In your opinion should I buy now?

[wowipod]

Not sure why the heck a poll for this was really necessary, however at any rate don't kid yourself if you think you'll be getting the latest and greatest that will last for several months. Look what happened to the white Macbook. It was updated in June and this month it was changed to the new unibody. It's unpredictable. At one point the iMacs weren't updated until a year later and Apple hadn't touched the Mac mini's for over a year.
No worries about creating threads, people are here to help but it's a bit premature to create this thread when you know you weren't getting anything until after christmas, it would've made more sense to ask then. That being said, there probably won't be any new Macbooks until march. Anyway, who cares you if you buy the most recent model, it won't be much different than the last ones, that's why buying a refurb is such a good deal, they aren't much different from the latest and you can save cash. Or you can have your mommie and daddy pay half of it for you.

A mac is a big investment for a student to make. To me is sounds as if you don't have to many problems finding money to buy techy stuff. I don't just have mac money lying around it has taken me a long time to get half the price. So I wanna make sure I get the latest and make sure I get the best value for money.

 

[airplaneman]

If you don't need it now, hold off until Arrandale. You'll just get a super-belated X-mas present (3-4 months)

 

[Hot Snowboarder]

Best time to buy is just after an upgrade.

So yeah wait for the next one. You'll have a few extra months of having the newest model.

 

[HLdan]

A mac is a big investment for a student to make. To me is sounds as if you don't have to many problems finding money to buy techy stuff. I don't just have mac money lying around it has taken me a long time to get half the price. So I wanna make sure I get the latest and make sure I get the best value for money.

Where in any part of my post did I say that Macs are affordable for everyone and where in my post did I come across as a big shot with disposable income? You assume too much.

If a Mac is such a big investment for a student then I would sure like to know why most of the "students" on here talk more about playing L4D, Crisis, TF2, Starcraft and other games on their Macs. You'd think that's all they bought them for since all most of them care about is the latest GPU. You sure don't need a Mac to play those games and a Mac is not a requirement for a student.
So annoying how students play the "poor man" game when they come here but they are the very ones bragging about buying a new Mac.

FYI, students don't "own" the poor-man's industry. You can't afford a Mac, buy a cheap Windows PC and stop complaining.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...FYI, students don't "own" the poor-man's industry. You can't afford a Mac, buy a cheap Windows PC and stop complaining.

...this sounds so familiar here on the US (insert any branch of the military) base... all the E1 - E5's cry poverty but usually they aren't married and have the nicest cars, stereo's, cell phones, you name it, they have the newest all the while crying poverty...(the key is, the only bills they have is what bills they make for themselves and most don't do any type of saving for their later years)...

I drive a 16 year old roadster (while convertible, it is still 16 yrs old) and my "new" car is a 1999 (purchased 2nd hand also)...

I'd rather have something that meets my needs now, so that when it doesn't meet my needs any longer, I can afford to upgrade it to something that will...

Good luck with your purchase decision (and if I were you, I'd wait it out).

 

[wowipod]

Where in any part of my post did I say that Macs are affordable for everyone and where in my post did I come across as a big shot with disposable income? You assume too much.

If a Mac is such a big investment for a student then I would sure like to know why most of the "students" on here talk more about playing L4D, Crisis, TF2, Starcraft and other games on their Macs. You'd think that's all they bought them for since all most of them care about is the latest GPU. You sure don't need a Mac to play those games and a Mac is not a requirement for a student.
So annoying how students play the "poor man" game when they come here but they are the very ones bragging about buying a new Mac.

FYI, students don't "own" the poor-man's industry. You can't afford a Mac, buy a cheap Windows PC and stop complaining.

You seemed to be saying that why don't I just buy now, screw waiting for the upgrades. Maybe I did assume too much, just sounded like you get what you want when you want (disposable income). Sorry if I offended you thats how it came across.

Fact is I want a Macbook, I've wanted one for a while and now I have the money (or half the money), so I am going to get one. Just I am asking whether the next upgrade will be worth the wait basically. Will it provide a better value for money?

 

[CalBoy]

I don't need a new computer this second.

Well then, I think the answer is clear enough. Buy when you need it.

Just I was going to get it for christmas (I pay half, parents pay half).

Can you ask your parents to put their "match" money aside for a few months? I hardly doubt they would care if you prolonged your purchase by a few weeks/months.

The only question to ask yourself is if you're willing to go through a Christmas without something new and shiny to open.

 

[hazedragon45]

if you want one now but want the lastest thing, you'll be restless for the next few months anticipating the new Macbook Pro.. I was like that too. Couldn't take it anymore, so i bought one last night. =)

 

[cfitz7111]

If your parents have a limit say " we will pay 50% up to x amount of dollars" then have them buy you a gift card from the Apple Store, or a Visa or AMEX gift card to use somewhere else etc.

That way when you are ready you have the cash in hand and know how much you need to come up with.

 

[Eric S.]

Just I am asking whether the next upgrade will be worth the wait basically. Will it provide a better value for money?

The next upgrade will always provide more value for the money, but generally I think that playing the waiting game is not a winning strategy because you have to balance getting a slightly better product against the months of use that you have lost.

But in this case the possibility of Arrandale-based MBPs probably suggests you should wait a few months to see what happens. They promise to be advanced enough over the current C2D systems that waiting for them could be worth it.

That said, however, we really don't know when or if Apple will release these systems. It's just guesswork right now. And no matter when you buy a computer, it's likely that a better model will be out within six months. Sometimes you just have to let that go and decide what you need at the present time.