New Computer

I'm in the market for a new computer. A mac.

They're priced high, but I think they're generally worth what you pay for. Few operating system hiccups, simple and well-designed (and familiar) UI/UX, they've performed well for me, and have high build quality. I'm on a 2017 13" MacBook Pro with these specs:

Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 1536 MB
Storage: 121 GB HD

First, I'll point out the comically small hard drive. It's actually been one of my biggest issues - I've run out of space. And I believe that degrades performance as I think the hard drive is used by memory in some cases to offload some work and I've gotten an awful (and persistent) message at times that I've run out of application memory.

The other main issue is that the letter 'p' doesn't work. That's the result of spilling some liquid on the keyboard shortly before the bootcamp started. P is the only key that never regained functionality. I've been using a wireless external keyboard. And while it's a solution - it's a pain. A lap doesn't really have room for a keyboard and a laptop.

Other than those two issues, I really like this computer. Well there is something else -- I've been working solely on this small laptop screen without an external monitor. I'm ready to upgrade to an external and take advantage of all the benefits of more screen real estate.

So my options appear to be these:

Keep current laptop but offload some files to free up storage space and hope that solves the performance issues. And then buy an external monitor.

Buy an iMac (desktop) with a nice big screen - move some of my laptop's files to the desktop and then have two computers: one laptop one desktop.

Buy a new MacBook and an external monitor. This is the most expensive option. But probably the best from a performance standpoint. A strong workstation (including screen space) that I can take anywhere.

What's stopping me from pulling the trigger now? I think Apple might be dropping new MacBook and iMac models soon. So I feel like I'm kind of in limbo. How long am I willing to wait? I don't know.