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should i buy or wait?
- Thread starter ansabakhan
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It would take a pretty major redesign of the 13" MBP to make it more interesting to me than the current 13" MBA...
* more efficient / cooler mobile CPU
* higher resolution screen
* more svelte / less piggy
* lower SSD upgrade price
Those four items would be a start.
* more efficient / cooler mobile CPU
* higher resolution screen
* more svelte / less piggy
* lower SSD upgrade price
Those four items would be a start.
I agree about no i7 (SLIGHT possibility of BTO) in the 13" models, but I would hope Apple wouldn't put the i3's in their either. Unless they really want to kill graphics and include processors that are only slightly faster.
The Arrandale i3's only match the core2Duo's in clock speed (10-15% boost in performance), and have no hyper-threading. I can't see the Sandy Bridge i3's doing much better.
The similarly clocked Arrandale i5's (i5-560M) costs less than the Core2Duo's (P8800) do now: i5-560M = $225.00, P8800 = $241, and one can only assume that the Sandy Bridge i5's at similar clock speeds will slot in at similar price points.
That makes the Sandy Bridge i5's the perfect chips for the 13" MBP refresh sometime in March/April, IMHO.
It's funny how some features are unimportant to some people and most important to others. I couldn't care less about a back lit keyboard (don't use it) and hate the reflective glass screen of my 13" MacBook Pro. So I'm getting a new 13" Air. Others think the exact opposite and wouldn't buy the Air.
I disagree about the backlit keyboard, (as I've been a MBA user since it was released, and it's always been a feature of the machine), but I 100% agree about the glass mirror they put on the 13" MBP models.
The MBA screen with higher Res, and less gloss, is nicer.
Therefore, never buy a computer ever? Hah.
The prevailing wisdom seems to be the opposite to what you say:
"Buy only when you NEED it, and buy the best you can afford, and never look back, or you'll always be disappointed" -- seems to be the best advice for computer buying for the general public.
Not for most of us MR folk... we're always buying new machines 6-8 months later, so we just buy whatever, 'cause we sell so quickly the value doesn't drop that much
I think I was misunderstood. I meant I think buying a computer fully loaded is a waste of money. I much prefer to buy the low end, then sell it and buy the low end again next year. I may not be cutting edge all the time but I always have a relatively new computer.Therefore, never buy a computer ever? Hah.
The prevailing wisdom seems to be the opposite to what you say:
"Buy only when you NEED it, and buy the best you can afford, and never look back, or you'll always be disappointed" -- seems to be the best advice for computer buying for the general public.
Not for most of us MR folk... we're always buying new machines 6-8 months later, so we just buy whatever, 'cause we sell so quickly the value doesn't drop that much
Other people think it's best to buy fully loaded and keep it for a few years. But there's a giant premium to be paid. To each their own.
this is soo true !!!! i always felt that, but thanks for bringing this up... all the MBA users .. how long are they really going to own it for before upgrading?
You would think so, but it seems like they are more interested in positioning the 13" MBP as a budget-minded MBP rather than a smaller and lighter counter-part to the 15" and 17" models.
It will likely be refreshed in March or April because that's when Sandy Bridge will have volume availability.
For either an MBP or MBA, if you can afford to wait a little longer, I would at least wait until either Lion comes out, or Apple says that it will upgrade a new Mac to Lion when it comes out (typically they would say something like a month or two before a new OS comes out, no?). Snow Leopard (a slight update) was only $29, but Lion (possibly a real update) might be priced closer to Leopard, which was like $100 or so?
I have to say that the MBA's screen puts it over the MBP for me. Can't stand the glass/reflectiveness of the MBP. And I would also take the SSD over the faster processor.
I have to say that the MBA's screen puts it over the MBP for me. Can't stand the glass/reflectiveness of the MBP. And I would also take the SSD over the faster processor.
why would they refresh the air in April, that will piss alot of people off who just bought one. That doesn't even make sense refreshing after 5 months, that is an extremely horrible financial plan on Apples part if they do. The macbook airs would be flying off the shelves still at that point
We're talking about the 13" MBP, not the MBA. I don't expect a MBA update for another year or so.
They won't refresh a just-refreshed model, just because a new CPU is available. Don't count on a MBA refresh before the fall.
With the way things are looking I'd see a refresh for Pro line in April (earliest) and a refresh for Air line in (Fall earliest).
The quote you replied to was about the date the MacBook Air would be refreshed. But yes, the MacBook Pro refresh will most likely be somewhere in the next few months.
with a processor like 2.13 on macbook Air ... would i have a really hard time using Final Cut Studio or other heavy applications ? is it even possible ?
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The "heavy" thing about those applications is usually the exporting of the files. Once they're loaded and you're just moving things around in the application itself, the Air should handle that just fine. Albeit a bit slower than on a Mac Pro quadruple core. But you won't notice much difference from a MBP 13", that's for sure.
Oh, and I just ordered myself a new MBA
. Tired of waiting and my 4 year old MacBook is now really at the end of its life...
The "heavy" thing about those applications is usually the exporting of the files. Once they're loaded and you're just moving things around in the application itself, the Air should handle that just fine. Albeit a bit slower than on a Mac Pro quadruple core. But you won't notice much difference from a MBP 13", that's for sure.
Oh, and I just ordered myself a new MBA
congrats !!!!! where r u ? in USA ... did u get it online .... i am tempted too but now looking at the post on the main page about companies trying to get ride of macbook pro hinting to a refresh is confusing me about deciding about this ...
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Thanks
I'm in Europe and ordered it in the online Apple store (13"/1.86GHz/4GB/128GB). I'm hoping for next week, but probably the week after that.I was considering waiting for the MBP refresh as well for a while now. But my current MacBook is dying on me as I type this, so the need for a new machine is pretty high.
Personally, I don't really use CPU-intensive applications. And if I do, I don't mind waiting a few minutes longer. Most things the C2D can handle just fine, it simply takes longer. I'd love to have a machine with the latest tech, don't get me wrong, but when I look at what I really need, I'm going to see way more benefits from more/faster RAM than I have now, and of course the flash storage. When I'm "stressing" my machine it's by multi-tasking and that's where those things are really useful.
So... even if the MBP comes out tomorrow, the only difference it can make for me is having a faster CPU than the current 13" MBA. I've been working on a C2D 2.0GHz for the last 4 years (albeit an older version, lower cache, etc.), and I hardly ever see it working at full capacity. Only exception: Flash. So.. yes, the CPU is "old", but will I really notice it on a day-by-day basis? Nope.
Furthermore, I really like the portability of the MBA. I've been playing around with them in the store, and they're just crazy thin and light. The 11" almost felt like a cheap toy, until you realize what it actually packs inside. As for what the Air misses compared to the MBP: in the last 4 years I used my SuperDrive 3 times: 1st time to test if it worked after I got it, 2nd time to install Leopard, 3rd time to install Snow Leopard. And since I'm pretty sure we'll see at least the option to buy Lion on a USB stick, I couldn't care less about a SuperDrive. I won't miss the extra ports the MBP has, nor the backlight keyboard (I touch type and find the light really annoying). And the thing that really kept me from buying the 13" MBP for the last year was the glass mirror in front of the screen.
I also considered waiting for the Air to be refreshed, you know.. to get the latest and greatest, but then we're probably talking after the summer, and... that's quite a long wait when I could really use one now. And if, for some reason, it turns out I could really benefit from a faster CPU I'll consider selling this one in the fall or whenever the new Air does come out, and upgrade to the new one then.
Btw, I linked to this review earlier on this forum, which really got me convinced of how capable the current MBA is: Frank Chimero - The Setup.