Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple replacing early 2008 MBP! Very Happy!

pukifloyd

pukifloyd

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2008
994
93
Scottsdale
Hello everyone, wanted to share my great experience with apple!

So yesterday the logic board of my brother's MBP failed. After calling apple and telling them about it (he has apple care), they decided to replace it with a brand new base unibody 15inch MBP, as it was affected by the nvidia 8600gt card problem (which is a known issue), had numerous other repairs including the replacement of the optical drive 5 times, the top lid replacement 2 times and other small problems.

We are very happy with the customer care of apple and they even agreed to pay back the left over apple care and give the new MBP with matte display for no charge, which is great, as he can now buy new apple care under student discount.

Now the problem is that he needs the MBP before saturday for a college project(which is one of the reason that he insisted for replacement) and they didn't have any matte MBP at the apple store (in boston) so they said they'll ship it by monday. Should we email about this to someone (that they didn't have the matte ones in stock)? This is because his MBP has been repaired many times (most of the times the repairs took 7-15 days) and he has to submit a project by saturday and has to stay in college till late night to complete it. We don't want anything (they already are replacing the machine which is awesome), just wanted them to know. (hope you understood)

The other thing is that I heard a lot of rumors about the updates to the MBP with i series processors and they'll update them by end of this month. Its sad that he'll get new mac which will already be old in (lets say) a month. Should he sell it when the new ones come? What do you guys suggest? Also, for how much money can he sell the new unibody MBP after a month (if they update it?)

Thanks a lot for reading it! :)
:apple: is awesome
 
if you would have asked, they probably would have given you the mid-level 15 in. mbp because of the discrete graphics card that your previous one had. Or you could have gone for the 17 in. because none of the 15s out currently have an express card slot.

heres the reason they should give you the graphics card :)
 

Attachments

  • apple-laptop-event-028.jpg
    apple-laptop-event-028.jpg
    130.4 KB · Views: 243
your brother is being taken for a ride.

2008 Macbook Pro > 2009 Base Unibody Macbook Pro, because of the integrated 9400m graphics card which will affect your available memory and, ultimately, your performance.

It's a common occurrence. Some people have had success with apple just bumping them up to the 9400m 9600m gt combo (as they should), while some reps just say "wtf its a new machine its a macbook pro it must be better so there".
 
Eddyisgreat said:
your brother is being taken for a ride.

2008 Macbook Pro > 2009 Base Unibody Macbook Pro, because of the integrated 9400m graphics card which will affect your available memory and, ultimately, your performance.

It's a common occurrence. Some people have had success with apple just bumping them up to the 9400m 9600m gt combo (as they should), while some reps just say "wtf its a new machine its a macbook pro it must be better so there".
Click to expand...

I agree. While the matte screen, seems like a nice free upgrade, its not the $300 difference between the 9400 and the discrete graphics. I would tell your brother to use the schools computers and go back to the store before opening the new laptop.
 
damn...thats a news...!

didn't even think about the graphic card...told him and he is calling apple again :D

will they charge extra money for the next model (its $2000)? i think they won't as the earlier was better (as you people say)...

thank you both of you... :)
 
I would hope that they wouldn't charge you extra, given that the machine you're asking for is the machine most like the old MBP. That discrete graphics card can make quite the difference, for some people.
 
Thanks everyone for replies...and suggestions...

yeah...i didn't think about discreet graphics earlier...so he will call them tomorrow and ask them to change it...they shouldn't charge any money...if they do then he can use it for some days and then sell it and buy the upgraded ones with new processors :D

talked to another mac user and he says that discreet graphics will make a lot of difference...(in his field) so it will be required..

thanks once again for all the replies!
 
Eddyisgreat said:
your brother is being taken for a ride.

2008 Macbook Pro > 2009 Base Unibody Macbook Pro, because of the integrated 9400m graphics card which will affect your available memory and, ultimately, your performance.

It's a common occurrence. Some people have had success with apple just bumping them up to the 9400m 9600m gt combo (as they should), while some reps just say "wtf its a new machine its a macbook pro it must be better so there".
Click to expand...

Actually, the 256MB of ram will be taken regardless if you have the 9600M or not. The 256MB will NEVER be there for the system to use no matter if you're running the 9600 or not.
 
hey everyone...so an update is that they are now replacing it with the 2.66ghz MBP with discrete graphics! very happy with the customer care!

thanks everyone!
 
pukifloyd said:
hey everyone...so an update is that they are now replacing it with the 2.66ghz MBP with discrete graphics! very happy with the customer care!

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

I hope you still get the antiglare display. And this sounds like a good story and experience with applecare!!!
 
They should give you the exact model that you paid for. Your brother bought a $2000 computer, not a $1600 one. They should swap it for one with the same/similar value.
 
noodle654 said:
They should give you the exact model that you paid for. Your brother bought a $2000 computer, not a $1600 one. They should swap it for one with the same/similar value.
Click to expand...

But note necessarily monetary value. Its important to point that out since MBP prices have gradually decreased over the past few years.

When replacing a system, Apple follows the "same or better" policy. You shouldn't be getting a downgrade in anything. This means that if you had a discrete graphics card with 256MB of video memory, your replacement should be also have a discrete graphics card with 256 MB. If that is not available, the next closest option should be offered. Often times, its Customer Relations that approves system level exchanges and they are often not technically inclined enough to realize the differences until you point it out to them. They will often acquiese to your request at that point.

OP, I'm glad everything worked out well for you/your friend.
 
kny3twalker said:
I hope you still get the antiglare display. And this sounds like a good story and experience with applecare!!!
Click to expand...
Yeah...they are still giving the antiglare display. They shipped the 2.55ghz one and it will reach tomorrow (2 day shipping!) so he'll have to return it... so we are very happy with apple!
Thanks!


noodle654 said:
They should give you the exact model that you paid for. Your brother bought a $2000 computer, not a $1600 one. They should swap it for one with the same/similar value.
Click to expand...

It's not about money...if the base 15inch had discrete graphics, it would have been no problem. It is really required in his field of work. Thanks!


Aboo said:
But note necessarily monetary value. Its important to point that out since MBP prices have gradually decreased over the past few years.

When replacing a system, Apple follows the "same or better" policy. You shouldn't be getting a downgrade in anything. This means that if you had a discrete graphics card with 256MB of video memory, your replacement should be also have a discrete graphics card with 256 MB. If that is not available, the next closest option should be offered. Often times, its Customer Relations that approves system level exchanges and they are often not technically inclined enough to realize the differences until you point it out to them. They will often acquiese to your request at that point.

OP, I'm glad everything worked out well for you/your friend.
Click to expand...


actually he is my brother :D he didn't have any computer with him so I posted this for him

completely agreed... discrete graphics was very important for him as he does audio and video stuff in his college...which is sometimes very intense...so it was really important that he should get the one discrete graphics.

The best part is that the person on the other side was very considerate and helpful and didn't even object while my brother explained about the graphics...he agreed that it is important and decided to ship the 2.66ghz one...

Thanks!
 
pukifloyd said:
Yeah...they are still giving the antiglare display. They shipped the 2.55ghz one and it will reach tomorrow (2 day shipping!) so he'll have to return it... so we are very happy with apple!
Thanks!




It's not about money...if the base 15inch had discrete graphics, it would have been no problem. It is really required in his field of work. Thanks!





actually he is my brother :D he didn't have any computer with him so I posted this for him

completely agreed... discrete graphics was very important for him as he does audio and video stuff in his college...which is sometimes very intense...so it was really important that he should get the one discrete graphics.

The best part is that the person on the other side was very considerate and helpful and didn't even object while my brother explained about the graphics...he agreed that it is important and decided to ship the 2.66ghz one...

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Tell your brother that he might want to think about "needing" an express card slot as well. They will bump him up to the only current model that has the slot which is a 17".

That way you can keep it and sell it when the Arrandale models drop and pick up the 15" model for little or no money loss
 
highscheme said:
Tell your brother that he might want to think about "needing" an express card slot as well.
Click to expand...

LOL I was thinking the same, after how many times it was stated his brother really "needed" the discreet graphics after seemingly being thrilled to be initially handed a computer with no such graphics.

lol
 
i'm in the same situation as the guy with a "brother". I've just decided to wait and see what comes out before i send mine in for a replacement. My applecare expires mid june, so if the new ones aren't out by may 1st, i'll just get whatever is out, and i'll probably opt for the 17 in. because i use express card for an esata port.
 
wow...thanks for the comments above...really appreciated ... just came here to share my story...if you don't like it then don't post such replies...

we are not stealing from apple...they agreed on the replacement first...they acknowledged that it was their fault (the nvidia card as well as so many repairs). our reason was legitimate... and i really appreciate that a company is doing that... even if they gave us the 2.53ghz mbp we would have taken it and sold it later...

thanks anyways :)
 
Will they really just hand you a 17" for the expresscard argument?

I had my early 2008 replaced like a month ago. They originally wanted to give me a 2.53ghz but I bargained for a 2.66ghz. Went from matte to the glassy screen. Reflections aren't my favorite but when the environment is ideal, the picture looks stunning :)
 
thadoggfather said:
Will they really just hand you a 17" for the expresscard argument?

I had my early 2008 replaced like a month ago. They originally wanted to give me a 2.53ghz but I bargained for a 2.66ghz. Went from matte to the glassy screen. Reflections aren't my favorite but when the environment is ideal, the picture looks stunning :)
Click to expand...

They should. Or atleast let you upgrade for the difference. My MBP is on it's last legs and I use expresscard extensively. If they tried to give me a 15 inch, and I could manually remove the built in SD card as a module or something, I'd throw it back at them. Such a shortsighted move.
 
Same thing happened to me...Apple decided to replace my '07 MBP with similar issues with a new 2.53 unibody. I realized though it was a downgrade because of the integrated 9400M. I talked to the rep over the phone the next day, and they decided to upgrade me to the 2.8 unibody. I couldn't be happier.

I would call back and express to them that you require a dedicated graphics card and the 2.53 is not suitable because of that reason. You initially paid for a graphics card with dedicated RAM, so you should get, at minimum, the 2.6 unibody.
 
thadoggfather said:
Will they really just hand you a 17" for the expresscard argument?

I had my early 2008 replaced like a month ago. They originally wanted to give me a 2.53ghz but I bargained for a 2.66ghz. Went from matte to the glassy screen. Reflections aren't my favorite but when the environment is ideal, the picture looks stunning :)
Click to expand...
I dont know...didn't try it!
good for you...they are giving me the 2.66ghz too :)


SolRayz said:
Same thing happened to me...Apple decided to replace my '07 MBP with similar issues with a new 2.53 unibody. I realized though it was a downgrade because of the integrated 9400M. I talked to the rep over the phone the next day, and they decided to upgrade me to the 2.8 unibody. I couldn't be happier.

I would call back and express to them that you require a dedicated graphics card and the 2.53 is not suitable because of that reason. You initially paid for a graphics card with dedicated RAM, so you should get, at minimum, the 2.6 unibody.
Click to expand...

We did that and they understood...they took no time in upgrading it to the 2.6ghz. Thanks :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back