Would the suspected upgrades to the new MBP make a it worth the wait for me?

The biggest difference should be in 3D and GPGPU power since the current GPU 9600M GT is really old.
The new CPUs are significantly faster if they can utilize there reborn Hyper Threading but some of the performance increase is off set by a slower Memory Controller and lower clock rates.
To feel a difference in Performance the rule of thumb is that a new CPU has to be 20% faster. In picture editing the GPGPU power difference really is completely unimportant (you'd have to edit extremely huge pictures). And the CPU is likely to be sometimes 20% faster, sometimes even slower thus there is no reason why you really have to wait for the new ones.
A bigger difference would it be if you play games as a new GPU should be about 100% faster or more, or video editing where the new CPUs are 20-40% faster and the GPGPU performance is also more likely to make a difference.

PS: The biggest complaint by most of those who are waiting is that the current MBP are so outdated that the Apple Tax is just too high compared to PC Notebooks.

The programs you intend to use are very processor intensive. A better cpu will mean better performance, plain and simple.

The next MBPs will probably significantly faster than the ones that are currently available. Does that mean that the ones available now are not good at running the apps you'll be using? No. But the new MBPs will almost certainly do that work faster.

If you can't wait get a refurb. You'll save some money. I'd get a refurb with the fastest C2D cpu possible.

Exactly. The current performance for the price value in the current Apple MacBook Pros is the worst ratio probably...ever. This is the longest period of time between laptop updates in something like a decade. Their current prices are outrageous and insulting to Pro customers. Now it looks like at least April until they get updated, who knows maybe May at this rate. That'd be almost a YEAR since an update in "Pro" laptops. With no price drop at all. They should at least give us an expected intro date now at this point if they are only a few weeks from an announcement. This secrecy crap is stupid. I would have bought in January if I'd known it'd take another HALF A YEAR to update the MBPs. But we don't know anything because it's so "secret" and "magical" and crap.

Count me among the many who just can't see paying that much for a current MBP. It isn't about wanting the latest and greatest. It is about not wanting to pay today's premium price for yesterday's hardware. I'm trying to hold out as long as I can but, eventually, I'm going to have to make the choice of buying a refurb or just switching to Windows. I'm really hoping that they release something soon because neither of those two options sound appealing to me.

In a word, yes.

The thing to watch out for is the inclusion of GPU acceleration in any of these apps. The current MBP GPU is rather dated and could be a huge negative when or if GPU acceleration becomes significant with these apps.

As to the Intel CPU itself that is much mote of a mixed bag despite all the whining above. The thing is the performance of the coming Intel CPUs vary widely with respect to Core 2 Duo. The performance gains can be as little as a few percent to to some rather astounding values depending on the code. In your case the SIMD performance could significantly impact your performance.

There is a lot of hedging above because it depends upon many factors, but photo editing is fairly close to realtime now. It is entirely possible that a faster machine would not benefit you in that specific task.

I hope you mean backup files to an external drive. Having lost some interesting photos in my time while traveling I've gotten to be very untrusting and like to keep at least three copies on different media when traveling. It is one of digitals best features. Further if you have a server to upload stuff to all the better.

You sound like you are in business, good businessmen buy the tools they need when they need them.

You have in a way answered your own question above.

On the otherhand you may be over estimating the opportunies to get work done on the road. Especially on a laptop with a small screen. This again depends upon many things but is something to think about. However any sort of portable is advisable for backups and networking.

It shouldn't be about us. It is you and your business that will either be successful or die.

That is a very good question. There is no doubt that a newer machine will be faster, the question is will it make a difference with your intended usage. If you are a novice or a person that doesn't leverage hardware all that much then you have to weigh a little lost productivity in the next few weeks against potential greater gains a few weeks from now. If you are more of a power user I'd have to suggest you have more to loose if the new Macs are a ways off.

Just keep in mind that there is likely some big gains to be had outside of the CPU

Dave

The only thing holding me back is the graphics card. I am hoping Apple go with a Radeon 5XXX series card with 1GB video ram. That said, i am bound to be very dissappointed for another year, as it seems to take Apple quite a long time to write OS X drivers for the new GPU architectures.

But paying full price, especially such a huge one, for a decidedly overripe laptop won't sit well with you when a new one comes out... in about three months...

don't wait if it's going to affect your job! then you'll really lose a lot more money then buying an "outdated laptop" which still is a very good one.

if you can wait i guess go ahead. i don't see much difference in laptops for what your doing, the new ones are faster and graphically better. maybe some other things...but no one except for steve jobs has any idea of when these new babies are coming out. ppl are saying june now...then again ppl also said february, march, etc...

Yeah...if you can generate sufficient billable hours on the road then you come out ahead from getting a MBP now and then selling it on eBay when the new MBPs come out whenever.

The nice thing about Macs is that hit is lower than with most PCs. They hold their values pretty well. It'll still be a big hit but even a few hours of work typically can cover it.

Still though...we keep expecting the new MBPs. I guess if it happens within a couple weeks of a purchase they'll let you swap. I forget the grace period now.