Wait for Merom

[DVK916]

Merom will be much better. If you buy a new Intel Mac now you will only regret it when in Q3 Merom is release.

 

[Applespider]

All joking aside, Merom does sound like a better chip than Yonah.

But if you need a computer now, then Q3 is a long time to wait. If you don't, then waiting is an option.

 

[Eidorian]

All joking aside, Merom does sound like a better chip than Yonah.

But if you need a computer now, then Q3 is a long time to wait. If you don't, then waiting is an option.

I just hope my iMac G5 Rev. B has SOME resale value left by then. I'm holding out for Q3 2006 though.

 

[Lacero]

I won't be upgrading my dual G5 until at least Apple comes out with a dual-core quad chip (8 processors), which by the looks of things, might come out end Q3-Q4 2007, which is the perfect upgrade window for me.

Merom or whatever smoking 65nm chip from Intel, it'll be exciting.

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​

 

[Kelson]

Eh...I think not....

Merom will be much better. If you buy a new Intel Mac now you will only regret it when in Q3 Merom is release.

Eh...no thanks...I'll just get a MacBook Pro now through work, then when the Merom based systems are released, I'll wait for Rev. B of the Merom systems, and buy one for home....

This 1ghz TiBook is just getting to old....

-Kelson

 

[verb]

There are plenty of things that could go wrong with the Merom project causing it to be delayed.

If you are going to wait...I'd just sit back and be patient. If you are already posting about waiting then it sounds like you might be already thinking about this. It's going to be a long 9 months to find out that Merom is having thermal issues and won't be released for another 2 months. More likely Intel would just say nothing about any problems and reiterate a "2006" launch

 

[p0intblank]

There will always be something better to wait for. I for one may be getting the new iMac soon. I don't really need to wait for Merom. Sure it will be better, but what we have now is already incredible, especially for an iMac. And when the Merom comes out, you'll be saying the same thing for Intel's next processor.

 

[law guy]

20 Intel processors over the next 8 quarters - there's a lot in that roadmap to make one wait for the next big thing. 45 nm in 07. Quad cores by the end of this year, as many as 8 cores by the end of 07. A lot of waiting apparently awaits...

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/04/top_secret_intel_processor_plans_uncovered/

 

[sethypoo]

Yep, I'm waiting for Merom too. I can't wait. I mean, a FSB of 1033Mhz in a MacBook Pro!?!? That's awesome!

Also, I want Blu-Ray and 802.11n in my MacBook Pro. So, it may be a long wait for me.

See this thread for what I want in a MacBook Pro.

 

[Abstract]

There will always be something better to wait for. I for one may be getting the new iMac soon. I don't really need to wait for Merom. Sure it will be better, but what we have now is already incredible, especially for an iMac. And when the Merom comes out, you'll be saying the same thing for Intel's next processor.

Exactly what most smart people are thinking.

I realize that we live in a materialistic society, but get what you need now. If you need to buy a new Mac for work or school, then buy it now. If you don't need one, but want to upgrade and can wait, then get it later. You can wait for the next chip forever. These companies are always trying to make things better, and they will. What will you do, wait for a bit longer?

It doesn't make sense. Honestly, just get the iMac or MBP if you need it now.

 

[MisterMe]

Merom will be much better. If you buy a new Intel Mac now you will only regret it when in Q3 Merom is release.

You may have a long wait. Apple is not in the business of selling Intel chips. Apple is in the business of selling systems based on Intel chips. Do you understand the difference? Well, if you don't, this means that Apple will choose the processor that best fits the target market of its system. For some of its systems, the best fit may very well be the Merom. But, it is not guarranteed. My best advice is to think about your system as a system and not just as a processor.

 

[Koodauw]

Merom will be much better. If you buy a new Intel Mac now you will only regret it when in Q3 Merom is release.

Well I have done some reading on the the differences between the two, but perhaps you could fill us in on the differences between Merom and Yonah. For me the differences didnt seem that much better.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I just bought a quad G5 and couldn't wait any longer - if you have work that needs to be done, waiting isn't always an option.

D

 

[AUBPsych]

I'm transferring to another university in the summer (starting in late May) and taking summer classes. If it's true that Merom will be released into a MacBook Pro then, supposedly at WWDC, would it definitely be worth the month or so's wait to get a new laptop? I mean, I don't need one until I transfer and I want to wait until the last minute anyway...I wouldn't want to buy something in May only to have something much better be released in June. But then again, I wouldn't want to have to make a trip to the library just to use their computers their for menial tasks or to type papers. Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[MRU]

When is WWDC per-chance?

 

[killmoms]

I'm transferring to another university in the summer (starting in late May) and taking summer classes. If it's true that Merom will be released into a MacBook Pro then, supposedly at WWDC, would it definitely be worth the month or so's wait to get a new laptop? I mean, I don't need one until I transfer and I want to wait until the last minute anyway...I wouldn't want to buy something in May only to have something much better be released in June. But then again, I wouldn't want to have to make a trip to the library just to use their computers their for menial tasks or to type papers. Any ideas/suggestions?

Merom's not due until the end of this year at the earliest. More likely, sometime in '07. If you need a laptop, buy the MacBook Pro and be happy. It's 4 - 5x faster than the PowerBook G4! I mean, yeah, Merom will be faster... but just buy what you need when you need it. Otherwise you'll ALWAYS be waiting for "the next big thing," because something better's always just around the corner.

 

[law guy]

I just bought a quad G5 and couldn't wait any longer - if you have work that needs to be done, waiting isn't always an option.

D

I had seen that great review in pcmag on your Quad (fastest cinebench ever measured in their labs). I just saw the barefeats vs. desktop intel and athlon dual cores the other day - http://www.barefeats.com/mvdcpc.html - just an impressive machine. In your case, the waiting would just have been for the other options to catch up.

 

[law guy]

Merom's not due until the end of this year at the earliest. .

I have read September in a few places. See CNET's Oct 14th note on their date prediction for that same timeframe - 2nd half of 06, but prior to Conroe. Back when this was written, it appears that CNET predicted Mernom would be the first MacBook Pro chip.

From CNET back in Oct: "With Dempsey, the Xeon family will start to move into Opteron price/performance territory, but it won't fully arrive until Woodcrest, which is Intel's multicore Xeon based on the entirely new Conroe/Merom architecture. According to CNET's information, the Conroe desktops will come out in 2H06, which means that Mac users should look for the first run of Intel PowerMacs around that time. The CNET coverage doesn't have any word on Merom's release date, but since Merom is due out before Conroe this puts the notebook processor—and with it the Intel-based PowerBook—out in 2H06, which is right on schedule. Woodcrest will come after Conroe, but the CNET coverage has no word on when it'll arrive."

Interesting that as of November '05, the Register didn't even expect the Core's out until later in '06. Kudos for Intel for being ahead of earlier predictions.

Also - Link to Tom's Hardware Intel roadmap article in posted above. That article has much bigger changes in store for 2007 - a move to the 45nm process and 8 core chips before 2008.

 

[NewbieNerd]

I'm getting the iMac now anyway...I knew I would get one once I got a job, and that time is now. If it doesn't turn out to be enough for me ( I have a software job, also interested in getting into the more creative stuff like photo/video editing ), then I resale in 8-12 months or whenever a Merom PM comes out. Doubt I'll lose more than a few hundred bucks.

 

[MacsomJRR]

I'm transferring to another university in the summer (starting in late May) and taking summer classes. If it's true that Merom will be released into a MacBook Pro then, supposedly at WWDC, would it definitely be worth the month or so's wait to get a new laptop? I mean, I don't need one until I transfer and I want to wait until the last minute anyway...I wouldn't want to buy something in May only to have something much better be released in June. But then again, I wouldn't want to have to make a trip to the library just to use their computers their for menial tasks or to type papers. Any ideas/suggestions?

What are you doing in school that would cause you to wait for a moderately faster processor? Just get the MBP now.

 

[law guy]

I'm getting the iMac now anyway...I knew I would get one once I got a job, and that time is now. If it doesn't turn out to be enough for me ( I have a software job, also interested in getting into the more creative stuff like photo/video editing ), then I resale in 8-12 months or whenever a Merom PM comes out. Doubt I'll lose more than a few hundred bucks.

Congratulations on the iMac. On the coming processors, Merom is the mobile chip, so no merom PM. The timing is the same for the desktop family - second half of '06.

 

[Morn]

I did tell people to wait for the intel macs. But Merom is not going to be anything like the huge jump from PPC to Yonah. You won't see 5x in SPEC tests, so I wouldn't wait for Merom I'd just buy now. There's always something better in the future. Rarely though is there something as good as the jump from the 7447 to Yonah.

 

[jacobj]

Why wait? Yes Merom will be faster and better but if I am sitting next to a Merom MBP with my old (by then) MBP Duo will I be drooling and thinking that mine is just too damned slow?

I really don't think so.. I have had 2 macs (still a newbie really), a G3 iBook and a 1GHz PB and the Duo is so compelling now. For those users that run a PB on the road and a PM or iMac at home then maybe a wait until the Merom comes out, but for everyone else in the market for a notebook then they should buy the Duo now and get over the feeling of 'but there is something better coming' that we all go through when paying out so much money on technology.

There are 3 reasons for upgrading a computer:

1. Your current model no longer supports most application releases
2. Your current model runs most application releases but so slowly that you are inclined to not do what you want to do because you can't be ar*ed to wait
3. You want the latest and greatest

Points 1 and 2 mean that if the latest machine overcomes the trouble then it is worth it. Point 3 means that your pleasure will be short lived. But then it always is.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I won't be upgrading my dual G5 until at least Apple comes out with a dual-core quad chip (8 processors), which by the looks of things, might come out end Q3-Q4 2007, which is the perfect upgrade window for me.

That will be nuts and I'd have to upgrade my quad then for something like that - but I'd be surprised if we see it in 2007.

D

 

[zap2]

I'lll get a new intel iMac at xMas and i might pick up a intel Mini before that