Hello all.
I currently have a 1st gen 15" MBP and am looking to buy a 17" for the increased screen size, dual layer DVD drive, larger HD, and faster processor. I was ready to go out and buy the core 2 duo until I ran into the Santa Rosa thread. I did some research, and am weary about waiting. Here's why:
* Buying a 1st gen notebook with a new processor/chipset is risky. When I bought my 1st gen intel MBP, it had the all-so-annoying whine problem caused by voltage changed in the CPU to save battery power. They "sort of" fixed it with an update that prevents the CPU from cycling down while on AC power. If you're doing a presentation on battery with audio, you're out of luck unless you use developer tools to disable one of the cores (thus changing voltage of the CPU). Pain in the ass.
* On a related note. I'm concerned that key applications I run (such as Pro Tools) will not work on the new SR chipsets. I can't wait 4 months for Digidesign to release an update so I could get working (as is the case with Vista). However, I found one instance of a Pro Tools user working on a Santa Rosa Sony Viao.
* I read that the LED screen lose clarity over the fluorescent counter parts. Also display related, I'm concerned that Apple will switch to Invidia GPUs. I prefer the clarity (as do other Macrumor users, so I've read) of the ATI designs.
* Searching on the internet, there was a benchmark test between the new SR laptops vs their predecessor. On average, the SR laptop was only 10 per cent faster than the pre-SR Intel Core 2 Duo model. I'll try and dig up the link. Not exactly inspiring improvements in speed according to this test.
* If I wait for a SRMBP, my 15" MBP could depreciate that much more when I try to sell it. Also, if I find out that the SRMBP has something that I don't like, I wont be able to order a 17" pre-SR with my educational discount from the Apple Store.
* I'm not convinced that SR will be out before Leopard. Wouldn't the use of the flash memory component require a serious OS update? We all could be waiting for nothing.
* So this being said, I'm reluctant to wait for SR. It's difficult because we really don't know what's going to happen at WWDC. My concerns noted above are speculation. Maybe the new SRMBP will have a new high res screen, 250GB hard drive option (WD Scorpio), higher RAM ceiling, faster DVD burner etc?
I currently have a 1st gen 15" MBP and am looking to buy a 17" for the increased screen size, dual layer DVD drive, larger HD, and faster processor. I was ready to go out and buy the core 2 duo until I ran into the Santa Rosa thread. I did some research, and am weary about waiting. Here's why:
* Buying a 1st gen notebook with a new processor/chipset is risky. When I bought my 1st gen intel MBP, it had the all-so-annoying whine problem caused by voltage changed in the CPU to save battery power. They "sort of" fixed it with an update that prevents the CPU from cycling down while on AC power. If you're doing a presentation on battery with audio, you're out of luck unless you use developer tools to disable one of the cores (thus changing voltage of the CPU). Pain in the ass.
* On a related note. I'm concerned that key applications I run (such as Pro Tools) will not work on the new SR chipsets. I can't wait 4 months for Digidesign to release an update so I could get working (as is the case with Vista). However, I found one instance of a Pro Tools user working on a Santa Rosa Sony Viao.
* I read that the LED screen lose clarity over the fluorescent counter parts. Also display related, I'm concerned that Apple will switch to Invidia GPUs. I prefer the clarity (as do other Macrumor users, so I've read) of the ATI designs.
* Searching on the internet, there was a benchmark test between the new SR laptops vs their predecessor. On average, the SR laptop was only 10 per cent faster than the pre-SR Intel Core 2 Duo model. I'll try and dig up the link. Not exactly inspiring improvements in speed according to this test.
* If I wait for a SRMBP, my 15" MBP could depreciate that much more when I try to sell it. Also, if I find out that the SRMBP has something that I don't like, I wont be able to order a 17" pre-SR with my educational discount from the Apple Store.
* I'm not convinced that SR will be out before Leopard. Wouldn't the use of the flash memory component require a serious OS update? We all could be waiting for nothing.
* So this being said, I'm reluctant to wait for SR. It's difficult because we really don't know what's going to happen at WWDC. My concerns noted above are speculation. Maybe the new SRMBP will have a new high res screen, 250GB hard drive option (WD Scorpio), higher RAM ceiling, faster DVD burner etc?
You could certainly look for a used one or a refurb at an even lower price than the student discount, to offset the depreciation issue. If you get a used or refurb one, you will probably be able to sell it in 10-18 months if you want an SR MBP and still end up on the same place in the depreciation curve (i.e. a pretty typical depreciation rate for notebooks is about $20/month over the first three or four years -- as long as you sell it for $200 less than you purchased it for, about one year from now, and you buy another one, it's likely that you won't lose any more money to depreciation than you would have if you waited).
