 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / October 2007MacBook Pro - Is it worth it?
Hello everyone, I am planning to purchase a 15' MacBook Pro later this year (once Leopard is released) and I wanted to hear some opinions about these computers. Are all the issues that people are reporting (i.e. melting batteries, screen warping, discolouration, extreme overheating, MagSafe cord melting, etc.) really common or are they simply being propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience them? Frankly, some of the issues sounded terribly frightening. I would not want my $2000 laptop melting or shutting off arbitrarily after only six months of use. On the other hand, I know a number of people who are happy with their MacBooks and have not experienced any problems with them, even after a number of years. What is the chance that my MacBook Pro will experience any of the aforementioned issues? Have most issues been resolved in recent revisions of the MacBook Pro? I suppose that my warranty would cover most, if not all, problems that could occur with the computer, but it would still be a disappointment to experience any major problems with a brand new laptop. I will mainly be using the MacBook Pro for music recording, photo editing, paperwork, and perhaps also gaming to a limited extent, but most likely nothing that would push it to its limits; and I am not into third party modifications, so I don't expect to cause any damage to the computer myself. Thank you in advance for replying. > I am planning to purchase a 15' MacBook Pro later this year (once > Leopard is released) and I wanted to hear some opinions about these [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? The latter. I've been using a MacBook Pro since the first ones started reaching users, and I've never even heard of most of the problems you mentioned. > Frankly, some of the issues sounded terribly frightening. I would not > want my $2000 laptop melting or shutting off arbitrarily after only > six months of use. You do realize that Apple has warranties on their computers, right?  SignatureTom "Tom" Harrington FIVE YEARS as an independent Mac developer One out of every Five orders FREE until October 19 http://www.atomicbird.com/ > > I am planning to purchase a 15' MacBook Pro later this year (once > > Leopard is released) and I wanted to hear some opinions about these > > computers. Are all the issues that people are reporting (i.e. melting > The latter. I've been using a MacBook Pro since the first ones started > reaching users, and I've never even heard of most of the problems you > mentioned. I had a PowerBook 15" for over 3 years and replaced it with a MacBookPro 15 about 3 months ago after another update to the hardware. While the PB was not perfect - it was sent in under AppleCare extended warrantee twice - it had none of the catastrophic stuff you're talking about. (once was when the hard drive died - that happens - and once was to replace the video cable which wore out enough to be screwing with the display - after almost 3 years of very heavy daily use) The MBP has been perfect so far. The screen is amazing, bright, uniform and sharp. Nothing's melting, no problems. That said, for a notebook, especially one you're carrying about, I do highly recommend getting AppleCare to extend the warrantee out the full three years. They do a great job and very fast. In both uses of AppleCare on my pBook, I dropped the machine off at a local apple store and Apple shipped it back to me at my office - both times I had the machine back in my hands in three days. I also highly recommend - not just for a notebook but especially for one - very regular backups. At least once per week, daily if possible. I use SuperDuper! to clone my internal drives (on both of my machines - the desktop and the notebook) daily. No warrantee on any computer is a substitute for making backups. At best, they may replace a drive (as they did for me) but it's simply not possible for them to replace the data. So is it worth it? Nobody knows but you, since that's subjective. Mine was worth every penny - to me. (And, for what it's worth, that old powerbook is also still in daily use by another family member) SignaturePlain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed. No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow? http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting > Hello everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? I can only speak from my use and my daughter's. I don't know the statistics. We both got MacBook Pros last spring and have not had any of the above problems. So far, I am very happy with mine and my daughter loves hers. Battery life is better than I expected, too. You might want to take out Apple Care for your new MBP. I did on my daughter's laptop. It's about $300 (IIRC), but good for peace of mind. If this is a computer you will be doing important things on (work or serious hobby or family use (e.g. Photo)) that you *do not* want to loose or be without for any length of time, then the extra expense is worth it. Signature-- Lou Pecora > Hello everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? The main thing to keep in mind, in any market, is that for the most part satisfied customers are quiet customers. You almost never see people popping up in public forums to cheer about the fact that their product is acting exactly as expected. But people will at the drop of a hat complain about something misbehaving. > I will mainly be using the MacBook Pro for music recording, photo > editing, paperwork, and perhaps also gaming to a limited extent, but > most likely nothing that would push it to its limits; ... Pretty much any computer Apple sells will meet those needs. You might want to look carefully at the differences between the MB and the MBP and see if you really find them compelling, because the price premium is noticeable. > I am planning to purchase a 15' MacBook Pro later this year (once > Leopard is released) and I wanted to hear some opinions about these [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? I've had my 15" MBP for almost a year and haven't had a single issue with it yet. I love this machine! SignatureNote: Please send all responses to the relevant news group. If you absolutely must contact me through e-mail, let me know when you send email to this address so that I can be sure your email doesn't get eaten by pobox.com's ultra-aggressive SPAM filter. JR > Hello everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? I am an active member of a fairly large Mac Users Group. Several other members have a MacBook Pro. I have a first generation MBP. I have no complaints about the build quality of my MBP and I haven't heard anyone else I know complain either. > Frankly, some of the issues sounded terribly frightening. There were some isolated incidents, but nothing widespread and nothing that hasn't happened with some of Apple's competitors' laptops. > There were some isolated incidents, but nothing widespread and nothing > that hasn't happened with some of Apple's competitors' laptops. Yes. That is what I suspected. Thank you very much for the input. I won't hesitate to buy one. > I am planning to purchase a 15' MacBook Pro later this year (once > Leopard is released) and I wanted to hear some opinions about these [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? I have the latest model 15" MacBook Pro (bought in July) and several friends with earlier models. Three come to mind immediately, one of which is about a year old and the other two about five months old. None of us have experienced any of these problems. In a larger circle of associates and my local user group, I've probably been in contact with about ten MacBook Pros and two MacBooks, and I'm not aware of anyone having major problems of these types. The later models definitely run cooler than the earlier ones, which suggests they have lower power consumption for normal use. They still get hot under heavy processor and graphics load. > Frankly, some of the issues sounded terribly frightening. I would not > want my $2000 laptop melting or shutting off arbitrarily after only > six months of use. It sounds like battery problems are being dealt with by Apple replacing the battery, and there are even reports that they are doing so outside the one year warranty for those without AppleCare. > On the other hand, I know a number of people who are happy with their > MacBooks and have not experienced any problems with them, even after a > number of years. The MacBook has only existed since May 2006, so "a number of years" is a bit misleading. Earlier models like the iBook are a completely different beast. The MacBook has the same basic power supply design as the MacBook Pro, also involving a MagSafe connector. The only difference is a lower power rating, which means a lower capacity battery and smaller power supply, hence less potential heat. I expect the MacBook's MagSafe connector is just as vulnerable to damage as the MacBook Pro, but the MBPro's one might be at greater risk of melting when damaged, due to greater current/power. My solution: try to minimise bending of the cable around the MagSafe connector. I have a spare power supply which I keep permanently hooked up at work, and I'm intending to get another one for use on my desk at home, so I'll only be uncoiling the portable one when I happen to use the laptop somewhere else for long periods. I'm waiting to see if Apple does release a revised power adapter before getting another one. I already got bitten by them reducing the size of the adapter soon after I bought my spare. SignatureDavid Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz > The MacBook has only existed since May 2006, so "a number of years" is a > bit misleading. Earlier models like the iBook are a completely > different beast. Very true, excuse me for the mistake. I was refering to people who have purchased the computers when they initially came out. It seemed like it was longer ago than it really was. > My solution: try to minimise bending of the cable around the MagSafe > connector. I have a spare power supply which I keep permanently hooked [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > getting another one. I already got bitten by them reducing the size of > the adapter soon after I bought my spare. Thanks very much for the thoughtful reply. I don't think there's any reason for me to worry about all this, now that I've read all these replies, I will just buy one with the extended warranty. I can't go wrong with that. > What is the chance that my MacBook Pro will experience any of the > aforementioned issues? Not likely. I have the most recent MacBook Pro, with 4 GB of ram, 7200 int' drive, plus a bus-powered LaCie 200 GB "Little Big Disk", with its FW800, USB 2.0, and FW400 ports. Nice on-the-road ext' drive, when no AC power is handy. Push MacBook Pro very hard, transferring 80 GB files to the external FireWire 800 drive, running CPU intensive $1,200 Vista medical dictation software. (Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9.5 for Vista) For months I abused that Mac, and we all know that heat is the enemy of electronics - - - nothing bad happened though. To prolong the Macs life, recently I installed a freeware utility on the Mac side of things, a util' named "smcFanControl". When I anticipate a "hot" session, I manually speed up the MacBook's fans, from their idling speed of 2000rpm, to 6000rpm. Fortunately the fans are not very noisy, so they do not degrade my dictation software, which is very sensitive to outside noise. Neat thing is that I can restart into Vista, and the fans stay revved up. I _always_ buy the 3 year extended warranty, because the packed-in construction of battery operated portables in general makes them more susceptible to heat related problems, whether they are Macs _or_ PCs. That reminds me, I gotta send in a donation to the guy who created the free fan control util', because I believe in encouraging people like that. Mark- > I have the most recent MacBook Pro, with 4 GB of ram, 7200 int' drive, > plus a bus-powered LaCie 200 GB "Little Big Disk", with its FW800, USB > 2.0, and FW400 ports. > Nice on-the-road ext' drive, when no AC power is handy. I have a LaCie Mobile Drive USB2.0 and was using it for on-the-road backups and other data transport. With my old Powerbook, the USB port alone didn't provide enough power for the drive to run - I had to use the auxiliary usb->power cord (using both my USB ports) on that machine to make it work. On my current MacBookPro, the drive worked just fine being powered off of the one USB that it was plugged into for data. No aux. cord necessary. I've since given the drive away to a Windows user. I also still use an ancient 20GB iPod (1st gen) with its firewire as a mobile backup drive. The audio port on it died a long time ago, but it makes a very decent means to back up essential data away from home desktop ac-powered drives. That LaCie Little Big Disk looks rather large and cumbersome to carry about, but it's very cool that it can run off the firewire power alone. I think my next on-the-road backup drive is going to be one of the OWC Mercury On-The-Go bus-powered firewire drives. SignaturePlain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed. No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow? http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting > That LaCie Little Big Disk looks rather large and > cumbersome to carry about...<snip>... Yeah, that is what I do not like about it. Drive size is almost as big as my hand. However all its weight is in its "outside" heat sink, which means I can pound the heck out of it with half-hour transfers of 80 GBs using the FireWire 800 connection, without cremating the drive from excessive heat. Plus the drive is good for hammering nails. For less demanding work, I use the much smaller and lighter 100 GB Porsche FW400 drive, which is small enough to fit in a man's shirt pocket. (a FireWire 400 bus powered drive) I carry my 15" MacBook Pro in one of those heavy duty armored briefcases, which is almost as small as a regular briefcase. You know, the kind you throw on the floor to stand on, to reach a high shelf. (and I weigh over 200 pounds) So far, nary a scratch or finger mark on the MacBook. Mark- > Hello everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > propagated overenthusiastically by the select few who experience > them? The batch of defective batteries was recalled and replaced. My 17" screen has not warped. All MacBook Pros that I have seen have screens that when closed appear to come up slightly at the corners. Since it is the same amount on both sides, I would not call that warping, but something inherent in the design. The screen itself may be deliberately slightly convex in order to give a wider field of view. I have not seen any discoloration on any of our MacBooks. I consider all Mac laptops to be too warm to hold directly on the lap comfortably. Apple recalled a bunch of MagSafe cords and pulled them all off the shelves. Presumably they will be replaced by a newer model. We have had no problem with ours. They have not been problem-free. My personal MacBook Pro has been in twice: once for a bad disk drive (a fairly common problem in laptops, and I am not looking forward to the new nano-technology that Toshiba recently announced; I figure it is just one way to make the things more fragile) and once for a physically busted ExpressCard slot. Both were repaired under warranty, but it took longer than it should have both times. In general, Apple does not win a lot of points from me on customer service, but it is adequate. The MacBook Pro is exactly what it claims to be -- a laptop computer with a thin profile. That means your lap is touching the parts that get hot and the computer is not as rugged as, say, a TEMPEST certified mil-spec combat computer. I like the MacBook Pro a lot and am not about to give mine up. SignatureWaddling Eagle World Famous Flight Instructor > Hello everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > into third party modifications, so I don't expect to cause any damage > to the computer myself. > Thank you in advance for replying. I've had my MBP since October of last year and have had no problems with it. I've been so pleased that I hardly use my Windows desktop these days and will likely replace that machine with an iMac. I think that all ultra thin styles in portable computing run warmer than heavier laptops but have not experienced anything excessive with the MBP. My battery hasn't shown any problems - hours of operation or physical oddities. My right side fan been running louder than normal this past week but it doesn't come on often (one particular game causes it) and it still blows air when it is running. I will probably take it in to have it checked before this year is gone. I went ahead and purchased AppleCare a few months after getting the MBP. Half of that decision was due to the type of usage laptops are exposed to and the other half due to reading the problems at the forums. Having Applecare should be beneficial in obtaining satisfactory resolution to hardware issues that might crop up past the factory one year warranty. Hope this helps, SignatureSharon F |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.