Is upgrading to a newer Mac over rated?

[SevengerNC]

I'm chomping at the bit for the new Pro/Air to come out for my first Mac experience. Was hoping for March, but I guess now June so a few more weeks won't kill me.
I know nothing about Macs other than a lot of stuff is backwards from Windows, but I'm looking forward to trying something different.
Might even buy a Dummy book.

 

[Chipg]

I have a 2007 iMac duo 2.4ghz, I did upgrade the ram to 6gig from OWC, it does the job very well for me, I was thinking yesterday about upgrading only because I'm a gear/tech whore and after thinking more about it there was no reason, my old 2007 iMac does it's job great!!!! Never had 1 problem with it, I think I am going to add a 256gig SSD to it for $189.00 and keep it for another 2-3 years. I don't 'need' the SSD, I'm just doing it because the hard drive in it makes a lot of noise and I keep it in on a desk in my bedroom and can hear it late at night when it's updating or running a scan.

 

[ghoti]

I do a lot of photo editing and I'm really feeling the crunch on my Late 2006 MacBook (2.0ghz Core2Duo)... it used to be fast but when I run programs like Aperture, I have to sit for a long time simply staring at the beachball.

I can't afford a new mac right now but as soon as I can, I'm IN. I'm dying for a new MacBook.

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I know nothing about Macs other than a lot of stuff is backwards from Windows, but I'm looking forward to trying something different.

Not "backward from," you mean "better than."

 

[Mak47]

Everybody's different. For most people, a computer is totally utilitarian. As long as it works, it won't get upgraded. For others, like myself, a computer is as much a tool as it is a toy--and everybody has some kind of toy they like.

I like having the latest and greatest in my gadgets. Others like cars or shoes or other material things. I like to upgrade pretty regularly. I find that if I sell my old model, it usually covers most of the cost--at least with Macs.

This was the first year that I was thinking about skipping a cycle. Ivy Bridge doesn't offer huge performance gains over Sandy Bridge for the things I do. But now they're talking about retina displays. Since the new iPad, I love the retina display. Everything else seems inferior and I do a lot of photo editing, so I notice it. I guess I'll be doing it again!

 

[Denzo]

I dont believe it is worth it

I used to upgrade all the time. between me and my partner we have had a white MacBook from 2006. Then I got one of the 2007(?) MBP (the one with nvidia 256mb), then I got a 2008 macbook unibody, then she got a 2011 Macbook air top of the line SSD 1.8ghz.. and you know what..

I should still be using my oldest one.. they honestly dont get THAT much quicker. Yeah you can game a little bit on the newer ones.. but even my older MBP 2.4GHZ 256 video card used to play crisis.. so what now?

If you belive the claims about how every model is 5x faster.. my experience should be a rocketship since 2006!! But it isnt.. its like half a second faster.. oh the thuosands of dollars I have spent like an idiot.. Im waiting this time.. I even missed the iPad 2 and 3 fr once..

Only thing I want need whatever you want to call it is the iPhone 5.

 

[Beanoir]

I do a lot of photo editing and I'm really feeling the crunch on my Late 2006 MacBook (2.0ghz Core2Duo)... it used to be fast but when I run programs like Aperture, I have to sit for a long time simply staring at the beachball.

Thats not because it's a 2.0ghz C2D, its' because it needs fixing mate!

 

[Booji]

Everybody's different. For most people, a computer is totally utilitarian. As long as it works, it won't get upgraded. For others, like myself, a computer is as much a tool as it is a toy--and everybody has some kind of toy they like.

I like having the latest and greatest in my gadgets. Others like cars or shoes or other material things. I like to upgrade pretty regularly. I find that if I sell my old model, it usually covers most of the cost--at least with Macs.

This was the first year that I was thinking about skipping a cycle. Ivy Bridge doesn't offer huge performance gains over Sandy Bridge for the things I do. But now they're talking about retina displays. Since the new iPad, I love the retina display. Everything else seems inferior and I do a lot of photo editing, so I notice it. I guess I'll be doing it again!

Pretty much the same feeling here. I upgraded from a 11" 2GB C2D to a 13" 4GB i7 "ultimate". Honestly for most daily casual use, the difference in performance was hard to tell and I actually missed the 11" size. Certainly not justifiable from a rational dollars and sense point of view. However, I just love having the latest and greatest and it was a satisfying purchase. Plus, the resale of Macs means that it ends up costing much less than I thought. Based on my experience selling my previous generation on eBay, I figure at most it costs from $25-$50 a month to have the most up to date hardware and that is worth it to me.

On the other hand, I actually admire those who are able to resist the constant pull of the new models and take the rational path of waiting a couple of cycles. Its just something I find hard to do!

 

[throAU]

Depends very much what you do. if you use one for CPU intensive work, and time = money then a new machine can very quickly pay for itself.

 

[ghoti]

I do a lot of photo editing and I'm really feeling the crunch on my Late 2006 MacBook (2.0ghz Core2Duo)... it used to be fast but when I run programs like Aperture, I have to sit for a long time simply staring at the beachball.

Thats not because it's a 2.0ghz C2D, its' because it needs fixing mate!

Think so? Elaborate, please. I'd really like to not have to drop 1.2k. :-0

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Think so? Elaborate, please. I'd really like to not have to drop 1.2k. :-0

Aperture is probably limited by your GPU. Otherwise, how much RAM do you have? Can you add more? Replacing the HDD with a SSD would help, but if you spend lots of time in Aperture you'll probably need a faster GPU, which of course means a new machine.

 

[ghoti]

Aperture is probably limited by your GPU. Otherwise, how much RAM do you have? Can you add more? Replacing the HDD with a SSD would help, but if you spend lots of time in Aperture you'll probably need a faster GPU, which of course means a new machine.

I'm actually running off of 3gb. Do you think being mismatched might slow me down (I thought mismatching issues were in the past), or is that just a low amount for running Aperture?

 

[tom vilsack]

You should always upgrade to the latest model,and get the one with the best specs.

signed: a happy apple shareholder ;-)

 

[juanm]

If you need the raw processing power, no, it's not overrated.

For 3D work, I do, and for that use, I have an i7 Xeon. For everything else, I use a 2006 (or 2007) iMac, which I'm considering replacing with a Mini.

I'm not saying it's not nice to feel a bump in speed, it's just that for average daily use, unless you count milliseconds, there won't be any significant difference.