New MBP 17" - is this the right time to buy?

[Marjoth]

Hi!

My old powerbook is retiring, and I'm looking on the new 17" MBP as a replacement.

Now, last time I bought a Mac, it was right before Apple relased the new MBP with Intel processors, and I don't want to do the same mistake again.

I've looked at the Macrumors Buyers Guide, but as it currently states "Neutral - Mid product cycle", I don't know what to do.

What I really was hoping for was a updated MBP with Blueray, but I've read that it's unlikely that it would come this year...

So what I'm really asking for if it is likely that it would come a update on the 17" MBP in June @ the WWDC, or if it's OK/wise to buy now?

Thanks for any help!

- Markus

 

[Consultant]

There will always be something new. If you need it buy it. If you want to wait, wait.

 

[relativist]

If you can, try stretching out your use of your current machine until SL is released. When will that be, no one knows. If you can't wait, then buy now.

 

[Big Boss Man]

If you are still on a Powerbook, I would say it is okay to upgrade now. I would not expect blu-ray for years, maybe never. There are ways to rip blu-ray discs and make them playable in OSX. You can also use Windows with an external drive to watch blu-ray.

 

[Marjoth]

Thanks for responding!

If you can, try stretching out your use of your current machine until SL is released. When will that be, no one knows. If you can't wait, then buy now.

SL is a softwareupgrade I can buy when it comes - I doubt it will arrive before this fall anyways.

I'm more concerned if we could expect a hardware-upgrade in June. But if this is unlikely, I'll buy a new MBP this month.

I don't really need one right now, but I really want one as the powerbook is getting slower and slower. That's why I ask if I'm dumb to buy right now; if there's likely to be an upgrade before the summer...

 

[clyde2801]

I don't really need one right now, but I really want one as the powerbook is getting slower and slower.

Have you tried maxing the ram out and putting in a larger or possibly faster hard drive? How much free space do you have on your disk? It may buy you enough time to comfortably wait for a new model or O.S., and may make it easier to sell the powerbook.

 

[Marjoth]

Have you tried maxing the ram out and putting in a larger or possibly faster hard drive?

That wasn't a bad idea. Is that something I can do on my own, or do I have to send it to a Apple workshop?

 

[Scottsdale]

Perfect time for a 17" MBP

The 17" MBP has only been out for two months. Right now is the perfect time to buy. It has the new 8-hour battery, which is a key feature for an upgrade. It has the unibody, which will probably be the "current" design for at least three years. It has a matte option not provided in the 15.4" model. It has a quick CPU, which is a great improvement over your old Mac.

This is really a great computer. It will last you four or five years without thinking twice. Snow Leopard will only make it better in the future. I wish that I had the need for a 17" MBP myself. I would love to have that battery.

Plus, you can get 4 GB of RAM now which should be plenty, but a year or two down the road when prices drop, a $200 will probably buy you 8 GB of RAM for it. Also, SSD prices are dropping fast. A year or two from now, you will be able to upgrade the drive for a few hundred bucks which will probably have double the current SSD read/write speeds and double the storage. So, excellent speed for now without paying for upgrades, and your computer will feel like new when the prices drop on SSD and RAM.

Any CPU upgrade this year is likely to be very minor speed bump. Looking like will be a year at a minimum until different CPUs hit MBPs.

So buy now, and be happy for a long time. The 17" MBP is by far the best value in any of the MBP models.

Best wishes.

 

[teleromeo]

Just do it yourself. find a website like crucial with a module to determinate whatever ram goes in your powerbook and max it out to 2 Gb of ram. Replacing the ram is real easy, all you need is a screwdriver. You'll find a how to on iFixit.

 

[AAPLaday]

The 17" was the last to get upgraded. It was a while after the 15"s came out. But dont know if they will all get refreshed at same time.

 

[Peterkro]

The 17" MBP has only been out for two months. Right now is the perfect time to buy. It has the new 8-hour battery, which is a key feature for an upgrade. It has the unibody, which will probably be the "current" design for at least three years. It has a matte option not provided in the 15.4" model. It has a quick CPU, which is a great improvement over your old Mac.

This is really a great computer. It will last you four or five years without thinking twice. Snow Leopard will only make it better in the future. I wish that I had the need for a 17" MBP myself. I would love to have that battery.

Plus, you can get 4 GB of RAM now which should be plenty, but a year or two down the road when prices drop, a $200 will probably buy you 8 GB of RAM for it. Also, SSD prices are dropping fast. A year or two from now, you will be able to upgrade the drive for a few hundred bucks which will probably have double the current SSD read/write speeds and double the storage. So, excellent speed for now without paying for upgrades, and your computer will feel like new when the prices drop on SSD and RAM.

Any CPU upgrade this year is likely to be very minor speed bump. Looking like will be a year at a minimum until different CPUs hit MBPs.

So buy now, and be happy for a long time. The 17" MBP is by far the best value in any of the MBP models.

Best wishes.

What he said,buy it now.

 

[Marjoth]

Thanks Scottsdale for putting things into place. I think you're right, and I've decided to get rid of this old PB and order the 17" MBP after the Easter Hopefully, it will be a noticeable speed-bump.

Thanks for the help!

 

[pablol]

Coming from a PowerBook it will be a VERY noticeable speed bump!

 

[Scottsdale]

Thanks Scottsdale for putting things into place. I think you're right, and I've decided to get rid of this old PB and order the 17" MBP after the Easter Hopefully, it will be a noticeable speed-bump.

Thanks for the help!

Speed bump, absolutely!

Congratulations.

 

[clyde2801]

One other thing...

I'm not disagreeing with what anyone has said on this thread so far. I respect Scottsdale's opinion; any of the portables have a heck of a lot more capability than a pb.

The missing part of the equation is what you will be using the new machine for. If it's for light, consumerish purposes, web browsing, etc., then I still stand by assertion that maxing the ram and getting a newer, faster hard drive is still a valid, cost conscious decision for getting a bit more life out of your powerbook if you haven't done so already. I've done this on my 12" 1.5 ghz last gen pb, and it's more than capable to meet my humble needs of web browsing, email, and word processing around the house. (BTW, if you upgrade the hd, find a 3rd party authorized repair shop to do it for you-despite everything I heard on the forums, my 40 year old eyes and hands were not up to the task.)

If you're using it for anything processor intensive or for working on windows or any other VM applications, get an intel. Virtual PC or encoding videos on a powerbook is, well, painfully slow. It almost hurts.

If you're using software that is not encoded for both ppc and x86, there may be a performance hit for using rosetta. You may have to factor in the costs of new software into your purchase decision.

If the pb is generally meeting your needs, and has the stock ram and hard drive configurations, for a couple of hundred bucks you can get a bit more use out of it by upgrading. Especially so if the hard drive is filling up and you can't unload anything to a external drive or delete something.