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My First Mac Experience - Absolutely Horrible

choreo said:
I received a new Dual 2.8 Mac Pro about 2 weeks ago from the Apple Store w/2 ATI 2600 cards to drive my (3) 23" Sony widescreen monitors. I migrated from a Dual 2-Gig G5 running Tiger to this system. I installed (4) WD 750-Gig Caviar RE2 HDs internally and 16-Gig of OWC RAM.

For the past 10 days I have been running ALL the CS3 apps (not including Acrobat Pro until todays release) - especially lots of After Effects CS3 and Photoshop Extended work. Of course, I have only been running the machine for 10-days, so it is still too early to tell if any serious problems will arise, but I have to say "so far" I have not experienced ANY "performance" issues.

I have had about 12 new Macs since 1985 (all top of the line) and I can honestly say that this is the first time I have seen a noticeable speed gain - and apparently in all areas! (and this is not top-of-the-line at 2.8). My restarts are taking about 30-seconds from selecting Restart to back-to-work (previously it took at least 2 minutes). Launching Photoshop with a ton of plugins and fonts takes 16-seconds as opposed to 1-minute previously. So, all-in-all (so far) I have been very pleased with the move.

I still do not feel totally confident with this set-up yet and backup every file to 3 locations every hour, but so far only experienced a Time Machine "cosmetic" glitch (which is apparently unique to me and Apple has no answers) and there are some issues with using Spaces with Photoshop so far (so I am not using Spaces yet). Since these processors, etc, are so new, I was very leery of this upgrade, but so far it has gone remarkably smoother than I anticipated (knock on wood).

I will say this much... IN MY CASE, I have never "yet" seen a single Apple HARDWARE failure in all my years (and I support a lot of local print shops and Ad Agency Macs for years). These are "machines" so there are certainly hardware issues that can arise - I just never have "experienced" one myself (yet). I HAVE had several print shops, Ad agencies, etc. over the years tell me that either AppleCare or Comp USA, etc. had diagnosed there machine as having a bad power supply or bad motherboard and it would have to be sent in for repair or replacement. IN EVERY CASE, I was able to go to their locations and get their machines up and running again without any "hardware" replacements!!! So, I know for a fact, that there must be TONS of Macs getting hardware replaced needlessly. That said, that may not be YOUR case! There may very well be a chronic issue with some of these new Mac Pros!

I am the first to admit that AppleCare is worthless. They have always been very willing to assist, but by the time you get through to a Senior Technician your tongue will be hanging out and to be honest over all my years they have NEVER been able to give me a fix for ANY issue I reported.On two occasions they said I apparently had a bad machine and they would replace it, but in both cases, I got it working on my own, because I did not have the time to wait on a new machine - it was always a software or hardware-configuration problem in my cases. The only reason I buy AppleCare is for that "disaster" when the machine "might" go up in smoke, but as far as fixes over the phone I have found them useless but willing to help.

IMO, "if THEY do determine" that a new Mac Pro needs to be replaced, I think they should at the very least cross-ship a replacement at their cost - especially in the first 90 days.

One thing that they will need to address on Leopard is the User Permissions problem that people (like myself) are having who "migrate" from a previous system. This could be a real sleeping giant if they do not come up with a fix to cleaning out the "unknown user" assignments. Of course, they have to admit to the problem first before they can issue a global fix.
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Thanks for sharing. I have been lucky enough so far to never have any hardware fail on me as well. I've owned about 10 pc's or so since 2000 and 2 laptops, none of them have ever failed. Knocks on wood... This was my first real issue with any hardware I've ever bought. I can't be 100% sure if it's hardware or software, but let's assume it was hardware since that is what it looks like.

I'm ordering a new mac pro tomorrow with the 8800GT. I'm very confident this box will be perfectly fine and I will be a happier camper.
 
You all need to stop attacking anyone that has something negative to say about Apple. It's embarrassing to be associated with a user group that displays this kind of blind faith and attitude, in public. REALLY embarrassing people. :apple:
 
It's hard, especially if someone is basically "bad mouthing" a company they love. Anyway, it's always been about the manufacturing average - typically, you get 2% to 5% of the devices are bad, so unless they test every single machine, which they never do, you are bound to get something like. Not to mention companies want to cut cost, so they will make you go through hoops to get them replaced, so I just place Apple with the rest of the companies. You don't see "next day replacement" on consumer oriented companies typically - you see them more often on business side. To me, almost every PC companies support are the same (e.g. they cut corners), so I tend to "ignore" stories like this because EVERY COMPANY is like that. I am sure there are good experiences out there as well, so until I see huge spike of numbers of a particular problem (screen/sleep problem seems to be big), I would just write it off as "manufacturing problem".
 
Concerning brand new, store bought macs:

My new Mac Pro is ok, no probs.

In addition I have owned 2 iMacs, 2 power macs, a mac mini and a macbook. My ex wife had 2 iBooks, an old girlfriend had one and an iMac too. A friend had an iMac, another friend had an iMac also. Out of all of that only 1 iMac had an issue that was repaired through applecare.

Otherwise out of these - no problems.

My current wife and 2 friends have macbooks with either battery or screen issues.

To sum up:
A variety of apple products ranging from 1998 - present:

16 computers:
4 problems (3 of the problems with 2007 Macbooks, one with 1998 iMac)

So, there is so antecdotal evidence for you, to do with as you wish.
 
Good news. The 8800GT's are shipping. I decided to take the plunge. 10.5.2 should fix any issues, and the 8800GT should be good to go.

I got free overnight from Apple for my past troubles. Let's hope it ships next week.
smile.gif
I finally got a competent Apple employee! Jean Luc! Thanks!

MAC PRO CTO
With the following configuration:

* Processor 065-7536 Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
* Memory 065-7175 2GB (2x1GB)
* Graphics Card 065-7537 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
* Hard Drive Bay1 065-7189 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb
* Hard Drive Bay2 065-7194 None
* Hard Drive Bay3 065-7197 None
* Hard Drive Bay4 065-7200 None
* Optical Drive 065-7203 One 16x SuperDrive
* Wireless Option 065-7206 AirPort Extreme Card (Wi-Fi)
* Modem 065-7209 None
* Fibre Chl Card 065-7211 None
* RAID 065-7213 None
* Apple Software App- iWorks '08 065-7672 None
* Apple Software App-Logic Exp 065-7675 None
* Apple Software App-Fnl Cut Exp 065-7674 None
* Apple Software App-Aperture 065-7673 None
* Mouse from AOS 065-7693 APPLE MIGHTY MOUSE
* Mac OS Language for AOS 065-7707 WIRED KYBRD/MAC OS X
* Mac SVR OS Language 065-7539 None
* Country Kit 065-7220 Country Kit

Ships by:
Feb 29 (prob next week)

Delivers by:
Mar 6 (meh read above)
 
Mr.PS,,, just couldn't wait, could you? :D (you told me you were going to wait to see how they were before ordering)

Good luck,,, I hope the card and the OS upgrade iron out all your probs. Not so much becuase I'm a kind and caring person,,, but because I'm getting one too. :p
 
FastMan said:
Mr.PS,,, just couldn't wait, could you? :D (you told me you were going to wait to see how they were before ordering)

Good luck,,, I hope the card and the OS upgrade iron out all your probs. Not so much becuase I'm a kind and caring person,,, but because I'm getting one too. :p
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Nope couldn't wait. If anything I will keep returning it until it works. The 8800GT should be good though. Almost everybody I know has ordered with the 8800GT.
 
I realize that you were using the Samsung F1 HDDs.

Those hard drives are VERY notorious for having serious issues.

Could it be that one or both of those hard drives may be faulty?

Possibly it was just a faulty hard drive, and not a faulty system.

I would first put those F1s into your Dell, and do a scan to make sure they are in tip-top condition.

Good luck with your upcoming mac:)
 
Salavat23 said:
I realize that you were using the Samsung F1 HDDs.

Those hard drives are VERY notorious for having serious issues.

Could it be that one or both of those hard drives may be faulty?

Possibly it was just a faulty hard drive, and not a faulty system.

I would first put those F1s into your Dell, and do a scan to make sure they are in tip-top condition.

Good luck with your upcoming mac:)
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No, not a possibility, I just got them today, and the issues people were having with them were only on the Nforce and Via chipsets. A lot of mac users here have not had any problems with them at all. I will be testing them for sure. They should be fine though.
 
So I guess by "Absolutely Horrible" you actually mean "Thank you Sir I'll Have Another?" Just kidding. Good luck with the new box. Mine's due the 15th. If I have problems, I'll make sure to let you know. :eek:
 
MrPDaddyHimself said:
So I guess by "Absolutely Horrible" you actually mean "Thank you Sir I'll Have Another?" Just kidding. Good luck with the new box. Mine's due the 15th. If I have problems, I'll make sure to let you know. :eek:
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I'm a little skeptical, but I seriously think it will be OK. The 8800GT is a much better card, I should have went with it in the first place.
 
Mr.PS said:
Nope couldn't wait. If anything I will keep returning it until it works. The 8800GT should be good though. Almost everybody I know has ordered with the 8800GT.
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Awesome. I hope you have better luck with this one. If not, return for another one, cause the machine is fantastic. I too will be ordering the 8800GT card soon. :D
 
now I'm worried.

I just ordered(from CDW.com) the single Quad CPU 2.8Ghz Mac Pro with the ATI 2600XT.

Should I cancel the order and buy the dual quad? How could a problem like this be related to the CPU??? Or do the people blaming this machine's issues on it's CPU count just not know what they're talking about? A single quad core xeon should be more than enough and, for me, dual quad cores would be overkill.

This sucks. I don't feel like walking a near 60lb box to the nearest UPS, should I experience similar problems.
 
jb60606 said:
now I'm worried.

I just ordered(from CDW.com) the single Quad CPU 2.8Ghz Mac Pro with the ATI 2600XT.

Should I cancel the order and buy the dual quad? How could a problem like this be related to the CPU??? Or do the people blaming this machine's issues on it's CPU count just not know what they're talking about? A single quad core xeon should be more than enough and, for me, dual quad cores would be overkill.

This sucks. I don't feel like walking a near 60lb box to the nearest UPS, should I experience similar problems.
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You're call,,, but might want to read this thread before making that call. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/419100/
Personally, I'm waiting with baited breath for the 8800 rig quality reports to start trickling in.
 
jb60606 said:
now I'm worried.

I just ordered(from CDW.com) the single Quad CPU 2.8Ghz Mac Pro with the ATI 2600XT.

Should I cancel the order and buy the dual quad? How could a problem like this be related to the CPU??? Or do the people blaming this machine's issues on it's CPU count just not know what they're talking about? A single quad core xeon should be more than enough and, for me, dual quad cores would be overkill.

This sucks. I don't feel like walking a near 60lb box to the nearest UPS, should I experience similar problems.
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with the CPU, the video card is the culprit.
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
I love the Mac Pro threads! So much emo, so much angst. And people wonder why MM was introduced to the Ban Hamster™...
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Multimedia was before my time, but I see a lot of people paying homage to him in their sigs. I guess he finally cracked? I think he singlehandedly motivated Apple to release the Harpertowns early. I'll miss him even though I didn't know him. Did they expunge his old threads? Haha.
 
Mr.PS, I look forward in your upcoming impression of your MP. Whatever problems you have with your dealings, have no fear to post it over here. Some fanboys may not like it, but there are more of the impartial members here like me who want feedbacks both good and bad from other members.

We are all here to help one another.

One thing you ought to know is that even though applecare has failed you so has some of its staffs, it doesn't mean Apple failed you. It's the employees that did. I know the employees represent the company but still, you can't expect much from customer services these days. What I would suggest is keep calling them until you find someone helpful enough to listen and help you out. If you are terribly disappointed with Apple's service, do as I did - write a complaint letter and send it off to Apple.

Whatever you do, don't let the employees nor some of the haters over here piss you off. We as a collective force will be behind you.
 
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