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Is it good time to buy new Macbook Pro?

D

Design Agent

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 13, 2006
21
0
Hi,

My Macbook Pro is already 3 and half years old and I want to replace it with new MBP. As the Xmas season coming up I see some sites such as Macmall is starting to offer discounts. BUT at the same time I don't want to end up buying only to find out that the new model is coming out in two weeks.

Any tips? Any suggestions? Let me know!
 
Same situation.

My CD MBP was still getting what I needed done done, but it was being hampered by the 2GB RAM limit. I bought a refurb 2.8 C2D 17" MBP with 4GB and I couldn't be happier.

I do know that I will want the next revision however, just because it's the newest. I was able to go 3.5 years on my first MBP, I will be able to do that with this one too, even if something new comes out.
 
Corrode said:
I wouldn't say so.

Although, knowing that you want it and don't need it, but then going out and buying it anyway might be considered wrong by some.
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Well, that's just it: I keep talking myself out of it almost on a weekly basis. And with the next tax return I might get tempted, who knows? I just keep telling myself I don't NEED to browse the internet for the few hours I spend at the coffee shop on the weekends.

OK, done hijacking the thread, sorry:eek: To the OP's question, I would suggest waiting as well. There's good advice here, but only you can decide what's best for your situation.
 
A new MBP should be coming out within 2 months, so if you need one now, by all means get one, however if you can wait, you may end up with a better value machine.
 
The MacBook pros are well overdue for an update. Theres no way i would get one at the current spec/price. Wait a month or two for the refresh.
 
AAPLaday said:
The MacBook pros are well overdue for an update. Theres no way i would get one at the current spec/price. Wait a month or two for the refresh.
Click to expand...

I dunno about "well overdue" but like others have noted, they are due, 2 months.

fwiw, macmall, macconnection, clubmac offer discounts pretty much all year long -- macconnection does have another $30 or so right now because of the holidays...
 
I see...

Thanks for all your suggestions. I've decided to wait until January or February since my current MBP is still OK. But 2GB limit is really annoying!!

DA
 
What are you planning on using it for?

If it's only for internet, word processing, email, iLife, etc., then buying a MBP right now at a good discount is the time.

If you use it for more complex tasks, such as heavy video or photo editing, etc., and you actually need the better processor, than you should wait.

Waiting for Arrandale only to use it for internet, word processing, email, iLife, etc. is pointless. Do you really need the power? All you would be doing is chasing technology.

I just bought a new MBP for $1,049 (and no tax) from Amazon. I only use it for internet, word processing, email, iLife, light photoshopping and video editing, etc. With a deal like that, I would have been a fool to wait until the new MBPs came out and to pay full price. For what I use the MBP for, I wouldn't even notice the difference between the current MBP and the new one that is coming out.

I guess I miss out on bragging that I have Arrandale though. :(;)
 
thegoldenmackid said:
Waiting is only going to produce better deals? Only a risk that more then Arrandale comes, wouldn't be that shocked to see USB 3.0 introduced.
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Good deals are a possibility, but I'm thinking that they wouldn't be any better than the Black Friday deals that we saw. So perhaps waiting wouldn't be the worst thing to do. However, I wanted it now and couldn't say no to the price, so I bought it now. If the prices would be the same, I think now is better than later.

I don't think we'll see USB 3.0 in the new MBPs that are introduced in Q1. I think we'll see USB 3.0 added to the MBPs in Q3.
 
BlizzardBomb said:
A new MBP should be coming out within 2 months, so if you need one now, by all means get one, however if you can wait, you may end up with a better value machine.
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Seconded.


If there is a new 17" model, I hope they keep the 1920x1200 resolution... he widescreen Windows notebook models (17.3", 1600x900) are... pathetic.
 
Surely said:
What are you planning on using it for?

If it's only for internet, word processing, email, iLife, etc., then buying a MBP right now at a good discount is the time.

If you use it for more complex tasks, such as heavy video or photo editing, etc., and you actually need the better processor, than you should wait.

Waiting for Arrandale only to use it for internet, word processing, email, iLife, etc. is pointless. Do you really need the power? All you would be doing is chasing technology.

I just bought a new MBP for $1,049 (and no tax) from Amazon. I only use it for internet, word processing, email, iLife, light photoshopping and video editing, etc. With a deal like that, I would have been a fool to wait until the new MBPs came out and to pay full price. For what I use the MBP for, I wouldn't even notice the difference between the current MBP and the new one that is coming out.

I guess I miss out on bragging that I have Arrandale though. :(;)
Click to expand...

If all he's doing is browsing and et cetera, then his 3 year old mbp (with only 2 gigs of ram) would be sufficient. Come to think of it, a larger faster hard drive may give his current system enough of a performance boost to keep it usable for a while longer.

If the OP is using his machine to earn a living, and its limitations are affecting his productivity, then he or she should buy a current system now. Otherwise, they should wait.

If he or she can limp along with the machine they have, waiting would still make sense even a current mbp would work well for them. If arrandale machines are introduced in a couple of months, he or she could buy the (hopefully more capable) new model at the same price point as current offerings. OTOH, if he or she realizes that a current model would well fit the bill, they could stake out the apple clearance/refurb store or craigslist and pick up a now current model for a tidy discount.

While I realize that nothing stays current or cutting edge forever, paying full apple msrp on a machine and having a more capable one introduced a month or two later is like having his Steveness put one of his bony knees in your groin. If you're just a consumer level user, it makes more sense to buy one generation back for a discount, and use the machine until it no longer meets your needs.
 
Just think if you buy it now you will be regretting it when new one comes out, if you buy the new one you will hear about a new one coming out, so it doesnt really matter buy it if u need it!
signature_smiley.jpg
 
Will the news that Apple might skip Arrandale affect a possible Jan/Feb update of the MBP line?
Will this push back the date by a few months?
 
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