Worth going off schedule (budget) for a retina mbp?

[MoxieWhimsy]

I'm an amateur designer, and developer/consultant. Two nights ago, Windows 8.1 crashed and can't repair itself well enough to start. I'm running my *nix back-up system, which is functional, but doesn't run everything I need to run to get my work done. It's possible to "reset" windows 8 (a new feature that theoretically will both fix the problem and improve performance), but the event of the system crashing interrupts my work, and I'd prefer to move to a more stable primary work system.

In general, many (proprietary) things have mac versions, and I would like to have a mac to test some of my work on the platform anyhow. I was saving up for an iMac in a few months, but due to recent concerns am considering getting a new system ahead of schedule.

I'm familiar with Apple's build quality: Had a pismo until a couple years ago when it finally gave out. So there's no need to sell me on it. The real issue is the timing and budget.

If I buy now, I'll be slightly over currently saved budget, and can expect to be in debt for a couple to few months. This might even be longer, as I don't have many steady income projects. If I wait, and|or fiddle with fixing windows 8, I may delay projects, piss off clients, and otherwise lose work.

 

[Tfb]

This is such a super personal question! It's all about your tolerance for debt, where you are financially, your ability to work around your computer's limitations. It sounds like you are looking for permission but none of us has enough information to give or deny that!

 

[MoxieWhimsy]

This is such a super personal question! It's all about your tolerance for debt, where you are financially, your ability to work around your computer's limitations.

Fair. Still would appreciate any advice. I wonder if anyone else on the forums has been in a similar situation. Currently, I'm working around the things I don't have. It's only less efficient because (on linux) I sometimes need to use the proprietary display drivers, for specific programs; otherwise have a very strange multi monitor set-up, and restarting (even just X11) between tasks is time-consuming. More resolution on a single screen, and company hardware support should remedy this.

 

[akwarner]

I love my Macs and I also use Windows systems as well. The key thing for all of them is to have BACKUPS (fully bootable ones are best) so that if/when something goes wrong, you can get back up and running quickly. I would instead invest in an external hard drive (or two) and a copy of Acronis True Image or something like that. I'd spend the time to get your Windows 8.1 system functional (you might have to copy your data off to the external hard drives and then reinstall Windows and your apps from scratch). However once you were back up and running, I would make at least two bootable backups onto the external drives in case something like this happened again. You can get external drives (depending on capacity) for under a $100 each and a copy of Acronis for about $40. Much less expensive than purchasing a new PC.

When you've replenished your savings you can then look into picking up a used or refurbished Mac for the testing you talked about.

Just my two cents.

A.

 

[jerrykur]

I agree with akwarner. Fixing the windows 8.1 should be relatively straight forward.

Also, there are currently some issues with the 13 inch Retina macbook pro. This thread, https://discussions.apple.com/message/23515594#23515594 has made me put off my upgrade to a 13 retina.

 

[sarcosis]

I'd recommend fixing your Windows install vs spending money if you are short on cash. Try to do a reinstall of 8.1. You might need to get a disc and the format your drove and start fresh. This will save you some cash.

Otherwise, if you are bent on getting a new machine, see if you can finance one on Amazon or Best Buy. I think you might be able to drag out the payments over a year that way.

 

[iWeekend]

I get the need to have a platform for testing ... one machine for each OS.

What I don't get is why are you looking at a top end ($) machine for Mac OSX when a used one, or even a basic new mac mini would be OK? Virtual machine? Hackintosh? I'm guessing either a real or perceived need to have the actual metal in front of you is a factor, given your work flow.


Good luck with whatever you decide.