I love my MACBOOK PRO (w/ Zero Issues) am I alone?

[mark28]

Funny how someone with a 2011 MBP says he has Zero issues with his MBP when the 2011 MBP has a major design flaw that is still not fixed with the late 2011 refresh.

Let's hope for 2012 that Apple will upgrade the power supply so that the battery won't be used under heavy load.

 

[stevemiller]

Funny how someone with a 2011 MBP says he has Zero issues with his MBP when the 2011 MBP has a major design flaw that is still not fixed with the late 2011 refresh.

Let's hope for 2012 that Apple will upgrade the power supply so that the battery won't be used under heavy load.

it does sound like a valid concern, but from what i've read, it has in fact been addressed:

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/1...ware-update-to-fix-unexpected-shutdown-issue/

p.s. i heart my 2011 mbp!

 

[Jiten]

Another long time Mac user here. I have the 17" 2004 Powerbook, 17" 2007, 2009 and 2011 17 inch Macbook Pros and so far no major snags. The Powerbook hard disk died and the 2009 suffered from a ticking fan but both issues solved by Applecare. Perhaps I'm lucky as these machines are workhorses and reliable for me. All of them still being used for my small business, barely turned off, even my ancient Powerbook still functions as an email, invoice, torrent and word processing machine.

I do agree that AC bricks are indeed fragile, especially the older ones (my 2007 magsafe). I noticed that right away and treated these suckers gently and so far they held up quite well. They were beefed up later with thicker wires and a much more sturdy Magsafe head design but it seems people are still having issues with it.

 

[thundersteele]

Funny how someone with a 2011 MBP says he has Zero issues with his MBP when the 2011 MBP has a major design flaw that is still not fixed with the late 2011 refresh.

Let's hope for 2012 that Apple will upgrade the power supply so that the battery won't be used under heavy load.

While it is a weakness in the design, many users are not affected by it. So it's perfectly understandable that someone has Zero issues with the MBP.


@stevemiller

Well, this is a workaround, which I guess fixes the most fatal consequences of the insufficient power supply. Having seen the huge brick that Dell sells as power supply for some of it's workstation laptops, I actually prefer the slightly underpowered Magsafe.

 

[dacoolest]

I recently switched to mac from windows and bought my first mac (macbook pro 17) a month ago and I had to take it back to the store to get the keyboard replaced.

Because of slow internet speed in my country, I always used to download online videos to my computer before I watch. With my mac it was not as easy as on windows.

Other than that I like the mac os and I almost did not want to get back to windows for any other tasks I wanted to perform (still could not find a good UML software for mac such as SmartDraw on windows)

I thought that I'll be installing windows on bootcamp as i get the mac, but once I got used to it I did not want to have windows on my mac. And I just love the way of mac os x. Although I switched my os recently, I think here after the only os i will be using is mac os

 

[sunnyj]

it does sound like a valid concern, but from what i've read, it has in fact been addressed:

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/1...ware-update-to-fix-unexpected-shutdown-issue/

p.s. i heart my 2011 mbp!

even with that firmware installed my macbook pro starts using the battery under heavy load.

 

[EMJR]

newbee

Only 4 months but no issues on a 17 in MBP also running VM Fusion.
Also need to add this is my first MAC ever.
I am impressed.
JR

 

[yannerd]

I got a refurb 13" MBP Early 2011 2 months ago and started having speaker problems right from the get go. Finally getting speakers replaced so we'll see if that fixed the problem!

 

[Krazy Bill]

If we're strictly talking nuts and bolts here... my early 2011 MBP13 is just dandy. Now... if we're talking about what's under the hood (Lion)... that's another story.

 

[stevemiller]

even with that firmware installed my macbook pro starts using the battery under heavy load.

yeah i assume it only throttles the cpu/gpu when the battery is low, otherwise it does use the battery. but i can see where this isn't ideal.

however in my own experience, having done 3d renders using all 8 threads at full tilt overnight, i did not run into any problems. so for at least my needs, i view it more as a limitation than an issue at this point. (and yet i'm still thrilled with my laptop since i've watched my it beat out an 8-core/16-thread mac pro from 2009 on some rendering tasks)

 

[sunnyj]

yeah i assume it only throttles the cpu/gpu when the battery is low, otherwise it does use the battery. but i can see where this isn't ideal.

however in my own experience, having done 3d renders using all 8 threads at full tilt overnight, i did not run into any problems. so for at least my needs, i view it more as a limitation than an issue at this point. (and yet i'm still thrilled with my laptop since i've watched my it beat out an 8-core/16-thread mac pro from 2009 on some rendering tasks)

i find that surprising. i use both my mbp and mac pro for heavy video editing/trancoding and my 2009 is still faster in all aspects then my mbp.

 

[GGJstudios]

yeah i assume it only throttles the cpu/gpu when the battery is low, otherwise it does use the battery.

The CPU is not throttled due to battery charge levels. It's only throttled if the battery is removed (for those Macs with removable batteries). The other instance of CPU throttling occurs when temps are near maximum.

 

[Elevon]

Mac FTW! =]

 

[thundersteele]

The CPU is not throttled due to battery charge levels. It's only throttled if the battery is removed (for those Macs with removable batteries). The other instance of CPU throttling occurs when temps are near maximum.

How else would they reduce the power draw when the MBP is plugged in and the battery is low?

I did read a few MBP reviews that reported throttling without the machine reaching critical temperatures. They mentioned insufficient power supply as a possible source. I'm not saying that they are right, some of those reviews are quite inconsistent across different models.

 

[GGJstudios]

How else would they reduce the power draw when the MBP is plugged in and the battery is low?

I did read a few MBP reviews that reported throttling without the machine reaching critical temperatures. They mentioned insufficient power supply as a possible source. I'm not saying that they are right, some of those reviews are quite inconsistent across different models.

I haven't seen any factual evidence of throttling due to low battery conditions. In fact, I've read reports of batteries being drained to empty during extensive gaming sessions, which can draw both AC and battery power. I haven't had the desire to test this, but someone may be willing to.

 

[stevemiller]

i find that surprising. i use both my mbp and mac pro for heavy video editing/trancoding and my 2009 is still faster in all aspects then my mbp.

i found it surprising as well. i don't recall the exact model of mac pro i was using at work, but i know it had 16 threads when rendering and was a 2009 model when i had to look it up for a ram upgrade a while back.

i don't doubt certain tasks give certain systems the edge, and my observation may have been the exception rather than the rule, but they were both spitting out frames from the same sequence, and the macbook pro was consistently finishing frames a few seconds faster.

whatever the circumstance, the laptop performs admirably, and is nearly a 3x improvement in most real world tasks over my 2008 system, making it a godsend for my work.

The CPU is not throttled due to battery charge levels. It's only throttled if the battery is removed (for those Macs with removable batteries). The other instance of CPU throttling occurs when temps are near maximum.

I actually have no idea what the system is doing technically. I simply surmised that since there was an update to address system shutdowns from overdrawn power, and i didn't think they could change how much power the AC adapter delivers, that they must be throttling the performance to whatever the AC adapter provides.

You mention reading reports of system shutdowns because of this issue, were these even after the update i mentioned earlier?

 

[GGJstudios]

You mention reading reports of system shutdowns because of this issue, were these even after the update i mentioned earlier?

I didn't mention reading reports of system shutdowns because of this. Perhaps you're referring to thundersteele's post.

 

[stevemiller]

I didn't mention reading reports of system shutdowns because of this. Perhaps you're referring to thundersteele's post.

My apologies, I meant in reference to "batteries being drained to empty" which I guess I incorrectly assumed would cause a shutdown. If thats not the case, however, that would even further support the assertion that they have to throttle something if under load both AC and battery are drawn upon, and eventually the battery runs out.

 

[GGJstudios]

My apologies, I meant in reference to "batteries being drained to empty" which I guess I incorrectly assumed would cause a shutdown. If thats not the case, however, that would even further support the assertion that they have to throttle something if under load both AC and battery are drawn upon, and eventually the battery runs out.

With regard to Mac notebooks with removable batteries, the CPU would be throttled if running on AC power with the battery removed. I don't know if it does the same thing when the battery is present, but drained. I also don't know, when the battery completely drains while plugged in under high power demands, if the Mac would shut down or simply run solely on AC power, which would suggest throttling might take place. It would require some testing to verify these assumptions, as I haven't seen any reliable documentation of these conditions.

 

[stevemiller]

I also don't know, when the battery completely drains while plugged in under high power demands, if the Mac would shut down or simply run solely on AC power, which would suggest throttling might take place. It would require some testing to verify these assumptions, as I haven't seen any reliable documentation of these conditions.

Would not that firmware update i posted count as reliable documentation on how the system should behave under high power demands and a drained battery?

From Apple (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1474):

"This update resolves an issue where a MacBook Pro being used with a power adapter may unexpectedly shut down under heavy workload if the battery charge level is near empty."

I decided to run a test to verify the throttling question as well. I started rendering a 3d benchmark scene that utilized all cpu cores:

-on a fully charged battery with AC power the time was 8:09

-on a fully charged battery with no AC the time was also 8:09

-after fully draining the battery (to 1 minute remaining) and then plugging in AC, i ran the benchmark 3 more times in immediate succession to see if i could get the machine to shut down. it did not, and the times were, in order: 8:56, 8:28 and 8:20.

While one individual's testing would be far from conclusive, it does seem to support the idea that the system will run at max performance, drawing on battery power as needed until the battery levels are no longer able to sustain it. At that point it appears to throttle performance and actually begin charging the battery, returning to favour performance as the battery levels are replenished.

My guess is it strives to hit a sort of equilibrium where it can maintain a minimum amount of battery as a "safety net" while otherwise delivering as much power for operation as possible.

 

[Badrottie]

I have owned every high end 15" MACBOOK PRO since 2008. I absolutely love them and simply put, I have just not had any of the issues that people keep describing here on these forums.

I was not a MAC person before and to the contrary I thought that Windows was hands down the better choice because of price or "Bang for the Buc". But after having multiple cheap computers CRAP out (Software and Hardware), I decided to give a MACBOOK PRO a chance. Albeit that the first month was miserable and the learning curve was a bit higher than I had initially thought it would be… I have never looked back. Now, I do still own one PC and have been keeping it alive to serve one purpose in my house (It is only used to watch our SLINGBOX from the states connected to our TV here in Japan).

I am proud to say that I use almost all aspects of the MAC software, especially the iPhoto and iMovie… I could never go back to my old PC days,…

BTW, I am not your average ignorant person, I am certified in multiple Windows platform Certifications from CompTIA, CISSP, multiple CISCO Certs and many more Microsoft. Just putting that out there…

Oh and I am the guy that fixes all of my friends PC's when they break down, …


Peace,

-Nate

I love my MBP and still use Windows desktop for some reasons. I still help deaf people with windows pc problems for free. BUT I can't help or fix their Apple computers sorry.

 

[HippieMagic]

I have had no issues with my Mac yet. I will never ONLY own a mac because I like to play games on the PC. The Mac is a good accent to my PC but it could never replace it.

 

[Maven1975]

Apple power cords have historically sucked.
http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC556LL/B

The first five reviews are titled...


"terrible"


"Sigh"


"Failed in one month"


"Frayed"


"Failed after 13 months of use"

All are 1 star. The average of 511 reviews is 2 stars. Of those 511 reviews, over HALF have reported outright failures. It is the weakest part of an otherwise solid design.

Wow, thats pretty bad. I had one that frayed and took it to the Apple store. They had me in and out with a new one in less than two minutes. That really stinks for those that have them die completely.

I have not purchased a PC in a long time because of service issues. If I were to have a problem, Apple has me back up and running in less than 72 hours. It took Sony 4 weeks to fix my Z. After that, never again.

 

[GadgetJunkyChic]

While it is a weakness in the design, many users are not affected by it. So it's perfectly understandable that someone has Zero issues with the MBP.


@stevemiller

Well, this is a workaround, which I guess fixes the most fatal consequences of the insufficient power supply. Having seen the huge brick that Dell sells as power supply for some of it's workstation laptops, I actually prefer the slightly underpowered Magsafe.

I guess I must be one of the users not affected by the "weakness in design".
I started out with an IPod Classic in 2009. I purchased by MBP in March 2011 and have had zero problems. I went Apple wild and purchased my first IPhone. I'm now awaiting the new IPad but my love for Apple started with my MBP.

 

[SpazzyMac]

love it

I started with an iPod -> iTunes -> MacBook Pro I love this MBP, except the tremendous heat 95°C in high load and the fact that it can't "fall asleep" by itself other than that I LOVE THIS piece of machinery!

....But I changed the Thermal Paste at first I was troubled on how to remove all the gunk on the AMD chip but managed to remove all of it. and the gunk on the i7 CPU had slopped down to the Logicboard good thing that it was not electrocuted

I used AS5 after a successful PS3 Thermal paste change I decided to do it as well on the MBP, the idle temps did not change that much, but the high load temps went down from 95°C (note that is not even the Max temp that I have recorded! MAX was 98°C) now it hits MAX 91°C and stays at 85°C after it has stabilized now the keys around WASD area barely gets hot the temps go down faster. Geekbench score went from 10500 to 11000

BF3 feels smoother and the GPU hits 85°C as normal on BF3 but might be because I got it on High on the shadows and the rest on Ultra AF:16 and AA on 0. oh and it is on 825/950@0.985V and 5500rpm on both fans and I use ThrottleStop@2.2Ghz because without it the frames fluctuates ALOT!

Edit: and a Happy new year! be careful with the fireworks!