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Quick 17" MBP review

eAspenwood said:
- lid build quality issue 1 - when I pick it up with the lid closed, the lid is somewhat loose and it gets knocked out of sleep mode sometimes.

- lid build quality issue 2 - no longer can I lie down and type w/ the keyboard on my lap, cuz the lid will slide closed if it is angled any less than vertical. Transeu mentions this too. Anyone know if 17" PB's did this too? I'm thinking the lid might just be too heavy compared to the 15".
Click to expand...

I have the latest rev.E 17" PB and my screen is very tight. I can position it at any angle between "almost closed" to vertical and it stays where it is...This could be a troubling issue if it turns out to be common. I can't imagine that the isight would add enough weight to cause this to happen. :(
 
Another update for mine. 12 hours of running with with random reboot and cooldown times (My random, not the notebook's) the whine is gone.

There is a faint hiss while it's plugged in, but it's very acceptable.

The screen is still closing on me if I tilt it too much. Apple Techs have me going into the local Apple Store (Rancho Cucamonga) tomorrow evening to have it tightened. The phone support feels that it is a very simple fix.

The display quality is beautiful. Just as bright as the 15" MBP.

Sound quality it great! It's by far the best that I have heard out of an Apple notebook, and second only to one that I have heard. (I can't remember the brand, but it was HUGE with a Bose speaker system)

Thermal wise it is better than the MBP'15. It could be the fact that there is more surface area to disapate the heat. The core temp hovers around 45~48C while idle and light use, and topped out at 79C with both cores at full load. The fans have still not turned on.

Build quality is fair. The only complaint that I have so far is that the edges are not smooth. The grey plastic around the edge is not flush with the case.

I will post more after the Apple Techs fix the screen.
 
ipearx said:
Yeah, my 1.33GHz PowerBook has always had a loose hinge, useless for putting on knees while lying down. Part of the problem is the screen doesn't bend back enough, to keep it vertical.

I wonder if some are simply stiffer than others? Or maybe it's just the 17"ers? My friends 15" PowerBook has a much stiffer hinge.
Click to expand...

My 15" PB Al 1.25 had a squeaky hinge that didn't move smoothly. When I sent it in for repair of the white spot problem they also worked on the hinge. After it came back the hinge worked beautifully. If the display flops over and you care about that I suggest sending it back for adjustment.
 
The last revision of the PBs (Hi-Res) and the new MacBook Pros all support safe sleep and all take a while to actually sleep because as someone said the computer writes to the memory first before shutting down which takes about 5 seconds give or take
 
Transeau said:
There is a faint hiss while it's plugged in, but it's very acceptable.
Click to expand...
My PB15" also used to have this faint hissing noise when plugged in (disappeared immediately when running on battery). At the same time the entire casing of the computer felt static. The problem continued for about half a year until the day the screen fried. After repair at Apple (new screen) both static and hissing were gone.

I'm afraid the hissing is a bad sign which may be related to a grounding problem, and eventually may wear sensitive components down. In my case the static was so annoying at times that I actually shaved off the tiny hair on the side of my hands that touched the computer.
 
Pretty Darn Hot

I'm into day 3 working on my new 17" MBP... and no whine here at all. Quiet as a mouse. But man, does this thing get hot. Like you-could-fry-an-egg-on-it hot. I haven't seen/felt a 15" that people were complaining about, but it sounds like the heat issue is pretty darn similar.

I can't help but feel like this level of heat can't be good for the machine. But I'm far from an expert.

I also have seen noticeable slow-downs on Rosetta apps. Nothing major, but slight delays in typing, etc. even in Word/Excel. Interestingly, Quark/InDesign run at about the same speed they were on my PowerBook G4 Titanium.
 
I guess the faint "buzzy whine" I hear when plugged in could more aptly be described as a "hiss", as Transeau calls it. I only really notice it when my room is quiet. It goes away when I unplug or I run something that pegs the cpu.
 
Well so much for the "17" won't have the hiss theory". Looks like I hold onto my money for a while until next rev and see what problems they have. Thanks Apple :rolleyes: .
 
my short review

I got my MBP yesterda


so far

I have no display problems, it's beautiful!
it does get bloody hot, like.. HOT when I plug it onto a poweroutlet, being charging and such. I can probably heat up dinner with this kind of heat. it doesn't burn my skin tho. but it's too hot to handle by hand

it does whine a bit... like the fan. but for most of the time, its been quite.
 
Just noticed the speakers are awesome. Also, the right click from the track pad might be one of my favorite features so far. Ah, the simple things....
 
eAspenwood said:
Just noticed the speakers are awesome. Also, the right click from the track pad might be one of my favorite features so far. Ah, the simple things....
Click to expand...

how do you right click with the trackpad ?
 
from sys prefs, enable "tap trackpad using two fingers for secondary click". only works on 17mbp, not 15mbp (for now i hope).
 
eAspenwood said:
Just noticed the speakers are awesome. Also, the right click from the track pad might be one of my favorite features so far. Ah, the simple things....
Click to expand...


The speakers really are fantastic. But the screen just didnt' seem as bright and awe inspiring as the MBP15 I sent back.

As a portable presentation tool for quick sales meetings in an office where you can't get a projector it is going to be AMAZING.

eV
 
Transeau said:
Another update for mine. 12 hours of running with with random reboot and cooldown times (My random, not the notebook's) the whine is gone.

There is a faint hiss while it's plugged in, but it's very acceptable.

The screen is still closing on me if I tilt it too much. Apple Techs have me going into the local Apple Store (Rancho Cucamonga) tomorrow evening to have it tightened. The phone support feels that it is a very simple fix.

The display quality is beautiful. Just as bright as the 15" MBP.

Sound quality it great! It's by far the best that I have heard out of an Apple notebook, and second only to one that I have heard. (I can't remember the brand, but it was HUGE with a Bose speaker system)

Thermal wise it is better than the MBP'15. It could be the fact that there is more surface area to disapate the heat. The core temp hovers around 45~48C while idle and light use, and topped out at 79C with both cores at full load. The fans have still not turned on.

Build quality is fair. The only complaint that I have so far is that the edges are not smooth. The grey plastic around the edge is not flush with the case.

I will post more after the Apple Techs fix the screen.
Click to expand...

I keep reading these posts with a little bit of disappointment (I expect the best from apple). Only then I remember that I'm still using a 15" Tibook. 1Ghz G4, 1Gb ram, frequently loud, terrifyingly hot, mediocre speakers, and screen glitches pretty regularly. Sweet.

Now I just wait for merom. perhaps by then (august, i hope?), apple will have sufficiently adressed the heat, the whine, etc. Also, maybe by then I'll actually have the requisite three grand. :p
 
How are you people checking your core temperature? I have a 17" iMac 1.83ghz 1.5gb ram and I have been using all the widgets and apps I have seen and none of them will give me the processor temperature, they only tell me the hard drive temperature.
 
>>I keep reading these posts with a little bit of disappointment (I expect the best from apple). Only then I remember that I'm still using a 15" Tibook. 1Ghz G4, 1Gb ram, frequently loud, terrifyingly hot, mediocre speakers, and screen glitches pretty regularly. Sweet. <<

Yeah, I'm a little dissapointed too. Looking foward to the 12" MPB.
My 15" 867Ghz Ti still runs very smooth and quiet - never hot.
This even after a long drop to tile floors in the airport last year (slipped out it's case).

Also have a 12" 1st gen icebook. Love the form factor and size. No problems even though it falls in a problem serial number range. Folks with the 17" say they get envious looks over the screen size. I get envious looks when traveling from people lugging the others around.

May get the 15" MBP but really want to be able to compare it to the 12" first.
 
eAspenwood said:
Also, the right click from the track pad might be one of my favorite features so far. Ah, the simple things....
Click to expand...

iScroll 2 has been doing that for quite a while now... :D

daneoni said:
The last revision of the PBs (Hi-Res) and the new MacBook Pros all support safe sleep and all take a while to actually sleep because as someone said the computer writes to the memory first before shutting down which takes about 5 seconds give or take
Click to expand...

No, no, no, no, NO! Don't try this with unsaved work!

The G4 PowerBooks have a kinetic battery inside them, to keep them in sleep mode for about a minute or so without the battery. The 15" and 17" versions, and the Titanium revision before them, but not the 12" PowerBook, have this feature.
At an Apple Store I tried the same thing with a 15" MacBook Pro. After yanking the battery the computer did NOT stay in sleep. The G4s kept their white lights on to show they were still asleep-- the MacBook Pro's light went out.
 
the mbp's have safe sleep. If you take out the battery while the mbp is sleeping, then reinstall it, turn the computer on, it will show a progress bar, and boot to your original screen. I do agree though, dont sleep any computer without saving your work!!!
 
absurdo said:
I keep reading these posts with a little bit of disappointment (I expect the best from apple). Only then I remember that I'm still using a 15" Tibook. 1Ghz G4, 1Gb ram, frequently loud, terrifyingly hot, mediocre speakers, and screen glitches pretty regularly. Sweet.

Now I just wait for merom. perhaps by then (august, i hope?), apple will have sufficiently addressed the heat, the whine, etc. Also, maybe by then I'll actually have the requisite three grand. :p
Click to expand...

At this point I would tell everyone to avoid the Mac book Pros - both sizes.

I took my 17" MBP into the Apple Store as per the Phone Support's request to have the hing adjusted. The "genius" (moron?) said that there was nothing wrong with it. The manager (guy acting as manager, the manager is on vacation) told me that.... wait for it... "The MacBook Pro's were not designed to be used on anything other than a flat desk." and get this... "If you need it to stay open when laying in bed, then maybe you should return it and buy an iBook."

Next he told me that the MacBook Pro's are designed differently and the NONE of them will stay open when at an angle. So I walked over to a 15" MacBook Pro and held it at a 90 degree angle, so the display was parallel with the counter. He responded "I get your point, but the 17" is designed to close." I asked to show me where it says that it was designed to do that.

He became very annoyed with me by this point, so I told him that I would take up his attitude with the General Manager and walked out.

Time for another letter to Steve. It worked for my 15" MBP, I suppose it will work again.
 
Okay - I fixed it myself!
it wasn't exactly simple, but not too hard either. Now I can have the notebook at a 90 degree angle from the desk, and the LCD will stay open. What I did was this;

1) I followed the iFixIt.com guide to removing the upper case.
2) Removed the 4 screws from each side of the tension springs. (two screws on each side of the hing - closest to the edge of the notebook.
3) support the display and remove the 6 remaining screws supporting the display. (3 on each side, 1 long one and 2 shorter ones)
4) Once the display is free, I used a small torch to heat the spring and twisted the end of the spring AWAY from the screen. You will need to heat it up enough to bend the steel. You should get it final resting posisition about 10 ~ 15 degrees.
5) Put it back together.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If you try this - PLEASE be carefull!!!! If you hold the torch at the wrong angle YOU WILL DAMAGE THE LCD!!!

----

Side note - Interesting fact - The 17" MacBook Pro has 4 speakers.
 

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Wow! You Are One Courageous Customer!

Transeau said:
Okay - I fixed it myself!
it wasn't exactly simple, but not too hard either. Now I can have the notebook at a 90 degree angle from the desk, and the LCD will stay open. What I did was this;

1) I followed the iFixIt.com guide to removing the upper case.
2) Removed the 4 screws from each side of the tension springs. (two screws on each side of the hing - closest to the edge of the notebook.
3) support the display and remove the 6 remaining screws supporting the display. (3 on each side, 1 long one and 2 shorter ones)
4) Once the display is free, I used a small torch to heat the spring and twisted the end of the spring AWAY from the screen. You will need to heat it up enough to bend the steel. You should get it final resting posisition about 10 ~ 15 degrees.
5) Put it back together.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If you try this - PLEASE be carefull!!!! If you hold the torch at the wrong angle YOU WILL DAMAGE THE LCD!!!

Side note - Interesting fact - The 17" MacBook Pro has 4 speakers.
Click to expand...
Wish you had taken a picture of both speakers on each side while it was open. So the tweeters are below the woofers off picture?

I doubt anyone else here will follow your instructions. Who else here even has a blow torch in their home? :confused:

I am shocked at the Apple Store employees' attitudes. Unbelieveable! :eek:
 
Multimedia said:
Wish you had taken a picture of both speakers on each side while it was open. So the tweeters are below the woofers off picture?

I doubt anyone else here will follow your instructions. Who else here even has a blow torch in their home? :confused:

I am shocked at the Apple Store employees' attitudes. Unbelieveable! :eek:
Click to expand...

I did :)
It's not the clearest pic, but it works.
MacBookGuts.jpg
 
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