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

Failure Rate

Nautilus007

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 13, 2007
2,675
1,436
U.S
Just want some feedback,

I have a 2015 Macbook Spec'd out and my warranty is over. I am having some anxiety regarding failure of the machine and it does get hot sometimes when I play some WOW or something. Do you think I should get rid of it and buy one with warranty?
 
How far outside warranty is it? AppleCare might make an exception if it's only a day or two.

Otherwise, my experience says failure rate is very low, and can be mitigated by treating the hardware gently and/or getting an external fan or something.
 
Goatllama said:
How far outside warranty is it? AppleCare might make an exception if it's only a day or two.

Otherwise, my experience says failure rate is very low, and can be mitigated by treating the hardware gently and/or getting an external fan or something.
Click to expand...
Kind of ridiculous though if you'd really have to get an external fan for this device :D. That's like one of the main selling points Apple boasts about, there not being any sound.. They should be designed so they last for many years, no matter how hard you use them.

Don't know if that's the case though of course.
 
The logic board in mine just failed while watching a movie on a plane. I'm covered, so it's being fixed for free which helps soften the blow...but obviously (as with any machine) failure does happen. Given that it is still a fairly new product line, it will probably be some time before anyone can really determine accurate failure rates. I prefer to have insurance even if I never ending up needing it just for the peace of mind.
 
blackbear219 said:
The logic board in mine just failed while watching a movie on a plane. I'm covered, so it's being fixed for free which helps soften the blow...but obviously (as with any machine) failure does happen. Given that it is still a fairly new product line, it will probably be some time before anyone can really determine accurate failure rates. I prefer to have insurance even if I never ending up needing it just for the peace of mind.
Click to expand...

Yeah your thread freaked me out ha that's why I made this.
 
Trixs said:
Kind of ridiculous though if you'd really have to get an external fan for this device :D. That's like one of the main selling points Apple boasts about, there not being any sound.. They should be designed so they last for many years, no matter how hard you use them.
Click to expand...
Well, we all know these computers are not made to run games, as OP mentioned WoW causing the fan activity. Even lil' ol' Minecraft gets my fans cranking. External fan is a good cheap way to avoid much more expensive upgrade.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
my old 2014 air got hot and performance is throttled down when gaming, it wasn't like that when it was new. turned out there is a lot of dust on the fan inside. cleaned it up and it's as good as new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goatllama
macintoshmac said:
True, but blackbear219 was just watching a movie.
Click to expand...
Would inefficient cooling cause the logic board failure?
aleni said:
my old 2014 air got hot and performance is throttled down when gaming, it wasn't like that when it was new. turned out there is a lot of dust on the fan inside. cleaned it up and it's as good as new.
Click to expand...
This makes me want to open up my computer. Good idea.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
Goatllama said:
Would inefficient cooling cause the logic board failure?
Click to expand...

It's like asking would not drinking water make me thirsty? :D

Joke apart, of course, insufficient cooling will choke the components inside especially because there ain't any fan in there anymore, but he was in an aircraft, so obviously air-conditioned, hence I wonder how could he have managed to heat the laptop.. so I eliminated the lack of cooling scenario from his case...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goatllama
The machine wasn't even really hot at the time. It was just barely warm to the touch underneath. I think I just had a lemon more than anything else. Granted, it's 18 months old, but still, I was not putting it under any significant load that I would expect to cause any heat related issues or failures.

I am a big gamer but I've barely gamed on this machine at all. Probably less than 10 hours total.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
blackbear219 said:
The machine wasn't even really hot at the time. It was just barely warm to the touch underneath. I think I just had a lemon more than anything else. Granted, it's 18 months old, but still, I was not putting it under any significant load that I would expect to cause any heat related issues or failures.

I am a big gamer but I've barely gamed on this machine at all. Probably less than 10 hours total.
Click to expand...

Simply, the machine failed. It was not at all your doing. The machine was designed to shut off after a threshold, instead, it failed. Without even reaching that threshold. So... clearly a bad piece. AppleCare for as long as possible is must on these fanless devices.

I wonder how will it be here in India with summers reaching about 37℃ inside rooms and 50℃ outside! Right now, ambient temperature is 26℃ and my Late 2011 MBP 15 2.4GHz with AMD HD 6770M is hovering at 55-58-60℃ with Safari open, and VLC playing MKV video (NCIS Los Angeles past episodes :D).

I must add here, that in summers, if and when I am in an AC room, the CPU hovers around 40-45℃ with the same usage.
 
macintoshmac said:
It's like asking would not drinking water make me thirsty? :D

Joke apart, of course, insufficient cooling will choke the components inside especially because there ain't any fan in there anymore, but he was in an aircraft, so obviously air-conditioned, hence I wonder how could he have managed to heat the laptop.. so I eliminated the lack of cooling scenario from his case...
Click to expand...
I'm an artist, not a computer engineer! ;)
(thanks for the explanation)
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
My 2015 rMB failed so many times Apple replaced it after it died the 3rd time 12 days out of warranty. The new 2016 machine has apple care. Two logic boards, two screens, two keyboards replaced in a year...
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
What kind of weather do you use it in? And what is your usage like? This sounds bad and serious.
 
Goatllama said:
Well, we all know these computers are not made to run games, as OP mentioned WoW causing the fan activity. Even lil' ol' Minecraft gets my fans cranking. External fan is a good cheap way to avoid much more expensive upgrade.
Click to expand...
It's not like they come with a warning. "Not for gaming or any other heavy tasks". They are designed without a fan and therefore should start throttling waaay before any heat damage could happen, no matter what you are using it for. If it dies after playing a game, then that's a design or manufacturing flaw. These are made to be ultra portable, I don't want to carry around a fan with my ultra thin laptop, lol.
[doublepost=1479451954][/doublepost]
rob.james.arias said:
My 2015 rMB failed so many times Apple replaced it after it died the 3rd time 12 days out of warranty. The new 2016 machine has apple care. Two logic boards, two screens, two keyboards replaced in a year...
Click to expand...
Maybe I have to go for a Dell after all :D
 
Goatllama said:
Well, we all know these computers are not made to run games
Click to expand...
macintoshmac said:
True, but @blackbear219 was just watching a movie.
Click to expand...
macintoshmac said:
What kind of weather do you use it in?
Click to expand...
Trixs said:
It's not like they come with a warning. "Not for gaming or any other heavy tasks".
Click to expand...
So basically y'alls are saying that they should bear a sticker saying "Only use between autumn and winter. Do not watch movies unless there's a lot of snow in them. Ideal use case is to sit in Starbucks beaming proudly while checking Facebook. Don't spill your coffee."
 
navaira said:
So basically y'alls are saying that they should bear a sticker saying "Only use between autumn and winter. Do not watch movies unless there's a lot of snow in them. Ideal use case is to sit in Starbucks beaming proudly while checking Facebook. Don't spill your coffee."
Click to expand...

You got it totally wrong. What everybody is saying is don't try to win horse races with a donkey.
 
navaira said:
So basically y'alls are saying that they should bear a sticker saying "Only use between autumn and winter. Do not watch movies unless there's a lot of snow in them. Ideal use case is to sit in Starbucks beaming proudly while checking Facebook. Don't spill your coffee."
Click to expand...
Can't speak for the others but I'm saying the exact opposite of that so not sure why you are quoting me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
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