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SamuraiDL · Sep 25, 2006, 11:36 PM

I've waited long enough... i will be buying a mbp tomorrow.

justinkim · Sep 26, 2006, 12:08 AM

Excellent, then the rest of us will be guaranteed a release the day after you take delivery

.

buddy1065 · Sep 26, 2006, 07:52 AM

Thanks for being a guinea pig for the rest of us waiters. Please let us know if your MBP has any flaws so we can know whether to come in from the cold and buy or wait till Hell freezes over.

EdipisReks · Sep 26, 2006, 12:06 PM

i doubt Core2 Duo is going to be that big of an upgrade, really, and who knows when the new MBPs will be coming out. the current machines are pretty killer. if you need it now, get it now.

Big Mac · Sep 26, 2006, 12:07 PM

I'd say wait. This current revision has been out way too long.

justinkim · Sep 26, 2006, 01:49 PM

I think the Core 2 Duo upgrade by itself won't be that big of a deal. A larger deal would be a boost in processor clock speed.

SierraDragon · Sep 26, 2006, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by justinkim

I think the Core 2 Duo upgrade by itself won't be that big of a deal. A larger deal would be a boost in processor clock speed.

Clock speed is what is least relevant to me. The reason I am waiting is for true 64-bit (a given, but irrelevant until some time in the future, possibly far future), certainly a bigger hard drive, perhaps multiple hard drives, perhaps more RAM, perhaps FW800 in the 15 inch, faster DVD/CD...

New case types (thinner and/or smaller) may also show up, but those are not important to me.

-Allen Wicks

justinkim · Sep 26, 2006, 04:23 PM

IMO, I'll be very surprised if there's an app in the next five years that will absolutely require 64 bit that won't also have additional requirements (RAM, raw horsepower, maybe even GPU) that will preclude it from running on a current feature set MBP with Yonah or Merom processors.

If this sort of future proofing is really important to you, you may be better served by waiting for the Santa Rosa chipset machines next year.

SierraDragon · Sep 26, 2006, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by justinkim

IMO, I'll be very surprised if there's an app in the next five years that will absolutely require 64 bit that won't also have additional requirements (RAM, raw horsepower, maybe even GPU) that will preclude it from running on a current feature set MBP with Yonah or Merom processors.

If this sort of future proofing is really important to you, you may be better served by waiting for the Santa Rosa chipset machines next year.

Umm, that is not at all what I said. Folks seem to want to say things like "preclude it from running" when what I have always said is things like allow more optimal operation with future apps/OS, a huge difference. E.g. even though G5s are still the best Photoshop boxes until PSCS3 and UB in ~April 2007, folks who bought minimum RAM G5s are now prohibited from optimizing Photoshop because they did not plan ahead and anticipate the future benefit of more RAM.

What I say is that (for those folks who do not need a MBP right this moment, e.g. like me with functional G4 laptops) since true 64-bit is now here in Mac Pros and iMacs and due in a few weeks in the MBP IMO it makes sense to wait. Apps and the OS expand to fill the computing power available (Allen's Law), and some combination of some of the following important things also will accompany Merom MBPs: RAM increase, bigger hard drives, faster optical drives, FW800, etc.

Things like bigger hard drives and faster optical drives (almost assuredly available with Merom MBPs) are critical for folks like me who upload, process and back up 5-15 GB of RAW DSLR images from every photo shoot. Those things alone justify waiting.

Note that part of the pro graphics users' need for maximum MBP power is due to the inherent graphics weakness of laptops in general.

-Allen Wicks

rjenkinson · Sep 26, 2006, 07:41 PM

Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy Your Mac

-r.

justinkim · Sep 26, 2006, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by SierraDragon

(snippage to save space) and some combination of some of the following important things also will accompany Merom MBPs: RAM increase, bigger hard drives, faster optical drives, FW800, etc.

Things like bigger hard drives and faster optical drives (almost assuredly available with Merom MBPs) are critical for folks like me who upload, process and back up 5-15 GB of RAW DSLR images from every photo shoot. Those things alone justify waiting.

Well, this is exactly why I'm waiting for a Merom laptop. I'm anticipating that, at the very least, we'll see faster clock speeds and larger HDs. However, none of these reasons really have anything to do with the Merom machines being 64-bit.

For most of use, being able to address more memory is the main advantage of 64 bit systems. But realistically speaking, we're not going to see a laptop that can take much more RAM than the current machines, despite the difference in processors in the next revision.

Before we see Santa Rosa chipset machines, there will probably be very little difference between Merom and Yonah machines running at the same processor speed. The Meroms will be a bit faster, but I don't think the 64 v.s.32 bit change will really make much of a difference.

While, sometime in the future, there may be an app that really takes advantage of 64 bit Intel machines, you'll still be stuck with the 2-4GB of physical ram in your first gen Merom MBP and hardware comparable (if a slight bit better) to what's available now. When that time comes around, you'll probably be thinking about upgrading again.

I do think that the Santa Rosa machines have the potential to really knock our socks off, though. If I weren't still on a G4 PowerBook, I'd be seriously thinking about waiting for those.

Rumpole · Sep 27, 2006, 06:39 AM

This constant craving for the latest upgrade makes me laugh. In June 2002 I bought a 667 DVI 15" Powerbook G4. My intention was to run it into the ground before upgrading since it did everything I wanted at an acceptable speed (basic stuff, not video editing or anything like that). 2 weeks ago the hard drive died, and I bought a 17" 2.16 MBP Glossy 100Gb HD to replace it. Granted that MS Office isn't yet universal, and I only have the standard 1Gb RAM installed, but it isn't hugely faster or snappier than my old Powerbook. Sure there is a noticeable difference, but I wouldn't call it earth-shatteing, and that is after 4 YEARS of upgrades. This is not a moan at all, since I love my MBP, and will doubtless run it into the ground for another 4 years. It is merely to point out that these machines are there to be used, not thought about in a never ending cycle of expectation. My advice would be to buy what you need when you need it.

tracheopterix · Sep 27, 2006, 10:21 AM

Yo Samurai!

I have a few thoughts on this, as I too wait for Merom in a pretty box.

First, you're never an idiot for buying the best tool for a job when that job needs doing. Caveat: the shiny better tool has a concrete launch date within an acceptable time frame. All the waiter-haters on here will echo this I think.

Second, the Merom MBPs will be RevB machines. Beyond the advantages (however important) of 64-bit, clock speed, RAM, HD, and optical drive performance the second generation MBPs will hopefully fix many of the problems found in the first gen MBPs. This is a big point. I have a friend who went through 3 MBPs before getting one that worked properly from Apple.

To the waiter-haters: chill out! It's okay to wait for a shiny new toy, whatever your reasons, as long as you aren't in dire need of a new laptop immediately. I see the waiter-hater phenomenon as very condescending, and a side effect of idealizing delayed gratification. Great, you guys are unaffected by glitz and glam, good for you. But stop before attacking someone for holding off on a purchase due to rumors and guesswork -- it is not always fueled by a desire just to have the newest, shiniest, toy regardless of the realized benefit in doing so. It is sometimes pragmatism.

(((t)))

Javizun · Sep 27, 2006, 01:03 PM

Yes you are an idiot for waiting so damn long to get such a sexy machine. hahaha

i am a proud owner of a MBP and i love it more then myself sometimes lol
my decision to be a beta tester and drop 2000+ on a mchine paid off after sending it to apple 2 times
now my machine is flawless-i wont be upgrading it for a while until i have my industrial psychology degree on my belt (5 years deep) till then im pretty confident this laptop will do everything i need it to do both with school now, my hobby as a phtotographer & as a avid music listener.

osiris · Sep 27, 2006, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by Javizun

Yes you are an idiot for waiting so damn long to get such a sexy machine. hahaha

i am a proud owner of a MBP and i love it more then myself sometimes lol
my decision to be a beta tester and drop 2000+ on a mchine paid off after sending it to apple 2 times
now my machine is flawless-i wont be upgrading it for a while until i have my industrial psychology degree on my belt (5 years deep) till then im pretty confident this laptop will do everything i need it to do both with school now, my hobby as a phtotographer & as a avid music listener.

Perhaps you shouldn't have had the need to send it to Apple TWO times.

SamuraiDL · Sep 27, 2006, 05:17 PM

Yo tracheopterix!!! funny seeing you here... i love you!!! you gettin a mbp? thats so awesome, me too! Do you think the current mbp with 2 gigs of ram will be enough to power reason, cubase, pro tools, what not? dude you gotta here my newest stuff, its crazy.

peace, FaltyDL

buddy1065 · Sep 28, 2006, 07:17 AM

Interesting; the "hold out" votes have caught up with and surpassed the "buy now" votes.

EdipisReks · Sep 29, 2006, 01:57 AM

Originally Posted by Rumpole

Granted that MS Office isn't yet universal, and I only have the standard 1Gb RAM installed, but it isn't hugely faster or snappier than my old Powerbook. Sure there is a noticeable difference, but I wouldn't call it earth-shatteing, and that is after 4 YEARS of upgrades..

i went from a 1.5 GHz 15" PowerBook, and i found my MBP to be a huge upgrade. just depends on what your useage patterns are, i guess. i do a ton of multitasking, and the MBP just keeps running along at full speed, whereas the PowerBook chugged horribly.

SamuraiDL · Sep 30, 2006, 12:05 AM

welp, its ordered...

Cadaver · Oct 1, 2006, 01:48 AM

My 2.16GHz MacBook Pro with 2GB of RAM and the 7200 RPM hard drive option is easily as fast or faster than my 2.5GHz dual G5. iApps, Keynote, Pages, Osirix, OmniGraffle and virtually every other Universal app is faster than the equivalent app on the G5. While MS Office and Photoshop Elements 3 wont win any speed races, they're more than adequately responsive for mere mortals.