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Time to Sell my Penryn MBP??

S

suleiman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
7
0
I have to wonder. I purchased this machine new back in March. Even then I had been hounding these forums daily to try and catch any news of the new MBP. I was elated and ever-grateful to MacRumors for keeping me from buyer's remorse.

But the situation was a little different. I had broken my last Core Duo MBP (Coffee Spill =P) and the prospect of waiting a few more weeks for the new one's to come out seemed not to be so bad.

Now I already have a perfectly fine and solidly working Penryn MBP. It's in more or less mint condition, and I truly cannot complain about it's performance.

And yet I must wonder. If the new machines are out soon and do in fact represent a big enough jump, is it worth it to sell this on eBay and pickup the new one when it's out?

Any feedback appreciated guys. This community rocks :)
 
If it's not the only computer you have then sure why not. Everybody knows the new MB/MBP are coming. We just don't know exactly when.
 
There are even suggestions that the price might drop so getting the MBP offloaded ASAP on Ebay is strongly advised ahead of the announcements of new units. If you talk it up you may well get close to the price of the new MBP, especially if you or anyone in your household is able to use the education store for the discount. All you need is details of an educational establishment to access these discounts ;)
 
suleiman said:
I have to wonder. I purchased this machine new back in March. Even then I had been hounding these forums daily to try and catch any news of the new MBP. I was elated and ever-grateful to MacRumors for keeping me from buyer's remorse.

But the situation was a little different. I had broken my last Core Duo MBP (Coffee Spill =P) and the prospect of waiting a few more weeks for the new one's to come out seemed not to be so bad.

Now I already have a perfectly fine and solidly working Penryn MBP. It's in more or less mint condition, and I truly cannot complain about it's performance.

And yet I must wonder. If the new machines are out soon and do in fact represent a big enough jump, is it worth it to sell this on eBay and pickup the new one when it's out?

Any feedback appreciated guys. This community rocks :)
Click to expand...

Well, yes, I see your point. However, unless you really need the bells and whistles of the upgrade, and equally need the money which would result from immediate selling, I'd say, leave well alone, and keep it and enjoy it. They are designed to last for several hyears. We do not yet have a sense of how major it will be, you have a perfectly good working computer which has not (touching timber) given you a minute's bother. Thus, unles there is a compelling reason for a change, I'd say keep it until you see what turns up. You may not even like/need/want the issued updates.
Good luck and cheers
 
suleiman said:
I have to wonder. I purchased this machine new back in March. Even then I had been hounding these forums daily to try and catch any news of the new MBP. I was elated and ever-grateful to MacRumors for keeping me from buyer's remorse.

But the situation was a little different. I had broken my last Core Duo MBP (Coffee Spill =P) and the prospect of waiting a few more weeks for the new one's to come out seemed not to be so bad.

Now I already have a perfectly fine and solidly working Penryn MBP. It's in more or less mint condition, and I truly cannot complain about it's performance.

And yet I must wonder. If the new machines are out soon and do in fact represent a big enough jump, is it worth it to sell this on eBay and pickup the new one when it's out?

Any feedback appreciated guys. This community rocks :)
Click to expand...

Why on earth would you want to sell a machine you're totally happy with? The grass is always greener on the other side? You know what, the machine is not necessarily going to be *that* much faster anyways, highly doubt they'll hit the 3ghz mark....more likely a bump of 200mhz for each model. I'd say keep it, wait for the new ones to come out...wait for the bugs to be fixed during the inevitable teething period...and if its a machine you really want then buy the revision B or C. Odds are it will be way better than the A. In the meantime enjoy your beautiful machine!
 
I do see your point. But I suppose my real concern has more to do with not wanting to see the value of my "beautiful machine" drop $1000 because Apple issued an update.

Isn't it best to sell the new model while it's still new? I seem to recall the prices for the previous generation of MBP's (which I almost bought) drop by $1000 literally the day the new model came out. If I can grab close to $2,000 for this machine, then I'm not too far away from the price point Apple has been releasing these machines at in the past, am I? This seems to be all the more relevant if Apple will do as some are predicting, and lower the price points for the new line.
 
Let's put it this way; do you NEED a new machine?

If the answer is no, you can use the current one for years to come, so why do you care about $1000 in depreciation? Do you update you car every year when they make cosmetic changes? I surely hope not.
 
Seriously, if you're even thinking of your computer in terms of being a financial asset you're way off base. As a usefull tool its a very good investment...gadgets in terms of financial value are very poor. The previous car analogy was a very good comparison. The moment you drive that vehicle off the lot it depreciates significantly.
 
if you need to ask people if "its time to sell your MBP", chances are you will be just fine if you hold on to it.

personally i would keep it.
 
If you can justify the price difference, time spent without a MBP, if you are ready to bother to spend time and effort on this "change operation" and you are comfortable with having a rev.A Apple laptop ( :rolleyes: ), then sure, why not?

You don't even know what new models will look like. What if you won't like the design? You are said you are happy with your Penryn, so why fix something that isn't broken?

I say keep it :)
 
it's the best time

with the Economy at its worst condition ever...
with the stock market falling down like a rock..

i can't think of the best time to do flip flop with your MBP..
and, don't forget to use your credit card to buy the new MBP..

imagine all the head turning you'll get once you bring out your NEW MBP at starbucks/ ( place your favorite coffee shop here!)

you won't regret your decision. :D
 
markrivers said:
with the Economy at its worst condition ever...
with the stock market falling down like a rock..

i can't think of the best time to do flip flop with your MBP..
and, don't forget to use your credit card to buy the new MBP..
Click to expand...

Yes it is a good time to boost the economy; sell your computer cheaply to someone who can't afford a new one and then buy the most expensive model to put as much money into the economy as possible.

Well unless you don't live in this pathetic country called the United States
 
suleiman said:
I do see your point. But I suppose my real concern has more to do with not wanting to see the value of my "beautiful machine" drop $1000 because Apple issued an update.
Click to expand...

This is the sort of thinking that comes from too much time spent in forums like this one. The market value of your machine should be irrelevant to you; the value is in what you are able to get out of it.

Do you trade your car in every 8 months or so, just because the next year's model is coming out and you're afraid of how resale value on your current car will be affected? Your post indicates that your thoughts follow such a pattern.

It's about what you do with it, not how new it is, nor how much it is worth to sell. My friends and I are using very old (G4, G3, G5) laptops and desktops to make money making music, and it hasn't affected our ability or satisfaction.

Besides, you should appreciate that you will lose more money than you think selling your computer on ebay (for example), between fees and the fact that you're likely to be offered less than you expect for it. If the new machines use a new RAM formulation, expect to pay substantially more to upgrade the spec than you would in your current machine. These little things add up to hundreds of dollars, and soon you're knee deep and could've spent that money on a second laptop.

If you've got money to burn, by all means do what you like. Don't expect the new machines to be substantially faster/better than your current one. Also, don't expect anyone else to care about whether you're on the latest/greatest machine or the 6-month-old version. Most people at coffeehouses and college libraries don't really pay attention to that stuff, and if (as it often is for many of us, I know having learned from firsthand experience) status is part of your desire for a new machine (however small a part), you're wasting your money and will not be satisfied when you weigh the short-term rush against the financial cost to upgrade.

Enjoy what you've got, and stretch the technology to its limit. At that point, consider an upgrade. You'll live longer, feel happier, and the attitude will likely get you laid a whole lot more often!

Happy motoring!
 
Well, if you're the type of person that's really into having the latest and greatest MBP, then go ahead. I actually sold my machine a couple of weeks ago and took about a $300 hit when selling it. Considering that I bought it in Mar, it works out to $50 a month.
 
If you think it's worth losing a couple of hundred, go ahead. I am doing it with my 10 month old MB.
 
Since you're enjoying it, my advice is to keep it my friend. In this day and age where the latest and greatest constantly come out, before the new apple smell fades, enjoy the few moments of happiness with your MBP :)

When Nehalem makes it to the macbook pro, then post a thread like this.

For now, enjoy those precious moments.
 
I agree with the people who say to hold onto your current MBP. I used to get caught up in the whole "gotta have the latest and greatest" mentality, in the misguided belief that my creative potential would be limited if I didn't have every new bell and whistle available. With me, this primarily was with musical equipment back in the 1980s and 1990s. Eventually it dawned on me that I spent more time dreaming about the newest technology, and what I potentially could do with it, than I did actually making music. I stopped buying new guitars and synthesizers a decade ago, and the old ones I have still have more capabilities than I'll ever use.

Look at it this way: suppose you sell your current MBP and buy the new one. Well, 6 to 9 months down the line, there's going to be a newer new model -- and since you're buying based on emotion rather than need, you'll go through the same process all over again -- as you will every time a new model comes out. You'll never be satisfied.

I bought my new MBP in March of this year. It replaced a G4 Sawtooth tower that I bought in 2000, and that served my needs for many years. I intend to keep my current MBP for several years, until it no longer does the things I need it to do.
 
There is no way in hell I would buy a 1st run of any "new" computer.

For the first six months, you're a beta tester ... and then they release the "real" machine.

I got my MBP in August, and of course I paid FAR too much for the hardware. Probably twice (or more) than I would have paid for an equally spec'ed HP or Dell.

But it would cost me an extra several hundred to get an application like Garage Band, and I would have to shell out some bucks for Adobe Premier Express which is somewhat equivalent to iMovieHD (not sure what they were thinking with iMovie 08).

It sucks to have to grossly overpay for hardware to get the software you want ... but that's kind of been Apple's business model for awhile with regards to computers. It's why they will never release OSX for consumer hardware. Mac sales would fall off a cliff. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Or at least should know it. For me it's all about the software. Sure, OSX is glorified Linux ... but open source Linux has little multimedia support ... so what can you do.

Back to the original point. The current MBP line is pretty mature. Sure, it still gets odd bugs, and they have upgraded processors and graphics over the years, but the design is battle tested. I hear some bitching but no outright deal-breaker complaints regarding the MBP.

I specifically bought my machine when I did because I didn't want a Rev A "new" MBP. Apple is a MP3 player and mobile phone manufacturer now, who just happens to still make computers (in a Chinese factory).

The recent stock price explosion has been on the back of the iPod and iPhone ... not the Macs. They could have done away with Macs altogether and the stock still would have gone up.

The machines are now an afterthought, and I kind of dread the "new" Macs.

Built in China, Shipped from China, same consumer hardware as in every other PC ... I think the Mac has seen it's best days with regards to leading other makers in build quality.

It's all the same stuff now with a different logo on it.

I don't know why people are so eager about the new machines, but I sure as hell would not ditch a perfectly good MBP for some future Mac that comes out in the next few months which will likely have issues, issues, and more issues.

Unless you have several machines already and can screw around with new toys, in which case, go for it.

Penryn C2D is still the current best, though, and Nvidia 9xxx cards are as well. The bump to a 9600 from a 8600 won't be a huge deal. Anything more than that, you will have thermal issues. There is just nothing out there earth-shattering at this moment that is going to put a 2.6Ghz Penryn to shame.

At least not without turning the aluminum case into a portable stove.
 
I'm keeping my Penryn MBP right now probably until next fall/winter, with anticipation of the Nehalem/Calpella units. They promise more significant changes: quick path interconnect (25+ Gb/s), quad-octo core/multi-HT/scalable, integrated memory controller, DDR3, on-die cache controller, L3, etc.

Projected to be one of the most significant microarchitecture changes Intel has done in the last 10+ years.
 
jackiecanev2 said:
I'm keeping my Penryn MBP right now probably until next fall/winter, with anticipation of the Nehalem/Calpella units. They promise more significant changes: quick path interconnect (25+ Gb/s), quad-octo core/multi-HT/scalable, integrated memory controller, DDR3, on-die cache controller, L3, etc.

Projected to be one of the most significant microarchitecture changes Intel has done in the last 10+ years.
Click to expand...

25Mhz and 640K is all the power anyone will ever need.
 
MBP vaporware

I'd keep it and enjoy it. Or are you the type that needs the latest and greatest version of everything? If so, it's no longer a computer, watch, phone or whatever but a status symbol.

I had an issue this week with a Powerbook G4 Aluminum and Apple replaced it with a Macbook Pro. I was very happy but I thought that perhaps I could delay the process until the update was released. I was going crazy being without a computer for a week. Imagine what two to three weeks would have been like. I am a freelance photographer and it simply would not have worked. I have plenty of camera, lighting and other equipment to invest in and can't buy every laptop update. You have a great computer and I'd simply use it. Let someone else discover the bugs in the A version.

BTW, the price is always going to come down on technology. I paid $3000 for my Powerbook G3, $1999 for the G4 and the latest MBP was $1999. The MBP is a better value because it's twice the speed.
 
There's always going to be something better down the road.

Personally, I buy what I need then use it until it dies. My PowerMac is 7 plus years old and my PowerBook G4 is almost 5 years old. Both still run fine.

I am in the process of moving things over to my MBP which I purchased so I could run Windows natively and via fast emulation. Otherwise I would be happily still using my PB as my main laptop computer.
 
sold mine

I sold my 2.4 MBP last week on ebay.

I sold it for £1000 and paid £1200 6 months ago. A recon on the UK apple store today only costs £1000 so i'm happy with the money I got for it.

If the new MBP is rubbish you could buy another older model from old stock even cheaper.

But I sold mine and now sitting here waiting for a new MBP ( using windows xp laptop YUK )


But with the news of Nvidia coming to the MB today, will the MBP have the same video card and whats the point of the MBP now?

I only brought a pro because I didnt want the crappy intel video. If the new MBs come with a good graphics card... whats the MBP gonna have ?
 
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