alt. title -- "apple and microsoft choose not to rush products to market" Processors will march forward getting better each year, the tick-tock of intel's design process is a staple in the tech industry, so today's best is tomorrows garbage. but unless the plan was to dump your computer after 6 months usage, this shouldn't bother you much. And instead you get a system that is thoroughly tested and thoughtfully designed. I'd take a well designed 2 year old laptop over a flimsy garbage box with the freshest processor any day.