macbooks in may?

[cthomet]

ok i know its early. like 6 months early. i realize that macworld is the most pressing issue right now, but i need some attention and advice on the macbooks.

ive read about a bunch of problems with the new SR MBs (even tho these are the 5% of people having problems) so im wondering whether to wait until the next MB release in may, because, quite frankly i have the flexibility of waiting since i dont NEED the MB till next school year.

my question is, what can i expect in the next edition of the MB (anything worth waiting for)? or is it a good time to buy even with all the problems being reported? thanks for helpin this newb out

 

[Eidorian]

No problems with my laptop.

If you need it now get it. You can wait otherwise.

 

[jnc]

MacBooks are great now. Get one now and enjoy its "newness" for as long as possible. It only just received a new graphics card (after 18 months on market) and a speed boost.

Maybe mid 2008 will see another speed hike, or price drop, but I don't imagine anything more drastic than that for a while.

 

[Star Destroyer]

I have that same option with an iMac, if you dont NEED it now, you should wait. That way you will get the better product at the same or lower price (even if you dont like the new MBs you can pick up an older one for cheaper then you would pay if you bought it now)

Personally i am waiting until the summer, that way i can take advantage of the Back to School sale, and pick up an iPod or something else on sale (or free!).

But if you get it now, you will love it. If you wait it will be worth the wait.

 

[Josheua]

There are a number of problems in trying to predict what the future of the macbook line. Firstly, becuase the product is not the top-of-the-line offer from Apple, it does not follow the Intel Roadmap like the Macbook Pro does and thus processor upgrades/technology upgrades are hard to guess. Seeing as Apple just recently updated to the Santa Rosa Platform, they will not be moving to Penryn at Macworld (but might in May seeing as there are lower end processor options in the series). A case design is highly unlikely for Macworld (nearlly 90% sure it won't happen) and May is unlikely seeing as inclusion of the Penryn processors wouldn't call for a major update.

The next big update for the macbook (I believe) would be when Apple moves the line to the Eaglelake platform that will be introduced in May (which, if Apple follows what they did with Santa Rosa, won't occur until November/December 2008, January 2009). So i would say that you would be fine purchasing now. The Santa Rosa Macbook is a good product (despite a few early technical problems) and the batch you would recieve (if it you purchased around Christmas) would have some of the early adopter glitches ironed out. Unless of course you want to wait a whole year until major changes occur.

Besides, a move to Penryn in the macbook wouldn't give HUGE performance boost over current generation technology and I don't see the integrated graphics processor being changed until eaglelake. I hope all this helps.

::NOTE:: If you dont' know what Eaglelake is, it is the next generation chipset slated to be released alongside updated Penryn processors in May of 2008 according to the Intel Roadmap.

-Josh

 

[smadder]

Now is as good a time as any...

ok i know its early. like 6 months early. i realize that macworld is the most pressing issue right now, but i need some attention and advice on the macbooks.

ive read about a bunch of problems with the new SR MBs (even tho these are the 5% of people having problems) so im wondering whether to wait until the next MB release in may, because, quite frankly i have the flexibility of waiting since i dont NEED the MB till next school year.

my question is, what can i expect in the next edition of the MB (anything worth waiting for)? or is it a good time to buy even with all the problems being reported? thanks for helpin this newb out

With the major internal overhaul and whole new chipset, the only thing that will happen for a good while will be increased processor speeds. All of the graphics issues will be fixed by software and firmware. I have to use Vista for work, and the MB has no problems in Boot Camp mode. It's faster than one of the Dells I have at work that is configured similarly. So, this just proves that it's drivers, more likely than not that will get everything rocking a little better than now. If you want to wait till then, you can.

The SR chipset is going to be around for a bit... if you read the intel info on the new penryn-based 800mhz memory bus based next-gen mobile chipset, they aren't even doing a lot of hard publicity on it yet. They are only talking about the desktop and server chipsets being imminent. SR is gonna be around for a bit longer in the MB, and even when the Penryn mobile comes out, it will go in the MBP first. MBs up until SR, have had the 945 mobile chipset since the original Core Duos came out. they have ust been able to go with better and better processors because the Core Duos sucked, and were replaced VERY quickly with the Core 2 Duo line, but that was the only change, and it's been quite a while.

So I hope this helps. I went and did some homework before I bought, and that's what I found out, so I decided not to wait. Hope this helps.

 

[cthomet]

I have that same option with an iMac, if you dont NEED it now, you should wait. That way you will get the better product at the same or lower price (even if you dont like the new MBs you can pick up an older one for cheaper then you would pay if you bought it now)

Personally i am waiting until the summer, that way i can take advantage of the Back to School sale, and pick up an iPod or something else on sale (or free!).

But if you get it now, you will love it. If you wait it will be worth the wait.

good thinkin on the back to school sale . i appreciate everyones help. ive been watching the macbooks for quite a while now and itching to get one. one more question, what is everyones thoughts in terms of leopard right now? wait a while for things to smooth out or pull the trigger?