When is the perfect time to buy a Macbook?

I''ve already considered switching from pc to mac. I've been using my bro's mac mini and so far I'm loving it.
I've decided to go for the Macbook Pro 15in but I've heard that Intel is coming up with a new set of chips and knowing apple, they would be incorporating that once it arrives...

Does anyone know in which time frame apple would release their new version of MBP?

When would be the perfect time to buy???

 

If you're using windows, now.

If you're using another mac-based computer, about a month after the macbooks with the new chips come out. I'm pretty sure the macbook pro's going to get the upgrade first.

 

right now, im using mac mini....

 

In my opinion the best time to buy is immediately after Apple releases a new product, because Apple do not cut the prices of their products over time - they only release new ones to replace them.
So, waiting for prices for Macs to 'drop' is of no use (unless you're planning on buying a refurb).
Currently, no one knows for sure when the new Macs will be coming out, so no one would know in which time frame Apple is going to release their new MBPs.

 

I have been foaming at the mouth to buy a new MBP, but alas when will Leopard come out? I would love 1) to buy it with Leopard installed and not pay $129 more later, and 2) to see santa rosa chips(sorry, of course i meant platform) appear even if it's without a real upgrade in CPU or memory or HardDrive. But Santa Rosa could be 2-4 months away still. Leopard is anyones guess ATM but I will say April 3rd (I'm just pulling that out of my butt though)

 

If I was to buy a MBP now with Rosetta would the new Adobe CS3 run on it?

 

There are no new chips per se. Santa Rosa is a platform, not a chip. It will feature a modified Merom with 800MHz FSB (vs 667 for the current) and a new socket. The platform will include other things like WWAN and N support, but it is important to remember that Apple does not use Centrino, so many of the features of Santa Rosa may not even be implemented. Another note is that last I heard Santa Rosa is due around April, which means May or June for an Apple release likely.

In short, if you are ready to buy, buy now. The current MBP's are very fast and will give you many years of service.

**EDIT** eric06: CS3 does not need Rosetta, it is a Universal Binary.

 

I agree. If yu need it now then by it now.

 

Adobe CS3 has a Universal Binary, so you would be able to run it on any Mac.

 

I'm saying wait a couple weeks or so in case the transition to the new platform or whatever isn't as smooth as we thought.

 

You've keyed on one of the common differences I've seen between Mac users and Windows users.

Window's users are frequently concerned with the latest, greatest, fastest, most feature rich hardware and seem to stay on a never ending upgrade path between hardware and software (new software slower, need faster hardware).

Mac users tend to be more "Does it do what I need it to do now and what I think I want to do in the near future". The software and hardware upgrade cycles are much slower and Macs tend to age better as a result.

So as everyone else says - buy it now!

And maybe Apple is much better than a lot of PC manufacturers, but being from PC land, I would never buy a "fresh out" product, I'd wait for issues to surface and if the waters looked good, then dive in. Any comments from all you long time Mac users out there?

 

I would say generally, mac is much better with newly released product regarding "issues", than any PC. Surely that's because they design both hardware and software. The only exception was perhaps coreDuo introduction, which wasn't bad, but certainly worse than apple had dealt with in some time. I've used both mac and pc together for about 6 years. I don't fore see any problems with the next transition and wouldn't hesitate to buy it straight from the gate. Still, the current generation is awesome, so my only real reservation is "do i need it now?" But macs are software supported for so long it's hardly a worry of life-span and viability.

 

If you're looking for refurbs, UK has a C2D MB on their refurb page but no C2D on the US page. There was a few this morning but sold out FAST. no C2Ds though...