Pricing causing you to reconsider MB/MBP?

I am just curious coming into today how many people were planning to purchase a new MB/MBP but are now reconsidering because of the pricing. I was planning on buying a new macbook but the increase to the $1299 model and the diminished student discount have put my plans on hold indefinitely. I live in the US and its even worse for people overseas.

 

I was actually in the same boat...i was all for a macbook pro, until i realized A: its 100$ with student discount, and B: i have to buy gddr3, which is 3x the cost of gddr2...so now im on the fence

The talk of a 900$ macbook had me excited, but hell even at 1000$ i wouldve been all over the new macbook, but even with student discount, 1400$ for a macbook with 4gb of ram is rough...

 

i am reconsidering about my macbook purchase for sure. i live in australia and the price jumped so much here. i can barely afford an entry level macbook now. it is extremely disappointing because no other notebook makers increased their prices here.

 

Yeah, I decided against both. But really, the chiclet keyboard, super glossy glass display and battery life killed me on the MBP.
The higher price tag on the new aluminum MB killed me.

And I plain don't want a plastic MB.

 

I know, I'm in the same boat. I was expecting around $1600 for low end with education discount, but now I have to decide if I can spring $2000 for a machine with a 2GHz processor.

 

Yeah the specs definitely are underwhelming but to be honest I expected these to be somewhat gimpy, such as the lack of ports. Apple seems to be able to get away with most of this stuff but I think this time its a little too much. If the current specs were priced lower, or if the current prices had higher specs, then I would consider. I do like the overall design minus the non-option for matte though.

 

It's not the GDDR3 that is expensive (that's for the GPU), but the DDR3 memory for the system. Also, beside the increase in price, the new MBP has a crappier keyboard (similar to the already crappy MBA keyboard) and is slightly heavier than before (though it is thinner). The bright side is that the GPU solution will be a fair bit better than the 8600M GT as the 9600M GT is a step up plus it can hybrid SLI with the 9100M G integrated graphics.

 

Crappy keyboard for sure.

But what is your reference to having a hybrid SLI? I have yet to hear about this...

Really, I was hoping for a 9800M. 9600 is really just a 8800... At least thats how it was on the desktop. Or maybe the performance was the same. I do love the idea that I can run off just dedicated graphics.

 

You'd be even more disappointed to know the 9600 is just the new 8600GT. Around 5K in 3dMark06.

 

Ouch, that bad?

****... my 8800gts in my desktop.. I get 12k in 3dmark06. Under Vista x64.

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_9100m_g_mgpu.html

Scroll down to the bottom to see how nVidia makes its 9400M. The desktop and notebook are fairly different. The 9600M is far weaker than the 8800M. I doubt you will ever find a 9800M in a 15" laptop that isn't an Alienware weighing 7+ lbs.

 

I am very angry,but I bet that the prices will go down as soon as they loose couple of billion $!

 

Yeah, that bad. Not even an upgrade over my current 9500GS, really.

And, the hybrid SLI may help a bit, but dont expect 6K 3dMark.

 

Guess I'll go look at getting a Dell to replace my mostly broken MBP...

QQ

 

No, it can't.

At least according to NVIDIA the 9600M GT doesn't support the Boost Technology.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybridsli_notebook.html

 

Hmmm I seem to be one of the few that are not disappointed. I think most of you just expected to much from Apple. Really the MBP are they same price as before, but Better. And nicer.

 

Yeah, I'm looking at the base model M1330. 2.4Ghz for $500 less than cheapest new MacBook.

 

In some countries they hiked the price up though.

 

Um, either you're making something up or your just uninformed. I just looked at Dell's website, the cheapest M1330 is $999 which is $300 cheaper than Apple's latest Macbook. Furthermore the Dell has the X3100 GPU and 800Mhz System Bus, 2.0 GHz, not to mention, it's old. You were saying?

 

I'm almost sure I won't be buying a MacBook now, probably going to get a DELL XPS 420 or the DELL XPS M1530... definitely not the MacBooks... Unless Apple gets a taste of reality, and lowers the price loads...
EMZ=]

 

i also wanna point out im not as dumb as i may have sounded...i dont know why i put a G in front of the memory, but i was talking about system memory, not GPU memory lol whoops

 

I will most likely be getting a windows based machine for my next one. I want business class durability and decent hardware for a fair price.

I really like the macs, it's just the price that is going to have me go with a windows machine again.

 

If you guys want cheap just buy the out dated refurbs.

 

They frequently have coupons for up to 500$ off on a build ~1,800$ at Dell. You can get a M1330 for a very nice price if you wait for a coupon to roll around. There's a 25% off 1,700$ purchase right now, that's about 450$ off.

 

You will never get the build quality with Dell that Apple has.

 

no but for 500 pounds less I including accident insurance from dell for 3 years I can still travel to the US and back and still have money left over....

Dell XPS vs Macbook pro

so yes have to re-think this one

 

At this point the XPS line only compares to the Macbook, not the Pro. Screen size excluded.

 

To question my own post, I actually don't know if the 9600M GT won't be able to work in SLI with the 9400M since the 9400M isn't announced yet.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

I love the refresh. Why? I just picked up a Macbook Pro Refurb for $1499 ($1643 with tax shipped) for my wife. It is the 2.5ghz 15" MBP. This is identical to the one I own now that I bought two months ago for 2000EU (we live in Germany. I am an American Opera Singer over here).

Plus, the refresh really gave me nothing to regret buying two months ago at all. The new features while adding a little snazziness, gave not much more power. Plus it lost a firewire port, and the no button on the trackpad is something I would be a little hesitant about. All in all though, a good day for consumers if you don't mind "old technology."

 

$1299 for a MacBook with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo and integrated graphics based on the 9100?

No thanks.

I got ripped off enough when I bought my first MacBook. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I refuse to buy another Mac when HP offers more power than the MacBook Pro for less than the entry aluminum MacBook.

 

I agree that the super glossy glass display was needless. The macbook was already hot looking already.

The battery life, I'm guessing, will probably be the same, but definitely not better because I'm guessing the new nvidia card is more power-hungry than the x400hd integrated solution and because the battery watt-hours are now lower!

 

Would a black macbook purchased in 08 of march with 2.16ghz, 1gig memory, 160gig hard drive be a good deal for $700?

 

Didn't cause me to reconsider MB.....although it did make me stop and think before making my decision (which is ordering the 1,299$ MB with 50$ student discount)....It's evident they are a bit pricier than the equivalent spec PCs (please don't compare the OS).....hopefully I don't have to cancel this order if they mess up the shipping and order the new HP instead.

 

I'm definitely not buying one of the new macbooks, but I'm seriously considering the "new" white macbook at $999.
I just can't justify personally spending $1299 let alone $1599 for what you get. It's pretty and all, but it's more of a gimmick than anything else IMHO (plus I wont buy anything with nvidia).

Yes Sauron we know. Your same old tired argument gets old fast.

 

I dont get what u people are banging on about. Since before the world existed everyone knew that Apple will never be a cheap company. You get what u pay for. They never want to compete with plastic HP or Dell, instead they create a market for themselves. I ll gladly pay $300 or more for a new macbook and get #1 customer satisfaction service, ultimate build quality, great displays, finally some new graphics. Or I can spent $900 on an HP or dell that will break in a month and constantly stay on a phone line with an indian guy that has no idea whats going on. You guys just wanna buy a ferrari for the same money that ford sells their Focus Its not apple that needs to do some rethinking but most of u here Good buy and for those who bought new macbooks - enjoy them and post some pics.

 

After I see the 128GB SSD macbook priced below $2000, it doesn't feel that expensive for me.

 

Although I'm not in the market for a new notebook, I was keeping a close eye on this update, and got quite an unpleasant surprise when checking out the price on the Australian Apple Store website. I wasn't expecting it, but to be honest you really can't blame them, just look at the Australian dollar... 69c to the US Dollar today, it was 98c back in July. Unfortunate, but you can't really expect Apple to sell their notebooks to us for the same pricing we've had for most of the year given the recent state of the Australian Dollar.

 

it has put me off of buyn the new macbook.so for my first macbook ill be getn the whitebook.as they said in the keynote,they are going to be selling these for a long time. i think they are gonna market it as the entry level now and keep the newer macs with the newer intergrated gpus. i dont mind,but they could have upped the whitebook with nvidias older intergrated gpu's

like my hp has nvidia intergrated 7150m which was last year and now ive seen the 8100 and 8200m nvidia intergraed in laptops,so it would have been nice if they put the older in the whitebook lol. oh they put in a superdrive and raised the price of the whitebook here in the uk lol.

 

There is no Hybrid SLI. Its just a switchable graphics system - you can either run on the 9400M or the 9600M GT, but not both.

If there was Hybrid SLI, His Jobsness would have been crowing about it from the rooftops - "faster by 2x and boosts real world performance by 3x!"

 

The 9600M GT gets blown away by any 9800M and even by the 9700M GTS (Notice it's the 9700M GTS, not 9700M GT). There's a huge difference I'll explain. The 9600M GT has a 128-bit memory bus. The 9700M GT also has a 128-bit memory bus.

However, the 9700M GTS and above have a 256-bit memory bus. It makes a huge difference. The 9600M GT gets less than 4000 3DMarks. However, the 9700M GTS, even with a weaker processor (2.26 GHz instead of 2.8 GHz of MBP) gets around 9000 3DMarks. That's the difference between the 9600M GT and the 9700M GTS. If the MBP had a 9700M GTS or higher, then it would actually justify paying $2799, because that's how much most Alienware laptops with the same specs would cost.

 

Maybe but would you still buy it if it was 3x-5x thicker? I think we all knew the MBP would not get anything higher than a 9650m GS and even that is pushing it.

 

what most people don't understand is that the $1299 model is the most popular anyway, the price has been completely dropped, I am very confused at where people are getting this idea of a MB price increase.

even looked at spec for spec, $1299 gets you basically what used to cost $1999, (with a slightly less powerful GPU than the 8600gt) a much larger HDD, etc.

and then you look at the actual important updates to this machine, a MUCH NEEDED far improved screen (which has only been offered in glossy since the MacBook was released), a much better keyboard, the old MacBook keyboard does not compare at all to the MacBook air keyboard with the new chassis. and Number 1, the new construction process, trackpad, display options, etc. None of this stuff is remotely offered by any other company and is massive improvement on what used to cost $1299.

I wouldn't be suprised if apple, eventually releases a new model to replace the cheapest MB model, or just drop it. For some reason people just always seem to think prices will just magically drop as specs dramatically increase.

 

He might have done that but you weren't there so I guess you have missed it, unfortunately.

The 9600M GT in the MBP is GDDR3 and it usually get a bit over 5000 if that's important to you.

Moreover, you can't expect a notebook which is 1" thick to have anything better than that, it's unrealistic.

 

Some of us value our health and sanity more than you, I guess. You couldn't pay me to be bounced around the HP Global Phone Tree. HP took 6 weeks to try to get a $30 printer fixed before I gave up; that's approximately 12 hours on the phone, minimum. And during every one of these calls (which were to various call centers in India) my blood pressure probably went up a good 50%. I have hypertension already; I don't need that. I called Apple to report a dysfunctional battery, a replacement was in the mail in less than 3 minutes.

To answer the original question, I'm not in the market, but if I was, I'd be picking one up. Maybe waiting a month or two to get all the bugs worked out. But the 128GB solid state Macbook looks great-just wish the thing was lighter. Putting 5.5lbs on a single shoulder is really too much load. On the upside, the macbook lost a half a pound. Just my luck-I'm guessing my macbook pro's going to last me about another 3 years and fall apart, and then I'll get the new macbook and they'll probably release another design like a day afterwards. If that happens, I'm returning it and getting the new design. Not if only the solid state option would cost less.....I suspect it'll be standard when I'm in the market.

The one thing I hate is that the Apple Remote doesn't come standard anymore. Not that the reception is great.

 

I like it. I actually really want an Apple notebook, but I don't think I want to shell out the $1299 for the new MB, and I really don't want the old MB.

I'm not nearly as much a fan of the new MBP though, I personally think the old one was better in most ways (other than performance...)

 

wow, the first person that has made sense today. I was about to lose faith on this forum. Thank you

 

they royally screwed us man....i was hoping the same as you, and student discounts are 50 bucks only??

also, why do they have to put in a P7350 processor and a 160GB hard disk? laptops that cost so much less have better processors and bigger hard disk.

this laptop costs more than 2K AUD, so it should have something decent in it. with the current situation, i think i can only afford to go hackintosh

 

Now the "you can get better specs for half the price of apple" crowd have a better argument to make now I think....

 

Exactly, I bought a machine months ago with a 2.5GHz C2D and dedicated graphics for $1500AU. I'm also researching a good machine to use as a Hackintosh. 160GB is pathetic in this day and age. At the specs Apple has given us I would reasonably pay around $400 less than the asking price.

It's a shame because I was looking forward to getting another Mac. I loved my old MacBook, but performance was a hindrance, now they've given me a price problem.

 

it has been a dark cold, hateful and confusing place here today, it will quiet down in 24 hours tops, I have excellent sources that can confirm this!