I have the top of the line MBP 17" Quad Core i7, 256 GB SSD, top video card, and 8 GB RAM. It runs Windows 7 in VMware faster than I have seen on a PC, though

I have the top of the line MBP 17" Quad Core i7, 256 GB SSD, top video card, and 8 GB RAM. It runs Windows 7 in VMware faster than I have seen on a PC, though I am sure there are PCs that can compete with the VM, I have been thrilled with it. I also run two 27" Apple displays (2560x1440), one the new Thunderbolt, that I daisy chain with my year-old mini-display port one. Then I also have a 28" Hanns-G display that is 1900x1200 which I run with a Viewmax USB video adapter (a little powered device). This last one has slow video performance, but it is fine for word processing or e-mail. Writing this on it now. I have had very good luck with the SSD, my biggest complaint is size. If I put all of my pictures, work files, and music on it, the drive would be full. I like having everything on all my PCs for backup and convenience, but recently bought a 3 TB Seagate GigE drive ($179) that I put on my router. It performs pretty well, so I keep all my files there, and just the work stuff and a few pictures on my 17". I like the ideal of 500 MB minimum now that I am out of space, and those will seriously sting your pocketbook. I am not a gamer, so for that, I would not take my advice, I can just tell you that for the engineering work that I do, it rocks. I am a "fastest you can get" computer guy, who still believes "the PC you want will always cost you $4,000." So in my case, my $3,800 MBP was a bargain! In all seriousness, you will be very happy with the top of the line 17". Would I wait? If you can, I probably would; however, you will not be disappointed with the current model.