Should I wait or just go ahead with MBP 13'' or...??

[JeeHong]

Should I wait for the Sandy Bridge processor which will be in the next laptop lineup of MBP? There are pros & con about this:-
Pros
1. the price for old model might drop
2. get a faster processor
3. good graphics
4. maybe new design(base on some rumor)
Cons
1. New processor=new price
2. No more dedicated graphic card(correct me if I'm wrong)

Or just go ahead with the current MBP 13''? I'm quite urgent in getting a laptop at the moment for my undergraduate program. By the way, just want to clarify whether Mac OS suitable for programmer?? What I meant is that I'll using it more to programming purposes (micro-controller, AVR Mkii & PICkit3) or is more practical to stay with normal window OS?
Really appreciate if u guy can help me out with this odd question. Thanks!!!

 

[axu539]

Should I wait for the Sandy Bridge processor which will be in the next laptop lineup of MBP? There are pros & con about this:-
Pros
1. the price for old model might drop
2. get a faster processor
3. good graphics
4. maybe new design(base on some rumor)
Cons
1. New processor=new price
2. No more dedicated graphic card(correct me if I'm wrong)

Or just go ahead with the current MBP 13''? I'm quite urgent in getting a laptop at the moment for my undergraduate program. By the way, just want to clarify whether Mac OS suitable for programmer?? What I meant is that I'll using it more to programming purposes (micro-controller, AVR Mkii & PICkit3) or is more practical to stay with normal window OS?
Really appreciate if u guy can help me out with this odd question. Thanks!!!

The 13" never had a dedicated graphics card. It's just that for the integrated graphics, Apple currently uses the Nvidia 320M. Sandy Bridge requires its own Intel integrated graphics, which, while much better than the previous generation Intel integrated graphics, still trails the 320M in performance by a bit. But, since Sandy Bridge is much more powerful than the Core 2 Duos paired with the 320M's, your overall performance should increase by a bit.

I'm not a programmer, but I've heard of many programmers and developers using Mac so it should be fine.

Generally speaking, if you need it now, buy it. If not, then wait.

 

[willieva]

If you need a computer go buy it. If you don't need one then wait. There's always something faster and cheaper coming out. Do you want to go the rest of the semester without one?

I program on Linux for a living and have a 13" for personal use. macs are great for programming since it's unix/gcc under the hood, but you also have access to all things Mac like Xcode and objective c. And if you want to do windows programming or spin up an ubuntu machine you can do it easily in vmware fusion or parallels. It's really nice to be able to carry around all your os's all the time.

The 13" is plenty fast enough for programming. Where it falls short is disk space and screen size. I would hate to program full time on one without an external monitor. If it's at all within your budget you might want to give the 15" a look. Particularly the high res version.

If I had to do it over again I would have sprung for the 500gig hard drive. 250 gig can fill up real quick nowadays.

 

[deeddawg]

With kudos to GimmeSlack12: Should I eat a brownie? Or wait?

 

[JeeHong]

If you need a computer go buy it. If you don't need one then wait. There's always something faster and cheaper coming out. Do you want to go the rest of the semester without one?

I program on Linux for a living and have a 13" for personal use. macs are great for programming since it's unix/gcc under the hood, but you also have access to all things Mac like Xcode and objective c. And if you want to do windows programming or spin up an ubuntu machine you can do it easily in vmware fusion or parallels. It's really nice to be able to carry around all your os's all the time.

The 13" is plenty fast enough for programming. Where it falls short is disk space and screen size. I would hate to program full time on one without an external monitor. If it's at all within your budget you might want to give the 15" a look. Particularly the high res version.

If I had to do it over again I would have sprung for the 500gig hard drive. 250 gig can fill up real quick nowadays.

You've a point there. I do like the spec for a MBP, the only thing hold me back is the MAC OS which sometimes quite confusing. Now you did explain how thing goes I think I might as well get one asap.

 

[talmy]

Using it mainly for programming, the graphics speed won't matter. Get either Parallels or Fusion to run Linux and Windows virtual machines and it makes a great universal programming platform.

You will want 4GB of RAM (minimum) for this, and a fast (but not necessarily big) disk drive. A SSD would be great, or (less expensive) get the minimum drive and swap in a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive.

 

[seb-opp]

1. the price for old model might drop

When the last two revisions came out, the old models were reduced, but by hardly anything, the newer model will still be better value for money than the old one.

If you're going to wait, get the new one for the processor, if you need one now, get it now, Its a competent machine. While it only has a Core 2 Duo, if you really needed power you'd be looking to buy a 15 or 17".

 

[Vantage Point]

If you can hold out for about 60 days then wait as that is approx time of the next update +/- 30 days.

If you have a Microcenter store near you then check them out as they have the 13" MBP for only $999 pickup only - great deal

 

[wordoflife]

Should I wait for the Sandy Bridge processor which will be in the next laptop lineup of MBP? There are pros & con about this:-
Pros
1. the price for old model might drop
2. get a faster processor
3. good graphics
4. maybe new design(base on some rumor)
Cons
1. New processor=new price
2. No more dedicated graphic card(correct me if I'm wrong)

Or just go ahead with the current MBP 13''? I'm quite urgent in getting a laptop at the moment for my undergraduate program. By the way, just want to clarify whether Mac OS suitable for programmer?? What I meant is that I'll using it more to programming purposes (micro-controller, AVR Mkii & PICkit3) or is more practical to stay with normal window OS?
Really appreciate if u guy can help me out with this odd question. Thanks!!!

Look at what is bolded. You don't makes sense.

 

[iPhysicist]

Its just a thought, but you maybe could buy a used one and if the update is good, sell the old and buy a new one without regret. If the update is not that good keep it, wait until November and then think again, sell the old one buy the better speced new one?

I think the (used) 2009 models (I use the late 2009; 2,53GHz, 4GB, 250GB, 9400m) is quite affordable with a nice resale value. Go out and hunt one down.

 

[Euroamerican]

If you need a laptop for school, and school has started, then you should buy something now.

I assume you don't have a PC laptop available. If you do have a functional laptop available to do your current work(even beg or borrow), I would just wait to see what is released.

If you have to have a Mac (required by your schooling) then I would go with a 13" MB, MBP, or MB Air. The MBP 13 is small enough, full-featured, and not as eye-gougingly priced (historically) as the Airs. The 15s are quite a bit bigger, significantly pricier, and the Applecare warranty is $100.00 higher priced.

If you can't stand the MBP's glossy screen, take a gander at the 13" MB or an Air. Personally, I thought it was worth the extra $200.00 to get the 13" MBP and the "2 gb more RAM, bigger HD, firewire, and backlit keyboard". IN restrospect, I don't really use the backlit keyboard and I more-or-less got used to the glare.

I agree with others in another thread that the 13" MBP may disappear during the next revision. I think the 13" MB and 13" MBP will become a single low-priced model which straddles the low price and smaller full featured market space. The "I need a small MBP" people will be steered towards the 13" Air.

Bottom Line: Your decision will be more clear if you determine if you really need a NEW (or at least, new to you) laptop NOW.

 

[Jakedono]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Does anyone have any idea when apple is ment to update the line. Have had a look around on the forums.

By the look of it people are saying around Feb. Does this sound about right.....

 

[rhinosrcool]

For me, the resolution on the 13" mbp sucks (1280 X 800). Probably, since the new 13" mba has 1440 X 900, the new mbp will have it, too. That would, maybe, make me sell my 15" mbp and get the new 13" mbp. We'll see...