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MPB. Is it really worth buying?

S

smudged

macrumors member
Original poster
May 14, 2008
30
0
Hello, I'm intrested in buying a MPB next summer. It looked like the perfect Mac until I started reading the common issues it may suffer.

After reading about a screen that can't display the colors they advertise, about faulty batteries, dead pixels, black lines on the screen, a rotten Safari that can mess up whenever there's a flash or a java script, also that they run really hot, that they can't make good use of their 512mb video card, and I also saw people who returned it at least 5 times.

For a laptop that's $2.500, Apple should be ashamed.

Are these issues things of the past, or the lastest MBP's are still mediocre?

Is this a yay or a nay?

Thank you.
 
It's a well known fact that you're always more likely to find negatives on the internet about a product. After all, people are more likely to go someplace and complain/seek help for problems than declare their overwhelming love for a product.

So.. everything you read should be taken with a large grain of salt.

That being said..

They run hot. Very hot. I don't ever expect that to change.
I have no experience with MBPs that have a 512MB video card.
Safari is fine, but there are other browsers out there. Firefox anyone? ;)
I don't work in the graphics industry, so color correction isn't an issue.
Otherwise, I've exactly zero of the other problems you mentioned and I support a ton of MBPs. I've had 2 lemons in the last batch of 50. 4%?

I say yea. It's worth buying... if you want a Mac and/or a Mac laptop. The MBs just aren't worth it for what I do.
 
smudged said:
Hello, I'm intrested in buying a MPB next summer. It looked like the perfect Mac until I started reading the common issues it may suffer.

After reading about a screen that can't display the colors they advertise, about faulty batteries, dead pixels, black lines on the screen, a rotten Safari that can mess up whenever there's a flash or a java script, also that they run really hot, that they can't make good use of their 512mb video card, and I also saw people who returned it at least 5 times.

For a laptop that's $2.500, Apple should be ashamed.

Are these issues things of the past, or the lastest MBP's are still mediocre?

Is this a yay or a nay?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Best $2400 ive ever spent... so yay from me.

1 Regardless of how many colors it can display, its the best looking display ive ever had. I dont do any image critical work though so my eyes may not be looking at the screen as critically as others.

2 I do not have any dead pixels.

3 No black lines on my screen

4 if safari or webkit cant handle the page i need..i just load up firefox.

5 Computers run hot.. as much as id love to have a machine as powerful as a MBP thats as thin as it is... and have it cool my drink for me... just not going to happen.

6. I made great use of the 512 MB video card running Bioshock in bootcamp just the other day :D

7. obviously ive never returned mine :D
 
yellow said:
It's a well known fact that you're always more likely to find negatives on the internet about a product. After all, people are more likely to go someplace and complain/seek help for problems than declare their overwhelming love for a product.

So.. everything you read should be taken with a large grain of salt.

That being said..

They run hot. Very hot. I don't ever expect that to change.
I have no experience with MBPs that have a 512MB video card.
Safari is fine, but there are other browsers out there. Firefox anyone? ;)
I don't work in the graphics industry, so color correction isn't an issue.
Otherwise, I've exactly zero of the other problems you mentioned and I support a ton of MBPs. I've had 2 lemons in the last batch of 50. What's that? 4%?

I say yea. It's worth buying... if you want a Mac and/or a Mac laptop. The MBs just aren't worth it for what I do.
Click to expand...


this is a really good point. when you go on mac forum sites chances are you're going to see threads about the problems, not the successes. So take them with a grain of salt. Plus if anything does go wrong you have a year warranty that can be extended to 3. Any person I've talked to with the 512mb card hasn't reported any problems, some say that it just takes some researching to find the best drivers for the games you're trying to play (some are better at crysis for instance). So yeah take all the negatives cautiously and remember there's going to be a lot more of them on the internet than threads of things that are working perfectly haha
 
Well thanks for all the answers. I know people point out the bad things about stuff but I've never seen so many issues on something people claim is good. I just wanna know if the MBP is something that'll frustrate me (like my 360) or something that I'll be happy with.
 
I think a lot of these issues have been somewhat over-emphasized. I think most Macbook owners have had no problems, although some have had the issues you've listed. I have had my battery replaced twice since it's died quickly on me. Thankfully Apple replaced it free of charge. Most of the problems have been with the earlier Core Duo Macbook Pros and it's my understanding that the bugs have been ironed out.

A few things to note on what you said:

1) Many screens don't "truly" show all the colors advertised for every pixel but instead use "fake colors." I'm not sure if my Macbook Pro is one of the models that use fake colors, it might be since it's a mid-late 2006 model, but I can't tell the difference if it is. In any case, the Macbook Pros have some of the most attractive displays out there and are better than the Macbook's and Air's.

2) I'm not that familiar with the dead-pixel and screen issue, but from the macbooks and macbook pros I've seen and used, it's not a big issue.

3) Keep in mind that the mobile video cards are underclocked anyway. A variety of configuration options are used by default to keep the card from burning through the battery. Not sure if the 512mb issue (which I haven't heard of) is related to this or not.

4) I've known one person who've returned their macbook pro two years after getting it and got a new one from Apple under Apple Care. I think these big problems are mostly a thing of the past. Like many laptops from a variety of manufactures the first generation of the model is often buggy.

In my experience the build quality of Macs are typically really good. There are of course some that are problematic, and the the Macbook Pro for the first few months was just that. At this time I wouldn't worry about it. Apple has done a good job of fixing these problems. It may be worth getting Apple Care for the support and not having to worry about your Macbook for a few years, but it's up to you. Of course, it almost goes without saying, but when buying a product it's always possible you'll get a defective model. It happens.

Good Luck.
 
All laptops have the chance of going bad.

Take this story for example; my Iridium Starbook 520 (amazingly discontinued) has so far been through three severe hardware failures resulting in three new hard drives, it has caught fire twice resulting in its current state of having no CD tray nor plastic base, and it has short-circuited its was through three RAM cards now. The screen backlight fails randomly and the only way to get it back on is to close the lid and hit it sharply on the hinges.

And amazingly, the thing still works; I use it for Paint Shop Pro 8 and Animation Shop Pro 3 - I can't afford Adobe CS3 for the Mac yet.

Reassuringly, I have never ever heard of a Macintosh computer acting as badly as this laptop. The only problem I have ever had with a Mac is when the roof leaked into my Macintosh 512ke and the PSU exploded. Which is understandable.
 
Yay

I love my MBP.

I have only one stuck pixel.
New battery has only 97% health.
Screen is great if you look at it at the right angle.
Fans are a little noisy, but can tame them with 3rd party SW.

Well, that may sound bad, but compared to the alternatives out there, I'd have to say that this is actually better than most. I think that Apple specifically researched just how much trouble people would put up with and still be willing to pay 2000 bucks. I can't blame them for this. It is purely a buisness decision. Their main goal, after all, is to make money and increase shareholder value, not to make the worlds best computer. They do a good job at it.
 
Don't rely on all you read. I bought the first MBP as soon as it came out and sold it to a friend when the second rev came out. They both are still working great THE BEST COMPUTERS I HAVE EVER HAD. They are both used all day long at work every day with no problems at all. My son is a animation professional working in LA and he also uses a MBP with no issues. It seems like the only people that post replies are the ones that nitpick any issues they might or might not have. Buy one and you won't be sorry.
 
smudged said:
... just wanna know if the MBP is something that'll frustrate me (like my 360) or something that I'll be happy with.
Click to expand...


Depending on your luck, you may get a really good MBP, or a bad one that will frustrate you. Chances are, you will not get a dud.


Also, the only time my 360 frustrates me is when I get owned by a bot in a game...
 
It's worth having so it is also worth buying. Remember we are here to learn so here is where we post our issues. Sometimes you will see a thread about someone saying everything is great. Mostly that is how it is, but is also mostly unspoken.
 
Yay for me. I haven't had a single problem with mine. It doesn't get horribly hot. But it does get warm. I use a Toshiba for work and that gets way hotter then my MBP
 
I should start a thread once a week about how my MBP is still working and still has not had any problems.

It's about 11 months old with use every single day, and the only problem is that I filled the 160GB harddrive.
 
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