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~ MacBook [Aluminum] Owner's Thread

I'm at 96% health after 288 battery cycles. This baby still works great for me! Bought it during Spring Break of '09.

Unfortunately it has several bad scratches and chips on the bottom right corner of the keyboard section, and the bottom left of the screen (when closed)
 
I haven't calibrated in a while, but after 545 cycles, coconutBattery tells me I have 93% Battery Health.

I run the thing on battery until it tells me that I need to connect to a power source, so it gets drained and recharged about every day or every-other day.

However, I don't think I get the nearly 4 hours I used to when I first got it. More like 2:45 with average use. I'm sure if I were to conserve power and turn off wifi/unused tasks, I could milk a good 3:30 out of it still.

Love my CE Macbook. I'm waiting on my stuff in the mail from OWC to upgrade the HD and install my Crucial RAM. It'll be as good as new!
 
Update to my Mac repair: Apple received the MacBook earlier today, repaired it today, and it will be returned to my local Apple Store tomorrow for pickup. Entire process took four days. Not too bad.
 
celticpride678 said:
Update to my Mac repair: Apple received the MacBook earlier today, repaired it today, and it will be returned to my local Apple Store tomorrow for pickup. Entire process took four days. Not too bad.
Click to expand...

Not bad at all.
What did they fix?
- Battery, isight, and esata connection for HDD?
I have a similar AluMB that is doing just fine save for the battery starting micro signs of losing capacity. There should be a way to condition the battery or recondition it; cannot recall a thread on these boards for it though.
 
Prom1 said:
Not bad at all.
What did they fix?
- Battery, isight, and esata connection for HDD?
I have a similar AluMB that is doing just fine save for the battery starting micro signs of losing capacity. There should be a way to condition the battery or recondition it; cannot recall a thread on these boards for it though.
Click to expand...

They just swapped out my display.
 
What are you guys' geekbench scores?

Mine is 2980. Thats with recently upgraded RAM
 
My Aluminium MacBooks still going strong! :D If it's still working by Oct 2012 (4 years after purchase) then great, but I'll start to think about upgrading to a new machine, and retire this one :) Only way I'll be upgrading between now and Oct 2012 is if it dies on me :) As I said its still going strong, the only thing I can think about its performance is that I've noticed a drop in battery life, which is not a big deal...always in reach of a power socket :)

Aluminium MacBook has 2.4GHZ/4GB/250GB and checking iStats I see the following:

Uptime
uptime:30 minutes (had to restart but I got about 2-3 hours worth fromm 100% battery)
processes: 44
load average: 0.16,0.17,0.10

Memory
wired: 261mb
inactive: 142mb
active: 362mb
free: 3.00GB

Disks
MacIntosh HD
used: 64.62GB
free: 185.1GB

Battery
health: 93%
cycles: 559
charge: 2%
remaining: 0:03

Temps
hd: 32*c
cpu: 44*c

Fans
exhausts 2112rpm

and here are my Geekbench Results:

Score: 3413

Platform: Mac OS X x86 (32-bit)
Compiler: GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Inc. build 5494)
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6.6 (Build 10J567)
Model: MacBook (Late 2008)
Motherboard: Apple Inc. Mac-F42D89C8 Proto
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8600 @ 2.40GHz
Processor ID: GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 6
Logical Processors: 2
Physical Processors: 1
Processor Frequency: 2.40 GHz
L1 Instruction Cache: 32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache: 32.0 KB
L2 Cache: 3.00 MB
L3 Cache: 0.00 B
Bus Frequency: 1.06 GHz
Memory: 4.00 GB
Memory Type: 1067 MHz DDR3
SIMD: 1
BIOS: Apple Inc. MB51.88Z.007D.B03.0904271443
Processor Model: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
Processor Cores: 2

Integer (Score: 2760)
Blowfish single-threaded scalar -- 1671, , 73.4 MB/sec
Blowfish multi-threaded scalar -- 3521, , 144.3 MB/sec
Text Compress single-threaded scalar -- 1872, , 5.99 MB/sec
Text Compress multi-threaded scalar -- 3553, , 11.7 MB/sec
Text Decompress single-threaded scalar -- 1654, , 6.80 MB/sec
Text Decompress multi-threaded scalar -- 3349, , 13.3 MB/sec
Image Compress single-threaded scalar -- 1694, , 14.0 Mpixels/sec
Image Compress multi-threaded scalar -- 3289, , 27.7 Mpixels/sec
Image Decompress single-threaded scalar -- 1499, , 25.2 Mpixels/sec
Image Decompress multi-threaded scalar -- 2993, , 48.8 Mpixels/sec
Lua single-threaded scalar -- 2686, , 1.03 Mnodes/sec
Lua multi-threaded scalar -- 5347, , 2.06 Mnodes/sec

Floating Point (Score: 4978)
Mandelbrot single-threaded scalar -- 1782, , 1.19 Gflops
Mandelbrot multi-threaded scalar -- 3550, , 2.32 Gflops
Dot Product single-threaded scalar -- 3268, , 1.58 Gflops
Dot Product multi-threaded scalar -- 6841, , 3.12 Gflops
Dot Product single-threaded vector -- 2613, , 3.13 Gflops
Dot Product multi-threaded vector -- 5909, , 6.15 Gflops
LU Decomposition single-threaded scalar -- 674, , 599.7 Mflops
LU Decomposition multi-threaded scalar -- 1358, , 1.19 Gflops
Primality Test single-threaded scalar -- 3934, , 587.6 Mflops
Primality Test multi-threaded scalar -- 6018, , 1.12 Gflops
Sharpen Image single-threaded scalar -- 5017, , 11.7 Mpixels/sec
Sharpen Image multi-threaded scalar -- 10043, , 23.1 Mpixels/sec
Blur Image single-threaded scalar -- 6298, , 4.98 Mpixels/sec
Blur Image multi-threaded scalar -- 12399, , 9.75 Mpixels/sec

Memory (Score: 2608)
Read Sequential single-threaded scalar -- 3286, , 4.02 GB/sec
Write Sequential single-threaded scalar -- 2839, , 1.94 GB/sec
Stdlib Allocate single-threaded scalar -- 2100, , 7.84 Mallocs/sec
Stdlib Write single-threaded scalar -- 2347, , 4.86 GB/sec
Stdlib Copy single-threaded scalar -- 2470, , 2.55 GB/sec

Stream (Score: 1841)
Stream Copy single-threaded scalar -- 1832, , 2.51 GB/sec
Stream Copy single-threaded vector -- 1912, , 2.48 GB/sec
Stream Scale single-threaded scalar -- 1974, , 2.56 GB/sec
Stream Scale single-threaded vector -- 1846, , 2.49 GB/sec
Stream Add single-threaded scalar -- 1687, , 2.55 GB/sec
Stream Add single-threaded vector -- 2094, , 2.91 GB/sec
Stream Triad single-threaded scalar -- 1802, , 2.49 GB/sec
Stream Triad single-threaded vector -- 1584, , 2.97 GB/sec
 
After 6+ years with my PowerBook G4, it was time for a change. Luckily, I was fortunate to score a great deal on an Aluminum MacBook. This is a great MacBook model from Apple, and I couldn't be happier.

Anyways, I got this (obviously) used, and the battery still sits at 96% health even after 486 cycles. So much better than my PowerBook! :D
 
Just got my own 2.4 aluminum macbook :). Got my first mac last year (pre-unibody macbook pro) and just upgraded to this baby. Got it Factory sealed refurbished for $800. Pretty good deal I think. I love it so far.
 
Guys, having a problem with my 2008 Aluminum Macbook.

My battery has 534 cycles on it. It has 87% health right now and a charging capacity of around 3600-3700 mAh.

It has been randomly going from a solid battery (80-90% charged) to 0% (Condition: replace now).

The past two days I have been able to reset the SMC (power down, remove battery, hold power button 5 seconds) and it come back showing the battery normal (full charge and capacity...everything).

Problem is it is at random dying unless on the power supply. Is it normal for a battery to go from full charge and capacity and being able to hold that charge to randomly showing it dead with no charge. Is that just a sign that the battery is in some way dying or is that something more likely with the logic board.

I have an appointment with the idiots at apple on thursday...but I'm stranded to a power cord until then. Any help or tips? Should I be prepared to buy a new battery (even though I have applecare)?

Thanks
 
Probably a faulty cell in the battery. My old MBP had similar symptoms when it ate the second battery after around 250 cycles. It's new battery time, hopefully Apple will cover it.
 
Me too!

bimmerfreak0 said:
Guys, having a problem with my 2008 Aluminum Macbook.

My battery has 534 cycles on it. It has 87% health right now and a charging capacity of around 3600-3700 mAh.

It has been randomly going from a solid battery (80-90% charged) to 0% (Condition: replace now).

The past two days I have been able to reset the SMC (power down, remove battery, hold power button 5 seconds) and it come back showing the battery normal (full charge and capacity...everything).

Problem is it is at random dying unless on the power supply. Is it normal for a battery to go from full charge and capacity and being able to hold that charge to randomly showing it dead with no charge. Is that just a sign that the battery is in some way dying or is that something more likely with the logic board.

I have an appointment with the idiots at apple on thursday...but I'm stranded to a power cord until then. Any help or tips? Should I be prepared to buy a new battery (even though I have applecare)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

What a coincidence! I've been having the very same issues with my 2008 Alum MacBook. What prompted me to call Apple was that the night before, my battery was 85% charged... I closed it, went to bed and in the morning my notebook would not wake up... it had fully discharged. So Monday morning I called Apple Support and when they checked all my numbers, they said that I had a faulty battery. They put notes in my file and said they would ship me a new battery (all covered under my AppleCare) or I could pick it up at the Apple Store. I opted for the store since it's very close to me. When I met with the "Genius" the next day, she said my battery was fine, but gave me a new one anyway. How about that.

I was experiencing the same issues you are. I did not write down my stats and that's the kind of stuff I just don't remember accurately. Hopefully you will get the same treatment I did and walk out with a FREE battery.

Good Luck
 
bimmerfreak0 said:
My battery has 534 cycles on it. It has 87% health right now and a charging capacity of around 3600-3700 mAh.

It has been randomly going from a solid battery (80-90% charged) to 0% (Condition: replace now)....Should I be prepared to buy a new battery (even though I have applecare)?
Click to expand...
Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its capacity up to 300 cycles. You're almost double that. Even though you have AppleCare, there's no assurance that they will find your battery defective, especially since you're way over the cycles. However, it doesn't hurt to ask. Apple reps have been known to bend the rules to keep customers happy. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 
bimmerfreak0 said:
Guys, having a problem with my 2008 Aluminum Macbook.

My battery has 534 cycles on it. It has 87% health right now and a charging capacity of around 3600-3700 mAh.

It has been randomly going from a solid battery (80-90% charged) to 0% (Condition: replace now).

The past two days I have been able to reset the SMC (power down, remove battery, hold power button 5 seconds) and it come back showing the battery normal (full charge and capacity...everything).

Problem is it is at random dying unless on the power supply. Is it normal for a battery to go from full charge and capacity and being able to hold that charge to randomly showing it dead with no charge. Is that just a sign that the battery is in some way dying or is that something more likely with the logic board.

I have an appointment with the idiots at apple on thursday...but I'm stranded to a power cord until then. Any help or tips? Should I be prepared to buy a new battery (even though I have applecare)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Just got back from the Genius appointment. Guy replaced the battery for free. I didn't say a freakin word. My smile must have done it:D

I will say that I consider myself lucky and will not count on that again. Awesome though nonetheless. 550 cycles and it still got replaced.
 
Convinced the replaceable batteries last much longer than the new ones that aren't user replaceable. They seem to hold charges much better after a long period of ownership. I see threads of newer mbps that are at 90% health after a few dozen cycles.

My aluminum MacBook is still going strong after 2.5 years. I plan to use it for at least 4-5 years. So far it's living up to its standards. 8 gb ram upgrade in the near future and I'll be set for sure. It hasn't slowed down one bit since the day I got it. First Mac and it goes without saying that I'll never use another PC again for personal use.
 
USB Power Question

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering purchasing the following USB 3.0 drives to use immediately but also in preparation to use - via adapter - on the newer 2011 MBP's on Thunderbolt port.

For immediate use does anyone know if this prestige Collectors Edition MacBook Unibody - MB467LL/A - supports USB power of "900mA" ?? I know the current standard is 500mA so I'm hoping I can go with my purchase.

LaCie Rikiki USB 3.0
Rikiki-USB3-9mm_back.jpg


The internal hard drive LaCie opted for their 1TB is a 5400rpm Toshiba MK1059GSM. As expected, this is a 12.5mm form factor 2.5" hard drive and thus explains the added height of this model. It also explains the need for the 120V power adapter! In a nutshell, this bad boy requires 900mA to spin up (4.5W of power). So, if you try to use the included single port USB 3.0 cable on a USB 2.0 enabled system, you probably are not going to get it to work. This will vary from system to system as while USB 2.0 ports are only "supposed" to deliver 500mA, not all manufacturers follow it and allow for higher power draws. Since a wall adapter is not included and neither is a two port cable, you really are going to have to phone LaCie up and ask for one. If you do that, they will send you a "proper" two port cable for free. To be honest, this is very good customer service, but by the same token, it should never need to happen as LaCie should have included the proper darn cable in the first place.

On the truly positive side, LaCie Rikiki USB 3.0 portable drive opted to go with the very good ASMedia ASM1051 controller chip. We really like seeing these little bad boys in a drive as to be blunt they are simply better than the JMicron chip that some other companies opt for.
Click to expand...
http://www.everythingusb.com/lacie-rikiki-usb-3.0-portable-hard-drive-20982.html

LaCie Starck Mobile USB 3.0
Starck-Mobile3_back.jpg


Or should I go with
Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 750GB 2.5" Ultra-portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive
28220.jpg

^ this doesn't require external power port.
 
Last edited:
The Alu MacBook will offer up to 1100mA to the first device requesting it. Both my iPad/iPhone quite happily will each suck 1000mA according to system profiler. Plug both in and the first one gets 1000mA and the second a standard 500mA.

More information here : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

Annoyingly Apple only mention their own devices, but I can't see it not working on something from LaCie.

Oh and Collections Edition MacBook = LOL :D
 
Just picked up one of these.

I would've liked the new 13" MBP, but I don't need all that power, and the lack of increase in screen res tempted me to pick up a 2nd hand top-end Alu MacBook (Backlit keyboard was wanted). At almost half price for what I was willing to pay, I think it's brilliant!

99% Battery health, 172 cycles.
3413 in Geekbench

It's a nice upgrade from my white MacBook 4,1!
 
Got my MacBook Unibody in December of '08. I have upgraded RAM to 8GB and the HDD to 500GB. It's still running like new. Battery has 100% health at 20 cycles. I'm thinking I'll throw in an additional SSD in the optical bay before I head off to college this Fall. :D:D:D
 
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