Late 2011 15" MBPs - any known issues?

[Brenster]

I'm on the verge of upgrading my mid 2009 2.5GHz 15" MBP to one of the late 2011 MBPs. I know this might sound daft but are there any known issues with aftermarket memory, HDDs, SSDs etc?

I ask as my current machine still has it's stock 250GB drive. I had intended on replacing the stock drive with a much higher capacity drive except at a sane price. Having the replaced the drive with a Western Digital 500GB SATA II drive and the machine would stick, have spinning beach balls etc. This was ultimately down to how the supplied firmware (1.7) handled SATA II drives, or not as the case may be. Regressing the firmware to 1.6 allowed a replacement after market drive to work properly but at SATA I speeds. So I've wound up putting the stock drive back, restoring firmware 1.7 and decanting data on and off of the machine for the past 2 1/2 years.

I'm anxious to avoid anything like this problem with a potential new purchase. I'd be looking for a 500 or 750GB stock drive from the outset so the HDD isn't so much of a problem. However the stock 4GB (2x2GB) I'd be replacing with 8GB (2x4GB) for more virtual machine breathing room.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has had any issues with the 15" late 2011 MBPs, either with RAM replacement or with day to day usage.

Thanks!

 

[heisenberg123]

I'm on the verge of upgrading my mid 2009 2.5GHz 15" MBP to one of the late 2011 MBPs. I know this might sound daft but are there any known issues with aftermarket memory, HDDs, SSDs etc?

I ask as my current machine still has it's stock 250GB drive. I had intended on replacing the stock drive with a much higher capacity drive except at a sane price. Having the replaced the drive with a Western Digital 500GB SATA II drive and the machine would stick, have spinning beach balls etc. This was ultimately down to how the supplied firmware (1.7) handled SATA II drives, or not as the case may be. Regressing the firmware to 1.6 allowed a replacement after market drive to work properly but at SATA I speeds. So I've wound up putting the stock drive back, restoring firmware 1.7 and decanting data on and off of the machine for the past 2 1/2 years.

I'm anxious to avoid anything like this problem with a potential new purchase. I'd be looking for a 500 or 750GB stock drive from the outset so the HDD isn't so much of a problem. However the stock 4GB (2x2GB) I'd be replacing with 8GB (2x4GB) for more virtual machine breathing room.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has had any issues with the 15" late 2011 MBPs, either with RAM replacement or with day to day usage.

Thanks!

there is no gaurantee you wont buy a defective hard drive or defective RAM thats why you should buy things with a waranty, i had issues with my first set of Cosair Ram but i had them replaced with no issues and now they are fine

 

[Brenster]

there is no gaurantee you wont buy a defective hard drive or defective RAM thats why you should buy things with a waranty, i had issues with my first set of Cosair Ram but i had them replaced with no issues and now they are fine

Point taken, although this is an issue common to all 15" mid-2009 MBPs rather than a specific defect of my own machine. My current MBP is under AppleCare (as is all my Apple gear) but they only cover issues with the stockj/supplied hardware. Although after market hard drives etc are allowed (the manual covers how to replace the HDD) Applecare does not cover incompatibities. The SATA issue with mid-2009 15" MBPs is a known issue with all mid-2009 15" MBPs, rather than a defect with my specific machine. Specifically this.

Just trying to do Due Diligence before the purchase this time around.

 

[hamzab]

If you can squeeze another month of usage out of your 2009 MBP I would wait for the upgrade. The quad-core mob processors are due in 2 weeks.

 

[Brenster]

If you can squeeze another month of usage out of your 2009 MBP I would wait for the upgrade. The quad-core mob processors are due in 2 weeks.

I can - the issue is one of being able to use my cousins educational discount which expires next month on account of graduation. The speculation on the new ones makes me want one, not to mention the speed and lightness of my wifes 2011 13" MBA. It's more case of waiting will seriously push the cost up relative to what I can buy for now.

 

[/user/me]

I can - the issue is one of being able to use my cousins educational discount which expires next month on account of graduation. The speculation on the new ones makes me want one, not to mention the speed and lightness of my wifes 2011 13" MBA. It's more case of waiting will seriously push the cost up relative to what I can buy for now.

If you buy a refurbished computer, they're usually considerably cheaper than what you can get with the edu discount.

 

[Interstella5555]

Point taken, although this is an issue common to all 15" mid-2009 MBPs rather than a specific defect of my own machine. My current MBP is under AppleCare (as is all my Apple gear) but they only cover issues with the stockj/supplied hardware. Although after market hard drives etc are allowed (the manual covers how to replace the HDD) Applecare does not cover incompatibities. The SATA issue with mid-2009 15" MBPs is a known issue with all mid-2009 15" MBPs, rather than a defect with my specific machine. Specifically this.

Just trying to do Due Diligence before the purchase this time around.

It's a pretty general question, I've purchased bad RAM before, but I've also had RAM with no problems. If you buy well reviewed hardware that's compatible with your machine you shouldn't have problems.

 

[Brenster]

It's a pretty general question, I've purchased bad RAM before, but I've also had RAM with no problems. If you buy well reviewed hardware that's compatible with your machine you shouldn't have problems.

Ostensibly the good WD hard drive should've worked with my good mid 2009 MBP. When an issue arose both Apple and WD could prove that their respective components both worked, just no one could take responsibility for them not playing nice together.

RAM wise I upgraded the stock memory with 2x4GB RAM from Crucial which has worked fantastically since.