MBP Future Proof?

How future proof is the MacBook Pro right now? Im in the hard position that most laptop buyers face, able to wait a few months to buy a new system but really wanting to buy the laptp now. If i buy the MBP now will it last me 2-3 years of high performance relative to the market? I need the laptop by the beginning of August, should i wait to see if the MBP gets an upgrade? Right now its all speculation but do you really think that apple will update by the beginning of august.

Lol just a side note, buying a laptop is really hard for someone like me. i fix my mind on something for 5 minutes and then switch it. For example i was so sure 2 months ago that i was buying a MBP, but then i was like, ive been using Windows all my life vista is just as good. Now a friend convinced me that because ia m a professional photographer, i need a mac. So here i am again set on a MBP, and i really want one now. If you dont think apple will upgrade by August please put me out of my misery and tell me so i can buy one tomorrow.

 

i don't believe we'll see anything new until at least october when Leopard ships...so go take the plunge.

 

Rumor has it that a MBP update is soon to come. They're way past their 9 month cycle now . . . but, it's all just really rumor. I suggest waiting till after the WWDC and after Steve Jobs does his business. So if nothing comes out by the end of July then maybe Apple has decided to update their MBP line some time in october, which is a couple months late to Santa Rosa, just like how MBP was late to C2D.

 

My new MBP is going to be delivered tomorrow; I decided I wouldn't wait. Reading this forum, talking with people (not just sales clerks) at Apple stores, reading and researching, made me decide I wouldn't lose that much in going ahead and taking the plunge from XP to OSX, and I can upgrade to Leopard when it comes out.
Technology is always going to be advancing and you need to decide for yourself if the wait is worth it. There will always be something newer, a little more advanced, etc. I do some Photoshop work, a lot of presentations, and looking forward to working with Final Cut Express...the jump to Santa Rosa wouldn't affect me to the degree that I would wait. There's more that one G4 person out there totally happy with their equipment and not looking to upgrade.
Bottom line: nothing is future proof in technology. There will always be an upgrade to the game you're playing, the word processor you're using, the laptop you're buying...you get the picture. With me, patience isn't my greatest virtue - my MacBookPro is coming in tomorrow. I'm totally excited and happy!

 

I agree nothing is comming out till after leopard

 

Will it last you 2-3 years of high performance? Relative to what will be out in 2-3 years (think quad cores, new graphics cards, WiMax, etc), probably not. But always keep in mind that the performance of the computer is not going to go down. It's just that everything around you will go up. If you run a program now, that same program should (barring OS problems, etc) run just as quickly 3 years from now.

Also think about the statement "Good things come to those who wait." Well, that doesn't apply to technology. If you sit around waiting for the next best thing, you'll be waiting forever, which won't make you happy either. At this point, if you can wait until June, I say wait; Apple is likely to update by then or around that time. If not, then the computer should still work well for 2-3 years, just don't expect to still be bragging about it then.

 

That would be stuped by Apple, not to upgrade their MacBooks(pro) with atleast Santa Rosa in say some weeks or so!
Why wait til October? ^ ^

 

I don't think Apple will wait to upgrade to Santa Rosa until October. That would put them too far behind the curve. The MBP will likely be updated in the next 2 months. Having said that, i don't think it will be drastic. Also, Apple has shown that they are willing to update without announcements and events, so don't expect a big deal.

 

i bought mine because a) i dropped my first macbook pro and needed a replacement, and b) i needed a mac for school, and my italy trip.

Notebook_ftw has some excellent points. I am satisfied with the current performance of this computer. It will defiinitely give you good performance for 2 years, 3 years and youll probably start to see that everything around you will start moving faster than what the computer will be able to handle. Even the santa rosa ones will not be that much more future proof than the current ones.

Id say buy now and start enjoying it. You only have 1 life to live.

 

Toshiba also makes a good point; so far, Santa Rosa has not proven to be a big boost in processing power. The more important things to wait for would be the better graphics cards and possibly Intel Turbo Memory.

 

Thanks for your help. I guess ill atleast wait till the apple conference in June to see if they announce anything...ill go from there....and a better graphics cards is the most important.

 

The statement about a program running just as fast three years from now compared to today is definitely not true for Windows PCs (I guess the registry gets bogged down over time with Window updates and other junk?). This is one of the reaons I am considering returning my HP to Costco and going Mac. I had heard Macs are much more resistant to the the long-term bogging down of resources, so I was hoping to go at least 5 years with a MacBook versus the 3-year bog time for a typical PC. Are Macs really more resistant to the bogging down phenomenon?

 

Well he did add the caveat ¨barring OS¨ problems, so the statement was pretty much true.

And I think replacing your computer because the OS gets ¨bogged down¨ over time is OTT. You could just re-install the machine, which would pretty much cost you the same amount of time as buying a new one and installing all your software anyway.

Unless you use certain specialised apps (or games), its unlikely any machine is going to perform significantly worse 3 years later due to OS or software updates in that time.

My 4 year old (maybe more, can't remeber) R100 which I gave to my gf performs just aswell with XP, office apps (2007 on it now), surfing, playing media as it did when I first got it.

I imagine a MBP will do the same.

I can only think of one class of main stream apps that would require you to upgrade your hardware within 3 years of purchase. Games ofcourse. And even in that case, a game you buy and play on your laptop when its new, will run just aswell 3 years later.

 

Holy crap dude, so that was $2k down the drain when u dropped the MBP ??