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Steer Clear from 2011 MBPs?

S

spazma7ik

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 12, 2009
926
359
So I have a 2010 17" MBP, and have been trying to sell it to upgrade to a 2011. Well I just got a legit offer on it and I like the price. But after reading so many horror stories about how the new MBP's freeze under load and whatnot, I'm a tad hesitant. Can anybody help me out here, would I be freezing every time I try and play a steam game? That's obviously unacceptable, so if that's the case then I will stick by my 2010, which I do love. It's just I would love double the performance, so I if they do run fine now (perhaps with 10.6.7?) then I'll be all over it.

Another pressing issue is I heard idle temps are outrageous?
 
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10.6.7 fixed the freezing issues for a lot of people.

It does get hot, but you've got a quad core in the same enclosure a dual core used to go into.. it's only natural that there's going to be more heat.
 
As stated, 10.6.7 fixed a lot of issues and the remaining ones will be sorted out over the next month or so I am sure. I still seem to have an issue with coming out of standby (not when closing the lid) when on integrated graphics but I assume this will be fixed as well. These are still amazing laptops.
 
Its a forum. People complain and vent way more then they randomly post how satisfied they are. The 2011 Pro is the best computer I have ever owned. If there were all these widespread horror stories you would hear about it from places besides here.
 
87am said:
Its a forum. People complain and vent way more then they randomly post how satisfied they are. The 2011 Pro is the best computer I have ever owned. If there were all these widespread horror stories you would hear about it from places besides here.
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I'd tend to agree with your sentiments, however I have seen numerous articles on Google News regarding the exact same issues. I do believe you when you say it's the best machine you've owned, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the issues I brought forth aren't rampant with your machine as well. My 2010 MBP has no such issues, matter of fact, no issues whatsoever, so it's not exactly farfetched to only accept an upgrade that lives up to these same standards.
 
Everything else has been fixed or will be fixed through updates. In terms of heat, that's sort of subjective. Like previously said, with a quad core in an enclosure originally designed for a Core 2 Duo, it's going to run warm or hot, whichever you want to describe it. But if you're looking for something as cool as your 2010 Mac, I don't think you're going to get it with a 2011 MacBook Pro. So in your case, perhaps it's best to stay clear maybe for this revision and look for future models.
 
spazma7ik said:
I'd tend to agree with your sentiments, however I have seen numerous articles on Google News regarding the exact same issues. I do believe you when you say it's the best machine you've owned, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the issues I brought forth aren't rampant with your machine as well. My 2010 MBP has no such issues, matter of fact, no issues whatsoever, so it's not exactly farfetched to only accept an upgrade that lives up to these same standards.
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I've had my 2011 17" for a couple weeks now, and I have yet to see a single problem. Mine is constantly under load (lots of Handbrake), and I haven't seen a hiccup yet.
 
spazma7ik said:
I'd tend to agree with your sentiments, however I have seen numerous articles on Google News regarding the exact same issues. I do believe you when you say it's the best machine you've owned, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the issues I brought forth aren't rampant with your machine as well. My 2010 MBP has no such issues, matter of fact, no issues whatsoever, so it's not exactly farfetched to only accept an upgrade that lives up to these same standards.
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I have the 17" and have had no problems with it. I agree that trading a machine with no problems is not a no brainer but you do get a brand new machine with brand new warranty so I think you are fairly safe with the new MBP.
 
I absolutely love my 15" 2011, and I haven't had any of the posted problems with it. I would highly, highly, recommend going with one if the price is right and you're looking for an upgrade.
 
What I wonder is if the issue is due to too much thermal paste? Which apple likes to put on with a fire hose rather than a pipette. I know my good ole Macbook ran much cooler with the fan spinning far less when I reapplied the paste.
 
serenesam said:
Even if that is true, for a prestigious machine, they should theoretically be able to overcome the heat - http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-quad-core-and-dual-core/
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Theoretically but there's only so much you can do when you have an enclosure that small with everything so tightly packed together. Unfortunately, it comes with the design. If you want something thin, you're going to have to deal with heat in certain scenarios.

velocityg4 said:
What I wonder is if the issue is due to too much thermal paste? Which apple likes to put on with a fire hose rather than a pipette. I know my good ole Macbook ran much cooler with the fan spinning far less when I reapplied the paste.
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Hard to say. Some people who have done it said the changes where drastic while others say it improved a couple of C or F.
 
I have the 2011 17" 2.2 and have no problems at all - plays games fine in OS X and Bootcamp, heat is much reduced from my 2008 uMBP (both idling and gaming), etc etc... don't let a few vocal lemons deter you if you're interested in upgrading! And remember you can always exchange or return a lemon...
 
velocityg4 said:
What I wonder is if the issue is due to too much thermal paste? Which apple likes to put on with a fire hose rather than a pipette. I know my good ole Macbook ran much cooler with the fan spinning far less when I reapplied the paste.
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I don't think so.

My 2011 17" MBP runs far cooler than my old 2007 15" (like 10-20˚C cooler idle), and even runs significantly cooler when under full load. I suspect my old one has too much thermal paste.

The 2011 freezing issue is not a hardware problem, it is all software.

I was under the impression that the 2011 freezing issue was caused by some kind of software clash, possibly between iStat Pro and/or SMCFanControl and the Intel integrated GPU, when available CPU resources are limited (ie, when the CPU is under full load doing something else).
 
spazma7ik said:
I'd tend to agree with your sentiments, however I have seen numerous articles on Google News regarding the exact same issues. I do believe you when you say it's the best machine you've owned, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the issues I brought forth aren't rampant with your machine as well. My 2010 MBP has no such issues, matter of fact, no issues whatsoever, so it's not exactly farfetched to only accept an upgrade that lives up to these same standards.
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This is only because its Apple that you are seeing news articles. If it was any other company it wouldn't be interesting. I bet you never heard about Dell selling machines with known bad capacitors. It happened but its not news. The other poster was correct, just buy it and don't worry about what you read on the internet. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have no problem at all but the few who do are the ones that come and post about it online instead of doing the sensible thing and getting it exchanged.
 
Since you have a 2010 MBP why not just wait and get the next refresh. That may have Ivy Bridge and run cooler and would certainly include Lion which alone would save you about $100 to upgrade. Who knows, perhaps the next generation will have 4 dim slots so getting to 16gb of ram would require 4x4gb instead of 2x8gb sticks which currently cost about $1,600. Also, thunderbolt should be more finished product which fiber optics instead of copper.

This is all coming from someone that also has a 2010 MBP. Next October is when I might expect something new.
 
Anytime a new computer is released there will be some issues. Apple has been great I think to provide quick fixes for any issues that become apparent.
 
axu539 said:
I've had my 2011 17" for a couple weeks now, and I have yet to see a single problem. Mine is constantly under load (lots of Handbrake), and I haven't seen a hiccup yet.
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Indeed. I have the 15" and haven't had the "freezing under load" issues mentioned here, even when maxing out all the cores for HD video encoding. The issue certainly doesn't affect all machines and is most likely only a small percentage (and as mentioned, 10.6.7 may have fixed some or all of the issues).

So it's probably best not to worry!
 
I own a 2011 15" MBP with the 2.2 Ghz CPU. Just like som previous posters this is the best computer i've ever owned. As for the heat issue: I honestly don't think it matters as much as people think it does. My other macs include a 2006 MB (C2D) and a 2007 MBP, both of these idle at around 50-55 degrees celsius and get up to 80-85 under load. They have been used daily for five and six years respectively and still work like they did the day i bought them, and show no signs of slowing down.

As stated, this is a forum and people tend to get on here to solve problems (real or imaginary) that arises. All releases of new Apple computers are followed by a steady stream of people who brings up problems that are specific for that release. The fact of the matter is, however, that if you are aware of what issues to check for you can run some tests on your new machine when you get it and if you have any one of these, exchange it. Repeat until satisfied. For me it took one return, but now i have a really nice computer. Today, not 2012. :)

Also, been playing HL2 via Steam for four hours today. Not the most demanding game out there by any means, but if you up the graphics settings a bit then it does put some stress on your computer. No problems at all here.
 
everything new always has a few isolated issues that get blown out of proportion. very happy with my 2011 from day one.
 
serenesam said:
Even if that is true, for a prestigious machine, they should theoretically be able to overcome the heat - http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-quad-core-and-dual-core/
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They have already done this. They are performing like champs within Intel's thermal envelope.

Under maximum load they will feel warm. They will also spin the fans up, as designed. But none of this is a problem.

It's the "my last one vs. this one" comparisons where they behave differently. Honestly, it behaves quite like my late 2008 unit did and it's been a champ.

Edit: I also just finished transferring a 120GB file from a WD external drive via FW800, which is yet another thing I've read is impossible on these very forums.
 
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If i were a 2010 model owner i wouldn't upgrade. THat said 10.6.7 fixed 98% of the issue. The remaining being if you were screwed over with thermal paste and the fact that it still has problems driving an external LED ACD. Otherwise it's an amazing machine.

Frankly i expected things to be a lot worse once Apple made the transition to quad core ships...i'm talking Core Duo/early Core 2 Duo worse where you literally couldn't put the machines on your lap because there were idle temps of 65-70C and max load temps of 100-120C.
 
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I was a 2010 15" MBP owner. Switched over to the 2011 model and LOVE IT! No issues with mine :cool:
 
I have a 15" 2010 macbook pro (owned by my office) and a 15" 2011 macbook pro (personal machine). On average, id say that the 2011 is about 4-5 degrees warmer when under heavy load. 10.6.7 fixed all crashing issues I have observed, and at this point the only real difference between the 2010 and 2011 is that the 2011 is roughly 2-3x faster at everything I throw at it.
 
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