Last day of NC tax-free weekend. Time to buy MBP 17" or hold out?

[Action Jackson]

I've been waiting for the right time to get a new computer and I think the MBP 17" is probably the best choice for my needs. If I buy today I could save on the sales tax and also get the "free" iPod Touch (after jumping through all the bs rebate hoops). But as I recall, for at least the past two years, it seems like Apple has come out with a hardware update immediately following the back-to-school iPod offer (Sept?). Donno if I should expect that to be the case again this year though, what with the late refresh of the MBP's. It also seems like people are reporting some problems with the new MBP's... freezing, for example. Perhaps these problems might be worked out in the next update?

I currently have a PowerBook G4 Titanium, so I think I'm long overdue for an upgrade. I need a computer for recording and other general use and I love the portability of a laptop. I originally wanted another 15"... I also gave some consideration to the iMacs, but the 17" MBP is the only thing short of a Mac Pro that offers the expandability of more than ONE FireWire connection on separate busses (via the ExpressCard 34 slot). I will want to take advantage of the max amount of RAM possible, and it sounds like the 3rd party upgrade for that is cheaper, so I'd like to know what the best option is there. Also, a SSD would be great. It sounds like some people are doing these 3rd party as well... because they're cheaper/better/faster? I asked somebody at my local Apple Store about this and they told me that installing an after-market drive would void the warranty and Apple Care. Is this true? If so, it seems like a risky thing for so many people to be doing.

So what should I do? I don't want to drop that kind of money and then be faced with frustration or regret.

 

[iPhone1]

I've been waiting for the right time to get a new computer and I think the MBP 17" is probably the best choice for my needs. If I buy today I could save on the sales tax and also get the "free" iPod Touch (after jumping through all the bs rebate hoops). But as I recall, for at least the past two years, it seems like Apple has come out with a hardware update immediately following the back-to-school iPod offer (Sept?). Donno if I should expect that to be the case again this year though, what with the late refresh of the MBP's. It also seems like people are reporting some problems with the new MBP's... freezing, for example. Perhaps these problems might be worked out in the next update?

I currently have a PowerBook G4 Titanium, so I think I'm long overdue for an upgrade. I need a computer for recording and other general use and I love the portability of a laptop. I originally wanted another 15"... I also gave some consideration to the iMacs, but the 17" MBP is the only thing short of a Mac Pro that offers the expandability of more than ONE FireWire connection on separate busses (via the ExpressCard 34 slot). I will want to take advantage of the max amount of RAM possible, and it sounds like the 3rd party upgrade for that is cheaper, so I'd like to know what the best option is there. Also, a SSD would be great. It sounds like some people are doing these 3rd party as well... because they're cheaper/better/faster? I asked somebody at my local Apple Store about this and they told me that installing an after-market drive would void the warranty and Apple Care. Is this true? If so, it seems like a risky thing for so many people to be doing.

So what should I do? I don't want to drop that kind of money and then be faced with frustration or regret.

They just released this line of MBP's. Unless you are waiting for a new Air model, I'd say buy.

 

[pjcforpres2020]

Installing your own RAM or HDD/SDD does not void the Warranty or Apple Care at all. In fact those are the only two hardware mods you can perform on a MBP that do not void the warranty/Apple Care.

The 3rd party RAM/HDD/SDD is not covered by Apple Care, that is why you should keep your original RAM/HDD, just in case.

As for the freezing issue, it seems to be a hit or miss sort of thing. I have had my MBP for nearly a month and half with 0 freezes, it is a 15" 2.4 i5. Others have freezing issues from the first week on. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on what causes it, likely a combo of different problems from bad heat sinks on some, to bad HDD's on others, to bad a firmware flash of the graphics cards on some others... but it seems to, in all reality, affect far fewer people than it does (I would say single digit % range) given the realitive small size of complaints (if it was a huge issue affecting, say, 25% of people it is the only thing we would see/hear/read about regarding a MBP).

 

[Tmacfan4321]

iPods get refreshed in every year in the first week of September, not Macbooks.

They just refreshed them a few months ago anyway, so I don't expect a refresh for another 6 months at the earliest.