If a new Penryn MBP is announced at Macworld...

[Summer2000]

How soon would they be available for shipping?
Also anyone thinks the upgrade will be significant enough to wait for it?

I'm debating whether to pull the trigger and get one now or hold off for any news regarding an update.

This will be my first Mac by the way. It will be mainly used as an audio workstation to run Ableton Live 7 and Reason 4 as well as a few CPU and memory intensive VST plugins. I'd like to get a computer that will last me at least 2-3 years without having to buy a new one.

I will be buying a WD 320GB Passport hard drive this week so I can swap out the drive with the MBP's when I get one. I also plan to max out the RAM to 4 gigs.

Currently I'm sharing my wife's PC (Thinkpad) so I kind of need a laptop of my own. So the question remains whether to patiently wait the next 3 weeks for Macworld or buy one now?

What would you do if you were me?


Summer2000

 

[Twe Foju]

dude, only if you could spend more time on "search" options, im sure you will get more answer than what you asked

cheers

 

[heatmiser]

So the question remains whether to patiently wait the next 3 weeks for Macworld or buy one now?

What would you do if you were me?

I'd buy one now. To me, anyone who buys a revision A Apple laptop deserves every random shutdown, yellow screen, frozen keyboard, swollen battery, ill-fitting case, faulty logic system, etc. they get. Apple doesn't test their laptops before shipping them. Ignore this at your peril. You'll find lots of people telling you to "wait for January!!!", and you can wait, if you want, but you'd better be prepared to spend time on the phone and at the Apple Store if things go wrong. Or you could buy an established, working revision, and use it, instead of forever longing for the Next Newest Thing. :^)

 

[Twe Foju]

it's all up to you, truly,

again, if you need it now, then buy now, but if it's not that important, i will say this again for the "i dont know" times

wait till January, i know, it's gonna be a REV A Penryn MBP, and i know there WILL be a lot of issues, and glitches, whatsoeva

but im prepared to face it anyway, because im a type of those buyers who will feel guilt when not buying the newest thing on the Market

so its all up to you honestly,

 

[djinn]

I'd buy one now. To me, anyone who buys a revision A Apple laptop deserves every random shutdown, yellow screen, frozen keyboard, swollen battery, ill-fitting case, faulty logic system, etc. they get. Apple doesn't test their laptops before shipping them. Ignore this at your peril. You'll find lots of people telling you to "wait for January!!!", and you can wait, if you want, but you'd better be prepared to spend time on the phone and at the Apple Store if things go wrong. Or you could buy an established, working revision, and use it, instead of forever longing for the Next Newest Thing. :^)

I agree with you on that one. My 12" Powerbook Rev A. is a POS. All I use it now for is a paperweight.

 

[Summer2000]

I'd buy one now. To me, anyone who buys a revision A Apple laptop deserves every random shutdown, yellow screen, frozen keyboard, swollen battery, ill-fitting case, faulty logic system, etc. they get. Apple doesn't test their laptops before shipping them. Ignore this at your peril. You'll find lots of people telling you to "wait for January!!!", and you can wait, if you want, but you'd better be prepared to spend time on the phone and at the Apple Store if things go wrong. Or you could buy an established, working revision, and use it, instead of forever longing for the Next Newest Thing. :^)

So are issues with Revision A releases usually fixed with software patches or are they fixed with a newer laptop version down the road?

I wouldn't want to purchase an expensive laptop only to find out that it's useless because of hardware issues that can't be fixed. In that case I'd be better off getting the current SR MBP.

Summer2000

 

[MarlboroLite]

Wouldn't this be a Revision D?

Why is it A? Isnt't A when it's an entirely new product? If all they do is update to Penryn, it's the same as updating from Core Duo to 2 Duo....no one called that Rev. A

 

[heatmiser]

So are issues with Revision A releases usually fixed with software patches or are they fixed with a newer laptop version down the road?

I wouldn't want to purchase an expensive laptop only to find out that it's useless because of hardware issues that can't be fixed. In that case I'd be better off getting the current SR MBP.

Summer2000

The software issues can usually be fixed by patches Apple releases, but if it's a hardware defect (and there are plenty to choose from), those can only be fixed by taking your computer to the Apple Store or to an authorized repair personnel...or by returning the computer directly to Apple. Basically, there aren't any hardware issues you can fix yourself.

That's why people recommend waiting for later revisions--very often, if there's a defective part, Apple will simply continue to sell computers with that defect until they've gotten rid of all the defective parts they have in stock. That's what Apple did with the defective Seagate hard drives that came with many Macbooks. They replaced them if they died on you, but otherwise, they kept selling them until there weren't any left to sell. Ditto with the yellow Samsung LED screens on the Macbook Pros. So yeah, I'd buy something that's known to work now, instead of trying something new where everyone will do the debugging for Apple, at the expense of their data and sanity...

Wouldn't this be a Revision D?

Why is it A? Isnt't A when it's an entirely new product? If all they do is update to Penryn, it's the same as updating from Core Duo to 2 Duo....no one called that Rev. A

If it's another 15" or 17" MBP, then yeah, those will simply be Rev (previous version + letter). But if it's an ultraportable (something with an entirely new hardware configuration), that's going to be a Rev A.

 

[djinn]

You take your chances with any revision A. products. So your best bet is to see what is going to be introduced in January if anything and wait a few months for a new revision to be released.

 

[LeviG]

Assuming there is no change of case or other hardware (ie graphics etc) penryn is just a chip swap (its basically a 45nm tweaked merom), nothing else is changing until monte.... whatever its called chipset is released when it goes 800mhz fsb. So with the assumption of it being identical except for cpu the worse case scenario is a revision B model which should in theory have most of the major issues ironed out.

 

[leftroom]

Wasn't the question about how soon they'll be shipping the Penryn MBPs? I think we'll have to wait a month or so. When the iMac and MacBook Pro came with Core Duo-processors, I had to wait a month to get mine.

I bought both the iMac and MacBook with Core Duo-processor and I haven't got any wrongs with my computers.. But yes, it is a risk of course, and I will do this again with the new MacBook Pros.. Can't wait

 

[Inconsequential]

If apple put penryn in the MBPs but don't change anything else then It'll be exactly like the Merom versions.

Performance is between 0-15/20% faster and battery life well I doubt its more than 30 mins longer at idle (It'll be a diff of a few watts at idle, AT BEST).

So buy now

 

[jnash]

If apple put penryn in the MBPs but don't change anything else then It'll be exactly like the Merom versions.

Performance is between 0-15/20% faster and battery life well I doubt its more than 30 mins longer at idle (It'll be a diff of a few watts at idle, AT BEST).

So buy now

I got my new mbp for xmas im sooo wanting to open it, but the thoughts of better battery, faster processor, and maybe a new price point is going to put me in a position to wait until Jan 15, 2007 if it was longer then a month of a wait away or been a while sense the mbp line has seen a new case re-design I honestly would open it but when I am spending 2,000+ or more I want the best bang for my buck possible, besides I have the imac to hold me off until then

 

[chaosbunny]

I'd buy one now. To me, anyone who buys a revision A Apple laptop deserves every random shutdown, yellow screen, frozen keyboard, swollen battery, ill-fitting case, faulty logic system, etc. they get. Apple doesn't test their laptops before shipping them. Ignore this at your peril. You'll find lots of people telling you to "wait for January!!!", and you can wait, if you want, but you'd better be prepared to spend time on the phone and at the Apple Store if things go wrong. Or you could buy an established, working revision, and use it, instead of forever longing for the Next Newest Thing. :^)

My rev A cube still works and never had a problem since 2001, my rev A 12" powerbook is now used by my father and never had a problem since 2003. My rev A ipod from 2002 still works and never had a problem.

However, the backlit keyboard on my rev C 15" powerbook broke 1,5 years after purchase, and even worse, the logic board broke on my girlfriends 12" ibook rev D 1,5 years after purchase.

I'd say it does have more to do with good/bad luck than with which revision you buy. Maybe you'll have a slightly higher chance to get a faulty unit with rev As, but it's nowhere near as high as some people claim it to be.

 

[kflook]

I'd buy one now. To me, anyone who buys a revision A Apple laptop deserves every random shutdown, yellow screen, frozen keyboard, swollen battery, ill-fitting case, faulty logic system, etc. they get. Apple doesn't test their laptops before shipping them. Ignore this at your peril. You'll find lots of people telling you to "wait for January!!!", and you can wait, if you want, but you'd better be prepared to spend time on the phone and at the Apple Store if things go wrong. Or you could buy an established, working revision, and use it, instead of forever longing for the Next Newest Thing. :^)

I did get a laugh out of that one. Granted, not every revision A is problematic, but I never regret buying my G4 instead of waiting for January for the big Intel move. Except those occasions that the external iSight is a pain to drag around...

 

[capitanbuzo]

Unless Apple redesigns the case, the 15" and 17" MBP will be Rev E. If anyone asks why not Rev X, here is a list of the different Revs. Rev A was the introduction of Core Duo, Rev B was a Speed bump and intro of the Glossy Screen, Rev C was the Core 2 Duo, and Rev D was the Santa Rosa.

 

[Twe Foju]

i dont think there will be a new design for MacPro

but neither does they include the new mbp as a revision "E"

they're gonna start right from rev A most likely

 

[capitanbuzo]

i dont think there will be a new design for MacPro

but neither does they include the new mbp as a revision "E"

they're gonna start right from rev A most likely

If Apple was to start again at Rev A, then Apple would need to redesign the Macbook Pro and not just update the processors.

 

[mb2696]

what does apple typically do with old comper stock when a new model comes out? Will the older models still be available? If so, can a discount be expected?

 

[aethelbert]

what does apple typically do with old comper stock when a new model comes out? Will the older models still be available? If so, can a discount be expected?

My sister got her macbook pro on 5/6 (Rev D release date) of this year. She asked if they still had any of the 2.16 2.33 gHz models in stock. They were ready to give a discount on the older model, but she ended up getting the new chipset instead. So yeah, if you go at the right time, you might be able to get a slightly lower price on an older system.

 

[Towhead]

Sometimes you just gotta bite and run with the latest and greatest. Look around at all those grinning iPod Touch and iPhone users. You'd think they'd have found new love ...

 

[shoppy]

I always get what I like, I never wait for revisions, if it works now then that is all that matters.