Buy laptop now or wait...

So yeah now that we have sandy bridge here and many future releases i am not 100% shure about what to do.
Alienware, Dell, Asus, Sager, everyone have released news about what to come.

I know that new GPUs are out there and ready to hit us soon. GTX 560m and 6970m especially. GTX 485m is out there now, but i am not very thrilled about the TDP. New Intel G3 SSDs is very interesting but i don`t know when it will arrive. They said it was gonna be here at Q1 2011 but rumours about it being postponed. SSDs from Crucial etc with Sandforce 2000 is also around the corner, but for how long. I would like to see a high performance laptop with Optimus but none is out on the market yet and none is announced.

I don`t really need a laptop NOW, but i want a new one soon. I can afford to wait until around May or something. So will it come any new gadgets and stuff until then? Or should we buy now because nothing specially will arrive by then...

Discuss

 

I would wait, because even if you don't need the latest and greatest, SB will drop the current generation notebooks like a ton of bricks and you might find some real gems out there.

 

I wouldn't be that sure... SB will decrease prices of older generation CPUs, BUT considering the not so huge jump from Arrandale to SB, I don't think those will fall much. Sandy Bridge is considered second (or even third) generation "i" CPUs... it is not a revolutionary new thing as when dual-core CPUs were first released. I wouldn't put too much hopes into this, but yes, I would also wait a few more months if that's an option.

 

It IS a big jump from Arrandale to Sandy Bridge. Architecture the whole thing is changed.
But nevermind that discussion.

How much do you people think the price will drop on SB CPUs from now to around May? Nothing?

 

Right but I work retail and they discount laptops in a heartbeat to display out new models. Newegg won't really drop the prices that much, but if you walk into a retail store go haggle with a manager and I'm sure they will work out something.

 

If you can wait till May, I would.

I'm not in a rush to buy new systems - the ones I have are taking care of the workload fine. However, when I do make the jump, I want to be 100% sure that these new ones will be able to give me the same comfort margin as my current 9450 Quads do (desktops) and Core 2 Duo's (notebooks) in a few years when I'll be updating the new tech.

Waiting will only give you more options - and it's not as if you have to wait till May - if Feb, Mar or Apr shows us a reason ($$$) to not wait - well, we can take advantage of that situation too.

What we will gain by waiting is the ability to pick up really cheap 'last gen' stuff, or a great price on the new SB tech. Periodically going into a brick and mortar store will help with finding one of these great deals (as mentioned above) - especially with the 'last gen' systems.

 

Yes i agree. But i HATE to wait for stuff, especially when new things is available today. But i do like reduced costs

But what is bothering me is that i dont know when G3 SSDs or SF-2000 will come. Or GTX 560m or laptop with 6970m. If i knew they all come out around March i would atleast have some idea.

 

You have to decide how much you want a decent performance laptop with Optimus support. There are few options for this atm and it would be worth waiting. If it's between waiting for the new SSD's or buying now, you can always put one of those in later when it comes out.

 

Wait. Once the dual-core Sandy Bridge CPUs are out, the flood gates should open. The major manufacturers are holding back right now: first, they're trying to sell off the old parts and second, they're only selling machines which are quad-core only (not those which can be either quad-core or dual-core). You will see a lot of new laptops between now and May.

 

Well hold those impulses back Cloudfire, I know it's difficult.

Saving dough vs having the latest toy...up to you.

 

If you want a Quad SB laptop, I saw buy now. I just exchanged a Qosmio 894 for the SB equivalent for only $100 more @ Costco (included a HDD and RAM upgrades which alone would cost more than the $100 difference).

My point being, SB chips are still roughly the same price as the 1st gen i7 chips. You can wait but like others have said, I don't think they will drop much considering SB is marketed as a 2nd generation i-core. Most people I have talked to don't even know the difference because it is still marketed as a "i7 chip".

Also, with the GTX 560m coming out, I would expect to pay a hefty premium. To me, the GTX 485 is already expensive enough.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Rule #1 of buying laptops: The best time to buy a laptop is always 6 months from now.

Buy what you need, when you need it. If you need it now, buy now. If you need it later, buy later.

Laptops will always get better / faster / cheaper. Putting off a laptop purchase that you need now, because you're expecting something better in the future, will be futile and frustrating.

 

Yeah, technology is always like that...

Get it when you need it the most..

 

Agreed! we would all still be using Atari 800's and Commodore 64's if we kept putting off a computer purchase waiting for that next great technological advance that's just around the corner.

 

I understand where you people are coming from but i am a little dissappointed that most new SB laptops only came with a new CPU refresh. That is it.
If somebody also offered new GPU along with it everything would have been great. GTX 485m have a TDP of 100Watt. That is too big imo. Probably the reason why Sager is the only one offering it.
6970m could have less than 100 Watt, maybe around 80 or something. Great. TDP of GTX 560m will be almost the same as 460m but with 25-30% better performance. I already own a G2 SSD from Intel. And a Quad core I7 720m. So that is why im feeling a little "meh" right now.

Price is not a problem because i have already enough money right now to buy one.

 

Rule #2 of buying laptops: We have to buy a new laptop 2 or 3 weeks before our Symantec/McAfee/whatever anti-virus software expires because we want to install the newest a-v software on the new laptop

 

Wait what? I thought SB made IGP exponentially more potent compared to last generation Intel HD graphics, as the benchmarks I see for the desktop processors allow even SC2 to be played with IGP at low resolution...or are you just referring to high end laptops?

 

The Intel GPU in Sandy Bridge parts is powerful enough to do things like Flash acceleration and 1080p HD video playback.

But you're not going to play any games with that GPU. Not even close. It's maybe... twice as powerful as Arrendale's Intel HD Graphics GPU... a $30 discrete graphics GPU, like a low-end ATI 4830 GPU, would easily out-perform the Intel GPU.

 

Yes i was talking about highend GPUs. You are right it is powerful enough to play some games but not with high resolution and high/ultra details.