PDA

View Full Version : Merom worth the wait?


rollercoaster375
2006-03-12, 20:33
Disclaimer: this post will be speculative, so... Yea.

I'm a high school student (Sophomore), and I've been saving for a Laptop for two years now (I was converted to Mac-dom a few months after I started saving). I've finally gotten enough money to be able to afford a laptop, but I have a major decision: to buy now, or later.

My main reasoning for buying later would be Merom... I will need to boot Windows (<3 Age of Empires 3), and I also will need for this computer to last a reasonably long time. With the recent news that Vista won't boot via EFI on its first release, and never on 32 bit systems, I've been leaning toward waiting until October to buy (Isn't the iBook typically updated around then?), rather than buying one of the suspected April-ish MacBooks... Presumably, the October-ish update would use Merom, no?

Anyways, this is my dilemma, and I thank you for any input you may give.

MCQ
2006-03-12, 22:54
Presumably, the October-ish update would use Merom, no?

I'd lean towards no at this point, but the first iBook revision should show what position Apple wants to take with the iBook.

My suggestion would be to have a separate budget PC for any type of gaming... but that's just my opinion.

Luca
2006-03-13, 00:00
How are we supposed to help you? You want purchasing advice related to a feature that will never be officially supported (Windows booting on a Mac). You can't count on that happening at all. What you need to do is decide whether you'd rather have Age of Empires 3 or a Mac. Pick one or the other. There's a chance you'll be able to boot Windows on an Intel-based Mac, but there's also a chance you won't be able to.

The standard-issue purchasing advice we usually give here is buy if you need it, wait if you don't. But there are limits. I mean, if you have a working Windows computer, then you technically don't really need to buy a Mac at any specific point in the future... but on the other hand, you don't want to stay on Windows your whole life, do you?

I think you should just wait and see what becomes available come April. The next MacBook update after their initial announcement (which seems like it'll almost certainly be at the special event coming in the next few weeks) wouldn't be until October at the earliest - that's six months after April. It could always be longer; Apple has taken a year or more to update some of their products in the past, though I don't think that'll happen with the MacBook.

rollercoaster375
2006-03-13, 10:24
How are we supposed to help you? You want purchasing advice related to a feature that will never be officially supported (Windows booting on a Mac). You can't count on that happening at all. What you need to do is decide whether you'd rather have Age of Empires 3 or a Mac. Pick one or the other. There's a chance you'll be able to boot Windows on an Intel-based Mac, but there's also a chance you won't be able to.
Well, I was hoping that since you aren't Apple's official purchase advisors, you would be able to consider unsupported features ;) - On the other hand, I see your point. I would very much prefer to have OS X (I need a real Unix prompt <_<) over AoE3, no matter how great the game is. I understand that it might never be possible, but even knowing that, do you think that the risks involved are greater on one side or the other?

The standard-issue purchasing advice we usually give here is buy if you need it, wait if you don't. But there are limits. I mean, if you have a working Windows computer, then you technically don't really need to buy a Mac at any specific point in the future... but on the other hand, you don't want to stay on Windows your whole life, do you?
I have a working Windows computer, but it's a Desktop - not a laptop, and I do need that portability (I travel a lot more than most people my age).

I think you should just wait and see what becomes available come April. The next MacBook update after their initial announcement (which seems like it'll almost certainly be at the special event coming in the next few weeks) wouldn't be until October at the earliest - that's six months after April. It could always be longer; Apple has taken a year or more to update some of their products in the past, though I don't think that'll happen with the MacBook.
Well obviously. Thing is, if I'm going to end up buying the April-ish MacBook, I see no reason why not to preorder it the second it comes out. The second point of yours is one of the biggest ones I've been debating with. If it is longer, I don't think I could wait, but I also couldn't buy then.

macleod
2006-03-13, 10:29
I am in a similar situation to yours. I cannot figure out if Merom is worth the wait or if the current configuration is sufficient. I really want to wait for Merom but I can't wait for ever. Also I feel like Merom is just the beginning for some really nice processors that will come along in the upcoming year (but how soon will that be?!)
Right now from the information I have seen on the forums here, I will probably wait for Merom or maybe a little longer; however, the wait is no fun at all so I may get an older Mac desktop or a mini to hold me off because Windows makes me way to mad!

tacvbo83
2006-03-13, 11:03
guess what, when Merom comes out we will know of newer processors coming out in the next months and you are going to want to wait again, that is why the "buy now if you need it comes up". That is the only answer to all these types of questions.

davidfalling
2006-03-13, 11:35
guess what, when Merom comes out we will know of newer processors coming out in the next months and you are going to want to wait again

SO TRUE! Thats how it ALWAYS is. Ever since i became i mac-addict, i've been plauged with the question, "buy now, or wait" but you cant wait forever! I just decided to hop on the mac-wagon now with the new maxed out macbook pro. Im sure that will last a good few years. (it has to!) I figure if i buy now, i'll have this sweet piece of cutting edge equipment for a year maybe. And then it will hold me over while i save for another year or two to get the the next best thing. I cant even imagine what they are going to have in three years down the raod..... crazy stuff.

rollercoaster375
2006-03-13, 11:53
SO TRUE! Thats how it ALWAYS is. Ever since i became i mac-addict, i've been plauged with the question, "buy now, or wait" but you cant wait forever! I just decided to hop on the mac-wagon now with the new maxed out macbook pro. Im sure that will last a good few years. (it has to!) I figure if i buy now, i'll have this sweet piece of cutting edge equipment for a year maybe. And then it will hold me over while i save for another year or two to get the the next best thing. I cant even imagine what they are going to have in three years down the raod..... crazy stuff.
This is different however. Proccessors after Merom won't be incompatability producing, they'll just be speed increases. Merom is 64 bit, which is something valuable beyond speed.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_Microarchitecture#Laptops

tacvbo83
2006-03-13, 13:07
I read on some threads before that almost everyone has no use for 64 bit. Then again, I really do not know about those things, just what I read from other peeps.

rollercoaster375
2006-03-13, 13:12
I read on some threads before that almost everyone has no use for 64 bit. Then again, I really do not know about those things, just what I read from other peeps.
You're right, but true use of 64 bit technology is incompatable with 32 bit stuff.

Luca
2006-03-13, 13:15
64-bit is useful for addressing more than 4 GB of memory (not possible, currently, in a laptop with two RAM slots) and for handling longer words. It doesn't make a difference for the average home user.

For the record, I think you should buy in April (unless Apple's MacBook release is really disappointing).

tacvbo83
2006-03-13, 13:16
true use of 64 bit technology is incompatable with 32 bit stuff.

Can you please explain that in detail? (like an example or something) I don't know what means exactly and I would like to know since I am not well informed on the subject.

Luca
2006-03-13, 13:25
Well, the reason the G5 and Athlon 64 can run old 32-bit applications is because they have a hardware compatibility mode. I don't really know how this affects performance, but I do know that other 64-bit CPUs don't have a compatibility mode and thus can't run 32-bit applications (the Intel Itanium is an example).

The issue is very complex and not always clear cut. From reading a little bit about it on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64_bit), it seems that 64-bit processors may well have advantages past addressing over 4 GB of memory, but the whole situation is very complex and not really applicable to most users.

rollercoaster375
2006-03-13, 13:34
Can you please explain that in detail? (like an example or something) I don't know what means exactly and I would like to know since I am not well informed on the subject.
I'm not an expert either, but I do know that an appliction built to use a 64 proccessor won't run on a 32 bit machine.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64_bit for more on 64-Bit implications :)

Luca:
as with the Itanium processors from Intel, which include an x86 processor core to run 32-bit x86 applications

macleod
2006-03-13, 14:56
64-bit is useful for addressing more than 4 GB of memory (not possible, currently, in a laptop with two RAM slots) and for handling longer words. It doesn't make a difference for the average home user.

For the record, I think you should buy in April (unless Apple's MacBook release is really disappointing).

I'm confused as to why you say buy in April if the Merom processor will not be out until later in the summer or early fall and the education savings or back to school savings haven't started yet?

chucker
2006-03-13, 14:58
I'm confused as to why you say buy in April if the Merom processor will not be out until later in the summer or early fall and the education savings or back to school savings haven't started yet?

1) The education savings are available all year.
2) He's stating that you simply won't need Merom. A Yonah-based iBook successor, to be expected in April, will be more than good enough for your apparent needs.
3) Back to school savings are another matter entirely; if you want those, obviously you're going to have to wait anyway.

Luca
2006-03-13, 15:01
I'm confused as to why you say buy in April if the Merom processor will not be out until later in the summer or early fall and the education savings or back to school savings haven't started yet?
What I meant was I think he should buy the MacBook that is released in April. If he wants to wait for a back-to-school promotion or something, fine. I don't think it's worth waiting for Merom.