Leopard AND Santa Rosa etc

[ahriman]

after jumping back and forth between hardware (Santa Rosa) and software (Leopard) - related threads and trying to aggregate all the info, it seems a thread that discusses _both_ in tandem is needed. seems like _some_ discussion of the other is included in every thread, but my need is to have both discussed, and the pros & cons weighed, in relation to a new purchase.

i am looking at buying my first mac (MBP), i do not _need_ it (definitely want it as i am working on an XP/1GhZ/512 hp Vectra), will/want to dual-boot Vista/OSX, have a Dell 2407WFP and want some booming audio (have a Creative 5.1 now) & music recording capability. that said, what is attractive about waiting for SR is the 800MhZ FSB, new video and memory capacity; Leopard, well, i do not even know Tiger so that is up for discussion.

 

[Sun Baked]

Leopard, something you can update on the machine after purchase for $129.

Santa Rosa, if you don't have it on a new machine you buy, you cannot get it without buying another new machine.

---

That is the major difference between the two when it comes to a purchase decision on a new machine.

 

[ahriman]

Leopard, something you can update on the machine after purchase for $129.

Santa Rosa, if you don't have it on a new machine you buy, you cannot get it without buying another new machine.

---

That is the major difference between the two when it comes to a purchase decision on a new machine.

i realize this. to contextualize: are the hardware (and software) updates worth the wait?

 

[nazmac21]

i realize this. to contextualize: are the hardware (and software) updates worth the wait?

You have to ask yourself do you need features like Time Machine, Spaces (from Leopard), Robson Caching(from Santa Rosa). If you need those features, I suggest you wait. Here is information about Leopard and Santa Rosa platform.

 

[ahriman]

You have to ask yourself do you need features like Time Machine, Spaces (from Leopard), Robson Caching(from Santa Rosa). If you need those features, I suggest you wait. Here is information about Leopard and Santa Rosa platform.

things like the GMA X3100, and improved graphics -- i have heard the MBP displays are having problems -- are of particular interest. the 800MhZ FSB is prolly the biggest draw for me. people constantly blather on about CPU speed, i tend to look at where the bottlenecks truly occur: the bus and the network. since the MBPs come w/Gig NICs, the network really is where it can for now (at least until 10G NICs become common!!!), so the FSB is my focus. another consideration is Vista support, allegedly Intel is building into Santa Rosa perks for Vista.

 

[Sun Baked]

i realize this. to contextualize: are the hardware (and software) updates worth the wait?

You have to read the info -- there are dozens of threads on it -- and see if it is worth it to you.

The OS "can" be upgraded, so you don't really lose anything by buying a machine now or waiting.

If you buy now, you get a machine to use now. If you are buying a $2500 machine, and $129 is a big issue -- you shouldn't be buying the machine anyways. If you wait, you don't have a nifty machine to use while you wait.

The hardware cannot be upgraded -- so if you need a feature that the Santa Rosa machines have, you are SOL if you buy now. The 4GB+ memory is likely the biggie for the new machines.