mac question (sorry if a little off topic)

[theraker007]

Having the iphone has turned me to the lightside... the MAC side!

im in the market for a new mac book pro as i will be going to medical school (hopefully, x's fingers) next july. I figured it would be smart at the very least to hold off buying a mac book pro until october when leopard comes out. This is obvious right?

But do mac specs upgrade often enough that itll be worth waiting until next june or early july to get one (id absolutely need it by july 20th ish of 2008)? Or should i just get it and start enjoying it in october?

my current dell laptop is still functioning but its definately starting to show its age.

Since the mac book pro will be my graduation present, my parents are paying for it and im pimping it out with 4gb of ram and apple care (which brings the cost up to an absurd $3300 for the 15")

anyway, what do u guys think, wait till october or assume the specs will upgrade again before june or july of next year?

[gcvt]

The MacBook Pro line is updated on average about every 186 days. So, If you wait another 11 months to buy one, there's a very good chance the line will have received an update during that time.

[Kabeyun]

Originally Posted by theraker007

Having the iphone has turned me to the lightside... the MAC side!

im in the market for a new mac book pro as i will be going to medical school (hopefully, x's fingers) next july. I figured it would be smart at the very least to hold off buying a mac book pro until october when leopard comes out. This is obvious right?

But do mac specs upgrade often enough that itll be worth waiting until next june or early july to get one (id absolutely need it by july 20th ish of 2008)? Or should i just get it and start enjoying it in october?

my current dell laptop is still functioning but its definately starting to show its age.

Since the mac book pro will be my graduation present, my parents are paying for it and im pimping it out with 4gb of ram and apple care (which brings the cost up to an absurd $3300 for the 15")

anyway, what do u guys think, wait till october or assume the specs will upgrade again before june or july of next year?

Congratulations on your iPhone, your decision to go Mac (been there since '87), and in advance for medical school.

My 2¢ is to get it now. Getting caught up in the "update wait" often leads to either outright insanity or, more likely, never getting a computer. Although there are rumors of Intel's Penryn Core 2 Duo making its way to the MBP line in early 2008, this would result in marginal speed bumps and in all likelihood not noticeably affect your computer experience. The chipset was just updated in 6/2007 and the overall form and features of your Macbook Pro won't change. You'll still have mag safe power, a backlit keyboard, auto-dimming screen, draggable trackpad, and all the other hardware goodies. You can already get one with a dual-layer DVD burner. The only wildcard in my mind is whether or not they offer a Blu-Ray drive option (Apple hasn't committed, but seems to be leaning towards that format), but do you really need that in a laptop in medical school? I sure didn't.

(On the other hand, I'm definitely waiting to get our new iMac, as a major design revision is imminent.)

Just take the plunge and enjoy it, especially since it's free (for you). You'll be getting another in three years anyway.

And congrats again!

-K

[iPhobos]

I would wait until june to get the latest at the time if your dell can handle he extra time. And for your parents sake, once you are accepted you'll be able to recieve an education discount on your order.

Just something to take into account.

[Spin This!]

do you really need that [blu ray burner] in a laptop in medical school? I sure didn't.

yeh.... especially considering prices keep coming down. I'd expect combo bluray/hd-dvd players to come out for well under $500 next year with combo burners closely following behind it. you can always get an external one as well if needed.

also, never buy ram directly from apple unless you like paying more for no benefit... you can save yourself (parents) quite a bit of cash by doing aftermarket—which you could then use for some other accessory. adding memory to a mac is cakewalk—compared to the stuff you'll learn in medical school!

it sounds like you really don't need a new laptop yet though... my advice would be to hold off for awhile—if you can.

But if you really really want to switch to Mac, then do it. as Kabeyun mentioned, it's easy to get into a rut and keep playing the waiting game. i've been there myself and it's not fun. technology is never an investment but if your old laptop is doing just fine, why start school with year-old machine?

[Ramesh]

theraker007 - PM Sent to you...

[theraker007]

all good advice, thank you all. So you guys think getting the 4 gb ofram is a bad idea and that MacBooks are easily upgradable compared to pc notebooks?

[Lincoln]

My advice is to buy it now. The more time you have to play with it, to the fuller extent you'll be able to use it.

Good luck with medical school.