Life-Span?

[Sceptical]

Hi i am considering buying one of the new i5 macbook pro's (15 inch) However i am going to university in about 2-3 years and obviously i would need a laptop for university. Is there any point buying a macbook now, or should i just get a macbook just as i go into university, so that i get the most up to date macbook.

To put things simply, will a macbook pro i5 still be a cracking laptop in 3 years time?

 

[Hellhammer]

If you need one now, get one. You can always sell it before going uni and get a new one if you think it's worth it

 

[Sceptical]

I basically have a Sony Vaio at the moment. It is about 4+ years old and therefore is very slow, and to be honest was a disapointment from the get go. I recently upgraded it to 2gb from 512mb. It's been an improvement, but i play games and do graphical things like photoshop/3dmodeling. So i would like something a bit better.

A laptop isn't "essential" at the current moment as i have quite a high level Desktop pc, however recently i've been bitten by the Mac bug and would love to move to apple products. My Pc is slowly dying i feel aswell, it's getting slower and slower over time. (it's a custom built pc)

 

[Madmic23]

My iMac g5 from 2005 is still going strong. My MacBook from 2007 is also still very functional. Neither one of them have 'slowed down' over time, and are still as quick as when I bought them. Yes, the g5 does struggle on a few modern day, flash heavy websites, but otherthan that, it's great. If you buy a MacBook pro now, it will be more than capable in 3 years, and like the post above says, you can always sell itand upgrade to the next latest and greatest machine in three years.

 

[Hellhammer]

I basically have a Sony Vaio at the moment. It is about 4+ years old and therefore is very slow, and to be honest was a disapointment from the get go. I recently upgraded it to 2gb from 512mb. It's been an improvement, but i play games and do graphical things like photoshop/3dmodeling. So i would like something a bit better.

A laptop isn't "essential" at the current moment as i have quite a high level Desktop pc, however recently i've been bitten by the Mac bug and would love to move to apple products. My Pc is slowly dying i feel aswell, it's getting slower and slower over time. (it's a custom built pc)

As I said, if you think you need or just want one, go ahead, do it. You can sell it for pretty good price after two years and then get a new one, maybe 13" because it's more portable for uni

 

[JesterJJZ]

My iMac g5 from 2005 is still going strong. My MacBook from 2007 is also still very functional. Neither one of them have 'slowed down' over time, and are still as quick as when I bought them. Yes, the g5 does struggle on a few modern day, flash heavy websites, but otherthan that, it's great. If you buy a MacBook pro now, it will be more than capable in 3 years, and like the post above says, you can always sell itand upgrade to the next latest and greatest machine in three years.

My Powermac G4 from 2001 is still working pretty well. I don't use it much but I don't see any slowdown for the day to day stuff. On the other hand, my 4 year old HP tower seems to contracted AIDS and developed cancer.

 

[eawmp1]

1) If you can get by now, it's better to limp along with what you have
2) In 2-3 years a 2010 laptop will be going strong..but there will be updates by then, and your laptop will be 2-3 years old
3) You may get a discount as a university student

That having been said, once bitten by any bug, logic goes out the window. Enjoy your new Mac!

 

[Ca$hflow]

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't wait for the MacBooks as they are not going to spec anywhere near the 15" MBP. Only reason that I would wait if I were you is maybe the student discount plus a free iPod blah blah blah. It's not like apple will update MBP before september.

 

[Paulywauly]

well ive got a antique late 90's Bondi Blue iMac G3 that still works as good as the day it was manufactured so if its anything to go by your laptop could last a long time if taken care of

If your hearts really in it i say go for it, its going to be usable for a long time to come. Or, if you wait till summer you could get get a discount when your start university

 

[Sceptical]

i think theres been some confusion....theres another 3 years untill i start uni....not 3 months