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Should i buy a 15' macbook pro now, Or wait?

S

Smarterchild

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2010
70
0
Hello, Im new to the forum. I have followed this website briefly, but yet to get the hang of it and understand it completely.

I am a highschool student about to go to college for photography and looking at getting a basic 15' Macbook pro 2.53GHz. This isnt the only apple product ill be getting. Im looking to buy the macbook pro for just a entry into the mac system and use for just college classes(note taking, basic edits on site, ect... Nothings serious). But, im planning on making my switch for the use of photgraphy. plus, Macs are just awesome :).

So this is my plan...

Getting the 15' macbook pro within the next few weeks. Then later on buy the 27' Imac with a quad core I7 proccessor with 8gb ram ( for more serious photo editing). I am curious is the new upgrade would be somthing i should wait for or not. I dont want to shoot myself in the foot if i buy the laptop and the replacement comes out the next day with an I5 or I7 proccessor in it. How much of an upgrade would that be? Would it be better for me to just get my Imac now? and wait till the end of summer for the macbook pro.

thank you for reading my post, i hope to be enlightened by anyhthing i dont know about apple products.
 
How long till the update? Well.. iknow its not posted any where. But estimated time due to rumors and days since the previous upgrade. I read in the buyer's guide that its been 300 days since the updade when the average time between updates is 200 Days.
 
Smarterchild said:
How long till the update? Well.. iknow its not posted any where. But estimated time due to rumors and days since the previous upgrade. I read in the buyer's guide that its been 300 days since the updade when the average time between updates is 200 Days.
Click to expand...

Are you seriously asking this question in a new thread?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/890963/

50,000 posts have already been dedicated to this topic.
 
We have some rumors for "By the end of April" and another one that says April 13 (i would post a link, but 9to5mac doesn't wanna load for me right now.
 
Excuse me... I was just trying to seek help. I stated in the first sentance that i am new to this website... So, that doesnt mean i know of every single post that this forum has talked about. Nor even know how to navigate through this website. Way it seems, theres thousands of threads. Maybe i should of read other peoples 50,000 post threads before i stated my problem. My bad :apple:
 
If you're only looking for a laptop to take notes, why get a 15"? Just get an entry level 13". Use the iMac for the heavy duty stuff.
 
I would always recommend using the search feature before posting a new thread. You only set yourself up to get flamed. MacRumors.com even features a buying guide that you can take a look at. I would recommend waiting on your purchase. I would also recommend taking a look at some of the other threads about this same topic. There are a few snippets of good information.
 
vectus said:
I would also recommend taking a look at some of the other threads about this same topic. There are a few snippets of good information.
Click to expand...

There is no good information.

I'll précis the whole MBP forum for you in one sentence:-

A new line of MBPs are long overdue, but no-one, absolutely no-one, knows what date they're coming out, what specs they'll have, or what price they'll be.
 
Sn0wball said:
There is no good information.

I'll précis the whole MBP forum for you in one sentence:-

A new line of MBPs are long overdue, but no-one, absolutely no-one, knows what date they're coming out, what specs they'll have, or what price they'll be.
Click to expand...

There are a few gems out there that spark up interesting theories based on sales history and market change. I assure you that there is some good information.
 
Wait if you can by any means. The current mbps are not worth their money since they haven't been updated in such a long time. I'd recommend a mid or top range mbp once they are updated + a good external display and forget the iMac. The iMacs mirror screen will suck for photo editing unless you sit in a completely dark room. That's the current Apple world you are heading for. No productivity machines but iToys and iToy OS previews...
 
chaosbunny said:
Wait if you can by any means. The current mbps are not worth their money since they haven't been updated in such a long time. I'd recommend a mid or top range mbp once they are updated + a good external display and forget the iMac. The iMacs mirror screen will suck for photo editing unless you sit in a completely dark room. That's the current Apple world you are heading for. No productivity machines but iToys and iToy OS previews...
Click to expand...

Exactly. If you can get by, that's the best plan of action. The current line just aren't a good value for the money any longer.
 
hold off on buying the mbp and the imac. the current mbp is outdated, and overpriced if you compare to the other hardware that's out today. you might as well buy a dell vostro 1520 for ~$600 and do some "tinkering" with it if you know what i mean, and it would be closely matching performance of a macbook with a 15" screen with everything working except maybe the sleep function.

as for imac the 27" comes with an underpowered video card. it's ridiculous how they chose to include only a 4850 (same 4850 that was available on the 24") on a screen with such a high resolution. that thing is a bottleneck.

my suggestion: wait for the next mbp to come out, and then while you're using that, wait for the next revision of the imac. the new mbp would probably more than enough for photo editing, and if not, you can always upgrade it to 8 gigs of ram, and get a large screen for it. then there wouldn't be much point in getting the imac.
 
Since you're in high school and the MacBook Pro is for college, I'd hold off until the summer when they have better deals and by then the computer would have most definitely been refreshed.
 
"Wait if you can by any means. The current mbps are not worth their money since they haven't been updated in such a long time. I'd recommend a mid or top range mbp once they are updated + a good external display and forget the iMac. The iMacs mirror screen will suck for photo editing unless you sit in a completely dark room. That's the current Apple world you are heading for. No productivity machines but iToys and iToy OS previews..."

Chaos, Thats actually be a good idea. I was worried about having an All-in-one computer. Thatd be less for me. But ive been wanting my mac for about a year now. I am running all my photo editing on a 2003ish PC. its worked great till now since i upgraded to my Nikon Fullframe camera (D3). All files are 7mb plus if i shoot in JPG. The other reason why i want it now is that im a complete PC guy. I have no idea how to use macs, I will need time to adjust to the switch. By getting it now, Itll give me all summer to get all my files transfered and set up.

Since the idea of just getting the Macbook Pro upgrade and the 27' inch Display. What about getting a Mac Pro with a quad core or 8 Core. 6-12GB ram later on? im planning on getting all my products to last the next 5 years-7 years.

I do not want to invest money into a PC at this time. I am buying Photoshop and Lightroom through the college as soon as possiable for Mac.
 
if you're only using the laptop for things like note taking and surfing, i'd get the 13" macbook pro, or even the macbook, and take advantage of the big screen of the imac to do your heavy photo editing and the like. i think a mac pro might be a bit too much? i'm a senior design student and work on a mac pro for most of my design stuff and i don't need that much machine, sometimes running multiple adobe programs at the same time. i think an imac or mbp will be just fine.

if you can wait for a few weeks, just wait. just because the current models can do the job doesn't mean you should pay for a very overpriced laptop because it's apple. but if you're total money bags, buy whatever you want :D

my 2 cents.
 
I am actually thinking about getting the 13' inch instead. And i still am thinking about getting the current models. If i am going to use it just for school and everyday use, I wont need I5 or I7 processors. My mentor, who is a photographer is still using his macbook 1 gb ram and 1ish.. ghz perfectly fine. I bet i can do good enough with what the current models offer if i just get a mac pro or a Imac with upgrades.

im curious... How does the Mac pro perform? Differences between Quad core and 8 Core?
 
Hm...if you want to try out the mac osx, just buy a little netbook and hackintosh it :D it'll keep you busy until the refresh and it'll allow you to get to know osx more. :] buuut this is kinda irrational since you want to buy a mac already :D
 
Dude do like the rest of us and wait until this refresh that is coming shortly. Like someone has already said, better video cards will be most likely added to the line up which will more than likely overpower what that iMac currently has to offer in comparison.

Now that external display suggestion, to go with your new MBP you are planning on getting, is a great idea for video and photo editing. I'm sick of waiting by like others have said, there is little choice and it won't be too much longer according to the rumors this month. At least the rumors are actually pointing to this month finally instead of saying something like coming this summer or third or fourth quarter like they could say. Count you blessings and move on! Deuces!
 
Get a top of the line 15" with matte screen once it is updated. That should solve your issues about performance. Then buy a 30" Apple Cinema Display if they are ever updated otherwise look at the Dell Ultrasharp 30" or HP LP Series 30". This should solve your issues about display size.
If you are set on a 16:9 27" like the iMac, the new Dell Ultrasharp 27" uses the exact same LCD, but is matte rather encased behind glass.
 
I have decided to wait to the upgrade of the new Mbp's. Also i have given up the idea of getting the Imac. I plan on buying a Fully upgraded 15' mbp (hopefully Dual core i7, with 8gb+ ram, and pretty good graphis card). With a apple display later on. But i plan on getting a ipad for schooling work.

Thank you everyone for help. off to ipad forum for suggestions and opinions!
 
Smarterchild said:
Hello, Im new to the forum. I have followed this website briefly, but yet to get the hang of it and understand it completely.

I am a highschool student about to go to college for photography and looking at getting a basic 15' Macbook pro 2.53GHz. This isnt the only apple product ill be getting. Im looking to buy the macbook pro for just a entry into the mac system and use for just college classes(note taking, basic edits on site, ect... Nothings serious). But, im planning on making my switch for the use of photgraphy. plus, Macs are just awesome :).

So this is my plan...

Getting the 15' macbook pro within the next few weeks. Then later on buy the 27' Imac with a quad core I7 proccessor with 8gb ram ( for more serious photo editing). I am curious is the new upgrade would be somthing i should wait for or not. I dont want to shoot myself in the foot if i buy the laptop and the replacement comes out the next day with an I5 or I7 proccessor in it. How much of an upgrade would that be? Would it be better for me to just get my Imac now? and wait till the end of summer for the macbook pro.

thank you for reading my post, i hope to be enlightened by anyhthing i dont know about apple products.
Click to expand...

uhh definently wait. Should be updated next week
 
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