Help, I would like your opinion please

Hi All, first time poster long time reader.
I've been intersted in getting a mac in a long time ever since I've been using one as a freshman in high school til present. Im currently using:
Sony 15" VGN-A240B / 1.6 GHz pentium M / 512mb ram / 40g hard drive
looking to upgrade to a:
15" MBP / 2.2 GHz / 2gb ram / 160gb hard drive / 128MB 8600M GT.
The reason for the upgrade is that I'll be entering a university in August and I wana have a laptop that can be my desktop replacement that I can use for the next 4-6 years.

I have two options
1) Keep my Vaio and get a new battery and hope for the best in the upcoming years ( And where to buy the battery)
2) Get a new MBP which will cost aprox. 2,100 (USD)

Money is and isn't a factor in my decision. I have the money to spend if I should choose to buy the new MBP, but if I don't buy a MBP there still be 2,100$ in my savings that I can use for next year

I know this is the apple section of the forums and not the " What notebook should I buy" section. But I'd like to get some imput from Mac users and switchers on what I should do because I'm caught in between I wana switch b.c my vaio is getting old, but then again I don't want to if I don' have too.

 

I know exactly what you mean! Your current machine is slow, very slow by today's standards. I just go the 17" MBP 2 days ago and I love it. I am much more of a windows user than OS X even though I started my computing life in 1979 with an apple. Anyhow, it is a lot of coin to throw down, no doubt, but once you get the new machine you will quickly forget about the money! The fit and finish to these machines is second to none - will make what you are using now like a junky kids toy (did to my 17" Dell as well). Bootcamp works superbly so long as you stick with 32 bit OS, I'm running Vista Ult and everything works great. The back lit keyboard just sends me over the top.

If I were in your position I would get the new machine - not only will you love it but you will also be more productive on it. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

Well, that Sony certainly won't last another 4-6 years (not if you want to keep sane anyway)...

Although you might want to delay your MBP purchase for a year as new tech comes out (and maybe by then the MBP 17" will even have LED backlights!), also consider that the 1st year of college is really when you'll have the most free time to actually use it. You'll still have significant time sophomore year to mess with it, break it in, and play on it, but after that things start getting more serious. I'm not saying you won't have any time your last 2 years, but if you want to get the most enjoyment out of it...I'd buy now.

Also, if you buy now, you can justify the purchase of a new laptop upon graduation a lot more. (4 years!). Although 3 years is plenty as it is...still something to consider.

 

I agree. Go ahead and buy it now.

 

I agree with Taelrak's reasoning too. Starting college will also be a new chapter in your life and it'd go along with having a new laptop and starting fresh.

I just got my MBP a few days ago and I am a switcher too. So far so good.

 

ok, let's get one thing extremely clear, you do NOT need a powerful computer for college!

I am an engineering student and I put my computers through their paces with everything from AutoCAD to 3D modelling and rendering to FEA and CFD to running big ass (and sloppily written) Matlab code.

I have a Toshiba laptop from 2001 that served me well until it finally started to go senile (forgets what it is doing in the middle an operation) a couple of months ago. This thing had a 14 inch screen, which sucked, weighed too much, had 512mb ram, a 15 gig 4200 rpm hard drive, 8mb of integrated graphics, and a Celeron 800mhz processor with something stupid like 128k cache!

Now, I have had a desktop machine for 3 years so I have to clarify that the Toshiba was sufficient for my mobile needs - it didn't have enough storage space or graphics power for my gaming and entertainment needs. It was perfectly capable of handling any school related computing tasks though.

So, if you want a desktop replacement and all in one machine, by all means get the mbp. You probably won't regret it.

This is my suggestion. It is based on the following:

First, unless you are studying comp sci, realize that you will be doing a good deal less mobile computing than you currently envision.

Second, you will always pay an extra arm or leg for comparable desktop power in mobile form, your upgrade path is very limited, and you will always be left behind the leading edge in a few months, no matter how much you spent at the time.

Third, the laptop you have does have all the computing power you could need for mobile needs.

Fourth, most university students only move twice a year - once into their place at the start of the school year, and once out at the end. If you are unlucky you might make one move around Christmas because your roomates like to crank Pantera at 3am on a Tuesday. So that's 3 moves in a year.

Fifth, if you are disgruntled with that sony right now, there is absolutely no way in hell you are gonna be happy with that mbp in 4 years, let alone 6.

Considering all of these things, I say you should get a new battery for the Sony, upgrade the ram to 1gb if you can and it's cheap (ie, under $30 or so -check out craigs list or something like that). Then, buy a desktop for about $700-1000. Either get a used machine (again, check out craigs list) or build your own (you or if you know a friend that can do it) - go middle of the road core 2, a fairly big hd, and a middle of the road pci-e graphics card (again, used ones are dirt cheap). But make sure to get the best motherboard you can. Then, buy a $250 dollar 22" Widescreen monitor. Spend maybe $100 dollars more and get an ok set of 2.1 speakers like the Logitech Z5300s.

Now, for less than the price of mbp you will have a desktop computer with a big ass monitor and a decent set of speakers. Especially if you end up in a dorm room, you will thank god you have this setup (you will also be incredibly popular on your floor - who wants to watch a movie?). This machine will be much nicer to be working on your paper on at 3am with (especially if you use a bit more of the money you saved off the mbp to buy a really nice computer chair - trust me this is worth it), will have all the hard drive space for all the music and movies you need, serve as an excellent home entertainment system, and be a more capable gaming machine. Keep the original monitor and computer case boxes and packing up to move is quick and easy. Upgrading to keep the machine current for several years is cheap and easy.

In my case, I have managed to keep my 3 year old desktop fairly current by spending about $150CAD per year on average (added a hd, got a new gpu, got a dual core processor). I stayed behind the cutting edge a ways, bought some used components, and enjoy excellent performance for the price.

You will also have a laptop that will be more than good enough for your mobile needs for a few more years at least. At that point, you can either buy the latest and greatest thing out, which will be many times better than the latest and greatest now, or you can buy a current version of the MBP in several years for a fraction of the cost.

Alot of my the validity of my reccommendation hinges on how tech savvy you are, or are prepared to be. I think my approach will provide a great overall student experience (it has for me, although my monitor was only a 19"), and meet all of your computing needs.

It certainly isn't the same as turn on and go Mac simplicity, and if all you care about is having a cool laptop then I just went on a huge rant for nothing (but I feel more alive!). Same goes if you really really want OS X.

My main point is don't let anyone tell you that your current computer is not going to be good enough for college - it will do fine. How you go about meeting your overall computing needs, whatever they are exactly (probably a good idea to list out your 3 or 5 most important ones - helps make your purchasing decisions alot clearer) is up to you. I just related what I think would be a good approach, and it has worked for me. I'm still getting a new MBP, but thats because I'm now at the phase listed above where it's time to get a new mobile computer, and mine happens to be coming as a wedding gift so there is no reason to not go right for the cutting edge to maximise longevity.

 

thank you nikshub1, taelrak, Cycloneguy2618, infiniti007, and diver dan. I will keep all of you guys advice in consideration on what I should do.
thank you all again
- Aniki