Did I spend twice as much over a Windows Notebook on a disposable piece of eye candy?

[l.a.rossmann]

No need to resort to calling people fanboys.

So... would you expect a Porsche to never have any kind of failures, simply because they are more expensive than a Ford??

And all manufacturers have problems. You're a thinkpad user, so how about:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2128702/lenovo-recalls-thinkpad-batteries-for-fire-hazard.html

or the R61 graphics card failures?

But hey, it's cool to bash on Apple - right?

The difference between users of other products and fanboys of a specific product are that users will admit when a manufacturer is at fault, while a fanboy will blame the customer.

I blame manufacturers I like if I think they messed up. I don't blame their customers for expecting their above market value device to last more than 2 to 3 years. I'm not blaming new Thinkpad customes for not having bent fingers that are better at using the new trackpad, I blame Lenovo for putting it there. But I'm a user, not a blind fanboy.

I love Lenovo & I love Thinkpads. It is because I love the product that I openly & relentlessly criticize them when I think they are screwing up. It's what users do.

Fanboys will defend their device to the death even when something is clearly wrong. The 820-2915 motherboard is a joke. You can kill that $2000 "pro" laptop marketed to video editors, photoshoppers, and studio owners looping 360p youtube videos. I'll do it if you bring me one. It is insulting to blame users for their laptop dying when the design is such crap that it throttles out of the box. I spend more time inhaling flux from reworking 2915 boards alone than most people spend working at their full time jobs. It' s because they're terrible.

If you love a product, you should admit its flaws and ask the manufacturer to do better.

 

[case2001]

The difference between users of other products and fanboys of a specific product are that users will admit when a manufacturer is at fault, while a fanboy will blame the customer.

I blame manufacturers I like if I think they messed up. I don't blame their customers for expecting their above market value device to last more than 2 to 3 years. I'm not blaming new Thinkpad customes for not having bent fingers that are better at using the new trackpad, I blame Lenovo for putting it there. But I'm a user, not a blind fanboy.

I love Lenovo & I love Thinkpads. It is because I love the product that I openly & relentlessly criticize them when I think they are screwing up. It's what users do.

Fanboys will defend their device to the death even when something is clearly wrong. The 820-2915 motherboard is a joke. You can kill that $2000 "pro" laptop marketed to video editors, photoshoppers, and studio owners looping 360p youtube videos. I'll do it if you bring me one. It is insulting to blame users for their laptop dying when the design is such crap that it throttles out of the box. I spend more time inhaling flux from reworking 2915 boards alone than most people spend working at their full time jobs. It' s because they're terrible.

If you love a product, you should admit its flaws and ask the manufacturer to do better.

I love my rMBP and my MacBook Air. The only other laptops I really feel this way about are my Thinkpads. I have had a Thinkpad main board die in the first year but it was replaced in 48 hours and still is alive. It was an old Thinkpad a21p. I agree with you about the Thinkpads. They are built like tanks.

I am shocked about the killing of a MacBook Pro by looping a 720p video in 2 weeks. I believe you and if that's the case I cannot believe more people are upset.

I am curious if your re-work solves the problem. Is it the lead free solder in combination with the heat the issue? Or does re-flow simply by a little more time until it dies again.

Thanks!

 

[l.a.rossmann]

I am shocked about the killing of a MacBook Pro by looping a 720p video in 2 weeks. I believe you and if that's the case I cannot believe more people are upset.

360p. 360p killed it. I did it to a few machines actually. The idea to have the machines in the front of the store playing videos of us performing repairs was good in theory. I blame the sales guy, he jynxed it by saying "you're going to kill all the GPUs." He smirked, and the rest was history...

We replace the chip with a new one, new balls, new chip, new everything. I don't care to find out if it was the joint, the balls, the chip.. it's a $2000 laptop, it deserves the works. New chip, new solder balls, new thermal paste, and internal cleaning at 120 PSI until there is no dust inside. 45 PSI on the fans.

It's a combination of several things.

a) crap thermal paste
b) design that does not reject dust. it is a dust magnet. i mean huge egg sized balls of dust.
c) runs too hot
d) no bottom vents. When was the last time you saw a laptop with NO VENTS on the bottom?

I'm sure there are other factors above my pay grade, those are the first few that come to mind.

 

[RainCityMacFan]

@l.a.rossmann

From your line of work, what MBP/MBA line do you recommend for reliability?

 

[jahall05]

When I first bought my MacBook Pro back in February of 2011 I had heard wonders of Apples service and the way they were different to other computer manufacturers. I was straight off the boat of buying my iPhone 4 and fell in love with the way things just worked in the Apple ecosystem. It was different to anything else I had used before. Being very interested in video editing and audio production I jumped ship after playing in the Apple store for a few weeks and bought a fully loaded 17” MacBook Pro with all the extras. I loved this computer and it served me well. Until it didn’t. My purchase that day in the Apple store set me back over $4000. In contrast, the computer I am writing this rant on cost under $700 and is nearly two years older. This Asus laptop has been through tumbles, severe falls, and bits of it have fallen off and are no longer with us. It still works as good as the day my partner purchased it though.

My 5 times as expensive MacBook Pro on the other hand, was treated with much more care. It has received one minor bump in it’s lifespan and has always been kept inside a secure case. I feel like my partner’s Asus laptop is still serving us faithfully after it’s years of torment. My MacBook Pro just checked out without so much as a see you later a few months after its apple care expired and left us with a large repair bill.

After spending this tremendous amount of money on what was meant to be a dream workhorse, a luxury machine, my repair bill is larger than the cost of this Windows laptop which has lasted longer. Even if my Windows PC DOES fail ,and no one can deny that Apple has better build quality, I can replace it multiple times over without even approaching the cost of an Apple notebook, by the end of it I’ll have a much newer machine too!

I feel quite taken advantage of to be honest. All this money on a top of the line machine with extra product care and I’m far worse off than if I’d purchased a $700 notebook. Or two of them. Maybe one for under the fridge as well.

Why should I continue to be a loyal Apple Customer? Sure, it was lovely while it lasted. A Windows machine would have been too, and I’d still be able to use it or it’s replacement now. Did I spend twice as much money on a disposable piece of eye candy?

Do I expect Apple to just replace my machine months after the warranty has expired? No, I don’t think so. But this is a manufacturing issue. The video card dying in 2011 MacBook Pro is a well documented issue, one that Apple has thus far ignored. I thought that I might be better taken care of in person, instead it was suggested that maybe I buy a new machine. We have financing options to reduce the impact of the cost. I suppose that’ll help when I have to get it repaired in three years too.

I am not sure what the point of this post is for.

Like many have said before, you were not taken advantage of because nobody forced you to hand over money for the machine. You CHOSE to make the purchase.

As for the reason you posted this, I will take a try at answer the question: Why should I continue to be a loyal Apple Customer? & Did I spend twice as much money on a disposable piece of eye candy?

-You can choose to be loyal to Apple or choose another machine. There is plenty of options out there. What is to say that the next ASUS or other Windows machine doesn't crap out in 1-2 years or less?

-You spent twice as much on a Mac. They are pretty, but they are also built well. The graphics card issue is doubled by the issues other manufacturers have (not to say it isn't an issue). I had 2 HP machines with battery issues, the backlight in the screen dying, the mouse pad dying, etc. I had an Acer that the keyboard didn't work half the time. I have had a MacBook Pro for a while now and haven't experienced any issues, not to say I never will.

 

[TheIguana]

I am not sure what the point of this post is for.

Maybe I just pine for the old days when you could count on a computer lasting years and not breaking down from what is appearing to be a common manufacturing defect... Guess thats just crazy old me.

 

[romesk90]

Maybe I just pine for the old days when you could count on a computer lasting years and not breaking down from what is appearing to be a common manufacturing defect... Guess thats just crazy old me.

I cry when my fathers laptop is 4x the age of mine but has 0x the issues.
Sure, mine is faster, but it is not as reliable.

 

[definitive]

$4,000 for a facebook machine? you sir have done goof'd.

 

[namethisfile]

i read the first page of this post, so not sure where the topic has gone.

i too feel the OP. I have a MBP from 2010, which suffers a weirder, even more frustrating "manufacturing defect" than 2011's "radeongate." i feel like it's "more" frustrating because the "defect" consist of "KP's." but, debilitating enough that it makes apps like FCP X and Motion 5 unusable since the KP for using these apps are replicate-able. so, i wasted like $600 worth of apple pro video apps and had to spend more money to get video editing apps for my windows pc. so my mbp which i got for editing videos, etc. is now relegated to browsing the web and posting on forums such as this to basically whine. i can't afford to have the logic board replace. nor, do i think it's my obligation to pay for it since it's a "latent manufacturing defect." i think apple needs to pay every one of us who owns 2010 mbp's with the gt330m and 2011's with the radeogates, like $3000. apple is a multi billion dollar company. how many of us can there really be? it would be chump change for apple. i think a $3000 cash refund is the easiest solution. i spent $2500 for that 2010 MBP and another $600 or so useless apple pro video apps. so that's like $3100 laptop to browse the web. i know my 2010 MBP is not as serious as a 2011 mbp w/ radeongate since i can still use it. but, for me, browsing the web is not what i intended this mbp to be. heck, i could have spend $300 windows laptop for that. or chromebook.

my 2003 12" G4 Powerbook is still kicking though. no KP's or nvidiagates. it has an nvidia dgpu and i can edit Standard def videos on it using FCE 4 w/o any worries or crashes.

so it isn't necessarily an apple thing that their computers don't last. i guess i was spoiled by that G4 powerbook. now, even if i had $3000, i would be scared of getting a new retina mbp. i also don't have the apple-bug anymore where i felt like i needed a mac to be able to work in my particular field. pc makers are also catching up w/ apple's "build quality," i think. laptops from razer, lenovo, dell, hp, asus, are looking more and more decent. and i think windows 8.1 is not half bad as some people say. there also seems to be more affordable choices in windows now for pro video editing apps, such as from adobe and sony.

/rant over

ps--i wish i knew dr. dre so dr. dre can be like, "Yo, Tim! Pay all those people with ****** MBP's dollahs or i'm gonna have to use something on you!"

pss--just kidding!

 

[TheIguana]

i read the first page of this post, so not sure where the topic has gone.

i too feel the OP. I have a MBP from 2010, which suffers a weirder, even more frustrating "manufacturing defect" than 2011's "radeongate." i feel like it's "more" frustrating because the "defect" consist of "KP's." but, debilitating enough that it makes apps like FCP X and Motion 5 unusable since the KP for using these apps are replicate-able. so, i wasted like $600 worth of apple pro video apps and had to spend more money to get video editing apps for my windows pc. so my mbp which i got for editing videos, etc. is now relegated to browsing the web and posting on forums such as this to basically whine. i can't afford to have the logic board replace. nor, do i think it's my obligation to pay for it since it's a "latent manufacturing defect." i think apple needs to pay every one of us who owns 2010 mbp's with the gt330m and 2011's with the radeogates, like $3000. apple is a multi billion dollar company. how many of us can there really be? it would be chump change for apple. i think a $3000 cash refund is the easiest solution. i spent $2500 for that 2010 MBP and another $600 or so useless apple pro video apps. so that's like $3100 laptop to browse the web. i know my 2010 MBP is not as serious as a 2011 mbp w/ radeongate since i can still use it. but, for me, browsing the web is not what i intended this mbp to be. heck, i could have spend $300 windows laptop for that. or chromebook.

my 2003 12" G4 Powerbook is still kicking though. no KP's or nvidiagates. it has an nvidia dgpu and i can edit Standard def videos on it using FCE 4 w/o any worries or crashes.

so it isn't necessarily an apple thing that their computers don't last. i guess i was spoiled by that G4 powerbook. now, even if i had $3000, i would be scared of getting a new retina mbp. i also don't have the apple-bug anymore where i felt like i needed a mac to be able to work in my particular field. pc makers are also catching up w/ apple's "build quality," i think. laptops from razer, lenovo, dell, hp, asus, are looking more and more decent. and i think windows 8.1 is not half bad as some people say. there also seems to be more affordable choices in windows now for pro video editing apps, such as from adobe and sony.

/rant over

ps--i wish i knew dr. dre so dr. dre can be like, "Yo, Tim! Pay all those people with ****** MBP's dollahs or i'm gonna have to use something on you!"

pss--just kidding!

Just FYI, Apple did have a repair program in place for your model: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088

I'm not sure if it is still offered, but it most definitely was acknowledged as an issue by Apple - something they have not done for the 2011 models.

 

[namethisfile]

Just FYI, Apple did have a repair program in place for your model: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088

I'm not sure if it is still offered, but it most definitely was acknowledged as an issue by Apple - something they have not done for the 2011 models.

i'm passed the window. i need to pay up to have the logic board replaced, which i can't afford. nor will i save money to pay for its repair. my option is use my mbp as a web browser and swallow the $3100 or so i've invested on this computer; or hope apple pushes a video patch specifically to address this issue (highly unlikely); or if Dr. Dre is listening, maybe he can talk to Tim Took (yes, Tim Took instead of Cook since Tim Took TOOK all our money for a defective product) and convince him that he owes all of us (maybe there's like a thousand of us?) $3000 each which is like $300,000. chump change for a mega-corporation like apple. even if say, there's 3000 of us, that's still only $900,000. still chump change! (also unlikely)

 

[T5BRICK]

(maybe there's like a thousand of us?) $3000 each which is like $300,000. chump change for a mega-corporation like apple. even if say, there's 3000 of us, that's still only $900,000. still chump change! (also unlikely)

Your math is off. $3,000 x 1,000 = $3,000,000.

You could take it in to Apple and ask for the flat rate repair, but you'd just get another logic board with a potentially faulty GPU.

Anyway, it would be nice if Apple extended the coverage for the owners of these computers beyond 3 years.

 

[namethisfile]

Your math is off. $3,000 x 1,000 = $3,000,000.

You could take it in to Apple and ask for the flat rate repair, but you'd just get another logic board with a potentially faulty GPU.

Anyway, it would be nice if Apple extended the coverage for the owners of these computers beyond 3 years.

oops! my bad. i still hold on to my story that $3mil is chump change to a mega-corp like apple.

i can't afford any money nor will i save money to pay for a repair.

 

[iSheep5S]

I'm new to Macbook's. Had several iphone's since the 3GS and 3 iPad's. No problems. I just bought a used Macbook Pro 2011 13" and i'm not happy. Found this GPU info after purchase.

Break down of a 2011 Macbook. Hitachi hard drive, Samsung Ram, Panasonic disc drive, common intel i5 processor and HD graphics.

Aluminium casing and LED screen.

It has common parts and will fail.

Oh and the cream on the top? Linux OS with 'special sauce'.

1k GBP. What am i missing? It's a joy to use but the cost?

Edit. I have the 13" which i believe was not affected.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

I'm new to Macbook's. Had several iphone's since the 3GS and 3 iPad's. No problems. I just bought a used Macbook Pro 2011 13" and i'm not happy. Found this GPU info after purchase.

Break down of a 2011 Macbook. Hitachi hard drive, Samsung Ram, Panasonic disc drive, common intel i5 processor and HD graphics.

Aluminium casing and LED screen.

It has common parts and will fail.

Oh and the cream on the top? Linux OS with 'special sauce'.

1k GBP. What am i missing? It's a joy to use but the cost?

And that is where the problem is! The cost to joy ratio is getting too damn high given the pathetic reliability of the pros. It is not a question of whether I can afford it or not but a question of whether I am getting ripped off.

 

[hatersgonnahate]

another 2011 early mbp 15" logic board/video card victim here.

 

[x3n0n1c]

I would like to try and make something clearer to many people posting in this thread. Purchasing a $4000 computer does not mean $3250 of increased "quality" over a $750 alternative. I would also like to point out that the same Macbook Model with lesser specs could have been purchased for well over $1000 less, with identical quality of components and build. Extra cost does not mean necessarily mean extra quality, just more bells and whistles.

As an example, the CPU in that $750 computer will likely be a low end dual core intel or dual/quad core AMD chip with a tray cost of maybe $150-250 if you're lucky, while the CPU in the $4000 computer is almost guaranteed to be a quad core, hyper threaded intel i7 with a tray cost of upwards of $500. The same will be the case for most other components in the system. These are faster components not higher quality ones, they are all consumer grade chips likely coming off the same line on a different production run than the lower specced counterpart.

It is well known that Apple's products generally cost a bit more than the competition, but spec for spec, the cost increase is marginal. For a real world example, spec up an equivalent Dell XPS 15 and 15" retina, the difference in price is almost non existent.

An all too common comparison is a 15" Macbook Pro Retina against a 4x thicker, 2x heavier Asus or Alienware gaming laptop that have the portability and battery life of a fridge (and a power brick to match). These are different classes of product, and comparing them does not yield fair results. Apple makes what ever concessions they need to fit their use cases and form factors, concessions that most manufacturers are unwilling or unable to make which can admittedly make finding truly fair comparisons difficult to find. This is of course how Apple is able to find and maintain their niche, a niche that sells very very well. When you do manage to find that rare kiwi to kiwi comparison, you will almost always see only this marginal difference in cost one way or the other.

The build quality also needs to be taken into account. For example, the machined aluminium enclosures all macs use cost more to manufacture than the injection moulded plastic enclosure of the $750 unit, which will be reflected in the price. This has little baring on the quality of components inside, but does increase the price of the unit all the same.

At the end of the day Apple computers, which while loved and praised by many Professionals are very much consumer grade electronics with. Failure rates similar to other competing manufacturers are to be expected, to think otherwise is a fallacy.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

I would like to try and make something clearer to many people posting in this thread. Purchasing a $4000 computer does not mean $3250 of increased "quality" over a $750 alternative. I would also like to point out that the same Macbook Model with lesser specs could have been purchased for well over $1000 less, with identical quality of components and build. Extra cost does not mean necessarily mean extra quality, just more bells and whistles.

As an example, the CPU in that $750 computer will likely be a low end dual core intel or dual/quad core AMD chip with a tray cost of maybe $150-250 if you're lucky, while the CPU in the $4000 computer is almost guaranteed to be a quad core, hyper threaded intel i7 with a tray cost of upwards of $500. The same will be the case for most other components in the system. These are faster components not higher quality ones, they are all consumer grade chips likely coming off the same line on a different production run than the lower specced counterpart.

It is well known that Apple's products generally cost a bit more than the competition, but spec for spec, the cost increase is marginal. For a real world example, spec up an equivalent Dell XPS 15 and 15" retina, the difference in price is almost non existent.

An all too common comparison is a 15" Macbook Pro Retina against a 4x thicker, 2x heavier Asus or Alienware gaming laptop that have the portability and battery life of a fridge (and a power brick to match). These are different classes of product, and comparing them does not yield fair results. Apple makes what ever concessions they need to fit their use cases and form factors, concessions that most manufacturers are unwilling or unable to make which can admittedly make finding truly fair comparisons difficult to find. This is of course how Apple is able to find and maintain their niche, a niche that sells very very well. When you do manage to find that rare kiwi to kiwi comparison, you will almost always see only this marginal difference in cost one way or the other.

The build quality also needs to be taken into account. For example, the machined aluminium enclosures all macs use cost more to manufacture than the injection moulded plastic enclosure of the $750 unit, which will be reflected in the price. This has little baring on the quality of components inside, but does increase the price of the unit all the same.

At the end of the day Apple computers, which while loved and praised by many Professionals are very much consumer grade electronics with. Failure rates similar to other competing manufacturers are to be expected, to think otherwise is a fallacy.

Build quality on the outside <> reliability of the inner components.
No one is questioning the build quality of these machines in this thread...Apple truly does provide one of the best shells to house everyday components of a laptop..it is the reliability we have an issue with. Especially reliability arising out of a shoddy implementation either on Apple's part or it's suppliers'...either way Apple is responsible since Apple is the seller. What is more infuriating is Apple's attitude to not even acknowledge the problem.

Also, when you are paying 4 grand, it is not an unreasonable assumption for the machine to last longer than usual...after all, I think the saying "you get what you pay for", was born right here on macrumors A 750$ machine failing within 3 years is kind of acceptable but not a 4 grand machine.

Again, I don't know why we expect so little out of Apple. If customers don't expect Apple to hold on to high standards of reliability, then Apple has no motivation to do it either. They are just happy that customers are buying the pros every 2-3 years!

 

[leman]

Also, when you are paying 4 grand, it is not an unreasonable assumption for the machine to last longer than usual...after all, I think the saying "you get what you pay for", was born right here on macrumors A 750$ machine failing within 3 years is kind of acceptable but not a 4 grand machine.

Quite in contrary. They use exactly the same components then everyone else, so why should their machines last longer? They can't just 'magically' increase the longevity of the electronics because you want them to. x3n0n1c hits the nail straight on the head.

As to the '2011 GPUs are faulty' arguments — all I can see (and I am trying to be objective here) is that there are some people whose machines are failing out of warranty and showing GPU defects. The petition on the change.org has reached 6200 signatures since 01.12.2013 — it has been 7 month. Let us, for the sake of the argument, assume that the number of failed machines is actually 10x of that. Apple has sold over 10 million laptops in 2011. Let us assume that the 15" model was 20% of that count. 62k failed laptops out of 2 million makes around 3%, which is a very low failure rate for laptops.

What I can conclude from here — there seems indeed to be something wrong with the GPU. But this weak point does not appear to result in an unexpectedly high failure rate. If we would have 10% or more of GPU failures within the first year, then I'd agree, that we have a manufacturing flaw. But I really don't see it in this case. And while I feel sorry for people who have an issue, you need to keep in mind that for every one of you there are over 10 users which have the same machine and are doing fine with it.

Bottom-line: computers are disposable. I am afraid that if you can't see this, than you have some fundamental misconception about the entire industry. If the computers would not be disposable, we would have been stuck with the performance levels of early pentiums. The industry is about getting to the physical limits of current technology and squeeze as much performance out of it as possible. These things are fragile. Expecting anything else is a delusion which will result in frustration, data and money loss.

 

[x3n0n1c]

Build quality on the outside <> reliability of the inner components.
No one is questioning the build quality of these machines in this thread...Apple truly does provide one of the best shells to house everyday components of a laptop..it is the reliability we have an issue with. Especially reliability arising out of a shoddy implementation either on Apple's part or it's suppliers'...either way Apple is responsible since Apple is the seller. What is more infuriating is Apple's attitude to not even acknowledge the problem.

Also, when you are paying 4 grand, it is not an unreasonable assumption for the machine to last longer than usual...after all, I think the saying "you get what you pay for", was born right here on macrumors A 750$ machine failing within 3 years is kind of acceptable but not a 4 grand machine.

Again, I don't know why we expect so little out of Apple. If customers don't expect Apple to hold on to high standards of reliability, then Apple has no motivation to do it either. They are just happy that customers are buying the pros every 2-3 years!

If you expect the ultimate in reliability and warranty, Apple is the wrong place to look. There are many business grade laptops out there by the likes of Lenovo, Dell, and HP etc that will be built to last (as much as they can be) and have warranties to match. At work we purchase most Dell products with their Gold level of warranty service, if something goes wrong they will send a Tech out to your location and fix the issue on the spot if possible. Apple simply does not offer this level of service.

This is simply the reality, you can hope and dream all you want for this to change but until all Apple customers gather en mass and vote with their wallets (unlikely to say the least), things will remain this way.

 

[ogremoustro]

Just to clear the air a bit: If a computer has three major component repairs within it's warranty period (Applecare or limited) you're entitled to a brand new computer.

I had my retina display fixed 3 times and I got a late-2013 model replacement.

So if I'm out of warranty and I pay the $310 to get the logic board replaced and it fails again a couple of times they won't give me a complete laptop replacement?

 

[SarcasticJoe]

I see the concept of anecdotal evidence is a foreign one for a lot of people posting here... A few cases here and there do no make a trend and people are a lot more vocal when they're unhappy than when they're happy.

As for the complaints about Apple's highher quality not being true? To put it simply: Paying extra for quality is never completely going to eliminate the risk of failure. This is not just true for computers, it's true for pretty much anything that is mass produced as there is no such thing as completely fail proof quality control in ether the manufacturing or design stages of any product.

Sure, buying a German luxury car like a Mercedes, BMW or Audi means you're less likely to suffer from breakdowns or be killed by a design flaw than buying one made by GM or Toyota. However it does not mean that you're not going to run the risk of breakdowns or being killed by unintended acceleration because the engine management unit suffered an error. It only means it's less likely to happen.

My friend for example used to drive Mercedes-Benz's. He had never had any issues with them and kept on buying one after the other until the centeal locking broke down. As it turns out pretty much all the small computers that control tiny things like the air conditioning, mirrors, etc. are in one big lump and when one of them breaks down, the whole lump has to be replaced. Unfortunately for my friend this lump is not cheap, just the part happens to be 7000 euros (about 9.500 USD with today's exchange rates) and the work on top if it isn't going to be cheap ether. So what did he do? Just like the thread starter, he switched to something cheaper, which in his case was a Ford which has caused him a lot more headaches than any of the Mercdes-Benz's he had before.

To once again re-iterate: Paying for quality is NEVER a 100% way to avoid faulty manufacturing or design, it only lowers the chance for becoming the victim of this.

 

[irnchriz]

I'm new to Macbook's. Had several iphone's since the 3GS and 3 iPad's. No problems. I just bought a used Macbook Pro 2011 13" and i'm not happy. Found this GPU info after purchase.

Break down of a 2011 Macbook. Hitachi hard drive, Samsung Ram, Panasonic disc drive, common intel i5 processor and HD graphics.

Aluminium casing and LED screen.

It has common parts and will fail.

Oh and the cream on the top? Linux OS with 'special sauce'.

1k GBP. What am i missing? It's a joy to use but the cost?

Edit. I have the 13" which i believe was not affected.

I have had a 2011 13" Macbook Pro from new. I replaced the HDD with a samsung SSD and upped the RAM to 16GB. That bad boy is still in pristine condition and my wife now uses is daily. I have a late 2012 Macbook Pro 16GB Ram 2 x 1TB SSD) which runs 24/7 for Photoshop etc and it is also in pristine condition. I also use a 27" i5 iMac from October 2009 (16GB ram) and its still in mint condition and its only ever rebooted for OS updates. Running everything in my office is an i7 Mac Mini server (16GB ram 2 x 1TB SSD).. guess what? no issues with that either.

I have a colleague who used to go through a windows laptop every year. He must have steelwool fingertips as he always wore down the touch pads, the batteries were ****ed after a few months and hinges etc all ended up cracking and the cases looked like he had thrown them around the floor. Got him a Macbook (white plastic one) which he used for 4 years with no failure and 79% battery health. He is now on an early 2011 Alu Macbook Pro 13".


Oh, and Linux OS??? You should try trolling elsewhere.

 

[63dot]

If you take 100 Asus laptops made in 2009, and 100 Macbook Pro's made in 2011, you will have a significantly higher number of Macbook Pro's that are still functioning flawlessly today. Mac's have a longer lifespan and their build quality is light years above the competition. Just because you happened to get a really good windows machine 6 years ago, and a possibly faulty MBP 4 years ago does not mean that you were taken advantage of.

This.

While any laptop, Mac or PC, could have an early failure being a delicate electronic device, the Mac is usually the more durable tool.

I have been extremely lucky in all the Macs and PCs I have had, knock on wood. My '99 iBook still works and the only issues are the rj11 jack broke after a lot of use and there are some cracks in the plastic handle. I couldn't imagine a PC laptop still working after 15 years.

 

[TheIguana]

Edit. I have the 13" which i believe was not affected.

Correct, the graphics failures only occurs in the 15" 2011 MBP with a Radeon graphics processor.