Laptop Recommendations

[GuitarDTO]

I have a 2011 Mbp that just took a dump presumably with the gpu failure. Was in the middle of exporting pictures while hooked up to my external monitor, and the computer and monitor went black, restarted, had lines on the screen....and won't fully restart now....keeps restarting over and over. I'm 3 months out of Apple care warranty. From what I understand, this will require a $700 logic board repair that essentially will make the computer a ticking bomb with the same fault.

So, I'm curious what others would do in this scenario? I am a photographer, so I've been wanting to upgrade to a retina mbp at some point.....should I bite the bullet and fix the logic board and then upgrade all at the same time??? I need a computer with enough power to comfortably run photoshop, Lightroom, etc, and deal with large Raw files. I do most of my storage on external hard drives, but I'd like to have an SSD now as well for the increased loading speeds.

Are the newest MacBook pro retinas good values? Do they have any known flaws, or desired configurations that are best for the money? Also, is their memory upgradable? Thanks for any advice!!

 

[GoldfishRT]

I have a 2011 Mbp that just took a dump presumably with the gpu failure. Was in the middle of exporting pictures while hooked up to my external monitor, and the computer and monitor went black, restarted, had lines on the screen....and won't fully restart now....keeps restarting over and over. I'm 3 months out of Apple care warranty. From what I understand, this will require a $700 logic board repair that essentially will make the computer a ticking bomb with the same fault.

So, I'm curious what others would do in this scenario? I am a photographer, so I've been wanting to upgrade to a retina mbp at some point.....should I bite the bullet and fix the logic board and then upgrade all at the same time??? I need a computer with enough power to comfortably run photoshop, Lightroom, etc, and deal with large Raw files. I do most of my storage on external hard drives, but I'd like to have an SSD now as well for the increased loading speeds.

Are the newest MacBook pro retinas good values? Do they have any known flaws, or desired configurations that are best for the money? Also, is their memory upgradable? Thanks for any advice!!

My advice would be to get the Logic Board replaced (it will not run $700, should run about $315 for depot repair), and then sell it.

New rMBPs don't seem to really have many issues.

 

[slipper]

What the other guy said. If the repair does in fact cost $315 to fix, front the money for repair and buy a refurbished rMBP. Once the old MBP comes back, sell it on the MacRumors Marketplace.

The rMBP is a tremendous value in my opinion. Comparably priced to other high end ultrabooks (which is rare for anything mac), it has a SSD, a sweet display, and the best build quality of any notebook. Get a late 2013 rMBP for an even better value.

 

[GuitarDTO]

Thanks. I just got off the phone with Apple Care (after a 45 minute wait!!). At least she was nice, easy to understand, etc. Anyways, all of the usual "try restarting in safe mode" failed of course. They couldn't offer me any warranty coverage (Apple store told me to at least ask). So I have a mail in box being shipped to send it out for repair.

Flat rate fee is $329 (includes 100 labor, 210 repair cost, and $19 worth of shipping).

Now the big question is do I go ahead and buy a new one. I hadn't necessarily planned to upgrade this soon because this machine works plenty fast still for what I do….HOWEVER, there is no denying I would like both the retina screen AND the solid state drives, neither of which my computer has….so it actually would be quite a nice upgrade.

Will I have any troubles selling my repaired 2011? What could I reasonably expect to get out of it? (it was almost maxed out, the higher res screen and 2nd fastest CPU).

Thanks

 

[tjhassan]

I'm in the same exact boat. Can't decide if I should buy a new rMBP or get my 2011 fixed. Or even wait and see what happens with this class action suit thing.

 

[GuitarDTO]

I got my computer back today, after shipping it on Wednesday morning. I must say I am/was impressed with the promptness of the service! A few points:
-The logic board was replaced, as expected
-The computer appears to have been thoroughly cleaned, which is nice
-I didn't lose any data whatsoever, since my hard drive was fine
-The repair was "only" $350 total after tax and shipping. I have heard horror stories of $700+ so this was at least nice
-There is no mention whatsoever on the paperwork of actual root cause/indication of GPU, just "Logic Board replacement".


I still haven't decided if I'm going upgrade to a new one yet. This is still a nice/well running computer.

 

[Rhyalus]

I don't want to mess you up, but I recently went from a 2011 to a 2014.

(13", 512MB HD and 8GB RAM).... retina is really great and the battery life is much improved over the older unit.

I am glad I updated / upgraded.

R

 

[GuitarDTO]

I don't want to mess you up, but I recently went from a 2011 to a 2014.

(13", 512MB HD and 8GB RAM).... retina is really great and the battery life is much improved over the older unit.

I am glad I updated / upgraded.

R

Yeah, I'm still strongly considering it. I know the performance improvement and retina screen would be great. I'm considering giving my wife the 2011 as she currently has a 2008.

 

[lionkin]

My previous laptop was early 15inch 2011 macbook pro and i had gpu problem. I only paid one time $310 flat rate to repair and within 90 days warranty they replace logic board six times. My last visit apple store genius bar final solution was offering me brand new 15inch macbook pro retina mid-2014, and I accepted the offer. I was very happy I got brand new macbook pro retina.

 

[GuitarDTO]

My previous laptop was early 15inch 2011 macbook pro and i had gpu problem. I only paid one time $310 flat rate to repair and within 90 days warranty they replace logic board six times. My last visit apple store genius bar final solution was offering me brand new 15inch macbook pro retina mid-2014, and I accepted the offer. I was very happy I got brand new macbook pro retina.

Good lord! 6 times? It must be a $$ threshold for the new laptop then, because others have said 3 $700 repairs got them a new one. Either way, I sure as hell hope I don't have to hassle with having this thing repaired 6 times

 

[lionkin]

Good lord! 6 times? It must be a $$ threshold for the new laptop then, because others have said 3 $700 repairs got them a new one. Either way, I sure as hell hope I don't have to hassle with having this thing repaired 6 times

They repair my macbook pro six times during my 90 day warranty.They also replace my screen two times during my 90 day warranty. So I only paid flat rate of $310 one time, and all of the six repairs was cover during my 90 day warranty.The final solution was offering me brand new macbook pro retina.