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Macbook Pro: Wait or not?
- Thread starter The13thDoctor
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OP, forget about all the whiny babies who cry "search search" and I would upgrade now. 
If the next update is a design overhaul, you can bet it'll be full of problems. I am getting one now, and then a few refreshes after the design update, I'll upgrade again. Probably in late 2012 or so.
If the next update is a design overhaul, you can bet it'll be full of problems. I am getting one now, and then a few refreshes after the design update, I'll upgrade again. Probably in late 2012 or so. Why there's always one of these guy in these kind of thread? C'on guys this is a forum! Read the title and if you don't like it DO NOT CLICK on them!
Op, I had your old laptop too but recently upgraded to the newest 2011 15' and can't be any happier!
OP, forget about all the whiny babies who cry "search search" and I would upgrade now.
Oh my.
I may have been a bit sharp on working it however if you check the buying advice forum this question has been asked countless amount of times and will receive the same reply as we can only assume whats gonna happen and when the upgrade will happen etc.
Yes it is a forum however sometimes it gets cluttered with the same question while the OP could have just used the search button to find out, its not that hard is it...
there is no "typical" refresh schedule?
I'm just wondering what the Vegas odds are on the next having built-in 3G.
Yes there is.
And no there isn't
If you look at the VERY TOP OF THIS PAGE you'll see "Buyer's Guide".
Click that
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//
I did it for you
8 months sounds about right. Current MBPs came out in February, so they're already 6 months old. But it's likely the MBPs won't be updated until Ivy Bridge, so yes, ~8 months away.
Then there are rumors of a 15" ultralight coming before xmas. If that turns out to be the new Pros, then the update is at most 4 months away, but I don't think it is. In fact I don't really believe the timeframe of the rumor at all
Personally, I'm holding out for the next refresh. My 5yo MBP is still kicking, so as long as it's not kicking buckets, no reason to give up a matte display and a proper dual-link DVI port just yet
New Re-designed Ultra Thin MacBook Pro might come out at some point, no-one knows when!
Fixed that for you...
Or IF you have the MONEY right now, go buy one. If you have MONEY in 3 -6 Months get the New Update MacBook Pro
That is true what Blaine said. The same goes for anything else too.
Getting the first model of anything is "usually" a bad idea. However quite a few times its worth getting the old model due to difference in parts.
A good example of this is alienware. The m17x R1 and R2 were aluminum. However the R3 is now made out of plastic and cheaper to make/manufacturer.
I don't have a mac yet, but I want to pick one up. Since they "might" release a refresh in a the next few months, and mostly at the same price as now, I will wait for a few months till one arrives. Hopefully rumors will come out early so I could find out if its worth the wait.
However based on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro, we could see the new model come out next year, or later this year.
Macbook Pro release dates:
Late 2008 - October 14, 2008
Early 2009 - January 6, 2009
Mid 2009 - June 8, 2009
Mid 2010 - April 13, 2010
Early 2011 - February 24, 2011
Flip a coin...
Even based on the Buyers guide here: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//#MacBook_Pro
???
169 days
02/2011
317 days
04/2010
309 days
06/2009
237 days
10/2008
231 days
02/2008
266 days
It appears that the last 2 updates were about a year long (~300 days). So, yes, there can be a early update. However we don't know for certain...only Apple knows, or some worker who is making these products for us to enjoy.
Getting the first model of anything is "usually" a bad idea. However quite a few times its worth getting the old model due to difference in parts.
A good example of this is alienware. The m17x R1 and R2 were aluminum. However the R3 is now made out of plastic and cheaper to make/manufacturer.
I don't have a mac yet, but I want to pick one up. Since they "might" release a refresh in a the next few months, and mostly at the same price as now, I will wait for a few months till one arrives. Hopefully rumors will come out early so I could find out if its worth the wait.
However based on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro, we could see the new model come out next year, or later this year.
Macbook Pro release dates:
Late 2008 - October 14, 2008
Early 2009 - January 6, 2009
Mid 2009 - June 8, 2009
Mid 2010 - April 13, 2010
Early 2011 - February 24, 2011
Flip a coin...
Even based on the Buyers guide here: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//#MacBook_Pro
???
169 days
02/2011
317 days
04/2010
309 days
06/2009
237 days
10/2008
231 days
02/2008
266 days
It appears that the last 2 updates were about a year long (~300 days). So, yes, there can be a early update. However we don't know for certain...only Apple knows, or some worker who is making these products for us to enjoy.
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There's a second release of Sandy Bridges with minor clock bumps. That should be a part of the refresh if it were to happen this year. If. Actual performance difference is about 10%, when speaking raw power. How much of that 10% would the user utilize? Probably none of it, but it's bragging rights. No architectural change, so heat is still there.
On the GPU side of things, nothing in the foreseeable future.
For RAM, I don't see Apple bumping base RAM to 8 GB simply because there's no room to upgrade from there. 16 GB would cost ~$1500. There could be a transition from 1333 -> 1600 mhz RAM, but that's irrelevant to just about every user and won't show up unless it's strictly a RAM benchmark (e.g. WEI).
HDD? No. SSDs haven't come down in price for quite a while now; I don't see Apple offering SSDs standard on the MBP until 240/256 GB SSDs drop down to ~$100. 128 GB SSDs aren't even that price yet.
Resolution bump? For the MBP 13? Definitely a possibility. For the 15? We can hope. But I don't see the 15 getting an option for the WUXGA (1920x1200) simply because that's the MBP 17's forte. No reason to create competition for themselves.
ODD? There's room for improvement there.
Redesign? IF it were to be thinner, it would have to be less powerful. That's very basic science. MBPs already struggle with heat management as is. One option is go the LG route and instill a second heatsink/whatever solution in place of the ODD, but that's a long shot because it doesn't show up on the spec sheet.
Overall, if there is a late refresh, is it worth waiting for? No, not really.
On the GPU side of things, nothing in the foreseeable future.
For RAM, I don't see Apple bumping base RAM to 8 GB simply because there's no room to upgrade from there. 16 GB would cost ~$1500. There could be a transition from 1333 -> 1600 mhz RAM, but that's irrelevant to just about every user and won't show up unless it's strictly a RAM benchmark (e.g. WEI).
HDD? No. SSDs haven't come down in price for quite a while now; I don't see Apple offering SSDs standard on the MBP until 240/256 GB SSDs drop down to ~$100. 128 GB SSDs aren't even that price yet.
Resolution bump? For the MBP 13? Definitely a possibility. For the 15? We can hope. But I don't see the 15 getting an option for the WUXGA (1920x1200) simply because that's the MBP 17's forte. No reason to create competition for themselves.
ODD? There's room for improvement there.
Redesign? IF it were to be thinner, it would have to be less powerful. That's very basic science. MBPs already struggle with heat management as is. One option is go the LG route and instill a second heatsink/whatever solution in place of the ODD, but that's a long shot because it doesn't show up on the spec sheet.
Overall, if there is a late refresh, is it worth waiting for? No, not really.
I went ahead and bought one last week, installed my ram yesterday. I'll wait for the SSD prices to drop, then I'll swap that out. Same with the 16GB of ram.
This thing is faster than my Mac Pro, which runs Lion fairly well. No complaints, the only problem... I have one from work and now my own. Seems like a waste, but I never do my side projects on that work machine.
This thing is faster than my Mac Pro, which runs Lion fairly well. No complaints, the only problem... I have one from work and now my own. Seems like a waste, but I never do my side projects on that work machine.
You have to look at this logically. The quadcore sandybridge platform is highly capable and offers true "Pro" performance for many process heavy apps such as CS5, Logic, Final Cut, etc.
Imo the same could not really be said for the 2009 and 2010 dualcore MBPs. Though a competent mobile platform, these MBPs were even when they launched a bit light in processing power. At that time, even many basic desktops had quadcore chips.
I bought the 2010 i7 17" when it first came out because I needed a laptop but then sold it not long after the 2011 MBP was released. There was not a noticeable difference in performance for many light apps, browsing, but there was a noticeable difference in battery life. The 2010 MBP was much better in battery performance. However the whole ball of wax changes as soon as I do any processor intensive work ie: music/DAW graphics or graphics. The quadcore sandybridge runs rings round the 2010.
The quad MBP should provide you with enough raw performance to run just about any app for the next couple of years. Until they have an MBP octo-core I'll be hanging onto my 2011 17" MBP and enjoying it.
Imo the same could not really be said for the 2009 and 2010 dualcore MBPs. Though a competent mobile platform, these MBPs were even when they launched a bit light in processing power. At that time, even many basic desktops had quadcore chips.
I bought the 2010 i7 17" when it first came out because I needed a laptop but then sold it not long after the 2011 MBP was released. There was not a noticeable difference in performance for many light apps, browsing, but there was a noticeable difference in battery life. The 2010 MBP was much better in battery performance. However the whole ball of wax changes as soon as I do any processor intensive work ie: music/DAW graphics or graphics. The quadcore sandybridge runs rings round the 2010.
The quad MBP should provide you with enough raw performance to run just about any app for the next couple of years. Until they have an MBP octo-core I'll be hanging onto my 2011 17" MBP and enjoying it.
If you need it, get it. There will always be something newer and better later down the road regardless of when you buy it.