Just got a MacBook Pro - concerns, should I return it?

[Simon Young]

I just bought my first new Mac in five years - a MacBook Pro:

• 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
• 200GB Serial ATA @ 7200 rpm
• 17-inch Hi-Resolution Widescreen Matte Display
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 512MB SDRAM

I got it home to find that the lid was slightly warped and refused to lie flush when closed, but more importantly the drive was faulty and refused to do a fresh install. I took it straight back and got a replacement. The 2nd machine seemed flawless. The drive worked and the lid wasn't warped at all. I spent all evening setting it up and installing software but gradually became aware that things weren't as perfect as they had first seemed.

Firstly, the screen. It's bright and pin-sharp, but despite the LED backlighting it's not terribly even. The bottom of the screen is slightly darker - possibly a bit yellowish - while the top almost has a magenta hue to it. It's very slight, but kinda distracting when viewing websites or documents with lots of white. The out-of-the-box display profile was incredibly yellow, which disguised the problem a little. After careful calibration, whites look better in the middle of the screen but the viewing angle seems poor because I'm still getting yellow and magenta tints at the outer extremes. Like I said, it's quite subtle but my old PowerBook didn't have this problem. I've checked my panel info and it is a Samsung - 9C79 - which is disappointing as I've heard that LG are better.

Secondly, I seem to be having the audio issues discussed at length on these forums. Popping noises through speakers/headphones before audio kicks in, weird beeps and bloops after system sounds, and occasional low-level hiss. Frankly, for a professional media machine this is really bad. I edit video for a living and can't be distracted by random noises.

Finally I have just read in another thread that the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card in my MacBook Pro is potentially faulty and could break in the next couple of years due to overheating. Seeing as I've just paid a premium for a top-of-the-line professional portable, I don't feel comfortable knowing that something could well go wrong. I need to feel confident in its ability to perform when I'm working on a project.

So all in all, I'm a bit upset. I'm aware that getting a decent screen can be a bit of a gamble, but I thought the LED backlighting would fix this. And as for the sound and potential video card issues... well, a replacement is probably going to be identical in those regards. So, that leaves me with three options:

• Live with MBP's flaws in the knowledge that there's no better portable
• Trade portability for reliability and swap the MacBook Pro for a Mac Pro
• Return the MBP and wait until Apple refresh the line and fixes the issues

I do love the idea of a portable, but not at the expense of quality. With the iPhone 3G coming tomorrow I'll have less need for a laptop. For the cost of the 'pimped out' MacBook Pro I could get a decent spec tower and a 20" HD screen from another manufacturer. In fact, I might even save a little cash.

What are people's opinions? Am I expecting too much of the MacBook Pro? Should I count myself lucky that I haven't got even worse issues? Or should I expect more from the most expensive laptop in the world? As for the Mac Pro, are there any known issues with the current revisions? Is it a safer bet for video editing?

Sorry for the long rant/ramble but I just can't make my mind up what to do. If any of you have had similar experiences, I'd love a second opinion.

 

[ricpac]

Nothing's perfect. Enjoy your new MacBook Pro first.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Return it. You paid a premium price for a premium product.

 

[LeahM]

If your not happy and this will always be an issue for you, then return it. If you can live with it and its quirks then keep it.

In reality though, nothing is ever perfect. Yes you paid a premium, but like I said, if your not happy, return it and find something else that suits you better.

 

[PDE]

Return it if the things that are imperfect are things that bother you. A poor screen bothers me tremendously since I buy the 'pro' laptops so that I can get a big, beutiful screen to work on. that NEEDS to be as perfect as it can be, and Apple unfortunately doesn't have a good track record with regard to LCDs.

The annoying issues won't go away....so go get another exchange!

 

[ManWithhat]

I know I'd be quite angry. If I were you, I'd go to your nearest Apple store to return it and set it up in-store to make sure everything seems OK. Check the audio ports (bring some headphones). Do what you need . . . it's a $1999+ laptop, you deserve to get what you paid for.

The graphics card (if the MBPs are affected) is a known issue and will be replaced if there are problems seeing as Nvidia has admitted the problem. If it still bothers you, wait for the update (Between August and October) to see if they throw in a new graphics card along with the redesign and the new gen. Penryn processors.

 

[NC MacGuy]

It's a lot of money to pay for a machine you're not happy with. I think you pretty much know it's not your cup of tea and you should probably return it.

I too was spoiled by my PB's quality but the new stuff Apple is putting out is quite the hit or miss.

 

[II AndyG33 II]

I say return it
if i got my mbp and it was f'ed up
MAJOR return
2.5 g's for a laptop ain't cheap

 

[iCries]

definitely return it. Like posters above wrote, you pay premium for premium quality/performance which MBP certainly doesnt offer at this moment. I say wait for the next iteration of MBP.

 

[Tosser]

Secondly, I seem to be having the audio issues discussed at length on these forums. Popping noises through speakers/headphones before audio kicks in, weird beeps and bloops after system sounds, and occasional low-level hiss. Frankly, for a professional media machine this is really bad. I edit video for a living and can't be distracted by random noises.

Frankly, you cannot afford to keep that subpar computer – your work will be degraded. I'd return it in a heartbeat if I were you.

Oh, and don't listen to the apologists going "nothing is perfect". The fact of the matter is that you need an audio card that isn't bug-ridden, a screen that works, and of course a working graphics card.

I too was spoiled by my PB's quality but the new stuff Apple is putting out is quite the hit or miss.

Exactly. Been going downhill picking up speed since around the time they nixed FW in the iPod.