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My second mac pro doesn't feel new... (pics)

Sharky II

Sharky II

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 6, 2004
1,002
404
United Kingdom
Hi

My first octo 2.8 mac pro died so i wanted a replacement. They wouldn't give me one outright, i had to send it back, wait for a refund, then order again. Anyway, i bought a second one so that i didn't have to wait weeks, and shipped the old one back.

The new one works, but it doesn't 'feel' new. There is a slight mark on the cpu heatsink where it looks like something has grazed it, there's what looks like lines of 'oil' on the top of the case near where the door slots into the case (and at the bottom too). There are some light grazes just near where the CD rack slots in too. Finally, at the bottom of the case, there's a bit (about 1.5cm in length) of clear, thin plastic tubing floating around. I have no idea why it's there, or what it was for.

Do other people have this kind of quality of finish?

My first mac pro was perfect cosmetically - as was my Powermac G5, as were all my computers. I have a MacBook Pro and a Powerbook, my colleague has an iMac 2.8GHz, my family has macs etc etc.. they are usually perfect.

Most would think i'm being anal as the problems are minor and cosmetic, but i'm worried i have a 'refurb' machine that is being sold as 'new'. Or, i just have a bit of shoddy workmanship. I just don't think the computer is new.

Anyone else have this? I'll post a pictures tomorrow, but i stupidly cleaned some of it off so it doesn't look that bad at all now.

Cheers
 
Well, they're going to make me wait weeks again. It's a BTO with the 8800, 500GB drive, and wifi. That takes 5 days to ship, then a few days to actually get here. Then they're going to make me wait a couple of days while the computer ships back, and then 5 business days to issue a refund. I had to buy the second machine using my girlfriends card because i didn't want to wait at least a week before i could order. I just get really angry that if i want a new machine, i have to go so long without a computer.

I'm going to take some crappy camera phone pics, maybe they will come out.

Also, isn't there usually some clear plastic tape type stuff stuck to the back of the removable door? I'm sure the last Mac Pro had some...
 
Bad camera phone pics...

Am i just being pedantic?

All my other macs came mint, and still are. The G5 Powermac i sold 4 days ago was in 'nicer' condition than this, inside.

That's not the 'oil' stuff under the CD/DVD pull out bay, that's the scratched metal. And the mark on the heatsink didn't really come out on my cameraphone...
 

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Your situation is why it scared me to do any kind of BTO option. I am just planning on buying the Mac Pro AS IS and doing any upgrades myself. I hope to be getting mine here shortly and when I do I will have to post here my results. I hope they are not as bad as yours. I would definitely be freaking out a bit if I saw those scratches on my new Mac Pro...I think your concern is valid. Perhaps they were just rushing the BTO process on you and some ****** who should not be doing his job just didn't care. If I have one scratch or nick on any of Apple stuff...iMac, iPhone, iPod...it would drive me nuts.

Or and this is a real nightmare scenario, sorry to say it, but what if you somehow received a "refurbished" Mac Pro by mistake or by design? Who can tell. I hope all the best for you on your new Mac that you will get in what will seem like FOREVER.
 
I've seen a load of pics of mac pro's on flickr...

And to be honest, some have the 'oil' marks.

So, i'm not sure now. I'd be sending it back just because it has some marks near the DVD/CD pull out bay, and a slight mark on the cpu heatsink.

The side door doesn't sit QUITE as flushly as my G5's or previous fault mac pro's did, but i guess it's hardly 'way out'.

I don't know what to do. I'll probably call them and complain a bit about the overall quality and finish - and show them the pics and ask them if they think it's normal. But ultimately, i'll probably keep it.
 
For a Computer that expensive you would really want it to be perfect but I guess if it takes that long then maybe you could wait a little while and keep the machine then replace it later when the cards are more widely available.
 
I have a few scuff marks on the HDD sleds myself. I know mine has been opened and returned because they resealed the box with another layer of tape and the foam wrap was also resealed with another sticker with the old one still present. It was too much of a hassle to haul it home, I just don't want to go through it all.
 
Hi supercooled - i just checked my box/packaging, and i don't have the same... just one layer of tape, and just one sticker sealing the foam wrap.
 
You are kidding, aren't you? It is a computing tool - not a work of art, it will be outdated in a few years. Get on with using it - life is short, you could be hit by a car or come down with some disease. People are dying from cancer and starvation, and aids. A few "oil marks" will not make a difference on what you do with all that computing power!!
 
Apple Corps said:
You are kidding, aren't you? It is a computing tool - not a work of art, it will be outdated in a few years. Get on with using it - life is short, you could be hit by a car or come down with some disease. People are dying from cancer and starvation, and aids. A few "oil marks" will not make a difference on what you do with all that computing power!!
Click to expand...

If I was him I'd take it back as well, for something that expensive I'd want something in prestine condition. What if in 3 years he'd want to sell it and it has those scuffs (I take good care of my stuff) and also if it were a bmw or something would you not care about some scuffs long as it just performs as it should???

Also if this was happening to you, you would react in the same manner or probably not even post here and already just did the exchange right away. Its always different once it happens to you than listening to someone else complain about it.
 
Apple Corps said:
You are kidding, aren't you? It is a computing tool - not a work of art, it will be outdated in a few years. Get on with using it - life is short, you could be hit by a car or come down with some disease. People are dying from cancer and starvation, and aids. A few "oil marks" will not make a difference on what you do with all that computing power!!
Click to expand...

that's not the point though, if the OP paid a Lot of wedge for his machine then he should expect a perfect one, if it was me i'd at least ring apple check out my options on returning it if i still wasn't satisfied, as for the starvation in the world, i tossed a coin, bought the Mac Pro and well, a lot of people are still starving but i got a MP and as for getting hit by a car, at least your not just gonna be a run down victim, your a run down victim with a perfect mac pro,........ life's a bitch but a perfect Mac Pro should make it a better life, expect what you pay for :)
 
I called apple and they said no sir, it's obviously not right. Initially they wanted to just do the 14 day replacement thing, but i said to them this time a) i don't want to buy my third mac pro outright as i can't afford it and b) i can't afford to be without it this time, as i've sold my G5

So after a little bit of messing around (no i don't want to take it to a reseller to get 'repaired', no i don't want to purchase applecare and get a technician to come round, no i don't want to buy another from my reseller because it's CTO and they don't stock them...), technical support passed me on to after sales support... who then waived their usual policy of waiting for the machine to come back before sending a new one out, and are going to send me a brand new machine, and then only once that's arrived and i'm happy to send the old one back back, they'll pick it up. That's pretty good.

To be honest, i'd rather have just gotten a discount of a couple of hundred bucks (refurb quality stuff = refurb price!), but as i was working my way to offering that, the nice lady suggested this, and i couldn't really refuse without looking silly as it's a good solution. That would have silenced me though :D

So for a day or two, i'll have 16 cores of mac pro :eek:

Also as i just bought a Samsung F1 for a boot drive, i should be able to just whip that out and put it in the new machine and not waste any time getting back up to speed installing applications etc.

Can't say i'm the happiest with it all, but at least they've been nice on the phone. Their customer support has been pretty excellent really. Just wish the machines themselves were. Usually my experience with apple is the opposite - amazing produces but i cringe when i have to speak to their staff!

Cheers
 
Apple Corps said:
You are kidding, aren't you? It is a computing tool - not a work of art, it will be outdated in a few years. Get on with using it - life is short, you could be hit by a car or come down with some disease. People are dying from cancer and starvation, and aids. A few "oil marks" will not make a difference on what you do with all that computing power!!
Click to expand...

Um, that's not the point dude. The point is he just spent $3000 on a used computer. Image driving a new car of the lot, you get home and find that one of the doors is all scratched up and there's a 6 pack in the trunk. You'd be pissed. Image spending $3000 on a brand new huge flat screen LCD TV. You get home, unpack it and see that it is covered in finger prints and has peanut butter on it. You'd be pissed. So enough with the "life is too short" stuff.
 
Apple Corps said:
You are kidding, aren't you? It is a computing tool - not a work of art, it will be outdated in a few years. Get on with using it - life is short, you could be hit by a car or come down with some disease. People are dying from cancer and starvation, and aids. A few "oil marks" will not make a difference on what you do with all that computing power!!
Click to expand...

Well although its all besides the point....there good samaritan err Bono ;)

thats why we have doctors, volunteers and people assigned to help people in need. feel free to join them.
we live in a consumer society...people make things to sell, people make money to buy them...where we personally dont have to worry about helping everyone out with a outreached hand. [not to be insensitive to those in-deed, we all need help from someone....

You spend a great deal of time and money on something expect quality from it.

I goto a car dealership theres scratches and nicks on the cars exterior or a ripped in the seat thread im not gonna get blindsided. demand service and satisfaction.

/ end ramble

goodluck with your replacement, sounds like an awesome deal to do a cross shipment, very few places are reluctant to do that these days.
 
nice to hear its working out for you! thinking back, my first mac pro (am waiting for its replacement now) had those grease marks, alongside the side panel not fitting properly, but as it was my first mac pro, i assumed this was normal! Another reason why i was right to send it back!
 
student_trap said:
nice to hear its working out for you! thinking back, my first mac pro (am waiting for its replacement now) had those grease marks, alongside the side panel not fitting properly, but as it was my first mac pro, i assumed this was normal! Another reason why i was right to send it back!
Click to expand...

Really your door didnt fit either?? yeah i complained to them too, and well they just sent me a side panel.... :confused: okay apple...the machine is literally uneven. but i digressed and said OH WELL! lol

im hesitant about a change to an octocore system because im still running strong with OSX 10.4.10
 
It really does seem to me that you're looking for problems. Yes you spent a lot of money but really I think you're digging for issues. The heat sink looks grazed? Where the door appears to slide looks like there was some sort of grease? Wipe it off? I'm not saying you're not justified as everyone's level of justification will be different here, but you seem to be digging around for the issues then you take issue with Apple's policy. To circumvent not having a computer for 2 weeks you bought another but clearly can't drop another few grand on a third. I think at this point if it really bothered you that the computer works but the heat sink looks grazed and the door (inside) has a grease mark, then you should pick up a cheap laptop and send your MacPro back. Still, I think you're digging for problems.
 
Fair enough if you think that, but Apple themselves think that this is wrong and that there's a problem, and want to correct it so... who am i to argue...;)
 
Nice resolution on Apple's part :)

Now you need to set up the 2 machines together on your desk for display purposes, take a few photos, and let out that you have them running in parallel - all 16 cores ;)

Good stuff :)

-Bryan
 
Sharky II said:
Fair enough if you think that, but Apple themselves think that this is wrong and that there's a problem, and want to correct it so... who am i to argue...;)
Click to expand...

I'm glad you got it worked out. When we drop 3 thousand dollars on a pro level machine we deserve to get perfect machines. That is what we pay for and this return policy is part of the reason we choose to go with this particular company.

As you said, they said it was not correct - good for you.
 
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