Switching

[jimdolanmp]

Hi, everybody. I've been a lifetime Mac user until my college required me to get a PC. Now that I've been here for 4 years, my computer continues to fall apart to the point where its become a stationary computer (Dell laptop). Anyway, I've decided that I'm coming back to the fold and am hoping to buy a laptop this summer.
I'm going off to grad school in the UK next September, so I'm trying to figure when I can get the most for my money on a Mac laptop. I was thinking of getting a MacBook Pro but wondering if Apple would be improving it anytime in the near future. Also, with the MacBook coming out, I was wondering if I can get a slightly lesser version of the Pro for a good price deduction. Any help pr thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[zippy]

Any specs you see on the MacBook are purely speculation at this point, though hopes are high that we will see answers very soon: i.e. a couple of weeks or so. It is probably safe to assume that they will be priced similarly, though likely a bit higher than the current iBooks. Figure $1,100 - $1,400 (us). What is really unknown is what kind of re-design will occur, and whether that will be a selling, or detracting point. But I would assume that any of these would be good solid units and reasonably cost effective.

The current MacBook Pros are the most cost efficient at the lower end (the $1999 model). You don't get a whole lot for your money when you go to the next level. IMO

In the end, it may just come down to whether you want to keep your costs below $2000 or not. If you do, wait for the MacBook.

As an alternative, I would suggest you just buy one of each, decide which one you like best, and send the other to me. I'll dispose of it for you;)

[HoshNasi]

I have a similar situation, except that I was never a personal owner of a mac, just a user in schools.

Anyways. My question is about the Merom launch and when we might see them in the MBP.. I'm really worried that if i go out and buy a MBP now (which I am itching to do.) I'll regreat it when the new chips come out. The flip side is if i wait I'll be out of a laptop, which is painful. Also there is no guarentee that the MBP will offered with them quickly after the intel launch.

Anyone else grappling with this decision?

Thanks!

[neiltc13]

For goodness sake - Merom won't be in MBP for a while. The current MBP is a very capable computer and Mac OS X isn't compiled for x64_64 processors so give it a rest. I'm fed up seeing Merom this Merom that today. You won't find many computers more powerful on the market so BUY IT.

[HoshNasi]

For goodness sake - Merom won't be in MBP for a while. The current MBP is a very capable computer and Mac OS X isn't compiled for x64_64 processors so give it a rest. I'm fed up seeing Merom this Merom that today. You won't find many computers more powerful on the market so BUY IT.


Yes Sir, and here is my lunch money and your homework is done too.

Seriously though, thanks for the input.

[Partial]

how many of you need 5 gb of ram, 64 bit does pretty much nothing pimps and hoes

[rollercoaster375]

how many of you need 5 gb of ram, 64 bit does pretty much nothing pimps and hoes
But it does break backward compatability.

And I would expect to see a Merom notebook by November. If you don't want to wait that long, buy the MBP. 32 bit machines will be around for a long time. The reason to wait for merom would be the performance gain/battery life.

[Wyatt]

I'll second the statement that the current MBP is a more than capable machine. I just got mine yesterday (fully stock 1.83 GHz model), and I'm beyond amazed with this thing. It's got the most beautiful display I've ever seen, and it absolutely runs great. The only downside is that it is a little slow running apps under Rosetta, but that has a lot to do with the fact that I only have 512MB RAM. I'm sure when I upgrade it to 1.5GB tomorrow (assuming my RAM arrives on time), it'll be fine with everything. Hell, it even runs games well under XP as-is. I'm running UT2004 with almost full effects, and it's completely smooth, even with 32 bots on one map against me.