Buy now or Wait until oct.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I am going to buy a new iMac and also a Powerbook for my up coming semester of Graduate school. Classes start in September, but I was wondering what people thought about the advantages in waiting for the new operating system to come out. These will be the first apple computers I have personally purchased and I want to make sure I get the most for my money, but Im also excited to have them and want to get more familiar with the system before classes start. SO any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    majormattmajormatt Posts: 1,077member
    First off, you should consult: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ to get the best value out of your purchases.



    For purchasing your iMac: WAIT! Updates soon!

    Macbook: Go buy it! Recently Updated!

    Macbook Pro: WAIT! Updates soon!



    The thing you should be aware of the mac world and pc world is that apple has a tendency to release giant upgrades every six or so months for each line. The PC world as you know upgrades them incrementally all the time.



    The iMac and Macbook Pro should be updated within a month or so. I say get a mac when they're updated as you can then buy Leopard in October for only $69 with an educational discount.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    ipeonipeon Posts: 1,122member
    The advantage of waiting for the new OS is just one, you will not have to pay for it when it does come out, this supposedly around October. I would wait for hardware upgrades as stated in the previous post, but not for the OS upgrade.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by justagirl View Post


    I am going to buy a new iMac and also a Powerbook for my up coming semester of Graduate school. Classes start in September, but I was wondering what people thought about the advantages in waiting for the new operating system to come out. These will be the first apple computers I have personally purchased and I want to make sure I get the most for my money, but Im also excited to have them and want to get more familiar with the system before classes start. SO any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.



    Get the MacBook RevB. Core2Duo. In other words, retailers will be clearing out the RevB CHEAP because the RevC just came out. Great value. Look at the current crop of MacBooks, pricing, and then ask your local reseller about the ones just before that, which they should be selling quite a bit cheaper than the current brand spanking new MacBooks.



    Get the MacBook RevB Core2Duo 2ghz 1gb RAM 6x SuperDrive 80gb hard disk.



    You will enjoy the MacBook 13" for your college/university work. A MacBookPro is a bit of a heavy thing to carry around and open up on desks, cafes, the university lawn, etc.



    Get this first as your laptop and portable computing thingy. Then wait until the new iMac updates around the corner for some nice desktop action. My 2 cents.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    rich-mysterrich-myster Posts: 771member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Get the MacBook RevB. Core2Duo. In other words, retailers will be clearing out the RevB CHEAP because the RevC just came out. Great value. Look at the current crop of MacBooks, pricing, and then ask your local reseller about the ones just before that, which they should be selling quite a bit cheaper than the current brand spanking new MacBooks.



    Get the MacBook RevB Core2Duo 2ghz 1gb RAM 6x SuperDrive 80gb hard disk.



    You will enjoy the MacBook 13" for your college/university work. A MacBookPro is a bit of a heavy thing to carry around and open up on desks, cafes, the university lawn, etc.



    Get this first as your laptop and portable computing thingy. Then wait until the new iMac updates around the corner for some nice desktop action. My 2 cents.



    i'd even wait before purchasing the macbook. in my opinion there will be hardware updates at wwdc. the extra .16 ghz was just to get people to buy them some more. then when wwdc comes they're going to introduce something new and improved.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Get the MacBook RevB. Core2Duo. In other words, retailers will be clearing out the RevB CHEAP because the RevC just came out. Great value. Look at the current crop of MacBooks, pricing, and then ask your local reseller about the ones just before that, which they should be selling quite a bit cheaper than the current brand spanking new MacBooks.



    Get the MacBook RevB Core2Duo 2ghz 1gb RAM 6x SuperDrive 80gb hard disk.



    You will enjoy the MacBook 13" for your college/university work. A MacBookPro is a bit of a heavy thing to carry around and open up on desks, cafes, the university lawn, etc.



    Get this first as your laptop and portable computing thingy. Then wait until the new iMac updates around the corner for some nice desktop action. My 2 cents.



    Listen to the man, he's giving good advice.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    If you don't need a machine until September then wait until September or late August if you want.



    Buying now...eh, you save a bit on the MB RevB as stated but by September they might have an ultra portable or a 13" MBP that you can simply purchase a 24" Dell monitor for and skip buying the iMac entirely.



    The only capability you lose with a MBP is dual monitors.



    iMac 17" + MacBook RevB = ~$2200 + tax and shipping - edu discount

    iMac 20" + MacBook RevB = ~$2400 + tax and shipping - edu discount

    iMac 24" + MacBook RevB = ~$3000 + tax and shipping - edu discount



    MBP 15" + Dell 2407WFP = ~$2600 + tax and shipping - edu discount

    MBP 15" + Dell 2707WFP = ~$3020 + tax and shipping - edu discount

    MBP 15" + Dell 3007WFP-HC = $3500 + tax and shipping - edu discount



    Meh...I'd take option 4. The 24" is large enough for most folks unless it also replaces your TV. If Option 4 was a MBP 13" it would be a no brainer.



    If your budget was close to $3500 anyway the Dell 3007WFP-HC is better than my 30" ACD.



    My 17" MBP drives the 30" ACD cleanly under OSX with both screens but under XP I need to make it my only screen (ie I turn the 17" panel off). Doesn't much matter really since I never use the 17" panel when "docked".



    Vinea



    PS Dell has edu discounts too but I doubt they discount the monitors all that much.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Just revised my opinion...the 2707WFP has HDCP support but the 2407 does not appear to (at least it wasn't listed in the specs).



    With a HDMI to DVI cable the 2707 could easily double as your TV so I would opt for Option 5 and add an AppleTV. The 30" also has HDCP.



    Vinea
  • Reply 8 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Have any of you guys used MacRumors in the past? Has it been accurate?





    http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
  • Reply 9 of 10
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sequitur View Post


    Have any of you guys used MacRumors in the past? Has it been accurate?





    http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/



    Basically it tells you when a product was last updated and any technology improvements that might instigate a major rev. I'd use it more for data than absolute recommendation.



    I think they've been saying "updates soon" on the mini for a while now...I've been waiting to get a mini. Certainly an update is overdue but when Apple will do so and HOW you can't really say. For example they could drop the mini in favor of a cube.



    Not terribly likely but its not something that macrumors could predict unless there was a leak. Even if there WAS a leak to that effect I wouldn't trust it...



    Likewise the could be really wrong with their Mac Pro recommendation ("Buy Now! Recently Updated"). If by some miracle Apple offers a mid-range tower using Conroe at WWDC a Mac Pro purchase today would be so-so for a lot of folks.



    I personally think the MacBook recommendation is wrong. It will see an update to Santa Rosa in the mid-range future. We just got a speed bump, not a new rev.



    Vinea
  • Reply 10 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    [QUOTE=vinea;1085389



    I think they've been saying "updates soon" on the mini for a while now...I've been waiting to get a mini. Certainly an update is overdue but when Apple will do so and HOW you can't really say. For example they could drop the mini in favor of a cube.



    Vinea[/QUOTE]



    I'm waiting for a "new and improved" Mini or a mini tower, too. The other iterations are not an option for me.

    I hope Apple has gotten the message that many users are waiting for something midrange - and upgradeable.
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