being a suitable model available when the update arrives

 

[Auzburner]

WAIT if the computer is not needed. period.

 

[WardC]

Out of all the current MacBook Pro lineup, the 13" model is the one that is the most outdated and most ending it's cycle. It is the one in the most need of a refresh. It still uses Core 2 Duo, has an integrated GPU, and a very, very low resolution 1280x800 display.

With Intel releasing Sandy Bridge, Apple is likely to put an i3 or i5 in the next 13" MacBook Pro, update the display to a 1440x900 resolution display, have Solid-State storage standard, and maybe even offer a matte display option on these models.

I would recommend anybody to absolutely WAIT if they are in the market for a 13" MBP model, and not buy now under ANY circumstance.

 

[skiltrip]

Thanks for all the replies, the hyperdock app sounds great, so thats one concern out of the way.

And as for waiting for spring and buying an older model (refurb would seem the only option), I would lose my discount of about 15%, which is a lot when spending a lot of money. And no, I dont need it now, but the reason I was asking is more to avoid there not being a suitable model available when the update arrives

I definitely get the "now or wait" question when it involves discounts, resales, or any scenario where waiting actually could cause a loss of money. The upside is you might get something better for your money. Or not. Definitely a gamble, but fortunately not a life or death one.

 

[atppkr]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I Am in the same boat here although I've took the plunge and ordered it. Who knows when the new one will be out, how much it will be. If the new one tickles your fancy when it does eventually come out, sell your MVP and buy the new one. Simples.

 

[NickZac]

Release date, performance stats, and price of the upgrade are completely unknown. Buy one now and enjoy it.

 

[newdeal]

...

The 13" doesn't nave discrete graphics, its integrated nvidia graphics. Also they won't drop the 13" since its their best selling laptop. The may drop the white macbook but not the 13" pro

 

[Gok]

Dude, buy now and you can sell it afterwards. Macbook Pros can always find a buyer at good price. Thus, it also help you to upgrade your computer after 1,5 years past..

And "handy features" of Windows 7? Trackpad of Macbook Pro is beyond handy. Do not worry about that.

And lastly, about that gaming part, I don't think you can get a great performance but check out Youtube videos. There are lots of good guys who upload gameplay videos, maybe you can find what you looking for there.

 

[JCCash]

At some point I'm going to give my 13" MBP to daughter who is in college. But before I do I'm going to let her keep using her HP until it becomes a big problem. When I do give her my MBP I'll simply buy an iPad. I have a 24" iMac for home use and I'm starting to think for the travel I do I can get buy with an iPad.

OK enough about me. If you can wait wait but if you can't buy now. My 13" is about five months old and we like it a lot and it works great.

Hi, I am currently a university student looking to upgrade to a mac from my old dell laptop.

I want a 13" macbook pro as my current laptop is the same size and it's one of the main things I like about it. I really like the current look of the macbook pro, which to be honest is the only factor making me choose it over the macbook, and I find the air to be too thin. I have a budget of roughly £800, which, with my university student discount, is about the cost of the macbook pro, with a free 3 year warranty thrown in.

Anyway, after reading many predictions of the upcoming update, a lot of people are saying that there's a chance apple will drop the 13" completely, or increase the price, which would put it out of my budget. I also like the idea of having discrete graphics, making it possible to play a few games, nothing heavy, but more so than integrated graphics which is becoming another possibility. The 13" air is out of my budget, and the 11" doesn't have enough storage space and is too small.

My question is, should I buy now, or wait until the update and buy then? I could buy it refurbished afterwards, but I'd lose my discount.

Any thoughts/opinions?

On a side note, has anyone come from using Windows 7? How did you adjust to the loss of some handy features, such as where you drag a window to the top/side of the screen and it resizes, and being able to control itunes from the taskbar?

Many thanks

 

[PFDarkside]

Personally, if I were in your situation (and needed a computer) and was happy with the current 13" Pro... I'd get the 13" Air. I've loved my 13" Pro for the past 8 months (bought the week of the refresh) but the Air would be ideal for my situation.

However, I was playing your game last year.... Constantly checking for updates every week and lurking in the "Waiting for Arrandale" thread. I think I ended up waiting two months or so. Even though I didn't "gain" much with the 13" refresh, it felt good to get the one I did instead of an "old" one that got refreshed a month later.

If your Dell works, wait for the refresh. Worst comes to worst, if you don't like the refresh, buy a refurbed 13".