2012 MPB Freezing (1st day)

[Tambo]

Hi, I received my new MBP 13" (2.5 i5) earlier today. It was great for the first few hours, then I decided to try some light gaming. So far the system has frozen a few minutes into two non-graphic intensive games (GTA: San Andreas and Minecraft), both of which required a hard reset. Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke I shut down all running apps, turned the display options in the game (this time Minecraft) to the lowest possible and it still froze the computer.

In addition, as I was typing this post in Safari, the window froze up (blurred graphics, non responsive) so I had to switch to Chrome to finish it.

I'd been using a 1.7ghz core duo before this and never had problems with games freezing the system to the point of requiring a hard reset. Should I be calling Apple or requesting an exchange?

 

[trickness]

Hi, I received my new MBP 13" (2.5 i5) earlier today. It was great for the first few hours, then I decided to try some light gaming. So far the system has frozen a few minutes into two non-graphic intensive games (GTA: San Andreas and Minecraft), both of which required a hard reset. Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke I shut down all running apps, turned the display options in the game (this time Minecraft) to the lowest possible and it still froze the computer.

In addition, as I was typing this post in Safari, the window froze up (blurred graphics, non responsive) so I had to switch to Chrome to finish it.

I'd been using a 1.7ghz core duo before this and never had problems with games freezing the system to the point of requiring a hard reset. Should I be calling Apple or requesting an exchange?

exchange, sounds like a lemon

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Hi, I received my new MBP 13" (2.5 i5) earlier today. It was great for the first few hours, then I decided to try some light gaming. So far the system has frozen a few minutes into two non-graphic intensive games (GTA: San Andreas and Minecraft), both of which required a hard reset. Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke I shut down all running apps, turned the display options in the game (this time Minecraft) to the lowest possible and it still froze the computer.

In addition, as I was typing this post in Safari, the window froze up (blurred graphics, non responsive) so I had to switch to Chrome to finish it.

I'd been using a 1.7ghz core duo before this and never had problems with games freezing the system to the point of requiring a hard reset. Should I be calling Apple or requesting an exchange?

Absolutely. Time to swap it out.

 

[Erock2]

My 2012 MBP has frozen using chrome once, and it was VERY laggy when trying to play a game (RC Mini Racers) I wonder if its all 2012 MBP

 

[Tambo]

My 2012 MBP has frozen using chrome once, and it was VERY laggy when trying to play a game (RC Mini Racers) I wonder if its all 2012 MBP

Really hope not. If the next MPB I get turns out to be a dud as well, I'll just try the air. From the benchmarks and tests I've read online, the Intel HD 4000 should be able to handle higher end games (maybe not on the highest settings) with ease.

 

[Tambo]

Spent almost 3 hours on the phone with Apple care, going through various files, deleting and re-installing others, etc. Regardless, the MPB froze up numerous times, requiring many hard reboots. The manager told me (after viewing my MPB remotely) that the HD wasn't communicating with the OS properly...something he apparently hadn't seen before.

I kept getting a stock response that the game is very 'graphic intensive' and thus the cause of my problems. Maybe I'm the ignorant one, I really don't think a game like GTA or Minecraft should be taking up over 100% (up to 160% at times) of the CPU, making the fan run loud and the OS freeze up within three minutes of playing.

There were times that I didn't have games open, as youtube and even safari crashed the OS. I was hoping Apple Care would offer to exchange, but they want me to go through the process of deleting and reinstalling Lion. After spending about 3 hours performing tech support, I think I may just return it for a refund and order another one. Not feeling too confident that this one has properly functioning hardware.

 

[doh123]

I kept getting a stock response that the game is very 'graphic intensive' and thus the cause of my problems. Maybe I'm the ignorant one, I really don't think a game like GTA or Minecraft should be taking up over 100% (up to 160% at times) of the CPU, making the fan run loud and the OS freeze up within three minutes of playing.

100 or 200% usage doesn't normally cause lock ups, and games that do constant screen updates (3D rendering) is VERY common to take up that much CPU. It will get hot, the fans will be loud... thats normal for any machine, but it shouldn't lock up.

a reinstall shouldn't be hard... but if you only had the things a couple days... why not get a refund?

Do you really need the built in optical drive? the Macbook Air 13 is a much better machine overall.

 

[Tambo]

100 or 200% usage doesn't normally cause lock ups, and games that do constant screen updates (3D rendering) is VERY common to take up that much CPU. It will get hot, the fans will be loud... thats normal for any machine, but it shouldn't lock up.

a reinstall shouldn't be hard... but if you only had the things a couple days... why not get a refund?

Do you really need the built in optical drive? the Macbook Air 13 is a much better machine overall.

I don't need the optical drive. I bought the pro because I thought it would be a better deal with the faster processor and ability to swap out the optical for a SSD and add cheap RAM. This is going to be my primary computer (for photoshop, illustrator and some music production) and I wasn't sure the Air would be able to handle it as well as it is about 1 ghz less. Maybe that ghz won't be the dealbreaker I thought it was on paper?

And yes, it doesn't make sense to just not get a refund as I'm not 'stuck' with this computer at the moment and really don't want to deal with the headache.

 

[TurnTronics]

Definitely sounds like a lemon. Your MBP should work flawlessly out of the box. Sounds like you may have a MOBO/GPU issue. One of my friends had the previous generation 13" MBP and he had some lagging while playing Diabalo III, but never had to hard reset.

Schedule a Genius Bar appointment at your local Apple store and they should take care of you!

 

[Tambo]

Kind of just wanted the Apple Care guy to say 'well you got a dud.' lol

Unfortunately the closest Apple store is 4 hours away. Oh well, free 2nd day return shipping, should have my refund early next week. Could have exchanged it for another one, but am thinking about going with the base Air 13" with 8gb RAM. Worry that it may not be enough for a 'main' computer, though.