[Satchmo]

Any new chips from Intel that I should be aware of coming in the next say 6 months? I'd hate to jump in the week before they announce a new 'x' times faster and cooler chip out in the new year.

I'm looking at the 13" refurb 2.26. According to the Mac Buying Guide, it's in mid-product cycle so I'm pretty safe. I also suspect major chip changes would probably be implemented into the higher model 15" and 17" MBPs.

[Wyatt]

I'd expect the 17" to see some love before the 15 or 13. The 15" has a faster max. CPU than the 17", so it'll probably see an upgrade before the rest of them. I think the 13" is probably pretty safe for a while.

[Iago]

Originally Posted by Wyatt I'd expect the 17" to see some love before the 15 or 13. The 15" has a faster max. CPU than the 17"

They both go up to 3.06GHz BTO. If you can wait until January I would. You never know what Apple might spring on us.

[Robo]

Wikipedia (I know) is now saying that Arrandale is coming in Q4 '09 (up from Q1 '10?) so we could certainly see a whole new line around the MacBook Air's second birthday (and the 17" unibody MBP's first). But, as always, by it when you need it - there's always something a few months away.

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by Satchmo Any new chips from Intel that I should be aware of coming in the next say 6 months? I'd hate to jump in the week before they announce a new 'x' times faster and cooler chip out in the new year. I'm looking at the 13" refurb 2.26. According to the Mac Buying Guide, it's in mid-product cycle so I'm pretty safe. I also suspect major chip changes would probably be implemented into the higher model 15" and 17" MBPs.

I bought a 13-inch MacBook Pro a few weeks ago, but I'd recommend you don't unless you really can't wait a few months. You mention six months, and Apple's notebooks will almost certainly have Nehalem chips (specifically Arrandale) by then. Likely sooner.

Arrandale MacBook Pros may not be a massive upgrade from today's Core 2 Duo (Penryn) MBPs, especially if Apple use Arrandale's integrated graphics rather than a discrete GPU on the 13-inch model. (I don't know enough about Arrandale's GPU to know if that's likely.) On the other hand they might be brilliant. And at the very least performance-sensitive applications (like video encoders) will soon be optimised for Nehalem rather than Penyrn, so anything you buy in a few months will be better equipped for the future than today's MacBook Pro.

[Satchmo]

A MBP is not an absolute necessity as I have my trusty iMac. But certainly many times when I would love to write or surf while on the couch or in bed.

I've got this $75 off coupon from Apple which I've had the expiry date extended twice. It's coming up to expiry again at the end of this month.

Also, I don't know if new Nehalem chips based MBP's would be in my budget. I'd probably be looking at refurbs again, which would mean 9-12 months out.

[Partial]

When are we going to get a quad-core laptop with hyper threading? I want menu meters to track 8 "cores"!

[PB PM]

Not for a while. The TDP of the Quad notebook chips is going to go up with the Nehalem chips, so I don't see Apple using them unless there is a major leap forward in battery technology.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by PB PM Not for a while. The TDP of the Quad notebook chips is going to go up with the Nehalem chips, so I don't see Apple using them unless there is a major leap forward in battery technology.

True. We should see Clarksfield in iMacs but it'll be Arrandale in MBs. Arrandale has two cores, but four threads.