Is Broadwell worth the wait?

My original plan was to wait until Intel released the Broadwell processors to get a new laptop just to have the most recent technology. That seemed like a good plan until my current Dell machine broke at the hinge today. I guess my question is should I go out and buy a new laptop now with an i5 Haswell or is it really worth it to wait for the second half of 2014 for Broadwell?

Also when Broadwell finally does arrive how long will it take manufacturers to get it in the newest machines? I don't want to have to use this FrankenDell for 6 months.

Any insight is appreciated

 

If you need it (and you do) buy now the most suitably matched system you can.

Waiting will only be an exercise in frustration.

 

Broadwell is not due until Q4, so the wait will be longer than 6 months. Could be 12 months or longer depending on what system you're looking to get.

 

It's always launch date + 2-3 months for retailers/suppliers to get decent supplies of laptops. Specialized computers would be even longer.

 

I was in your exact shoes a few months back. Was going to hold out for Broadwell + Maxwell until my pos Toshiba's HDD decided to take a dump on me and foil my plans.

The question for you is what would be the primary use of your replacement laptop. I wanted to game badly so I couldn't wait another 6-9 months for the next generation and opted for the best of current gen instead. Some days I do regret this decision as I later realized it would've cost less than $150 to bring the Toshiba back to life if I tried fixing it myself.

So, if you're not a heavy gamer, I say try to either get the Dell fixed, or get a really really cheap (sub $500) Haswell notebook for the interim until Broadwell arrives.

 

Yeah, it sounds like you'll want to get something well before Broadwell is out, unless you plan to fix your current Dell, which may be possible with replacement parts. I've used a laptop with a broken hinge a few times (though thankfully not as my main laptop), and it sucks.

Even if Broadwell were coming out in March, I'd be dubious of waiting. First because your laptop is rather broken now, but also because Intel CPU upgrades have been pretty lackluster since Sandy Bridge. For actual CPU performance, it's usually a single-digit percentage increase. GPU performance is increasing more quickly, so there's that if you want integrated graphics, but it's rather niche. If you care about graphics and you're willing to spend the $1000 to get Iris Pro, you might as well get a dedicated ATI or nVIDIA card, unless you really need a small form factor. And if you want good integrated graphics but don't want to spend $1000, you're really better off with AMD integrated graphics. It's not like back in the '90s and '00s where a new CPU generation meant a really substantial boost in performance (and in the '00s, occasionally in power savings).