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Life of an MBP - too short?

Mattstkc

Mattstkc

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 8, 2009
577
0
Chicago, IL
So my logic board just fried [EDIT2:apparently a GPU issue the techs didn't tell me much] after not quite 3 years of ownership. (edit- for clarification was taken to apple store and has been replaced)

Wondering if that's common or I'm doing something wrong? Still under warranty (Apple care pays for itself) but I'm wondering if at the 3 yr mark I should expect more hardware failures? Already planning an HDD and RAM upgrade soon, but don't want to invest $ if it's just going to crap out again in 6 months when the warranty is up.

Thanks
--17" MBP 08 (NON-unibody) Core2Duo, 4gb Ram, 250gb hdd 5400rpm
 
Last edited:
Mattstkc said:
Wondering if that's common or I'm doing something wrong? Still under warranty (Apple care pays for itself) but I'm wondering if at the 3 yr mark I should expect more hardware failures? Already planning an HDD and RAM upgrade soon, but don't want to invest $ if it's just going to crap out again in 6 months when the warranty is up.
Click to expand...
No, it's not common, and many MBPs run for many years after AppleCare runs out.
 
A lot of people report that after many Apple Care repairs, if their machine still develops faults, they're often given a brand new MBP.

It seems to depend on a variety of factors... But I'm sure you can find links on MacRumors which can offer some advice.
 
No, it's not normal. My old MacBook Pro (very first model, 2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo) is working great. I replaced the 100GB HD with new drive 2 weeks ago. Perfect.

Even my iMac G4 works great and turns 9 in a few days. It's still being used every day (beautifull kitchen computer)
 
GGJstudios said:
That's a GPU issue, not a "logic board fried" issue, like the OP has.
Click to expand...

When the Gpu fails it will do 1 of 2 things. chime and boot or it will not chime your will hear fans and cd drive but it will not boot. both require the board to be replaced.
 
jbrenn said:
When the Gpu fails it will do 1 of 2 things. chime and boot or it will not chime your will hear fans and cd drive but it will not boot. both require the board to be replaced.
Click to expand...

mine was doing the latter, not chime, fans, cd drive, no boot. Musta been the GPU, all the rep told me was my Logic Board needed replacement because it was "no longer functioning".
 
As others have said, it is not common for a MBP to just lose it's logic board like that. It does happen, but not enough to say that your MBP is only good for x years. I think heavy use, like encoding or folding that tax the CPU/GPU has been linked to longevity issues (due to running at or near max temp so long), though many people say their folding/rc5/seti machines have been running for years on end, so its hard to say.
 
iDutchman said:
No, it's not normal. My old MacBook Pro (very first model, 2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo) is working great. I replaced the 100GB HD with new drive 2 weeks ago. Perfect.

Even my iMac G4 works great and turns 9 in a few days. It's still being used every day (beautifull kitchen computer)
Click to expand...

iDutchman,

Sorry for piggybacking off this thread but I'm curious as to what kind of hd you ended up upgrading to? I, too, have an older MBP (2006 1.83 15" MBP core duo SATA I) and am looking to upgrade/resurrect my dead laptop (my hd died, per the geniuses at the Apple Store). I'm having a hard time finding/deciding what kind of hd I should get. I'd like to enhance the speed of my machine as much as is reasonable (less than $200). Is SSD a viable, worthwhile option for our older MBP models? If so, which ssd one would you recommend?

Thanks to you or anyone else that can help a poor, unsavvy macuser.
 
rpk73 said:
iDutchman,

Sorry for piggybacking off this thread but I'm curious as to what kind of hd you ended up upgrading to? I, too, have an older MBP (2006 1.83 15" MBP core duo SATA I) and am looking to upgrade/resurrect my dead laptop (my hd died, per the geniuses at the Apple Store). I'm having a hard time finding/deciding what kind of hd I should get. I'd like to enhance the speed of my machine as much as is reasonable (less than $200). Is SSD a viable, worthwhile option for our older MBP models? If so, which ssd one would you recommend?

Thanks to you or anyone else that can help a poor, unsavvy macuser.
Click to expand...

I have this machine just for back up purposes. But I installed an Intel X-25M 80GB SSD in the MacBook Pro which I had left. I upgraded the SSD in my iMac to a bigger one and used the Intel one for the MacBook Pro.
Absolutely a great SSD and the MacBook Pro really is flyin'. It gives a huge boost in performance to such an old machine like ours and it well worth the upgrade to get a few more years out of her. Mine boots in approximately 15 seconds and programs bounce one time (1 second) before they open. very nice.
 
Sometimes you get a lemon, other times you get something with the strength of the T-101 terminator from The Terminator. Also keep in mind that on the internet you are much more likely to hear people complaining about how their Macs are failing, rather than the majority of other happy users. After all, it's more fun to rant about how your nice shiny computer has screwed up than it is to say something boring like "yay my new Macbook runs fine after 5 years!"
 
I have owned 7 different macs over the past years. Starting with a PPC mac mini and G4 ibook. All of them are still functioning daily and the only hardware issue I have had was a battery that was replaced after 26 months by Apple Care. You won't hear these stories often on message boards. People just don't come here to say "I'm so happy with my .......!" IMHO Apple hardware is among the very best available and Apple Care is the standard that others should strive to achieve.
 
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