Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Will it still be new?

T

trickbaby

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2008
6
0
Hi guys,

New onto the MacRumors forums, loving it though.

Just had a complicated question:

I'm going to get a new MacBook for my birthday next year, which is on March 29. I have a friend who works at Apple, and he said that Macs should only be bought when they're extremely new, they should be bought when they're just around 15-20 days old at maximum, because Intel refreshes their processors and soon Apple follows by refreshing their notebook lineup with the new Intel processors. He also said MacBooks/other Apple notebooks are updated approximately in every 190-200 days.

My birthday is just about 100 days away (99 days to be exact). I have checked the buyer's guide, and my friend was right, the average days for an update is 195 days for a MacBook. It's already 66 days since the MacBook has been released. 195-66 = 129. Approx. 129 days until the next MacBook update. My birthday is in 99 days. 129-99 = exactly 30 days.

This means the newly REFRESHED MacBook will be around 30 days old when it's my birthday next year in March. Should I get it then, when it's 30 days old? Or wait for ANOTHER refresh after that? I can get the notebook whenever I want, it doesn't have to be in March.

Thanks.
 
No matter when you buy it, it will always be outdated the next year. Just buy your macbook and be happy with it. You can only have the latest until the next new thing comes out, which is every few weeks anymore. People on these forums are still running g4s and a few g3 machines.
 
trickbaby said:
Hi guys,

New onto the MacRumors forums, loving it though.

Just had a complicated question:

I'm going to get a new MacBook for my birthday next year, which is on March 29. I have a friend who works at Apple, and he said that Macs should only be bought when they're extremely new, they should be bought when they're just around 15-20 days old at maximum, because Intel refreshes their processors and soon Apple follows by refreshing their notebook lineup with the new Intel processors. He also said MacBooks/other Apple notebooks are updated approximately in every 190-200 days.

My birthday is just about 100 days away (99 days to be exact). I have checked the buyer's guide, and my friend was right, the average days for an update is 195 days for a MacBook. It's already 66 days since the MacBook has been released. 195-66 = 129. Approx. 129 days until the next MacBook update. My birthday is in 99 days. 129-99 = exactly 30 days.

This means the newly REFRESHED MacBook will be around 30 days old when it's my birthday next year in March. Should I get it then, when it's 30 days old? Or wait for ANOTHER refresh after that? I can get the notebook whenever I want, it doesn't have to be in March.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I think your maths is a little off...Going by the buyers guide, if your birthday is in 99 days and it's been 66 days since the macbook was updated, when it's your birthday it will be approximately 30 days BEFORE the macbook is updated, therefore the macbook will be 165 days old, which which time I would wait for a new version to be released.

However, as always, we never truly know when Apple are likely to update the macbooks...I'm hoping for January - March.
 
Like the past poster said. No matter what when you buy a computer sooner or later it will be outdated so i wouldn't really make a big deal out of it just be happy with which ever product you get and use it for however long it lasts.
 
trickbaby said:
...March 29...Should I get it then, when it's 30 days old? Or wait for ANOTHER refresh after that? I can get the notebook whenever I want, it doesn't have to be in March.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

That's right around when Snow Leopard should drop. Wait for that.
 
The next update will be minor. I heard people talk about .133MHZ bumps
Have you checked the updates in 2006? when the portables had some sort of transition from PPC to Intel? Well, it looks to me like we're having the same thing now, going from Intel chipset to InVidia and from plastic to aluminum/LED etc..It is possible that the Pros get the update first and the Macbook to follow in a couple of months, August for instance, would you wait till then for a mild speed bump? I will not, I'm buying in January/February
 
You are in a tough spot. As everyone always says you computer will be upgraded sooner or later.

If the macbook has everything you want now I would go ahead and get it. There most likely will not be any earth shattering changes since the macbook and macbook pro just got major overhauls.
 
Waiting subix.

Sure, don't buy at the (statistical) end of a model cycle, but do not wait once you think it's time. In my 24 years experience using Mac I say the useful life of any new Mac is easily 5 years. I average 7.

I was researching to get a new iMac several months before last Xmas but I didn't like the low-end graphics card therein, so I waited. I'm realistic, and I don't need a kickin' gaming machine but I hoped for something better.

Finally the iMac was upgraded in May 08 but no significant change in the video card. I realised that many of the new models are just incremental tweaks. I figured I would wait at least another year before a real video card upgrade.

So I bought my new iMac the day the latest model was announced. No regrets at all.
 
If you can wait till your birthday, then obviously you can wait some more months until new models appear. Most likely, Snow Leopard will also be available around the middle of next year or later. For your line of thinking, my recommendation would be to wait for the next refresh and buy immediately after. :)
 
just wait that bit extra, while the machine won't significantly be better you might have the chance for snow leopard and that is worth the 30 or so days wait. If you don't mind a late present that is. You would be more annoyed if you never waited an missed the chance for snow leopard (although you could just buy it) than waiting and snow leopard it doesn't come out but hey you have the latest laptop. It depends if you really want snow leopard, as I said before the update will not have dramatic speed differences but could have a slight drop in price.
 
Personally, I would get it on your birthday for a few reasons. The users above are correct when saying that it will always be out of date. Furthermore, the additional power that comes from the new rounds of intel processors are so minute that it won't truly make a difference in your computing speed. Finally, I would say wait if it was a MB redesign, but it's only an update...your "old" MB will look the same as your friend's new MB. :apple:
 
iphoner2010 said:
Personally, I would get it on your birthday for a few reasons. The users above are correct when saying that it will always be out of date. Furthermore, the additional power that comes from the new rounds of intel processors are so minute that it won't truly make a difference in your computing speed. Finally, I would say wait if it was a MB redesign, but it's only an update...your "old" MB will look the same as your friend's new MB. :apple:
Click to expand...

Oh alright. Does anyone have a clear idea of what the next update/refresh of the MacBook will be? And the month? Perhaps around August? I can wait till then, but not more :eek:

And they WILL come with Snow Leopard, right?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back