Thinking about buying my first MBP, but...

[Arkanok]

Hey everyone, i think im just about ready to buy a macbook pro, in fact, i really want to buy one and almost have on a few occasions. Why havent I yet? Well i guess i need a bit of advice first.

My first concern is Leopard. Its coming out sometime in spring from what i hear, and i guess im a little worried that when it comes out, newer and better MBP's will come out too. So im playing with the idea of waiting and seeing what happens with Leopard, but again, its very hard to wait. So i need some opinions here, should i wait for Leopard and the possibility of new hardware, or just purchase one now, and buy leopard seperately later? For those of you who think i should just get it now, i have a follow up question. I've browsed the apple website, and frequently see referbished macbook pro's for about $300 - $400 less than a brand new one, but my concern is the quality, and reliability of the units. So can anybody tell me, is it worth it to save some money on a referb, or am i gonna get burned with a scuffed, and potentially faulty laptop?

 

[Sun Baked]

Leopard might ship in April.

The newer and better MacBooks await Intel kicking the Santa Rosa platform out the door in massive quantities. Might be soon, or at the beginning of the next school year.

Edit: Leopard is also being reported that it may ship ahead of schedule, so it may ship a month early. April for the OS is a lot like the Tuesday HW updates.

 

[zelmo]

Leopard is due out in the near-ish future, along with expected updates to iLife and iWork. If those things are important to you, consider waiting a month or two so they come bundled [prolly not iWork, though].
As for refurbs, I've not bought one myself, but from what I hear they are like new, and come with the same warranty as new. Also, on occasion a refurb has come with a larger hd, more ram, etc.

If you need it now, buy it now. If you can afford to wait, you're almost certain to get a better value.

 

[Arkanok]

Well i guess i dont actually NEED one right now, its more of, i just want one really badly. lol. I mean i know the smart thing to do would be wait, but im just not sure if i can wait.. I know if apple actually gave us solid dates for both leopard and new hardware, i'd be able to decide much easier. But i guess till that happens ill be on the fence.

 

[mr_matalino]

Well i guess i dont actually NEED one right now, its more of, i just want one really badly. lol. I mean i know the smart thing to do would be wait, but im just not sure if i can wait.. I know if apple actually gave us solid dates for both leopard and new hardware, i'd be able to decide much easier. But i guess till that happens ill be on the fence.

Welcome to playing the game. We've all be there before. If you need one now, buy it. Otherwise, be paitient. As for the refirbs, don't be concerned about quality. They are good machines.

 

[Arkanok]

Welcome to playing the game. We've all be there before. If you need one now, buy it. Otherwise, be paitient. As for the refirbs, don't be concerned about quality. They are good machines.

Ok thats good to hear. I was worried that if i purchased a referb, i'd get it in, open the box and find out that its just all scratched up, marked up, and have a few problems and what not. Im definately going to look into buying a referb then. Thanks!