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When to buy a macbook pro
- Thread starter 123macman
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<RANT>Honestly, if you searched, you would see recent opinions. We talk about this every day cause someone posts the same thread.</RANT>
Now I'm going to give you the answer everyone gives to these questions:
No one knows when a new Macbook / Macbook Pro is coming out. If we told you to wait till February and nothing came out till June, you'd be pissed.
If you need it now, buy it now. If not, why not wait until you need one then buy it.
Edit: Also, there is a sticky right at the top.
"Macbook Pro Buyer's Guide"
http://guides.macrumors.com/MacBook_Pro_Buyer's_Guide
Recent opinion, this is being asked daily and there are tons of threads about this recently Read through all of them (and there's a ton of threads) you will get all the answers you're looking for. This question is being posted daily so just search please for the life of pete make these threads disappear.
If you don't want or need a computer now, why would you even consider buying it now? Buy a computer when you need it. In the future there will be new MBPs. Keep in mind, there will always be new technology looming in the horizon. Nothing stays "new" for long in the technology industry.
The need/want distinction is so unhelpful.
When do you strictly need a macbook? Never. "Want" and "need" exist on a continuum. I highly doubt anybody on these forums has found themselves in a situation where if they didn't buy a macbook their life would end. Probably quite a few people have found themselves in the situation where getting a new macbook was virtually "needed" for them to perform their job. If that level of "need" is required, then is the advice to be that you should only ever buy a macbook if it is for your work? After all, you don't "need" to play games.
Perhaps the want/need advice could be boiled down to "buy a macbook if it brings you a sufficiently great amount of happiness to make it worth the cost". If it getting the macbook gives you more happiness than the money, then you should buy it. Is that all "buy if you need" really boils down to in the end? Because if it is, then it's a pretty vacuous statement. If the response to "is it worth it for me to upgrade?" is "only if it's worth it", then, well, it's not much advice.
That said, it's hard to give a good answer to the question. Personally, I'm waiting to buy a macbook pro. I think my advice to people looking for macbook pros would be to wait for the macbook pro refresh that's rumoured to happen in Q1 2010. Perhaps the refresh will have something really nifty in it. If you don't really care about any of the added features, you'll probably be able to get the current model much cheaper by then. If you're buying for work and therefore want one right now, then get it now (though if that were the case you probably wouldn't have asked).
When do you strictly need a macbook? Never. "Want" and "need" exist on a continuum. I highly doubt anybody on these forums has found themselves in a situation where if they didn't buy a macbook their life would end. Probably quite a few people have found themselves in the situation where getting a new macbook was virtually "needed" for them to perform their job. If that level of "need" is required, then is the advice to be that you should only ever buy a macbook if it is for your work? After all, you don't "need" to play games.
Perhaps the want/need advice could be boiled down to "buy a macbook if it brings you a sufficiently great amount of happiness to make it worth the cost". If it getting the macbook gives you more happiness than the money, then you should buy it. Is that all "buy if you need" really boils down to in the end? Because if it is, then it's a pretty vacuous statement. If the response to "is it worth it for me to upgrade?" is "only if it's worth it", then, well, it's not much advice.
That said, it's hard to give a good answer to the question. Personally, I'm waiting to buy a macbook pro. I think my advice to people looking for macbook pros would be to wait for the macbook pro refresh that's rumoured to happen in Q1 2010. Perhaps the refresh will have something really nifty in it. If you don't really care about any of the added features, you'll probably be able to get the current model much cheaper by then. If you're buying for work and therefore want one right now, then get it now (though if that were the case you probably wouldn't have asked).
Haha, I like how the OP has been edited, even though you quoted it.
Give me a break. When people on this forum say "buy if you need it", no one is arguing that the definition of need is based on life and death. Do you honestly think that's what they're saying.
Your argument of "happiness level" is even worse than the "need" argument. How are you comparing the level of happiness to amount of money spent and joy from using a computer? Are these things even remotely related?
I needed a Macbook because I was traveling to Japan for 6 months and needed it to keep in contact with my friends and family back home. This does not qualify as work, but it was still a need.
In all honesty, no one truly needs a Macbook, but no ones definition of need in this context has to life or death, but rather want. Don't be so obtuse in thinking that this is what people are trying to say.
Buy if you need it. Wait if you don't.
If you aren't in a hurry, it might be worth waiting for the next refresh. Apple may be abandoning Nvidia and Nvidia is moving out of the chipset business, so there might be some big changes. The i3/i5 processors should be a significant boost compared to what we have now, but it's not clear what Apple will use since they use more power and have integrated graphics. There is also a small chance of seeing a new interface, like USB3 or LightPeak. The new Intel chips are supposed to be released in January, and it usually takes Apple about 1-2 months to bring them into production, but there's always a chance that there will be a delay or Apple will skip this generation. It's also possible that the new chips will only be available in high end or BTO models, and if you are looking at the base 13 MBP, you might not get an upgrade. Of course, if you wait then you can choose between the old generation and the new one.
Do you need a Quad core? Do you even know what a quad core is? If you either don't need or have no idea what a quad core is then yes. Go for it.
But if you want to wait a bit and save some cash or get the newest tech (even if you don't know what it is/need it) then get in line with a lot of us.
Odds are there will be a update real soon. New chips damn near perfect for MBPs just go announced, it's been about 200 days, etc, etc.
But remember. With Apple you'll never have the latest and the greatest for very long. By the time first gen quad cores arrive, next batch will get USB3.0. The gen after that might get Bluray, or Lightpeak, etc, etc.
But if you want to wait a bit and save some cash or get the newest tech (even if you don't know what it is/need it) then get in line with a lot of us.
Odds are there will be a update real soon. New chips damn near perfect for MBPs just go announced, it's been about 200 days, etc, etc.
But remember. With Apple you'll never have the latest and the greatest for very long. By the time first gen quad cores arrive, next batch will get USB3.0. The gen after that might get Bluray, or Lightpeak, etc, etc.
Hmm, you missed my point. My point was that "buy if you need, don't if you don't" is either false or else it is vacuous. It's lacking in informative content, and actually gives the OP *zero* information with which to make a decision.
You say you "needed" one because you travelled to Japan etc etc. You're using such a vague and malleable meaning of the term "need" that it's entirely meaningless. Some might draw the line between "want" and "need" at a different point to you. As far as I can tell, all your statement means is that you really wanted one, and were really able to put it to good use. That it was worth buying at that time.
But of course that begs the question - pretty much the same quesiton that the OP asked in the first place.
I wasn't actually proposing the "happiness" argument as a useable criterion for buying. The sole, entire point of that paragraph was to point out that such an argument is entirely useless, but that I can't see a better interpretation of "buy if you need."
Once again, my point is: obviously people don't mean "buy if you will otherwise die, or else don't." So what do they mean by "buy if you need"? It's such a vague recommendation that it's not all that useful.
Actual facts or predictions would perhaps be a bit more helpful here. E.g. "hey, computers are going to get a whole lot more powerful in the next month. If ever there was a time to wait a month before buying, it was December '09!"
I would be more than happy to tell users to wait if I knew what was going to happen. I don't know what is going to happen. I know plenty of people who bought a laptop before a new one came out and they are still plenty happy. Speculation of new machines/features are pretty rampant. If I didn't have to answer this question everyday, maybe I would put more effort into my response.
Also, to those who said wait for USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is definitely not coming next year. Intel already confirmed they are not making stuff with it till 2011. I'll eat my shirt if they come out with a USB 3.0 laptop Q1 2010.
Also, "buy one when you need it" means, hey, "if you don't have a computer and want to use the Internet for whatever, shopping, surfing, chatting, then buy it now. If you lived without a computer for years, have one already, or access to one, then you can wait. But why stop waiting 3 months? Why not wait 1 year? 2 years? Etc. I guarantee the new Macbooks in 2012 will be freagin' amazing.
For instance, I'll give you an example. I have a friend who bought a new Dell. Same price as my Macbook Pro 13". It came with a Core I7. In my head, all I thought about was, "All you do is go on Facebook, and surf the Internet. Do you really need a core i7?" In my opinion, the Core 2 Duo will be sufficient for most people for years to come.
I think that's actually pretty good advice. Although I don't think there's really a slippery slope between waiting 3 months and waiting, say, 1 year and 3 months. Waiting till late Feb (2 months) will give 1 bump. Presumably waiting longer won't give a bump every 2 months. Waiting 1 year 2 months might give you what... 2 or 3? Clearly waiting a year doesn't pay off in the same way that waiting just 2 months does (provided, of course, that the update actually happens when everyone is expecting!)