should I get a macbook pro now?

[ragnanox]

Hey guys.. Hope you can help!

I want to get a Macbook Pro for university (I'm going to be studying Illustration and I've been advised that Macbooks are the best thing) and it's been decided that I WILL be getting one, but I was wondering..

Should I get the laptop now, or wait 'till I go to university which is in 2 years? I'm afraid that something new and A LOT better will come out and well.. I'll be wanting a new one..

What do you guys say? Now or later?


Oh and another stupid little question that I hope you guys can help answer.. I was looking at the Macbook specifications on Wikipedia and I saw that there's a "Non-Unibody" Macbook and a "Unibody" Macbook.. What's unibody?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[rhyx]

Buy now if you need now. Otherwise wait.

Unibody is what is currently being sold now.

 

[smartalic34]

I would probably wait. 2 years is a long time in computer technology and the macbook pro in 2011 will be much, much more powerful than today's iteration.

the unibody macbook pro is the current model. it utilizes a special manufacturing process that results in one continuous piece of aluminum that is very strong. the non-unibody is the previous generation "classic" macbook pro that was discontinued when the unibody was released.

 

[VanMac]

Hey.

Well, if you dont need it now, then it is certainly better to wait. You will get more bang for your buck in 2 years time.

That being said, it would be worthwhile to maybe get a used iMac or MBP in the meantime (if you dont have one) to get exposure to the tools you will need for school.

 

[kastenbrust]

Unibody basically means the latest design, non unibody is any Macbook or Macbook pro made before 2008. Anyway if you only need it in 2 years then wait, thats pretty self explanitory.

 

[matt1219]

Yeah. If you don't need it now, wait. What I did is since I'm 13, by the time I go to college in 4 years, my new Alu-iMac will be slower (due to software updates, etc.), and I won't want to use it as much, so being that I'll be going to college and my computer's slow, I'll be able to get a beautiful new MacBook Pro. =D

 

[ragnanox]

Hey! Thanks for all the help guys.. I just wanted to ask what other people's opinions were online because I'm kind of excited and I can't wait to get the Macbook ;p

@VanMac: I know I should be getting used to Macs in the meantime but I was already planning on updating my Windows system (gamer ) so yeah..

 

[Mark-Mac-Attack]

Well two years ago Core Duo MBPs were about weren't they? And they wouldn't be terrible compared to the current crop. 2 years is a long time if you play the numbers game, but in reality i'm pretty sure it would do the job. Maybe spec. up a current model a bit (although purchase third party RAM).

M.

 

[Scottsdale]

Unless you absolutely need it now, there is no reason to buy it now. Technology changes rapidly. While two years down the road may still be the exact same design unibody MBP. However, the components will be much different. In two years it will probably have quad processor or more. It will probably have an SSD that reads/writes at five times the speed of current HDDs. It will probably have much more memory capabilities (probably much faster memory and up to 8 or 16 GB available). It will probably have a much better graphics card that by then Adobe and software will benefit from the four or more cores of processor.

So if you need one now, buy one. But if it's for college which starts two years down road then do not buy now. Maybe you could pickup a low-end MB now. Put the extra money into an investment, then two years down road buy a MBP that is completely new and current for that time. You can probably sell the MB you used for two years and get maybe half your money back from it too.

That is my advice.