So a black refurb macbook will cost me about $1375 total shipped. So very tempting, but should I wait till I see what comes out next month? I'm not really interested in the sub notebooks and the pro models are too rich for my blood right now. Do you guys think a speed bump in the macbooks will happen and be worth waiting for?
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Need New Macbook: Buy Now or wait?
- Thread starter Cruzweb
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An upgrade might happen when Santa Rosa platform arrives in May. MacBooks are going to have (hopefully) Intel GMA X3000, faster fsb speed and Robson technology.
It's very tempting, especially with the pixel shader in the x3000, but that's still a few months away.
Perhaps I should add that the next newest mac I have is a 233mhz G3. I've been buying up PCs because they're all I could afford, but the problems with windows have made me so sick I think i'm going to retire from fixing PCs and buying any more of them. The reason why I bring this up is because unless there's probably something going down next month, I really would like to not wait any longer.
Alternatively, It could well be that Leopard gets updated in mid-June and none of the mac hardware is updated until then. Or perhaps, the Macbook Pro's are updated on Leopard's release, but the Macbooks don't change -- not until Apple's ready to throw in the Santa Rosa which might be sometime in the summer. (People were holding off for the C2D macbooks months before that actually happened; it took Apple quite some time to get them ready, and that was a much easier upgrade.)
If Apple is going to release Santa Rosa MacBooks that late they might as well wait for Penryn.
If you need it, get it.
I needed my laptop last august and few months latter they came out with the core 2 duo, yea its slightly faster, owell. They probably won't through out everything and come out with something that will make you cry its so much faster and better.
I needed my laptop last august and few months latter they came out with the core 2 duo, yea its slightly faster, owell. They probably won't through out everything and come out with something that will make you cry its so much faster and better.
If you wait until 2013, Mac OS X 10.9 (Lion) should be out. By that time, Macbooks should be cheaper in price, and will have 1 tb flash-based hard drives, along with standard quad layer blue-ray hd disc drives. The battery life will be 48 hrs, even during dvd playback and 4-d rendering (steve jobs will conquer the whole "time" issue in 2009). it will also come in an assortment of colors and flavors. Oh, and it will be available immediately after ordering, what with the beaming technoogy that was adopted from star trek
Seriously, though, if you need it right now, buy it now. If you can wait, then wait. Same response tht everyone gets when they ask the question...
Seriously, though, if you need it right now, buy it now. If you can wait, then wait. Same response tht everyone gets when they ask the question...
yah I was going to wait for 10.5, but with all the bugs and such people are reporting, plus 10.4.9 is still to be, I think this will be a safe enough bet. I just wanted to get more of a feel for if people thought there was a good enough macbook lineup round the corner to justify it.
Thanks so much.
Thanks so much.
One thing that I always recommend people do is get a trade-in quote from powermax.com. While Apple puts strict limitations on computer prices from authorized dealers, they don't regulate trade ins ... so powermax can play with the margins by offering you a really good trade in deal if they want to move certain computers where they either have too much inventory or hear that replacements are coming soon. In the right circumstances, powermax could quote you a trade in price that beats the current eBay going price.
the only issue i'd have about buying now is waiting for leopard. the features of santa rosa are great and all, but i'm really happy with the current tech and wouldn't feel flustered when new macbooks come out. if you need it like thread title suggests, buy.
santa rosa
Would Santa Rosa just give teh macbook a speed boost or will it increase the graphics power (i hate integrated graphics)?
Also, I really want to buy a macbook soon. I was going to wait for the leopard, but I think I will just buy the macbook now. However, if there is a hardware upgrade, do you think its worth the wait? I can wait up to may, but anythign pass that will try my sanity.
Would Santa Rosa just give teh macbook a speed boost or will it increase the graphics power (i hate integrated graphics)?
Also, I really want to buy a macbook soon. I was going to wait for the leopard, but I think I will just buy the macbook now. However, if there is a hardware upgrade, do you think its worth the wait? I can wait up to may, but anythign pass that will try my sanity.
I'd just buy it now. (Indeed, I did...) You have no guarantee there will be a macbook hardware upgrade by May, and I don't even expect one. I think Leopard will come out in June and they might update the hardware then, but minimally even so.
You want your lappy now, so get it. If the Leopard revision is a major one, then you hold onto your macbook for another 6 months for the revision after that one; so all the kinks are worked out.
And if it's a minor revision (or none at all), then hurray, you just bought your macbook 3 months earlier for the price of Leopard.
You want your lappy now, so get it. If the Leopard revision is a major one, then you hold onto your macbook for another 6 months for the revision after that one; so all the kinks are worked out.
And if it's a minor revision (or none at all), then hurray, you just bought your macbook 3 months earlier for the price of Leopard.From a CPU point of view, I don't think the speed difference between Santa Rosa and C2D would be that big. It's probably going to be on the same order as CD -> C2D. Most people won't notice it.
As far as Intel GMA X3000 vs 950. Again, I believe the non-integrated solution found on the MBP would still outperform the GMA X3000.
As with anything in life, the bottom line is $$$. If you want Santa Rosa performance, you don't have to wait. You can get a MBP today, and have it all now.
I agree.
The OP said that he 'needed' a new macbook. To me that means you should definitly go ahead and order a macbook. Why wait for something you have no idea when it's comming out? I played the waiting game with my MacBook Pro. I waiting all of November and December till MWSF in January hoping that an update to the MacBook Pro's would be announced or leopard would come out early. But it didn't happen and I regretted waiting over 2 months just because of speculation.
I decided to get my refurb Macbook, even though Macworld was around the corner. I was probably one of the few people that wasn't disappointed that a new system wasn't released!
I highly recommend the refurbs. I've done this twice now, and have never had a complaint.
I highly recommend the refurbs. I've done this twice now, and have never had a complaint.
refurbished
What's the difference between a refurbished and a new one? Are their noticiable scratches or color discolorations? Or are these notebooks just the same but have been returned to apple because of small issues? As long as the quality of performance is the same and the outside looks pretty good, I would say refurbished is worth it.
Btw, can you customize your refurbished notebook at apple.com,?
What's the difference between a refurbished and a new one? Are their noticiable scratches or color discolorations? Or are these notebooks just the same but have been returned to apple because of small issues? As long as the quality of performance is the same and the outside looks pretty good, I would say refurbished is worth it.
Btw, can you customize your refurbished notebook at apple.com,?
