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Should I wait?

AppleTecFan

AppleTecFan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2009
411
3
N/A
In the market for a new MacBook Pro, its been awhile; I have been holding on with a 13" MacBook Pro from 2009 and it can not cut it no more.

I have 1,500 I am ready to spend, and I have my best intentions to buy this

http://store.apple.com/ca/product/FD103LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7

Referb MacBook Pro 15" from June of last year. Should I just purchase this outright now? or wait for a potential refresh in June. Or go up a level and purchase a Retina MacBook. I am very indecisive about this situation, I really want a new MacBook but knowing there is a refresh coming about I do not know what to do.

Really would like a response from the community for help

Also side question

I live in British Columbia, and I know well there is an enviromental tax and that anyone in BC knows the percentage or explain the pricing concept
 
Well if you are looking for a discounted MBP then purchase now - when the refresh comes in 2013 it will be several months (3-6 until refurbs are out).
 
Spink10 said:
Well if you are looking for a discounted MBP then purchase now - when the refresh comes in 2013 it will be several months (3-6 until refurbs are out).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really dont have intention of buying it new

but there was a rumor of the next macbooks being all retina with a cost reduction, thats what holding me back a little too
 
AppleTecFan said:
Yeah, I really dont have intention of buying it new

but there was a rumor of the next macbooks being all retina with a cost reduction, thats what holding me back a little too
Click to expand...

A rumor is nothing but a rumor. If you keep listening to them, you'll never buy.

Updates to Apple's line is not going to be happening until late june, at the very earliest. Then count a few months (3-6) for refurbs to pop up, and you'll have waited nearly another year for an update which may, or may not, benefit you.

You have not listed any intended usage for your computer, perhaps the 2009 model is perfectly adequate for your needs already, it may simply need a bit of an upgrade.
 
snaky69 said:
A rumor is nothing but a rumor. If you keep listening to them, you'll never buy.

Updates to Apple's line is not going to be happening until late june, at the very earliest. Then count a few months (3-6) for refurbs to pop up, and you'll have waited nearly another year for an update which may, or may not, benefit you.

You have not listed any intended usage for your computer, perhaps the 2009 model is perfectly adequate for your needs already, it may simply need a bit of an upgrade.
Click to expand...

My current MacBook is very bogged down, cannot handle games like League of Legends, nor handle iMovie editing (if I have an app like iTunes opened, iMovie will not respond), watching videos on youtube in 1080p stutters and lags. Everything in general is bogged down its a chore to open chrome. To add on the trackpad is broken, won't click (younger brother done something to it)


The MacBook I plan to buy should succeed in everything sufficiently and more, correct?
I may even buy this referb Retina MacBook Pro
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/FC975LL/A
 
AppleTecFan said:
My current MacBook is very bogged down, cannot handle games like League of Legends, nor handle iMovie editing (if I have an app like iTunes opened, iMovie will not respond), watching videos on youtube in 1080p stutters and lags. Everything in general is bogged down its a chore to open chrome. To add on the trackpad is broken, won't click (younger brother done something to it)


The MacBook I plan to buy should succeed in everything sufficiently and more, correct?
I may even buy this referb Retina MacBook Pro
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/FC975LL/A
Click to expand...
In that case, any 15" machine with a discrete graphics card will beat the crap out of your current machine power-wise.

Your choice from there.
 
snaky69 said:
In that case, any 15" machine with a discrete graphics card will beat the crap out of your current machine power-wise.

Your choice from there.
Click to expand...

what would you rate the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and the Intel Graphics 4000 out of 10? just want some opinions
 
AppleTecFan said:
My current MacBook is very bogged down, cannot handle games like League of Legends, nor handle iMovie editing (if I have an app like iTunes opened, iMovie will not respond), watching videos on youtube in 1080p stutters and lags. Everything in general is bogged down its a chore to open chrome. To add on the trackpad is broken, won't click (younger brother done something to it)


The MacBook I plan to buy should succeed in everything sufficiently and more, correct?
I may even buy this referb Retina MacBook Pro
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/FC975LL/A
Click to expand...

This would be a good idea if you can afford paying a few more benjamins!
 
I say buy now. If you can wait, then wait. Macbook's hold their value lots as well. Be happy and buy now. :) If you always wait for the next big thing, you'll never buy anything.
 
I'm waiting until haswell. I want them to fix that glued in battery idea of theirs. If they could make mba batteries removable, then they can do it for rmbps too.
 
Is the Retina Macbook worth it over the regular?

starting to think of getting it, but I am not sure if losing half my storage as I was planning to bootcamp windows 8 and give it 100gb for gaming and whatnot so I am really not sure
 
Retina is an amazing screen - I personally prefer my cMBP. If you are doing bootcamp and need that much GB to go to windows the 256GB may not be an option for you. Its a huge increase for the 512.
 
Spink10 said:
Retina is an amazing screen - I personally prefer my cMBP. If you are doing bootcamp and need that much GB to go to windows the 256GB may not be an option for you. Its a huge increase for the 512.
Click to expand...

I thought up pros and cons for both non retina and retina MacBooks

Non-Retina

Pros
Cheaper
Larger Hard drive
No website issues

Cons
Heavier
Slower hard drive
Okay display
Less ram
Behind the curve



Retina

Pros
Retina Display
Lighter
Its thefuture
More ram
Better cooling system

Cons
Expensive
Less website support
less harddrive space

eh.

It looks that the Retina looks like the better MacBook for myself,
But the harddrive space difference is an issue for me :/
 
AppleTecFan said:
I thought up pros and cons for both non retina and retina MacBooks
Click to expand...
Helping the list out a bit.

Non-Retina

Pros
Cheaper = debatable (after some upgrades)
Larger Hard drive = Yes.
No website issues = Yes.

Cons
Heavier = Yes
Slower hard drive = Can be faster since you can use whatever. I use a faster SSD than the retina.
Okay display = Yes.
Less ram = Can be 16GB for $80.00.
Behind the curve = What curve? The curve of less is more?



Retina

Pros
Retina Display = Yes.
Lighter = Yes.
Its thefuture = So what? Same Procs and GPU in classic. As stated the future is not here yet thus website issues.
More ram = See above
Better cooling system = subjective

Cons
Expensive = Sort of.
Less website support = Yes.
less harddrive space = not if you get the 768GB.
 
AppleTecFan said:
I thought up pros and cons for both non retina and retina MacBooks

Non-Retina

Pros
Cheaper
Larger Hard drive
No website issues

Cons
Heavier
Slower hard drive
Okay display
Less ram
Behind the curve



Retina

Pros
Retina Display
Lighter
Its thefuture
More ram
Better cooling system

Cons
Expensive
Less website support
less harddrive space

eh.

It looks that the Retina looks like the better MacBook for myself,
But the harddrive space difference is an issue for me :/
Click to expand...

Seems like you have some things to consider. Don't hurry up, there's a lot you may want to think of before you buy it.

First, you should decide if you want the retina MacBook Pro or not. The Pros and Cons you just listed are OK, provided that you don't plan to upgrade the Mac (in this case, the non-retina version would be the better choice). Keep in mind that Apple will discontinue the non-retina versions sooner or later, as it is around us for more than 4 years now. The retina is really the future, although some people may not like it. Now, the non-retina version is definitely cheaper, and if you want to keep it cheap, you should go for it.

You should also consider that: (i) the non-retina MacBook Pro may be discontinued this year, so perhaps it's the last chance you can buy it; (ii) the retina version may get cheaper the next release, but not by too much, as SSDs are still expensive and they are perhaps the most expensive component of the laptops (even more than the retina display); (iii) Haswell processors will only be released on June 2, 2013, so you won't be able to get a Mac equipped with these processors before June (and perhaps later than June); (iv) Haswell will focus on power management, and not on performance; (v) any refresh coming before June will feature slighly updated Ivy Bridge processors; (vi) if you want to play games, you should pay attention to the video card, and even think of a Windows laptop or desktop to go along with your Mac.

There are lots of rumors saying that new MacBook Pros will be released in June, and that the retina versions will get cheaper. There are rumors everywhere. They may or may not turn to be true. That's how it happens. Place your bet.
 
derbothaus said:
Helping the list out a bit.

Non-Retina

Pros
Cheaper = debatable (after some upgrades)
Larger Hard drive = Yes.
No website issues = Yes.

Cons
Heavier = Yes
Slower hard drive = Can be faster since you can use whatever. I use a faster SSD than the retina.
Okay display = Yes.
Less ram = Can be 16GB for $80.00.
Behind the curve = What curve? The curve of less is more?



Retina

Pros
Retina Display = Yes.
Lighter = Yes.
Its thefuture = So what? Same Procs and GPU in classic. As stated the future is not here yet thus website issues.
More ram = See above
Better cooling system = subjective

Cons
Expensive = Sort of.
Less website support = Yes.
less harddrive space = not if you get the 768GB.
Click to expand...

what I meant by the future and behind the curve is, more and more high res displays will be coming

and purchasing a 768 for the retina is expensive

----------
skaertus said:
Seems like you have some things to consider. Don't hurry up, there's a lot you may want to think of before you buy it.

First, you should decide if you want the retina MacBook Pro or not. The Pros and Cons you just listed are OK, provided that you don't plan to upgrade the Mac (in this case, the non-retina version would be the better choice). Keep in mind that Apple will discontinue the non-retina versions sooner or later, as it is around us for more than 4 years now. The retina is really the future, although some people may not like it. Now, the non-retina version is definitely cheaper, and if you want to keep it cheap, you should go for it.

You should also consider that: (i) the non-retina MacBook Pro may be discontinued this year, so perhaps it's the last chance you can buy it; (ii) the retina version may get cheaper the next release, but not by too much, as SSDs are still expensive and they are perhaps the most expensive component of the laptops (even more than the retina display); (iii) Haswell processors will only be released on June 2, 2013, so you won't be able to get a Mac equipped with these processors before June (and perhaps later than June); (iv) Haswell will focus on power management, and not on performance; (v) any refresh coming before June will feature slighly updated Ivy Bridge processors; (vi) if you want to play games, you should pay attention to the video card, and even think of a Windows laptop or desktop to go along with your Mac.

There are lots of rumors saying that new MacBook Pros will be released in June, and that the retina versions will get cheaper. There are rumors everywhere. They may or may not turn to be true. That's how it happens. Place your bet.
Click to expand...

I only do plan of buying a referb MacBook, as discussed earlier it may take nearly a year for the latest macbooks to pop up. What is your opinion on this?
The perspective is I am not in desperate need of a new MacBook at this moment, Money is not too much of a deal, I do want a new MacBook fairly soon. Would you wait it out or buy either the non or the retina right now
 
AppleTecFan said:
I only do plan of buying a referb MacBook, as discussed earlier it may take nearly a year for the latest macbooks to pop up. What is your opinion on this?
The perspective is I am not in desperate need of a new MacBook at this moment, Money is not too much of a deal, I do want a new MacBook fairly soon. Would you wait it out or buy either the non or the retina right now
Click to expand...

That depends on what your needs are. I would wait to buy a retina MacBook Pro when it gets updated with a Haswell processor. I intend to buy the 13" and not the 15" version.

But, again, my needs are different from yours. I don't use my laptop for playing games, nor any video demanding app. I have to carry it with me all day, so the smaller and lighter MacBook Pro will fit my needs. In addition, the Haswell processor will provide for a better battery life, which will be very welcome in the context of my usage. As I want text on the screen to look bleeding sharp, I want the retina display and I will not settle for a lower resolution. And I will buy it brand new, as I am in Brazil, and Apple does not sell refurbs here. So, my choice is clear, and it is different from yours.

If your issue is raw performance, then you should buy it now, as Haswell will reportedly be only about 10% faster than Ivy Bridge. Video cards will be faster, though.
 
skaertus said:
T

If your issue is raw performance, then you should buy it now, as Haswell will reportedly be only about 10% faster than Ivy Bridge. Video cards will be faster, though.
Click to expand...

Not disagreeing just adding.
Anyone wanting a 13" should wait for haswell unless Apple starts putting in dedicated GPU's. 100% video performance increase seems to be the projection and 10-15% CPU.
From Anandtech:
"You can expect CPU performance to increase by around 5 - 15% at the same clock speed as Ivy Bridge. Graphics performance will see a far larger boost (at least in the high-end GT3 configuration) of up to 2x vs. Intel's HD 4000 in a standard voltage/TDP system. GPU performance in Ultrabooks will increase by up to 30% over HD 4000."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6355/intels-haswell-architecture/14
 
skaertus said:
That depends on what your needs are. I would wait to buy a retina MacBook Pro when it gets updated with a Haswell processor. I intend to buy the 13" and not the 15" version.

But, again, my needs are different from yours. I don't use my laptop for playing games, nor any video demanding app. I have to carry it with me all day, so the smaller and lighter MacBook Pro will fit my needs. In addition, the Haswell processor will provide for a better battery life, which will be very welcome in the context of my usage. As I want text on the screen to look bleeding sharp, I want the retina display and I will not settle for a lower resolution. And I will buy it brand new, as I am in Brazil, and Apple does not sell refurbs here. So, my choice is clear, and it is different from yours.

If your issue is raw performance, then you should buy it now, as Haswell will reportedly be only about 10% faster than Ivy Bridge. Video cards will be faster, though.
Click to expand...

10% does not seem likea huge deal, battery life is also not a big deal

so buying retina is your option, good to know
 
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