Macbook Pro 2011 is so...BAD BAD BAD!

[TomJak]

So I upgraded from Macbook Pro 15" late 2008 (original unibody), I thought the new 2011 model would be so great...BUT it is a total crap!

There are so many problems, everybody just complains all over the internet...
So I just thought I'll write a list of all the issues with the new Macbook Pro for potential buyers or owners who would like to share their own issues or solutions. So here we go:

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

 

[Macsavvytech]

None of these issues occur in my MacBook Pro, remember the online community is a minority and by you posting here, you have just joined it! Not saying its not a real issue for some but most MacBook Pros are faultless. Overheating doesn't happen on any MacBook Pro, loud fan noise is an issue that only happens when watching Flash videos or other intensive tasks.

MacBook Pro 2011 is so.... GOOD GOOD GOOD!

Move along everyone nothing to see here.

 

[daneoni]

Return it then and buy something else. Not rocket science is it.

 

[acron1]

So I upgraded from Macbook Pro 15" late 2008 (original unibody), I thought the new 2011 model would be so great...BUT it is a total crap!

I am sorry to hear that. I love mine.

There are so many problems, everybody just complains all over the internet...
So I just thought I'll write a list of all the issues with the new Macbook Pro for potential buyers or owners who would like to share their own issues or solutions. So here we go:

I wouldn't say "everybody" is complaining... People that don't have an axe to grind usually stay quiet.

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

My normal temps are ~ 40-50 C while browsing but even when the temps go up and the fans rev up I can't hear them... perhaps I am going deaf as I am approaching 50.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

I can't comment here as I have swapped the factory HDD out.

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

I have the HR AG Samsung (9CB7) panel in mine and it looks beautiful.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

I am by no means an audiophile... For laptop speakers they are fine...

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

I have 3 cameras in my house. My wife's and mine use SD cards, my son's uses a CF card...

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

Life is full of compromises... make the best you can.

 

[mcphee7]

So I upgraded from Macbook Pro 15" late 2008 (original unibody), I thought the new 2011 model would be so great...BUT it is a total crap!

There are so many problems, everybody just complains all over the internet...
So I just thought I'll write a list of all the issues with the new Macbook Pro for potential buyers or owners who would like to share their own issues or solutions. So here we go:

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

Take it back to the shop

 

[TomJak]

Well some macbooks maybe ok, or just some owners don't mind the issues or haven't noticed it.
I searched really a lot of forums...many many people are experiencing those issues.

I upgraded my macbook in believe to have a better machine in all aspects. Now I just have more power and better battery, everything else is WORSE than 3 years old machine. Don't tell me it's ok. I wouldn't mind if those issues were just faulty hardware of my own specific machine, but they are not. They are clearly design flaws.

Have you compared the old unibody with the new one? If not, you don't know what I'm talking about. The disk is louder, speakers worse, display worse...I was so happy when I got my first macbook pro, but now I am just not. I know other pc laptops are noisy and hot, but macbooks used to be silent. Now they are not because somebody decides to put there noisy disk? Or worse speakers? But why?

And you really think, that for quad core sandy bridge with hyperthreading is flash video such a big performance drain? The usage when playing flash is like 5% of CPU...yet the funs are noisy.

And I forgot to write about the sharp edges. My girlfriends MPB 13" has nice and clean polished edges, buy my new 15" is really sharp and hard. Is this ok?

If anyone of you don't have any issues which I described, how old is your Macbook? My sasy 20 weeks.

 

[mark28]

Well some macbooks maybe ok, or just some owners don't mind the issues or haven't noticed it.
I searched really a lot of forums...many many people are experiencing those issues.

I upgraded my macbook in believe to have a better machine in all aspects. Now I just have more power and better battery, everything else is WORSE than 3 years old machine. Don't tell me it's ok. I wouldn't mind if those issues were just faulty hardware of my own specific machine, but they are not. They are clearly design flaws.

Have you compared the old unibody with the new one? If not, you don't know what I'm talking about. The disk is louder, speakers worse, display worse...I was so happy when I got my first macbook pro, but now I am just not. I know other pc laptops are noisy and hot, but macbooks used to be silent. Now they are not because somebody decides to put there noisy disk? Or worse speakers? But why?

And you really think, that for quad core sandy bridge with hyperthreading is flash video such a big performance drain? The usage when playing flash is like 5% of CPU...yet the funs are noisy.

And I forgot to write about the sharp edges. My girlfriends MPB 13" has nice and clean polished edges, buy my new 15" is really sharp and hard. Is this ok?

If anyone of you don't have any issues which I described, how old is your Macbook? My sasy 20 weeks.

If you are still within in your 14 days, return it and ask for a new one.

The 2008 MBP uses 65nm CPU's? So the 2011 and 2008 MBP should be just as loud /silent since it's 65nm @ 2 cores vs 32nm @ 4 cores.

The speakers won't change. It's cheap garbage consumer crap speakers. But what can you expect from laptop speakers right?

 

[Moccasin]

Have you looked at MBPs in a store to compare with your own?

I'm not disputing that you're unhappy, but if there are problems with it then they should be fixed. Not sure what you can do about the sharp edges though!

 

[JronMasteR]

I had an early 2009 17" MBP unibody. When I received the early 2011 model, I compared them side by side before I sold the 2009 model. The screen looked a little brighter on the 2009 model, but other than that, they were the same. No yellow or blue tint what so ever.

I haven't noticed any difference of sound quality of the speakers, they are very good considering their size. The superdrive is much quieter on the new model.

About the temps, my early 2011 model runs cooler, my fans almost never kick in watching flash video on youtube.

The fans kick in earlier when turboboost is used, even when the processor usage is only about 20-30%. Happens when running non multicore programs.

I'm surfing the web and watching a movie and my temps are 40-45°C right now. At a CPU usage of 100% with handbrake my temps go up to 90°C max.

 

[dsio]

The black is too strong?

 

[aidan257]

I really hope not, cause i've just forked out for a 2011 MBP 13". I've not seen any HUGELY negative things about the MBP 13" other then they could have used a higher res display OH & lack of dedicated graphics card.

Those things i can live without.

 

[snaky69]

I really hope not, cause i've just forked out for a 2011 MBP 13". I've not seen any HUGELY negative things about the MBP 13" other then they could have used a higher res display OH & lack of dedicated graphics card.

Those things i can live without.

The principle of a vocal minority, out of a thousand MBP's, 2 or 3 have "problems" that aren't really problems, and the owners feel the need to hop on their soap boxes and yell it out to the world.

Most likely, yours will be fine. Back when I bought mine, there was this so-called yellow tint issue affecting all panels of the 15 inchers, I bought anyway, and lo and behold, mine was flawless!

Don't buy into hype, be it negative or positive.

 

[adrian1480]

So I upgraded from Macbook Pro 15" late 2008 (original unibody), I thought the new 2011 model would be so great...BUT it is a total crap!

There are so many problems, everybody just complains all over the internet...
So I just thought I'll write a list of all the issues with the new Macbook Pro for potential buyers or owners who would like to share their own issues or solutions. So here we go:

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

1. It really shouldn't be getting loud while watching YouTube. More to the point, 3000 rpm shouldn't be audible. Maybe it's spinning higher than that? Anyway, make sure you have the latest version of Flash installed. I also find different browsers seem to handle flash much better than others.

2. No HDD noises here. I've never heard my HDD on either MBP (2010, 2011) I've owned. Maybe you can look into other HDD manufacturers and upgrade the HDD.

3. This is why you buy the MATTE instead of the GLOSSY display. The glossy is ramped up in a way that the contrast "pops". It looks good to the average consumer but it crushes blacks as you have found making it inappropriate for professional users who need real color accuracy. The MATTE version offers better color accuracy in terms of contrast.

4. Odd, the sound is not louder on either side on my MBP. Either something is wrong with your MBP or something is wrong with your ears. If it's that obvious, take the machine in for inspection. If not, get yourself a good pair of headphones or bookshelf speakers like anyone else who actually cares about sound does. Maybe even a DAC + Amp combo for real audiophile listening.

 

[negativzero]

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.
SandyBridge is a significant jump from the last generation Nehalems in terms of architecture and speed, getting hotter IS normal. If you want to see lower temps, I suggest getting the IvyBridge processors. 50C is normal, in fact 50C does not even heat the case enough for you to feel it. Also, watching YouTube/flash WILL bring any computer to its knees

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...
Can't compare cus I got me a no noise SSD

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.
So calibrate then. Monitors are shipped with color profiles which suit most people. If they don't appear good to your eyes doesn't mean they aren't good for others. This is really just a personal preference thing and can simply be fixed by calibrating your monitor.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????
Again, can't compare because I don't have another MacBook for me to compare with. But for the record, my speakers are peachy and adequate for notebook speakers. Don't expect to get audiophile quality stuff in notebooks.

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.
And most consumers use SD.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.
There is absolutely no problem with the current MBPs, really. You could argue its a design flaw, etc.. but its not dire enough to have a negative effect on usage.

I am really disappointed.

Please read my replies in red.

This isn't directed at the OP, so I hope you don't take offense.
[rant]
Problem with Apple owners(myself included) is they go out and research the hell out of it, download iStat and monitor the crap out of the temperature, CPU and fan speed every 5 seconds or so. They expect their CPU to be the coldest in the universe and their fans to run without noise when they hop onto MacRumors and see this other guy with the awesomest MacBook around with no flaws when in truth that guy was just really lucky(or is a real expert) and got in the 99th percentile with an absolutely flawless product.

Fact is, most of us in the 30-85th percentiles. Our Macs WORK FINE, but we just feel like we are in that 5th percentile who got absolutely FUBAR MacBooks. Its a crazy feeling, but yeah, thats the sad truth.

So just buy the Mac and enjoy it. You won't find a better notebook than this to be honest
[/rant]

 

[LeiQQ]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

I really hope not, cause i've just forked out for a 2011 MBP 13". I've not seen any HUGELY negative things about the MBP 13" other then they could have used a higher res display OH & lack of dedicated graphics card.

Those things i can live without.

These two things bother me.

 

[adrian1480]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)



These two things bother me.

the only time you should feel any performance problem is in dedicated gaming. the integrated graphics are more than enough for watching anything in HD and working in photo editors. Maybe even video editing apps like iMovie as well.

 

[GuitarG20]

So I upgraded from Macbook Pro 15" late 2008 (original unibody), I thought the new 2011 model would be so great...BUT it is a total crap!

There are so many problems, everybody just complains all over the internet...
So I just thought I'll write a list of all the issues with the new Macbook Pro for potential buyers or owners who would like to share their own issues or solutions. So here we go:

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

sounds like you need to return it to the store... seems like a faulty one.

 

[TomJak]

Thank you all for the answers, I appreciate that.

Well I'll try to solve my issues with Apple directly, but I don't expect any miracles.

I googled all of the issues a lot, and there are hundreds of pages in forums describing exactly the same problems as I experience. Sadly, many users says the replacement isn't the solution, because you get different machine, but with same issues. You can google it too if you are interested.

I don't know if there are really flawless macbooks or if I just got the worst of all. I just know that when I open it in the night in quiet room, the harddisk immediately draws my attention...it is just noisy. Same with the speakers and other issues.

Regarding the display, I will of course calibrate it when I have time for that, but the point is, it is absolutely useless for viewing photographs...they are just soooo dark, the black is too pronounced. I can see a lot of details in shadows on my NEC display (and that is IPS, which has problems displaying dark tones) and when I look at them on my macbook, they are totally dark...I wonder how other users may see my photographs on their macs!

I didn't want any flame, just to summarize all the well known problems of new Macbooks Pro.

 

[yusukeaoki]

hmm thats weird.
I have 2011 MBP 17in and I have no problem that you mentioned.

I mean the fan and heat it obvious because of the quad core.
2008 MBP wouldnt be so hot because is just a dual Core2.

 

[dsio]

Regarding the display, I will of course calibrate it when I have time for that, but the point is, it is absolutely useless for viewing photographs...they are just soooo dark, the black is too pronounced. I can see a lot of details in shadows on my NEC display (and that is IPS, which has problems displaying dark tones) and when I look at them on my macbook, they are totally dark...I wonder how other users may see my photographs on their macs!

I didn't want any flame, just to summarize all the well known problems of new Macbooks Pro.

... Just out of interest where were the google hits you found about the blacks being... too black? =\

 

[ljones]

I had a jacked keyboard, but none of the other issues. I never hear my hard drive. i idle at 56/58. Fans idle at 1996/1999

I will say my CD/DVD drive is a bit loud on restart and disc insert/read. And it is not like any over system I've heard. And i actually have 3 2011 MacBook Pros here... mine, my work machine and my wife has one from her job as well.

 

[TomJak]

... Just out of interest where were the google hits you found about the blacks being... too black? =\

Well that one is probably my own
But it is obvious, I'm professional photographer, so I have a eye for that and I can compare side by side with calibrated professional display...in my opinion the default display profile on macbooks is so bad, you actually can't see any details in shadows. But I think this issue was also on my 2008 model...Apple just names something PRO and means consumer. I just don't like that average mac users wont see my photos properly.

 

[dusk007]

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?

That is just BS. It is the nature of subwoofers that it doesn't matter where in a room they are, because we humans cannot locate where sound with such low frequency comes from. What ever the trouble is with your speakers. The subwoofer cannot be responsible for one side being louder.

 

[Prodo123]

1. OVERHEATING AND FAN NOISE
This is well known issue, yet Apple stays reluctant to it. My idle temps are never below 50C, but when I for example watch youtube, it goes way up and fans start to spin up to around 3000rpm. It is really noisy and annoying!
It may be a problem with thermal paste, bad heatsinks, fan control, whatever...
My old 2008 machine was dead silent.

Idle at 50 is perfectly fine! Mine idles at 45-50, and you don't see me complaining.
3000RPM and you call the fans loud? Lol. You must have some ear problems (or fan problems). Default speed is 2000RPM, and it's audible from 4500RPM onwards.

2. HDD NOISE
The 500gb hdd in my machine is soooooo noisy all the time, it is even louder than the fans. I have Toshiba, but I read that also the Hitachi models are so loud. Moreover, when you push the enclosure above the disk placement, the noise is less pronounced. Like a cheap China crap...
Again, 2008 machine was silent...

Get an SSD.
If it's too loud, get another hard drive. All hard drives make noise; stop complaining.
Still not satisfied? Faulty drive.

3. DISPLAY PROBLEM
Many people complain about the display quality - some have yellow tint (Samsung manufacturer), some blue tint (LG). I have Samsung. My biggest problem though is not the color tint, but CONTRAST. The blacks are too strong, everything is soo dark, all my photographs, everything. This may be solved by calibration, but is this really ok with 1800EUR or 2000USD machine?
And I believe the maximum brightness is also not as strong as my 2008 model.

If there's one thing that almost everyone loves about the MacBook Pros, it would be the display! So bright and has such deep blacks! If you want the best colors, CALIBRATE THE DISPLAY.
As for the brightness, you probably had an improperly calibrated display on your 2008, and now you think that calibration is the "correct" calibration.

4. SPEAKERS
OK, so speakers now have subwoofer, which is positioned on the left side of the laptop...that means the sound is much louder on this side! WTF? Anyone heard about stereo imaging at the Apple?
Anyway, 2008 Macbook Pro played much much louder and the sound was BETTER! More bass and clearer! So speakers with subwoofer are worse that old speakers without it????

The MICROPHONE is located under the left speaker grill. Subwoofers are located on each side. The 2008 MacBook Pro is notorious for its puny volume, and the speakers on the '11 sound fine to me.

And what do you think about SD card adapter? It is Macbook PRO, and all the pros I know uses CF card, including me. So why SD??? Express card was so much better.

CF cards are sooooooooo '94. I remember using one like.....I don't even remember when, it's been too long!
Apple's keeping up with technology. Seems like all of your "pro" friends are using outdated equipment or refusing to move on with their old CF cards.

I think Apple is kidding us, or is this really the best laptop out there?
I want to send my machine to service, but I really doubt they will replace the disk, thermal paste, speakers and display. Simply, because there is no alternative...they are not faulty, it is just flaw in design.

I am really disappointed.

No, you're just angry that you have to adjust to higher quality parts and configurations.
Stop complaining, adjust. If you don't like it, visit the Genius Bar.

 

[ConnYoungy]

My 2011 15" has none of the problems you mentioned, nor any others that i can notice