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So, I've waited six years to upgrade.

B

b33k4y

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 18, 2010
7
0
For laughs, I am currently using a:
Hypersonic Aviator AX6. For anyone that isn't familiar, they used to sell gaming notebooks (that's right, they don't even make laptops anymore). It is a beast. The battery doesn't even hold a charge anymore, so I'm just running off of an outlet. As you can probably tell by these specs, I have really run this machine into the ground:

3200 AMD Athlon64
1 GB 333mhz DDR
60 GB 7200rpm w/ 8MB cache
ATI Radeon Mobility 9600 Pro
15", 4:3 display (full of win)... weighs about 8 pounds.

I'm 22, just finished university last year and am currently working as a writer. For work I also use Photoshop lightly, code, etc, nothing heavy duty. I use an iMac at the office and love it. I've been looking to upgrade to a MBP for a while now. I haven't used my notebook for games in a long time, for obvious reasons, but I am looking forward to D3/SC2 and Steam coming to Mac.

Initially, I wanted to go with a 13" Pro, or even a MBA, as I can just as well go without the gaming part. I don't have a strict one machine rule, but I see myself using a notebook more often. If I really wanted a bigger display, I'd get the ACD. My concern is that I've waited this long for an upgrade, and as much as I value portability, I don't think it's right for me to upgrade to a C2D, even though it would be a massive performance increase (In other words, would I be happy with C2D in 4 years?). That leaves me with the waiting game until 2011 with the way things have been going at Apple, or to just get a 15" i5/i7 MBP. Price of a new machine isn't really an issue, just because I know I will get a ton of use out of it over the next ~4 years.

What would you do?
 
I just purchased a 15" i7 2.66GHz / 8GB Ram / 500GB 7200RPM HDD / High Res Glossy.

This is my 3rd MBP and 5th Mac I have owned.

Coming from the beast you have with the specs you have anything is better than nothing.

If you have the $$$ I would defiantly get the best 15" to better future-proof your purchase.
 
Even without an ix the 13" MPBs are still good machines. They do have the top of the range C2Ds (the 2.66GHz is a P8800 part which is one of the fastest mobile C2Ds there is) and are more than enough for almost everyone's uses. Personally, I'd get the 13" with the ACD - the 320M is good enough for relatively casual gaming (unless you're talking about on the ACD, in which case it simply won't be if you want any IQ settings on) and for writing, coding and light Photoshop use it's also excellent due to the high resolution of the ACD.

In terms of actual technical capabilities between the C2D and the i5/i7m, there's not a lot of difference so as long as the i5/i7 is supported, the C2D should be.
 
15" is always the right option.

In this case, I would:
-Not pay for MHz processor upgrades
-Definitely get the higher res screen
-Get the matte screen option
-7200rpm drive
-Upgrade the RAM from a third party
 
These are one of the last Intel's Nalehem CPU's. I don't think it's a good idea to future proof yourself to buy a i7 now.

Personally I'd wait for Sandy Bridge at the end of the year or start at next year and go for an i8 or something.

Sandy Bridge to the current i7 is like C2D or C2Q was for the current i7.

So if you're going to buy a MBP now, just buy it for your needs, not to future proof it. Cause then you should wait for the new Intel architecture to arrive soon.
 
mark28 said:
These are one of the last Intel's Nalehem CPU's. I don't think it's a good idea to future proof yourself to buy a i7 now.

Personally I'd wait for Sandy Bridge at the end of the year or start at next year and go for an i8 or something.

Sandy Bridge to the current i7 is like C2D or C2Q was for the current i7.

So if you're going to buy a MBP now, just buy it for your needs, not to future proof it. Cause then you should wait for the new Intel architecture to arrive soon.
Click to expand...

Pretty flawed logic; if you're going to wait for technology you'll wait forever. Also, Sandy Bridge isn't due out til early 2011 with high end mass production not til Q3 2011; and that's assuming there are no delays (which considering what's new with these chips is highly likely). Will be a long while til you see them in Apple notebooks.
 
DesmoPilot said:
Pretty flawed logic; if you're going to wait for technology you'll wait forever. Also, Sandy Bridge isn't due out til early 2011 with high end mass production not til Q3 2011; and that's assuming there are no delays (which considering what's new with these chips is highly likely). Will be a long while til you see them in Apple notebooks.
Click to expand...

Right, I am basically looking for a machine that I won't have the urge to replace in a year or two. Future proofing is pointless, and I also never want to wait this long again for an upgrade. It actually seems more difficult, and on top of that, my current machine is worth nothing. Now that I am making the transition to Apple, I would gladly upgrade more often, as the resale values seem to hold up, but that isn't to say I want to do it every year or two.
 
b33k4y said:
Right, I am basically looking for a machine that I won't have the urge to replace in a year or two. Future proofing is pointless, and I also never want to wait this long again for an upgrade. It actually seems more difficult, and on top of that, my current machine is worth nothing. Now that I am making the transition to Apple, I would gladly upgrade more often, as the resale values seem to hold up, but that isn't to say I want to do it every year or two.
Click to expand...

Totally understand where you're coming from. If I was in your position, in a best case scenario I'd no doubt go for the 15" i7 model with the hi res screen, matte or glossy is up to you; but the base 15" model would do as well, but IMO the hi res screen is a must.
 
If you really want a MBP now and are worried about wanting to upgrade it in a year or so, what about selling it if you do indeed want to upgrade again?
 
b33k4y said:
Right, I am basically looking for a machine that I won't have the urge to replace in a year or two. Future proofing is pointless, and I also never want to wait this long again for an upgrade. It actually seems more difficult, and on top of that, my current machine is worth nothing. Now that I am making the transition to Apple, I would gladly upgrade more often, as the resale values seem to hold up, but that isn't to say I want to do it every year or two.
Click to expand...

How about this, get the i5, 2.4/4gb/320gb hi-res, anti glare
buy a 500gb/7200 hard drive and external case
replace internal drive with new 500gb, and use the 320gb as time machine backup
buy 8gb ram from newegg or owc
 
DesmoPilot said:
Pretty flawed logic; if you're going to wait for technology you'll wait forever. Also, Sandy Bridge isn't due out til early 2011 with high end mass production not til Q3 2011; and that's assuming there are no delays (which considering what's new with these chips is highly likely). Will be a long while til you see them in Apple notebooks.
Click to expand...

There is no flawed logic in it. There is no sense to future proof it now when it's oudated next year.

If you're going to buy a computer now ( whether it's PC or MAC ), it's in my opinion not a very good time to buy it for future proof, because Intel is switching to a new architecture. Intel's Nehalem architecture is from 2008, it's pretty old technology ( on which the i3/i5/i7 are based on )

So just buy it for what you need in my opinion ;) If a C2D is all you need, then spending so much more just to have an i7 for future proof is not a good decision, unless you really have nothing better to spend the extra money on :p
 
Hrm. The iPad/iMac duo complicates things, although I was thinking of that at one point. After playing with one at the store I decided I wanted a notebook more.

Some ideas I was kicking around were:

Base 13" with 3rd party SSD upgrade in the near future (see no reason to get the 2.66 for the price difference)

Base 15" with 3rd party SSD

i7 15", mostly for the video card, and because I feel like I've been through a war with my current machine.

I really narrowed things down, didn't I? ;)
 
The iX series isn't much of a real jump above Core2, so the likely differences five years from now won't be as big as your rig vs Core2. You could probably get by with a Macbook Air for the next four years, but I would wait until an update since you've waited this long.

I, personally, would go with a Macbook Air and a cinema display (if you ever feel like stretching out).
 
b33k4y said:
Hrm. The iPad/iMac duo complicates things, although I was thinking of that at one point. After playing with one at the store I decided I wanted a notebook more.

Some ideas I was kicking around were:

Base 13" with 3rd party SSD upgrade in the near future (see no reason to get the 2.66 for the price difference)

Base 15" with 3rd party SSD

i7 15", mostly for the video card, and because I feel like I've been through a war with my current machine.

I really narrowed things down, didn't I? ;)
Click to expand...

Honestly, for the amount of time that you keep computers I would try and get the best specs money can afford.
 
If you need a notebook now, and of all the posts I've seen with this question, your's is without doubt the greatest need. I wouldn't worry about future proofing, and unless you get into something that really taxes a CPU the C2D is still going to be a viable solution for at least another 4 years. Personally I'd go for the 15" i5, as I find the 13" a tad to small. If the 13" works for you then go for it, for many the portability will more then offset the gain performance of the i5/i7. Holding off for the next best thing usually ends in disappointment. A month ago there were many on this forum who believed the i5/i7 would be the second coming of the PowerBook. I'm willing to be that over the last week or so many of these same posters are the ones complaining the loudest about what a let down they think the latest MBP is. I bought a late 09 15" 2.53 last November because I got tired of waiting. Did I feel a pang of jealousy when the i5/i7's were released, of course I did I'm a technology whore. But you know what a couple of weeks latter I'm perfectly happy with my 09 15 " 2.53 C2D uMBP (especially since installing the OWC 100GB SSD). Buy now, it'll make Steve's happy and might take his mind off of Gizmodo for a while. lol
 
Dcuellar said:
Honestly, for the amount of time that you keep computers I would try and get the best specs money can afford.
Click to expand...

Yeah... It was mostly circumstantial with school and stuff. I'm much more likely to wait 3-4 years in the future.
 
I agree with getting the 15", it's going to be much lighter than what you have now. In fact even the 17" would be lighter. Also get the i7 for sure.
 
b33k4y:

I jst wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. 6 yr old Dell laptop that I bought the summer before college. It has lasted me thru now but its age is showing (somehow my entire itunes library deleted itself and my HP printer program vanished) but it has survived an upgrade from XP to Vista, 20GB HD to 80 gigs and from 1GB ram to 2GB.

So after a while of deciding, back and forth, I decided I'm getting the 15"

My dell is a 13" but it weighs a pound more than the MBP 15 and I liked being able to rely on a piece of technology to last me more than 2 yrs before it is outdated (ie C2D)
 
koolrosh said:
b33k4y:

I jst wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. 6 yr old Dell laptop that I bought the summer before college. It has lasted me thru now but its age is showing (somehow my entire itunes library deleted itself and my HP printer program vanished) but it has survived an upgrade from XP to Vista, 20GB HD to 80 gigs and from 1GB ram to 2GB.

So after a while of deciding, back and forth, I decided I'm getting the 15"

My dell is a 13" but it weighs a pound more than the MBP 15 and I liked being able to rely on a piece of technology to last me more than 2 yrs before it is outdated (ie C2D)
Click to expand...

I feel for you! When you wait that long, you feel like the upgrade should be more than worth it. It can be a tough decision.

As I'm writing down the options and prices, it is starting to make a lot more sense. If I were to get a 13", I would for whatever reason, feel compelled to get a 256 GB SSD from newegg. Before taxes, the total would run from ~$1700 to ~$1980 depending on the CPU. The i7 15" with a 7200 rpm drive and hi-res matte runs about $2200.

The choice seems a lot clearer when you write it out like that. $280 gets you .26 Ghz... And another $220 removes the SSD, but gives you an i7, much nicer screen, disk space, and GPU. I guess I'll wait for SSD prices to come down.

I'll probably be ordering an i7 in a week or two. Thank you all for your helpful input!
 
Just be prepared to wait for SSD prices to drop, won't happen til around the turn of the year.
 
iBunny said:
I just purchased a 15" i7 2.66GHz / 8GB Ram / 500GB 7200RPM HDD / High Res Glossy.

This is my 3rd MBP and 5th Mac I have owned.

Coming from the beast you have with the specs you have anything is better than nothing.

If you have the $$$ I would defiantly get the best 15" to better future-proof your purchase.
Click to expand...

i wouldnt call that a beast, it's more like a sad little smurf.

OP you would be happy with another 15" you should def get the high end if you plan to have the machine for so long.
 
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