i dont think you need to worry about denting your macbook pro. I've had mine for almost a year now and not a scratch or dent so even the old ones aren't prone to denting. Now on the other had apple techs are prone to bending your case as that's the only problem i've had with it.
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How dent "proof" is the unibody?
- Thread starter RX64MACBOOKPRO
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Very. And unlike the previous generation, that's actually your entire load bearing structure you're affecting. Corner dents may be harder to make though.
Apple advertises the unibodies are machined from a block of aluminium, but it's not actually a forged block in the typical sense. Forged billets take on the approximate shape of whatever you're trying to make, and by doing so (and machining down to achieve the finish you want) you get the optimum alignment of the metal grains for the structure.
With the unibody, it's an aluminium 'sheet' cold-rolled into appropriate thickness to machine, then chopped up into squares. The metal grains are therefore aligned as a sheet, and not optimised for the structure. It's basically an extension of the same method they've used to form previous machines - only in the case of the previous Macbook Pros, the cold-rolled alloy was thinner than the 'block' and pressed into shape to form the shell. And actually, if you were to machine the unibody 'block' down to the same dimensions as the previous Macbook Pro shell, it would be weaker.
The unibody progression is misguided IMO. I'm pretty sure the core reason they made the battery non-removable in the 17" is that if they'd tried to engineer the machine for a removable battery, it'd have flexed unacceptably as it is. The Macbook is probably the only machine where the manufacture method makes any sense at all as a balance of marketing and consumer benefit.
To those who say the previous MBP's don't dent easily - not all of us have our notebooks on a votive plinth, only to be stroked every now and again in admiration. I've had to replace several for cosmetic reasons.
Interesting. From every single reviewer I've read, the unibody is much stronger than the old mac. I felt it, feels a ton stronger to me. I'm no physicist but it seems like they're going in the right direction in a big way. I don't know about dents, but the unibody feels great to me. Much stronger than the previous model. Of course, I treat my powerbook like it's made out of glass, so I'm sure the unibody will be more than strong enough for my uses. I also like the way it feels when I type. Feels like it's really locked down on the desk.
knocked my 17" 2007 MBP off a coffee table while sleeping on the couch. lol.
I woke up and stretched out my arms while half asleep and knocked it off the table and fell 1.7 feet to ground. I sort of caught it as it fell but not good enough...
dented the left corner. it was running when it happened, and no problems afterwards.
I woke up and stretched out my arms while half asleep and knocked it off the table and fell 1.7 feet to ground. I sort of caught it as it fell but not good enough...
dented the left corner. it was running when it happened, and no problems afterwards.
I think this is the key. Most Apple users baby their Macs, and due to the higher private / BS use most of the machines in the market are subjected to a much lighter workload on average than equivalent Windows machines, as well as frequently more stringent aftermarket protection - and consequently the users have no concept of how durable a machine should actually be in order to be everyday usable by someone who actually expects things to 'just work'.
Apple know their core customers like the back of their hand, and the higher-Apple-user-concentration tech journalists (especially those who don't really know what they're talking about) have Apple's back as well and when they switched to Intel, these guys bigged up Apple in a huge way. It's one of the very, very strong points about their business. With that knowledge, they can afford to take certain risks. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get the unibody design solid for those who don't stroke their machines, but it's not impossible - but they really need to wean themselves off aluminium for that to easily happen.
It has more inherent strength, because of the internal structure.
They can make the skin of the Macbook less resistant to flex the same way they do it on sheet steel -- using a bead roller or stamping in something similar.
But this take away from the clean look. Though a couple beads on the bottom with the Apple logo embossed might look cool and be a lot stronger -- even if it does make the machine 1-2 mm thicker.
And a ribbed LCD cover might look cool even though it would look like a Dell.
I beg to differ. While none of us really know why Apple chose and continues to use Aluminum in their entire line of products, we can say that it dents easily, but offers an array of benefits in the form of passive cooling, weight, and overall workability, but to say that Apple users subject their machines to a lighter workload is just silly.
Many individuals here subject their macbook pros to daily abuse, and (atleast around these parts) Macbook's are taking hold in the IT field tremendously, especially with Fusion and Parallels making great strides in the virtual space.
The availability of protective products means nothing; we as apple users are not forced to purchase protection and it doesn't come with a marware protection pack in the box, but there being a more concentrated community of Apple Fans and a limited product line, Accessories can be made to a higher degree than that of Dell or HP. For instance, I take one of HP's flagship models, the EliteBook. A quick google search for "hp elitebook protection" brings up, well, nothing. While a search for "macbook pro protection" brings up numerous products. yes, I'll say that there may be A bit more incentive to protect such an expensive machine, but lets look at the number of laptops HP offers vs that of Apple.
To get a relative number of the available configurations that may be available from HP i'll use a CDW search for all HP laptops (which will be skewed). The number I get is ~449. Four hundred and forty-nine models to choose from, vs Apple's available configurations at about..what...Five. The Macbook Plastic, the Macbook Unibody, the Macbook Air, the Macbook Pro Unibody and its 15 and 17 inch varieties. We won't include previous models because Apple no longer advertises them or sells them barring refurbs.
If I were an accessories manuf., knowing that i'll sell more product to Apple users than HP users because of the limited selection, the choice is pretty obvious.
But thats not what the thread is about
.I'm with you. Now, as a Canadian I have never heard the word "whinge" pronounced, how do you Aussies pronounce that word?
I've seen a few posts from this guy and he is a bit trollish.
Total pwnage!
By a few, do you happen to mean 35+ a day?
LOL this has got to be the funniest question i have ever heard!! if you like i guess i could post it or something....
i pronounce it...
"Wh" as in "what"
"in" as in "windows" (sucks)
"ge" as in "jealous"
Well, it's just that I see it regularly from other commonwealth realms, usually in place of whine, so I wasn't sure if it was pronounced like "whine", or more or less as it's spelt. Apparently the latter.
Unfamilliar words make me do a double take. Probably the same way if you heard me talking about gotch or bunnyhugs. We all have regionalisms.
no, no. i meant whinge......
whining is how it sounds... no silent sounds or anything. "whining"... exactly how its read.
whinging is pronounced "winjing".
dent void applecare
I have a MacBook Pro 17, that I bought in 2006. I am (ab)using it everyday for my job, and bring it back and forth from my home to work place. Since I am not babying it, it gets scratches and dents here and there but I have not dropped it. Now the LCD has a 2-inch wide vertical stripe in middle of the screen, which sometimes gets dark and bothersome. I wanted it to be repaired under applecare warranty. But apple refused to repair it because of a dent in a corner of the laptop. I am thinking about purchasing unibody, and it is very important factor to decide to purchase applecare warranty next time whether unibody is dent-free or shock-resistant.
I have a MacBook Pro 17, that I bought in 2006. I am (ab)using it everyday for my job, and bring it back and forth from my home to work place. Since I am not babying it, it gets scratches and dents here and there but I have not dropped it. Now the LCD has a 2-inch wide vertical stripe in middle of the screen, which sometimes gets dark and bothersome. I wanted it to be repaired under applecare warranty. But apple refused to repair it because of a dent in a corner of the laptop. I am thinking about purchasing unibody, and it is very important factor to decide to purchase applecare warranty next time whether unibody is dent-free or shock-resistant.
I showed my dad your post and he read it with great interest. He's not a member of this forum but asked me to post the following response on his behalf:
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"Unfortunately for you I am a Structural Engineer, and you apparently are not such a good Mechanical Engineer as you think!
Why do you need to be so rude to Kastenbrust? He/She is basically correct.
Denting is as you say post-elastic deformation (i.e.plastic). Impact involves high strain-rate behaviour of materials. For aluminium (and other ductile materials) the creation of a dent is limited by the applied flexural tensile stress. It is limited in two ways: by the yield (tensile) stress and the ultimate (tensile) stress. Both of which are characteristics of the particular grade of aluminium from which the case is made.
If there is enough kinetic energy in the impacting object the 3mm thick aluminium will bend locally and if the yield tensile stress is exceeded a permanent dent will be produced. If there is not enough energy there will be a local "elastic" deformation under load but the 3 mm thick aluminium will regain its shape before impact.
If there is enough energy to cause applied flexural tensile stress in exceedence of the yield tensile stress then the "dent" will progress into a "dent plus tear" i.e. a hole ( a term which even a Mechanical Engineer of your capability can understand).
In fact the mechanics and physics are quite complex and the process is not even as simple as I have described it. The applied shear stress and also the limiting characteristic shear strength of the 3mm thick material is involved. And the actual resultant applied stresses (what you should have remembered or perhaps never were educated to understand) are the Von Mises stresses.
Whatever - the bottom line is that Kastenbrust is correct. The most important material parameter for the 3 mm case material is the Tensile Strength i.e. the tensile yield and the ultimate tensile strength.
Please think about being less arrogant in future?"
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That's be cool. They could hit each other with aluminum Macbooks so as to test the cases' tensile strength.
That's be cool. They could hit each other with aluminum Macbooks so as to test the cases' tensile strength.
That could show whether a new unibody is dent proof or not for sure.