Chances of an MBP hardware refresh?

What would you guys say the actual chance of Apple doing a hardware refresh within the next few months would be on the MBP? I'm really hesitant to buy from Apple, especially with the way they price, that I'll buy something only to have it outclassed by a refresh within a month or two. Honestly, the idea of paying $2,000 for cusp-dead hardware just makes me want to buy a $400 Gateway and hack OSx86 Leopard on it to bypass the potential to get screwed, illegal it may be.

Note: Not saying I want to really do that. Just saying that $2,000 is too much for a poor man to pay for outdated hardware.

Note 2: I'm asking if I should /wait/, not if I should pirate.

 

The computer doesn't get outdated as soon as the next refresh occurs. I don't know what you are so paranoid about.

 

The MBP will probably get a refresh with the introduction of the Penryn processors in early 2008. I know you don't want to regret over what you bought, but you have to remember that new technology replaces old ones constantly and that's what you have to deal with when you buy something new.

 

It's more the fact that if I pay $2k for something, and then the next revision comes out right after, I'd go utterly insane and probably do something really stupid.

I really wish Apple occasionally had sales or had price drops within a few months of a refresh. If I'm buying already outdated hardware, I'd at least like a slice taken off the price.

 

Makes sense Greyhound but maybe you should op for a M1730 then.

 

The next expected update of the MBP will be in early 2008, with the release of Intel's Penryn processors. So you'll want to wait for that, if you want to wait for the next update.

After that, Montevina in the second quarter of 2008, and Nehalem in the later half of the year. Nehalem is the major update of the three, but won't happen for almost a year, so I wouldn't wait for it if you need the MBP now.

And as for "cusp-dead hardware"...not exactly. Honestly, the updates that are happening nowadays are not enough to make a noticeable difference in everyday tasks. Sure, every update is an improvement over the previous, but it doesn't make the older version "suck" right away. Core Duo processors are still really fast, considering the current applications of today still aren't written for multi-core.

 

Thats the point, the hardware is not really outdated by mere CPU changes, but whatever gives you peace of mind. In your case, you are always taking a risk buying anything since nothing is guaranteed to stay the same for any period of time.

 

The X1600 -> 8600m GT was a big deal, especially for those who game in Bootcamp. The Penryn refresh isn't as big a deal, since performance increase will be relatively modest and it may run some degrees cooler. There would not likely be a visible increase in performance as in the premier example. Only things like GPU/chipset updates are worth worrying about, and unless you want to wait a year, you're fine for now.

 

The die shrink is something I'm interested in, as the MBPs do run rather hot at times.