I have been shopping for a macbook pro in the $700 range. I decided on a 15" with a 2GHz cpu and the X1600 gpu. But, today i became aware of the issues that many owners have experienced with the X1600 being defective and having a hard time getting apple to fix it. If i buy one off ebay and it experiences the issues will apple replace it?
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Might Buy a Macbook pro with Ati X1600?
- Thread starter morepower7
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I'd get a 9400M G white MacBook unless you need the MacBook Pro for the screen size or ExpressCard slot. The 9400M G and X1600 are pretty much a tie for performance.
Not sure where you got the X1600 defect info - mine seems to be running great. And unless it has AppleCare Apple won't fix it as they do not seem to have any reason to be believe there are widespread problems with the X1600.
So go for the 9400M model unless you are saving a significant amount of money and the X1600 has AppleCare.
I presume you're after the very first MacBook Pro, from 2006? If you're buying that old, then it unlikely you'll be hit by manufacturing defects, but be prepared for other problems. Generally, the first things to go are the battery followed by the hard disk. Fingers crossed, with a bit of luck you'll get a good one.
Not necessarily the very first MBP - the 2,2 revision was also ATI x1600 and that was early 2007 I think.
I am still using the first batch MBP with x1600.
I don't remember hearing of any issues with the gpu and I've never experience issues with it. The only GPU related issue I've ever had was when the new iMac Aluminum came out and I had picked one up. Other than being bloated from letting someone use it for a year, this MBP runs just as well as it did when I picked it up.
Oh, one issue you may know of is the optical drive issues people have had with this first batch. I've also experienced it sometimes.
I don't remember hearing of any issues with the gpu and I've never experience issues with it. The only GPU related issue I've ever had was when the new iMac Aluminum came out and I had picked one up. Other than being bloated from letting someone use it for a year, this MBP runs just as well as it did when I picked it up.
Oh, one issue you may know of is the optical drive issues people have had with this first batch. I've also experienced it sometimes.
I'm actually still using one of these machines today. I have the second batch (late 2006) so it has the core 2 duo chip and the ATI x1600. It's been serving me well for the past 2 years. I haven't had any problems with it, except for the battery (which, if I may add, Apple replaced AFTER my MBP was out of warranty as they extended the warranty to 2 years for those with battery problems). Other than that, I've never experienced the GPU issue or the optical drive issue.
Apple won't replace anything on these batch of MBPs anymore unless the original owner bought Apple Care within one year of the purchase date.
Apple won't replace anything on these batch of MBPs anymore unless the original owner bought Apple Care within one year of the purchase date.
i read about it on the dicussion board on apple's website
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1697470
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1697470
There were/are no significant, systemic issues with the x1600. I used to keep one around as a spare because of the failures in my nvidia 8600-based SR 2.2
The 2.16 & 2.33 x1600-based MBPs are still very good machines, though no too many available at $700
Cheers,
There have been no defects acknowledged by Apple or AMD, but given the number of threads and messages regarding display "issues" with the X1600 in the first two generations of the MBP there might be something afoot. I too started encountering problems a few months ago.
They're certainly not universal problems nor problems the majority of owners encounter, but more than a few are. The problems seem to be heat-related and a good share of the first generation MBPs (Core Duo models) certainly ran hot. Can't speak to the second generation machines. I would not buy one unless it still had AppleCare. AppleCare on most of these models has expired or will be soon, so if you find one with AppleCare make sure to find out how much longer it's covered. Good hunting!
They're certainly not universal problems nor problems the majority of owners encounter, but more than a few are. The problems seem to be heat-related and a good share of the first generation MBPs (Core Duo models) certainly ran hot. Can't speak to the second generation machines. I would not buy one unless it still had AppleCare. AppleCare on most of these models has expired or will be soon, so if you find one with AppleCare make sure to find out how much longer it's covered. Good hunting!
Funny story,
I bought one of these off craigslist for $450 now, naturally, i knew something must be wrong i bought it and on the ride home i found out it had random shutdown syndrome
i did everyting i could to try to cure it and the time between shutdowns gradually decreased but it would never stop completely.
I played burnout paradise city on it alot and it was really great i was impressed with its performance and also the keyboard in my opinnion is alot nicer than the new macbook pros, the keys were giant!
OOO and P.S. i deleted the windows bootcamp partition and guess what? IT stopped shutting down i spent a long time cursing windows after that then i sold it for 600 and bought an insane gaming laptop (i sold cheap because the screen looked like someone tried to clean it with sand paper)
I would definatley say get it though its a nice machine! good luck
I bought one of these off craigslist for $450 now, naturally, i knew something must be wrong i bought it and on the ride home i found out it had random shutdown syndrome
i did everyting i could to try to cure it and the time between shutdowns gradually decreased but it would never stop completely.
I played burnout paradise city on it alot and it was really great i was impressed with its performance and also the keyboard in my opinnion is alot nicer than the new macbook pros, the keys were giant!
OOO and P.S. i deleted the windows bootcamp partition and guess what? IT stopped shutting down
i spent a long time cursing windows after that then i sold it for 600 and bought an insane gaming laptop (i sold cheap because the screen looked like someone tried to clean it with sand paper)I would definatley say get it though its a nice machine! good luck
to the original poster: there are NO widespread issues with the X1600 card. there are widespread issues with the 8600GT card.
just because there are a couple threads on an apple help site doesn't necessarily mean there is a major problem. I have the exact machine you are looking at, 2GHz, 15", X1600, my sister does as well, as well as many of my classmates at college. dont recall a single problem with any of them. dont eliminate this machine because of the X1600. it's a good card with the same defect rate as any other card. I think you've come across a disproportionate amount of problems than those out there.
for $700 I'd say it's more than worth it
just because there are a couple threads on an apple help site doesn't necessarily mean there is a major problem. I have the exact machine you are looking at, 2GHz, 15", X1600, my sister does as well, as well as many of my classmates at college. dont recall a single problem with any of them. dont eliminate this machine because of the X1600. it's a good card with the same defect rate as any other card. I think you've come across a disproportionate amount of problems than those out there.
for $700 I'd say it's more than worth it
ur exactly right the op should ignore just a few problems cuz remember, its a help site so only the bad experiences will be written not the good ones
I'd recommending getting a white MacBook with the 9400M instead. They run for about $750 on Apple's refurb store and come with a warranty. I don't recommend buying an older MacBook Pro for reasons already pointed out.