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Should I refuse my new (old) Macbook Pro (w/8600) on delivery??

B

bear1973

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2006
76
0
I just bought an old-style Macbook Pro (2.4 Ghz, 200 GB, 2 Gig, Nvidia 8600GT) from Macmall. With the rebate it will be around $1299.00 total (no tax/shipping). I thought (and still think) this is a great deal, but now I'm learning that the 8600GT is defective.

Anyway, I was wondering if I should just refuse the package when I receive it. That is what the nice folks at Macmall said I should do if I didn't want it. On the other hand, this is a really sweet laptop for a great deal, and I think it's nicer than the new Macbooks (I can't afford a new MBP).

What do you think? Is the 8600 too much of a risk? If it fails in two years + 1 day am I out of luck? (I usually keep my mac laptops for 5 years. This is a replacement for my PB G4 Al 1Ghz (2003) that replaced my Powerbook 1400cs (1997).
 
Buy Applecare and it will be covered for three years. I have two of the MBPs that have the chip in it and though I personally think there should have been a recall, I haven't had any problems as of yet. It is a wonderful machine and I really hope I don't have any problems with the GPU because I truly enjoy everything about it. However, I don't play games on it, but I do use it for video editing. Good luck in whatever decision you make.
 
Well, I want a new one - it's really time, after all the PB G4 is now more than five years old and I'm having a few kernel panics a day, it seems (thing must have 10,000 hours on it).

I could get a new Macbook for 15% off (cousin works at Apple), but I thought the MBP has a nicer screen and I like the old style keyboard more. I just don't want to be stuck with a lemon.
 
Also, I had all sorts of issues with my PB G4 1 Ghz Al - it was the first of the aluminums and needed three new screens before they finally replaced it altogether (warped keyboard). Since then, it has been perfect - unstoppable. But I just won't by a first Rev Macbook - at least not in the first few months.
 
bear1973 said:
Well, I want a new one - it's really time, after all the PB G4 is now more than five years old and I'm having a few kernel panics a day, it seems (thing must have 10,000 hours on it).

I could get a new Macbook for 15% off (cousin works at Apple), but I thought the MBP has a nicer screen and I like the old style keyboard more. I just don't want to be stuck with a lemon.
Click to expand...

The new MBP is FUGLY sorry to admit it, the screen and aluminum barely match it looks like a imac with a keyboard, lol so i recommend getting the old one, its awsome if I had found one with the right specs on macmall I would have gotten one, so i recommend Accept the package, if you do could you post some pics, that would be great.
 
I'm inclined to just take it and then maybe upgrade earlier than I usually do. I love my PB G4, and the new ones are very similar in style - just have a lot more under the hood.
 
That is a good price for a really good machine. That would be hard to turn down. You should keep it unless you can find a reason that you need a new MBP. BTW, the new MBPs are not fugly. :D
 
Can't really afford a new MBP, and kind of like the older ones better. My budget for an upgrade was $1000 + whatever I can get for my PB G4 (according to what I've seen on Craigslist and Ebay, about $300-350.)

Funny thing about the Macmall deal was that the prices fluctuated between 1299 and 1349 w/rebate, which was between 150 and 200. When I pulled the trigger it ended up being 200 and 1299.
 
For that price, its a keeper. I believe Apple already acknowledged that problem and can replace your logic board even without Applecare. It seems that the GPU dies out mostly because of heat issues so unless you stress your GPU by doing things like heavy gaming, you should be fine.

But getting Applecare is not a bad thing. 3 years is good enough for a notebook these days. But I would not be surprised if your MBP to last for 5 if you don't stress the GPU too much.
 
I do absolutely no gaming and very little graphics work. This will be a surf, email, and website editing machine primarily. I also want iSight for communication purposes.

So, that is encouraging.
 
I would just keep it considering the price you got it for, it's a hell of a deal. I think you are just being a little too paranoid about this issue. Even if the video card does fail, you are covered for 2 years (3 if you have applecare). Only inconvenience is that it may take a few days to get your comp repaired, other than that you have nothing to lose.
 
how

how did you get it that cheap? Only the 2.2 was listed at that price, and the 2.4 should be about 1400$?
 
I really wanted to like the new MBP... I wasn't getting one now, but was planning on the nehalem rev next year.

But for what will only be a 20-30% speed increase and all the drawbacks of the new design (aesthetically less pleasing, slightly larger/heavier/smaller battery, super reflective screen, etc)... just decided to purchase an AppleCare agreement from eBay which with the live.com discount comes out to $150. I love this machine that much, maybe I'll keep it longer than 3 years and just run it till its croaks, lol. Or come up with the next evolution of the current design that is more pleasing.

At $1300 it's a no-brainer IMO.
 
Im also in the same boat as you although mine was a refurb..a maxed out one (2.6GHz/4GB RAM/ 200GB 7200 RPM) for half the MSRP. I REALLY want to keep it but i know the card will fail at some point as verified by the GPU test ran by Apple themselves.

Although i've only had the GPU freeze on me once when i knowingly/forcefully stressed it out to get a response by running Aperture, Arabesque Screensaver, Coverflow and Quicklook in succession and rinse/repeat cycle. The computer initially chewed up all the tests i threw at it but eventually it had enough and then froze on me and had to be restarted.

However in my normal use the computer works fine without issues leading me to theorize that the card would survive my usage pattern for a considerable amount of time

But thats just a theory and in reality the card could fail whenever. What sucks more is that your replacement logic board should you need one will also have a faulty card so you'd be replacing faulty with faulty leading to a somewhat endless cycle of Apple store genius visits

Do i really wanna deal with that?....that is the question
 
How I got it for $1299.00

tivoboy said:
how did you get it that cheap? Only the 2.2 was listed at that price, and the 2.4 should be about 1400$?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't know how I got it for $1299, but I think MacMall is constantly shifting its deals - that's my only guess. I thought it was 1499 with a $150 rebate, but it turned out to be $200 when I ordered it.
 
No more GPU problems

According to Apple's service bulletin, only the MBP Classics built before, and including, september 2008 MIGHT have a problem. I bought a MBP Classic from apple around October 20th and it was made during the first week of september. check out old threads to see the program you can download that tells you when your MBP was made.

Even if your MBP was made before Oct1st, Apple covers the GPU for two years without Apple care - you'll be fine. The screens alone are enough reason to not get the Macbook Alu's.....

I was in the same boat as you (even had the buddy who works for apple) and I went with the MBP. I haven't regretted it for a second!
 
Thanks...

..I'm going to keep it - should be here by Wednesday. Hopefully it was manufactured after September. Do you happen to remember the name of the program that determines manufacture date?

I think I'll also invest in AppleCare. I've found a deal to get it for $150.00, seems worth it.
 
bear1973 said:
..I'm going to keep it - should be here by Wednesday. Hopefully it was manufactured after September. Do you happen to remember the name of the program that determines manufacture date?

I think I'll also invest in AppleCare. I've found a deal to get it for $150.00, seems worth it.
Click to expand...

You are quite the deal finder :D

Please tell us how you can get it for $150
 
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