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What is the best time to buy a new Macbook Pro?

M

m0rris

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2009
3
0
London, UK - Athens, GR - Nicosia, CY
Hi there,
I recently got a payment from a freelance web development thing that I was doing and I definitely want to buy a mbp. I have not decided yet if i'm going for the 15" or the 17" but most important I don't know WHEN to buy it.

I dont want to buy it now and in a couple of month a new mbp to appear and leave my recently purchased model a mile behind.

So what is the best time to buy a new mbp? How often does apple release new models for mbp?
 
Yes, definitely wait until the next revision. Don't listen to the "if you want it now, buy it now" crew. If you've got a working computer you don't need it immediately.
 
If its only a matter of a couple of months I'll wait. I currently have the 20" iMac 7.1.

I am between the 15" and 17" mbp.

17" seems too big to carry around but I am also doing some audio stuff with logic and a few videos here and there with final cut. I guess that if the new 15" comes in a nice price I'll go for it and also buy a 24" dell monitor or similar instead of buying the 17".
 
The best time to buy any hardware is the day that it is released. If their are legitimate hardware bugs/issues becuase is new hardware it will get replaced for free.

I always jump on new hardware because it is newer longer. If you buy a MBP now, you will in essence have bought it for the same price I paid a year ago, but I have been using mine the whole time.

All that being said, I will be buying a new MBP the day they are refreshed in probably Jan/Feb time frame.
 
The best time to buy one, is when you need one. Seriously, there will always be a faster model getting ready to be released. Get something that will fit your needs now and the near future and not worry about what apple may or may not due in the next couple of months
 
If you dont have an urgency for the MBP now for anything, then its worth waiting for the revisions in the new year I think - thats what I am doing - I have a 2007 MBP 15", and looking at a new unibody 17" right now, but only impatience and lust would make me buy it so close to a product refresh, as technically, there is nothing 'wrong' with my existing MBP.

Adam ;)
 
The only thing about waiting, is the whole revision A issue.

Especially given that apple will be transitioning to the i7/i5 platform. A lot of unknowns will be introduced. I've had pretty good luck with revision A models but the risk is there.

My point is, that the current model is very fast, very stable and has few issues. If you need one now, you'll be safer to buy one now, and wait till apple shakes out the bugs of the nahalem based macbook pros.
 
maflynn said:
The only thing about waiting, is the whole revision A issue.

Especially given that apple will be transitioning to the i7/i5 platform. A lot of unknowns will be introduced. I've had pretty good luck with revision A models but the risk is there.

My point is, that the current model is very fast, very stable and has few issues. If you need one now, you'll be safer to buy one now, and wait till apple shakes out the bugs of the nahalem based macbook pros.
Click to expand...

Revision A machines do have a higher incidence of issues than more established technology. However, the benefits of the new platform outweight those concerns IMO. My revision A MBP was serviced twice for major issues but that was all under warranty/Applecare. I'm still glad I got it instead of the last version of the Powerbook because its remained useful far longer. If I had bought a Powerbook back then I would have had to replace it a year ago. Instead, I keep my original MBP running and thus have gotten far more value out of it.
 
the best thing to do is buy about a month after they release a new model, this way you wont end up with one of the very first runs, which in any consumer tech, normally has a few bugs. Like my friend who brought the new macbook and when another friend of mine brought the original aluminium unibody macbook.
 
When a revision is made what happens to all the old ones?...are they sold cheaper?...I mean who would want to buy an old one when there's a new one a nano second faster... unless...it...was...cheaper!
 
maflynn said:
The best time to buy one, is when you need one. Seriously, there will always be a faster model getting ready to be released. Get something that will fit your needs now and the near future and not worry about what apple may or may not due in the next couple of months
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
wrkactjob said:
When a revision is made what happens to all the old ones?...are they sold cheaper?...I mean who would want to buy an old one when there's a new one a nano second faster... unless...it...was...cheaper!
Click to expand...

I'm curious about this also - I'm thinking about making the switch from pc, and am looking at the 15" MBP. A friend of mine works at the Apple Store and said he can get me 15% off, but I'd have to buy in the next couple of weeks (he's leaving the job). I don't need it right now as we have a working pc desktop, but would like to get one. Should I wait for the new ones, and lose the potential discount? Do you all think that the new ones will be the price that the current ones are at?

Thanks! (this is my first post)
 
I have a broken 3 year old MacBook and need a new laptop

was thinking of a 13 pro but was wondering if it is worth my while to wait don't know what I would use in the mean time but I could muddle by if need be.

The MacBook was plenty fast enough for me and I just updated the ram for the hell of it.

The pro might be used for light image work and basic video editing but I can't imagine it being tested to the max.

I realise that the next pros are unannounced but what are the likely/rumoured enhancements? Anything worth waiting for given my above needs? Is there a redesign due or will it likely be a performance bump? How much?

I need to decide in the next day or so when I make the jump - work will be paying for the machine so it isn't my money.
 
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