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Mac Pro--buy now or wait for "fixes?"

martinlk

martinlk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hi,

I realize this is related to some of the other threads in here, but I think that a separate thread is appropriate. Now, here's the thing:

I'm eager to purchase my first Mac Pro, and I'm pretty sure I'm going for the base configuration. Only problem is that I want a machine that *just works*. There have been a lot of posts about sleep and graphics issues, and I'm becoming concerned about that. This is emphasized by my history of Apple purchases:

  • 12" PowerBook G4 -- battery recall. Other than that it has worked like a charm.
  • iMac G5 iSight -- Had to get the machine replaced twice due to a constant high pitched whine coming from the PSU.
  • Mac Mini (bought for my girlfriend's parents) -- remote stopped working, had to get the entire machine replaced.
  • MacBook (for my girlfriend) -- Machine had to be replaced due to CPU whine. After that, we had to send it in for repair due to the plastic chassis cracking.

Obviously I'm tired of receiving hardware that is, in one way or the other, broken. So my question basically is: should I wait a little while and see if some of the problems go away for other Mac Pro owners (either through Apple revising the hardware or 10.5.2 being released)? Keep in mind that by "wait a little while" I mean a few week or maybe a month.

What would you recommend?
 
As frustrating as it is to have problems with your hardware, I am not sure that waiting a few weeks / a month would really decrease your chances of getting a defective piece. I bought a PowerBook two years ago and it was not right after an update (so the kinks should have been worked out), and I had to send it in three weeks after purchase for repairs. These things just happen. And as other posters have said, you cannot really look through these forums and assume that others' problems represent all Mac Pros. People without any issues do not generally post a new topic saying "Hey, I just got my Mac Pro and it works great" (some do), but a lot more people would post a topic like "I just got my Mac Pro and I am having issues". So you see all these negative posts and think that the Mac Pros have a high defect rate... but that logic is flawed and should not be considered correct.

But hey, I am no expert. I could be completely wrong. That is just my feeling.
 
The OP does have a valid concern. For machines that are supposed to "just work", there have been a lot of issues as of late with Apple hardware. This, I believe, is due to Apple's growing popularity and market share additional strain has been placed on their supply chain and is having a diminishing effect on quality control.

For the OP, I would recommend waiting at least until 10.5.2 comes out. If you are in the market for a Mac Pro with the 8800gt, then wait until we get some feedback in once people have the machines in hand.

Fortunately, I'm not in that category. I waited over a year for them to update the Mac Pro (that's counting the wait time from Jan 8th until 'supposedly' Feb 13th) so naturally I placed my order the very day the machine was updated.
 
I bought one from Humac here in Aalborg, Denmark.

No problems what-so-ever. Works like a charm so I would go for it 😉

As with any electronic equipment there are some that fail. It is a small percentage of the total amount and normal in the industry.

PS: Humac is selling AppleCare for half price right now
 
I went for it yesterday... Can't wait indefinitely. You could buy a Mac Pro at the end of a cycle and have your worst nightmares becoming true. The key to this, I think, is to get Apple Care, hope for the best and jump in. Comes to worst, it will be taken for repair... I'll probably keep my old G5 just in case.
 
I'm making the purchase on Friday. you're right... Apple should get their act together on the hardware, but I must admit... they do pretty well (compared to the rest of the industry) in Apple Care support.. I've had about four cases and each have been above par. I've also had several with Dell, Acer and Gateway...not so pleasant. 🙄
 
c073186 said:
And as other posters have said, you cannot really look through these forums and assume that others' problems represent all Mac Pros. People without any issues do not generally post a new topic saying "Hey, I just got my Mac Pro and it works great" (some do), but a lot more people would post a topic like "I just got my Mac Pro and I am having issues". So you see all these negative posts and think that the Mac Pros have a high defect rate... but that logic is flawed and should not be considered correct.
Click to expand...

I see it as the macrumors forum represents such a small fraction of all mac pro users. And if there are a lot of problems reported here, can it possibly be of the same scale universally? If there are only 100 people here who have gotten mac pros, and a large number of them are having problems, do you think its just coincidence that only guys on macrumors get defective computers? (just gettin my devils advo on)
 
Personally, I've had no problems whatsoever with my new 2.8 octo. It seems to me like there is no reason to wait. Worst case scenario, you take it in to the Apple Store and they give you a different one. If you waited, what exactly would you be waiting for? Some people have said to wait for 10.5.2, but chances are your machine will be fine when you get it. Even if it happens to be a little quirky, at least you'll get to use it while you wait to download 10.5.2.

I doubt there will be any significant "fixes" or changes until they update the line again in 200+ days.
 
zdobson said:
...Worst case scenario, you take it in to the Apple Store and they give you a different one.
Click to expand...
On the subject of Apple Care... I guess I don't understand the logic, but it seems like the only reason you'd want Apple Care is if you have major problems, but in such a case wouldn't Apple replace your machine under a general warranty?

I guess the question is (and maybe answered in another thread):

Under what specific circumstance would you "kick yourself" for having passed on the Apple Care upsell?
 
Pressure said:
I bought one from Humac here in Aalborg, Denmark.

No problems what-so-ever. Works like a charm so I would go for it 😉

As with any electronic equipment there are some that fail. It is a small percentage of the total amount and normal in the industry.

PS: Humac is selling AppleCare for half price right now
Click to expand...
That's funny, I'm in Aalborg too. I didn't think that these machines were in stores yet, especially here in Denmark.

zdobson said:
Worst case scenario, you take it in to the Apple Store and they give you a different one
Click to expand...
I have to buy online since I want to use an ADC discount and we don't have Apple stores here in Denmark. As far as I know, I'll have to send it to Apple by mail if something happens to be wrong with it (oh, the horror!).
 
kirkbross said:
Under what specific circumstance would you "kick yourself" for having passed on the Apple Care upsell?
Click to expand...

Basically if the machine catches fire or something the day after the initial one year warranty runs out. You can buy Apple Care any time in the first year of owning your computer. I plan to wait until my first year is almost up and buy it if my business insurance doesn't already give me the same coverage. I'll probably buy it, as I've heard stories of people with Apple Care having their computer die in the third year of owning it and having it replaced with the newest model available. Sounds like a good deal to me for only $200
 
I think back to the days when I purchased my PB G3. Within two weeks I had it returning to Apple due to a bad hard drive. I shipped it overnight on a Thursday and had it back Saturday afternoon. Awesome repair time!!! That was back in 1999. It is still working. Problems do happen and there are a lot of very happy Mac Pro users who do not take the time to post their positive experiences. Plus sometimes some people's issues are "no biggies" to others.

...waiting patiently for my 2.8 octo with 8800 GT...come on Feb 26th!!!
 
zdobson said:
Basically if the machine catches fire or something the day after the initial one year warranty runs out. You can buy Apple Care any time in the first year of owning your computer.
Click to expand...


Apple care in some parts of the world is useless.

In our socio-fasistic economy (eu) we have quite good consumer protection laws.Around here we are covered for the "expected lifespan" of the product, so with computers it is around 3 years.

So apple care,hell no.

But,as you apparently are from states, then the the apple care might be handy. But martin should check out your danish consumer laws. And buy the mp... The sleep issues are propably 10.5.1 based so they should be rectified within weeks.
 
NO brainer WAIT!!!


martinlk said:
Hi,

I realize this is related to some of the other threads in here, but I think that a separate thread is appropriate. Now, here's the thing:

I'm eager to purchase my first Mac Pro, and I'm pretty sure I'm going for the base configuration. Only problem is that I want a machine that *just works*. There have been a lot of posts about sleep and graphics issues, and I'm becoming concerned about that. This is emphasized by my history of Apple purchases:

  • 12" PowerBook G4 -- battery recall. Other than that it has worked like a charm.
  • iMac G5 iSight -- Had to get the machine replaced twice due to a constant high pitched whine coming from the PSU.
  • Mac Mini (bought for my girlfriend's parents) -- remote stopped working, had to get the entire machine replaced.
  • MacBook (for my girlfriend) -- Machine had to be replaced due to CPU whine. After that, we had to send it in for repair due to the plastic chassis cracking.

Obviously I'm tired of receiving hardware that is, in one way or the other, broken. So my question basically is: should I wait a little while and see if some of the problems go away for other Mac Pro owners (either through Apple revising the hardware or 10.5.2 being released)? Keep in mind that by "wait a little while" I mean a few week or maybe a month.

What would you recommend?
Click to expand...
 
Yeah but did you pay $300.00 extra for "care" from these other companies?
I never had a problem with two of those companies at all.


ErikAndre said:
I'm making the purchase on Friday. you're right... Apple should get their act together on the hardware, but I must admit... they do pretty well (compared to the rest of the industry) in Apple Care support.. I've had about four cases and each have been above par. I've also had several with Dell, Acer and Gateway...not so pleasant. 🙄
Click to expand...
 
4God said:
How long have you had your new MacPro?
Click to expand...

I also have had no sleep problems with my MP setup for this last week (dual 2,8, 10 GB, 2.3 TB).

My 8800 is on order like everyone else's, but glad I cancelled the BTO and got the stock with the 8800 separate, as I get to use the machine for 6 weeks now!
 
martinlk said:
That's funny, I'm in Aalborg too. I didn't think that these machines were in stores yet, especially here in Denmark.

I have to buy online since I want to use an ADC discount and we don't have Apple stores here in Denmark. As far as I know, I'll have to send it to Apple by mail if something happens to be wrong with it (oh, the horror!).
Click to expand...

Apple will ask you to send it to a certified Apple repair center which narrows it down to Humac in Denmark. Otherwise you may need to send it to Ireland.

I would just get the thing. Worst case scenario is you return it to Humac within a 14 days period.

Mine have no problems.
 
LeKiD said:
Well, Kirk... on the subject of your rendition of So Lonely... it's pretty amazing what you've done with your super 8! Great performance!
Click to expand...
Thank you kindly. That video was done in 1994 when I was young and had a full head of hair... my friend who shot and edited it found a VHS of it lying around last April and digitized it so I thought I might as well throw it up on youtube. Memory lane... the "grunge" years.
 
4God said:
How long have you had your new MacPro?
Click to expand...

I've had it about two weeks. Most people who have reported problems on this site had them immediately, so I figure I won't have the same problems they did. Different ones, maybe, but I doubt it.
 
greenmeanie said:
Yeah but did you pay $300.00 extra for "care" from these other companies?
I never had a problem with two of those companies at all.
Click to expand...

No, you're right... i paid more. You should visit these other companies and see their rates, my friend. When the rubber hits the road, AppleCare (with all their problems) still comes out on top.
 
ErikAndre said:
No, you're right... i paid more. You should visit these other companies and see their rates, my friend. When the rubber hits the road, AppleCare (with all their problems) still comes out on top.
Click to expand...

Quote of the night!!! 😀
 
kirkbross said:
Thank you kindly. That video was done in 1994 when I was young and had a full head of hair... my friend who shot and edited it found a VHS of it lying around last April and digitized it so I thought I might as well throw it up on youtube. Memory lane... the "grunge" years.


I'm going to wait until day 364.
Click to expand...

That's awesome. It's sobering to think how time has flown when you realize "grunge" and the goatie movement is a decade old. I was still in high school and listening to Nirvana, Goo Goo Dolls, et al. back around that time.

Old school!


Back on topic: I've deliberated over this matter myself for a few weeks now and even after I ordered my OWC memory which hasn't shipped yet, I still have reservations about jumping in with the reliability of the MPs. That said, I won't get anything done sitting on my arse and hands so I'm going through with it -- today.
 
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