When to buy?

[macuser256]

sorry i moved the post into purchasing advice. I'm new here and you can just let this thread die

[chucker]

Wrong forum ;) (Try purchase advice.)

The general answer is that you buy when you need. If you can wait, do wait. Core 2 Duo probably won't make it to MacBooks / MacBook Pros until some time in fall, and Leopard won't be out until even later (possibly not until next spring). Also, any MacBook or MacBook Pro you can buy now will be quite an upgrade from what you have now, so don't be afraid that you won't be satisfied; you will.

[macuser256]

I have a 1Ghz G4 Powerbook and i'm going off to college and plan on buying a new laptop. The point being I can wait for a while before I NEED to switch and i'd prefer to buy something immediately after an upgrad. If i have a computer to hold me off for a little while when do you all think i should buy my new computer? I know that people sit around and wait forever and i'm willing to bite the bullet and just buy one but the two things i would prefer to wait for are Leopard and the 2 Core Duos. Does anyone know if these two things are speculated to be out in a reasonable amount of time?

Also one other question is do you think for a college student mildly interested in games it would be better to get the MB or the MBP. Is the price difference made up for in longevity (i am hoping to have this computer for all 4 years of college)?

[LudwigVan]

...but the two things i would prefer to wait for are Leopard and the 2 Core Duos. Does anyone know if these two things are speculated to be out in a reasonable amount of time?

To get these two together in the same package, you may be waiting until early 2007 (the Core 2 Duo may be released in Macs later this year; Apple may unleash Leopard sometime early next year). We'll find out more on Leopard--and perhaps a better understanding of its release date?--during WWDC in August (http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/).

[Wyatt]

I have a 1Ghz G4 Powerbook and i'm going off to college and plan on buying a new laptop. The point being I can wait for a while before I NEED to switch and i'd prefer to buy something immediately after an upgrad. If i have a computer to hold me off for a little while when do you all think i should buy my new computer? I know that people sit around and wait forever and i'm willing to bite the bullet and just buy one but the two things i would prefer to wait for are Leopard and the 2 Core Duos. Does anyone know if these two things are speculated to be out in a reasonable amount of time?

Also one other question is do you think for a college student mildly interested in games it would be better to get the MB or the MBP. Is the price difference made up for in longevity (i am hoping to have this computer for all 4 years of college)?
How do you define "mildly interested in games?" If you are talking about playing really high-end games like Doom 3 or Call of Duty 2, you should go for the MBP. Then again, if you aren't going to spend a ton of time playing games, it might not be worth the extra $700 for you to be able to play the games.

That said, there are other differences between the two notebooks. Here's the rundown:

The MB runs at 1280x800, which is a bit cramped on a 13" screen, IMO. The MBP runs at 1440x900, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Perfect resolution for the screen size, I think.

The MacBook comes with the same amount of RAM as the MBP, but it comes on two sticks in the MB, so when you upgrade you actually lose RAM at the same time you gain it (for example, if you add 1GB, you have to take out 256MB, so you're really only adding 768MB). The MBP uses one stick of RAM, so you don't lose any to upgrade (if you add 1GB, you have 1.5GB like I have in my MBP).

The MBP stock model has a larger hard drive, although the MB's hard drive is fairly cheaply BTO'd, and can be upgraded on your own very easily--much more easily than the MBP.

The MB can drive an external display at up to 1900x1200, the resolution of Apple's 23" cinema display. The MBP can drive the 2560x1600 30" cinema display.

The MB has a glossy LCD, which some people (myself included) really hate. The MBP has an option for the glossy screen (for free), but it has a matte screen as standard. In defense of the MB, though, I haven't gotten to the Apple Store to see it yet, so I'm not sure if the gloss is as bad as I've seen on other notebooks.

Take all that to mean what you want. Some people really care about all of that, while others don't really care at all. It is, after all, your decision. But buy when you need it (as most people here will tell you). If you don't need it now, don't buy it now.

2 Core Duo
Core Duo 2
I wasn't going to say anything, but I hate to see this said wrong twice, two different ways. It's Core 2 Duo. Let's try to get it right, please.

[LudwigVan]

I wasn't going to say anything, but I hate to see this said wrong twice, two different ways. It's Core 2 Duo. Let's try to get it right, please.

D'oh! I'll fix the reference in my post. Thanks for pointing that out. (Damn weekend memory skills...)

[patrickatm08]

Why not get an iMac to use for your games and use your current G4 PB to take to class and use for notes and such?