Buying a MacBook Pro--advice sought

[Leia1912]

Greetings, Mac friends,

I'd like your input into a purchasing question I have. This will be a bit wordy--sorry!

To give you some background: In 2003, I bought a 900 mhz iBook. I thought at the time it would be (like my PC laptop before it) a toy I'd use only on occasion and when I was travelling. I quickly found out that my iBook was going to get more use in my life than my desktop Mac. Although I enjoy the experience of my iMac (which is faster/smarter, etc.) more than my iBook, I've come to do most of my work on the laptop and I use it non-stop.

Okay, fast-forward in time. As of November, I'm out of AppleCare coverage for the iBook. The iBook has been the one "rotten Apple" I've ever purchased in this regard--I've *really* made use of AppleCare (two logic boards, one inverter, one keyboard). I'm nervous about the iBook's long-term stability, given the amount of problems it has presented so far. Plus, the screen has some faint white spots on it (AC claims this is from handling, which is complete BS, but doesn't change the fact the screen has annoying imperfections). And, as a tech junkie, I admit I covet more speed/more power. (I still get a huge thrill when I look at my iMac, which was my dream machine when I bought it.)

So I think I should upgrade. I could get a few bucks out of the iBook from a family member. (One who is abusive enough to computers that if the poor iBook gave up the ghost, I wouldn't feel guilty about it.) I've looked at Apple's store and in the refurbs, they occasionally have the 15 inch MacBook Pro 2.33 Core 2 Duo (for 1999). It seems like a pretty good deal to me for a pretty nifty computer. (The 17 is too big for me, I think.)

What's holding me back is this: I'm trying to make the best financial deal for myself and simultaneously satisfy my inner geek. I'm thinking about if I held off, maybe Leopard would come pre-installed. But then, there's the magic question of "when"--only Steve Jobs knows what "in the spring" means as a release date! And I'd like to have that Cinderella feeling of having the top-line for as long as I can; who knows when the MBP would be updated, and if Apple would get a refurb quickly?

(I'm cheap and I buy the refurbs. Lower cost, exact same warrantee as the brand-new! :P)

So, essentially, here are my questions for y'all:

1.) What would you do? I would hate to go through what I did with my iBook--buying it and feeling dramatically outmoded from nearly the date of purchase. (The G4s came out within a few months of my iBook purchase.)

2.) A maintenance question: Does the MPB scratch easily? How would you keep it looking spectacular? I've been annoyed at the scratches on my iBook, despite my attempts to use every single polisher possible to make it look good and keep it looking good. And, of course, I'd like to protect a future laptop from the white spots that AC thinks I made on the iBook, with my apparently ferocious Hulk-hands. :rolleyes:

Thanks for any input you can give, and thanks for letting me vent!

[Bryson]

Hi Leia, and welcome to the 'Nova.

Sounds a shame with the old iBook. If I remember correctly, that was one of the revs that was a bit "dodgy". Seems like they've replaced most of it by now anyway! It does seem odd that they've blamed the screen issues on you - I had my Powerbook screen replaced for exactly the same fault a few years back. It does seem that they look on your stuff less favourably if you've had work done in the past...

Anyway, to try and answer your questions:
1) If I were buying a machine now, I think I would wait for Leopard and any possible associated changes to the lineup.
2) I have a 17" MBP (and had a 17" PowerBook before that) and the finish is much more resistant to scratches than the iBook/MacBook. Some people have said that the black MacBook is pretty scratch-resistant too. I don'tthink you actually made the marks on your screen, but just in case, just don't touch the screen. Ever. Definately don't pick the laptop up by the screen part, and get a screen protector (http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/YSUwR_1oLwnIfw.html) to be sure it wasn't the keys.

[euain]

Even if the Leopard release isn't imminent (who knows), it seems pretty likely that we'll have some kind of event to announce the release date (and talk about iWork and the likes) pretty soon.

It might be worth holding out for a bit longer and see if we get any more information to base your decision on..

[Kraetos]

If you buy an MBP now, it will be a kick ass machine for a while. Leopard will run on it just fine. Their wont be a "Core 3" (codename Gilo) until the end of this year, way after Leopard. It's a very safe time to buy a notebook. My only advice is stick 2 GB of RAM in it, 3 if possible. More RAM = noticeable speed increase.

[World Leader Pretend]

If you can find someone who is a student or teacher, you can make use of Apple's education store. As a student I've saved lots of $$$ dealing with Apple this way.

Normal Apple, 2.33 MacBook Pro 2 gig: $2,499.00
Education Apple, 2.33 MacBook Pro 2 gig: $2,299.00

They are brand new machines as well, but you don't seem to have any problems buying refurbished. :)

One thing I will say is that the bump in processor speed from 2.16 to 2.33 won't make nearly the speed difference that an extra gig of ram will. I would stick with the 2.16GHz, it will still be lighting fast!

Good luck! ;)

[burgermac]

I am tortured by the same decision. Do I buy a MBP 15" 2.33 ghz for $2499 from apple or do I purchase the same machine as a refurbished model. My primary concerns are these:

-If the quad core chips rumored to be going into the Mac Pro soon will also find their way into the MBP line soon - if this is likely in the next 6 months, I'd wait

-Leopard. I obviously include the $129 upgrade into my decision, buy just as importantly, will the MBP with C2D support the 64 bit computing. If not, do I hold off for the quad core chip- see above.

-Refurb vs. New: Cost savings are obvious. Warranty coverage is not a concern, since apple seems to view the purchase as same as new just with considerable savings- so long as you buy the Apple Care contract, which even consumer reports (who usually does not endorse extended warranties) recommends the purchase of...

I equate apple's refurb options with those of Bose. In most cases, people got the item home and realize that they were out of their mind purchasing a stereo or computer or whatever at such a high price. So they pay the 10% restocking fee and walk away with 90% of their original money. Apple (or Bose) can't sell the item as new, so they mark it down when in reality, no refurbishment other than cleaning and repackaging was required to get it back out the door.

Does anyone have any experience with buying refurbished products? Are they ever scratched or cosmetically damaged in any way. I can't imagine anyone mistreating a new computer purchase, but accidents happen. Does Apple's refurbishment proceedure include repairing cosmetic problems as well as technological ones?

-Even if they don't go to quad core chips, is the next refresh of the MBP line not too far off? I don't want to be that guy (again) who excitedly buys a G5 iMac on the Saturday before the Mac World conference (confident in his purchase, because the new imacs were just released two months ago, right?) only to find out that Jobs & Co. are releasing the intel version in 30 days. In retrospect, poor timing on the purchase (apple stores should close the week before MacWorld and WWDC, but how likely is that, right ;) )

Any thoughts anyone? Sorry for the wordy post, but spending over $3000 after extras and taxes certainly justifies it!

Edit: Another consideration- the inclusion of a bluray drive in the near future- surely the cost would go up, but could it be worth it?

[Wyatt]

I am tortured by the same decision. Do I buy a MBP 15" 2.33 ghz for $2499 from apple or do I purchase the same machine as a refurbished model. My primary concerns are these:

-If the quad core chips rumored to be going into the Mac Pro soon will also find their way into the MBP line soon - if this is likely in the next 6 months, I'd wait

The chips going into the Mac Pro are server chips. So are the chips used now. They're way too big and run way too hot to be placed in a notebook enclosure. This will never, ever happen. Period.

-Leopard. I obviously include the $129 upgrade into my decision, buy just as importantly, will the MBP with C2D support the 64 bit computing. If not, do I hold off for the quad core chip- see above.

Yes, the Core 2 Duo does support 64-bit instructions.

-Refurb vs. New: Cost savings are obvious. Warranty coverage is not a concern, since apple seems to view the purchase as same as new just with considerable savings- so long as you buy the Apple Care contract, which even consumer reports (who usually does not endorse extended warranties) recommends the purchase of...

I equate apple's refurb options with those of Bose. In most cases, people got the item home and realize that they were out of their mind purchasing a stereo or computer or whatever at such a high price. So they pay the 10% restocking fee and walk away with 90% of their original money. Apple (or Bose) can't sell the item as new, so they mark it down when in reality, no refurbishment other than cleaning and repackaging was required to get it back out the door.

Does anyone have any experience with buying refurbished products? Are they ever scratched or cosmetically damaged in any way. I can't imagine anyone mistreating a new computer purchase, but accidents happen. Does Apple's refurbishment proceedure include repairing cosmetic problems as well as technological ones?

Apple has a very good reputation for refurbs. I myself bought a refurbished Mac mini, and it was flawless.

-Even if they don't go to quad core chips, is the next refresh of the MBP line not too far off? I don't want to be that guy (again) who excitedly buys a G5 iMac on the Saturday before the Mac World conference (confident in his purchase, because the new imacs were just released two months ago, right?) only to find out that Jobs & Co. are releasing the intel version in 30 days. In retrospect, poor timing on the purchase (apple stores should close the week before MacWorld and WWDC, but how likely is that, right ;) )

It's likely that the MBP won't be upgraded until WWDC. It's possible, albeit unlikely, that it might receive a small upgrade at NAB in April. It would be foolish to buy a product a matter of days before a long-scheduled event (like MWSF, WWDC, etc.), but if you're the kind of person who always wants to wait until the next upgrade, you'll never actually buy a computer.

[Mugge]

I don't think we should expect to see a mobile Core 2 Quad before sometime in 2008. So I don't think there's any good reason to put off a MBP purchase solely on that reason.

Very old inky:
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/04/14/intel_quad_core/

I'm sure Google can come up with something more up-to date.

[Wyatt]

I don't think we should expect to see a mobile Core 2 Quad before sometime in 2008. So I don't think there's any good reason to put off a MBP purchase solely on that reason.

Very old inky:
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/04/14/intel_quad_core/

I'm sure Google can come up with something more up-to date.
That's actually the fourth result on Google for mobile quad-core Intel. I'll see if I can dig up the most recent revision of Intel's roadmap... back in a bit.

*grumble* I couldn't find anything quickly. I might look for the most recent roadmap again later.

[spikeh]

2.) A maintenance question: Does the MPB scratch easily? How would you keep it looking spectacular? I've been annoyed at the scratches on my iBook, despite my attempts to use every single polisher possible to make it look good and keep it looking good. And, of course, I'd like to protect a future laptop from the white spots that AC thinks I made on the iBook, with my apparently ferocious Hulk-hands. :rolleyes:

I have a Rev. A 15" MacBook Pro, and yes it is tarnished! The little groove before the bottom edge of the keyboard is slightly chipped (I know not how or why), and the grey plastic trim that goes around it doesn't sit flush anymore - it has started to separate out and expand slightly. Also the palm rest gets real dirty after a few weeks of use.

I suggest keeping a light cotton wipe near by to get dust off the screen - I don't damp mine very often. A damp flannel for the keyboard and palm rests will also keep it looking fine.

I have to say they are durable beasts. I don't have a case for mine, I just take it everywhere by hand and it's not suffered any damage from that yet (although the Superdrive is fucked, but that's a common problem). I spilt half a glass of Innocent Detox Smoothie on it last week, too (during the keynote, no less!) which went into the right-hand speaker and under the keys on the right hand side of the keyboard. I took them off and cleaned underneath, and there's absolutely no detrimental effects. So if you want to do that when you get yours, feel free.

:)