Self Assessment / Checkout - NEW 17" MBP (now arrived)!!!

[rknrolls]

hey Guys... first of all thanks to all who contributed to the Dos and Don'ts thread before - I'll bear all that in mind!!

Now... Not that I am *paranoid* but I wanted to make sure that the machine that I have is not duffed / 'one of those' / 'ah that week number' etc etc.

Before I start, I know lot of us are happy with the UMBPs and I am sure they are solid, I just want to make sure I am part of that group!! Hence I am not trying to find faults, just want to make sure mine is OK given I paid the tax man and apple all those £££

Here is my LIST of things to cross off and 'Pass' it, and those of you who were unfortunate please tell me if I have missed something out !! :

Screen:
1. Look for screen bleeding
2. Look for dead pixels
3. flicker at low brightness levels. (like a pulsing effect)
4. screen colour cast (blueish-tint or colour inconsistency problem)
5. ??

Speakers:
1. Test speaker rattling by playing some piano music (courtesy TakeManhattan)
2. ??

Network:
1, unreliable bluetooth / wireless signal

Battery:
1. Coconut battery- The first thing I am going to do is recalibrate
2. ??

I cant wait to start using mine!!! still at work, hometime soon....

 

[darngooddesign]

Relax about the battery. Irregularities won't become apparent until you've used it one or two weeks. Also, if your battery is at 96% and you plug it in it will not charge. You have to let it drop below 95% before it will charge to 100%.

 

[rknrolls]

Relax about the battery. Irregularities won't become apparent until you've used it one or two weeks. Also, if your battery is at 96% and you plug it in it will not charge. You have to let it drop below 95% before it will charge to 100%.

ah, didnt realise that!!! I was going to go home and just plug it in. btw, is there a way to tell its charged fully without turning it on? Someone mentioned the connector goes green?!... I guess it should be obvious when I get it out of the box.

 

[darngooddesign]

The connector goes green when it stops charging, not when it hits 100%.

Just go home, plug it in, and start using it.

You can calibrate (search apple.com) it once a month, but it won't be hurt if you don't.

 

[rknrolls]

thx...just want to make sure I find any anomalies early on, in case there are any!

 

[Thomas Davie]

Hopefully, you will have the same good experience that I am having so far. I was plasantly surprised at the strength of the wireless signal because in the part of the house where I normally uses laptops, I've either received a low or very low quality connection (Win XP). All of the bands of the wireless indicator are lit up on my UMBP 17 if that means anything.

For the pixels, I used Dead Pixel Buddy (I think it's a java applet).

Tom

 

[DAMNiatx]

pic please

 

[Gloor]

have you got matte? If so stress the gpu so it reaches 70-80 C and then go to iphoto and view black image on full screen. You should see some light bleed due to heat on the display.

 

[TakeManhattan]

Although these won't say anything about light leaks or bad TFT panel, while you're at it, run Apple Hardware Test... maybe even the extensive test. Also download and run TechTool Deluxe, if you got the Applecare Plan. These show very terse results - "no trouble found" and "ok" if everything is a-ok, they always give me that warm fuzzy feeling.

To run the AHT, press and hold PF2 while it's booting up.

 

[rknrolls]

have you got matte? If so stress the gpu so it reaches 70-80 C and then go to iphoto and view black image on full screen. You should see some light bleed due to heat on the display.

got glossy, shall I try this test anyway?....

Although these won't say anything about light leaks or bad TFT panel, while you're at it, run Apple Hardware Test... maybe even the extensive test. Also download and run TechTool Deluxe, if you got the Applecare Plan. These show very terse results - "no trouble found" and "ok" if everything is a-ok, they always give me that warm fuzzy feeling.

To run the AHT, press and hold PF2 while it's booting up.

Will run the Apple test and yep got apple care -- what is AHT btw? .... got lots to do!

 

[magamo]

I always thought you shouldn't look for dead pixels unless you're a photographer, an illustrator or whatnot. If I don't notice them when I'm doing my day-to-day tasks, it's not a problem at all in the first place. People always say, "Ignorance is bliss."

 

[erratikmind]

Good for you! Enjoy your new laptop.

 

[TakeManhattan]

rknrolls,

AHT = Apple Hardware Test


If the honeymoon is over;

Would you please set your desktop to "solid aqua dark blue", and tell me if you'd say that the desktop/screen is uniform in terms of brightness and color?

My MBP's screen (glossy) is not. It has patches of darkness/dirtyness. Light leaks around the edges are obvious, although not disastrous. I have a feeling that all MBPs are like this. (Other readers: Are they?)

Quite a disappointment for a $3000 toy. I don't think it deserves the "Pro" moniker. Honestly, my 10yrs old Toshiba Satellite's LCD is more uniform (which is amazing.) Or am I expecting too much?

Anyways, let me know what you think of your screen. Thanks.