U-MBP as desktop at work - worried about longevity.

[sn0warmy]

While at work I use in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop on a daily basis. I use my personal Unibody MBP all day at work to get the job done. As you can see in the pic below, I have it hooked up to an external monitor and bluetooth keyboard/mouse. So my on-board screen, keyboard and mouse all remain untouched.

The company just bought me an HP 24" monitor which is in the mail as we speak.

My issue is that this is my personal computer and I want it to last me a long time. I'm concerned about how much I'm killing the life of my laptop by leaving it on for 8 hours a day while running these programs.

I'm considering convincing my boss to get me a Mac Mini to replace it for work. However, I have a feeling he will just laugh at me because they already offered me a new Dell Desktop to use. But I refuse to switch to Windows for creative purposes.

Click to enlarge



What are your thoughts?

 

[Thiol]

These machines are built to be used. You're not putting an undue amount of stress on it by using it all day.

 

[RKpro]

It's a workhorse, it was designed to work hard all day, everyday. I've had mine since last October, and it's not really showing signs of wear on the outside, and it runs like new.

But if you're concerned you can always get the extended 3 yeah Apple care, you have a year since the purchase date to buy it.

 

[Saturn1217]

I also use my personal laptop as my work computer. There are definitely weeks where the only down time the computer sees is while I'm asleep. I hope that is okay (I've only had the MBP for 3 months so we will see) but I'd be pretty surprised if simply using it all day was that bad for it.

Has anyone with one of the 2008 unibody pros had experience using their computer like this?

 

[Kronie]

Mines a 2/2009 and I use my UMBP the pretty much the same way. In clamshell, as a desktop, hooked up to externals. Run constantly. As others have said, these machines are designed to be used and your not going to wear it out by using it.

My only gripe is that when I do have to move the laptop that unhooking all the wires and especially plugging in everything, Monitor, Speakers, Ethernet, Phone line (for faxing), USB's, FW 800, Power, is a pain in the butt.

 

[mikes70mustang]

While at work I use in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop on a daily basis. I use my personal Unibody MBP all day at work to get the job done. As you can see in the pic below, I have it hooked up to an external monitor and bluetooth keyboard/mouse. So my on-board screen, keyboard and mouse all remain untouched.

The company just bought me an HP 24" monitor which is in the mail as we speak.

My issue is that this is my personal computer and I want it to last me a long time. I'm concerned about how much I'm killing the life of my laptop by leaving it on for 8 hours a day while running these programs.

I'm considering convincing my boss to get me a Mac Mini to replace it for work. However, I have a feeling he will just laugh at me because they already offered me a new Dell Desktop to use. But I refuse to switch to Windows for creative purposes.

Click to enlarge



What are your thoughts?

If your not getting some sort of compensation for this then you need to reconsider. Or you need to write off your mac on taxes. I bet your boss wants to give you a really crappy desktop doesnt he? Even the new quad core dells at school are slow as sin.

 

[farmermac]

If your not getting some sort of compensation for this then you need to reconsider. Or you need to write off your mac on taxes. I bet your boss wants to give you a really crappy desktop doesnt he? Even the new quad core dells at school are slow as sin.

its not so much the hardware...its the software.

Im also using my mbp as a workhorse, shuffling it between my shop and home daily. I hope it lasts me...Its replacing a 5-yr old PC that was solid, but old and slowww. Considering how much the mbp are, i hope they last. Im a little bit worried seeing how many log boards are failing in the white macbooks.

 

[Thiol]

My only gripe is that when I do have to move the laptop that unhooking all the wires and especially plugging in everything, Monitor, Speakers, Ethernet, Phone line (for faxing), USB's, FW 800, Power, is a pain in the butt.

This is why I bought a Bookendz dock. Have you looked at those? Maybe it'll help.

 

[GoCubsGo]

This is why I bought a Bookendz dock. Have you looked at those? Maybe it'll help.

This is really your only solution to dock your mac. I always wondered why Apple did not bother with a dock.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

This is really your only solution to dock your mac. I always wondered why Apple did not bother with a dock.

That would probably bite into iMac sales. Oh and Steve probably couldn't sleep at night knowing there was a long port at the bottom/side of the machine for the dock to fit into that wasn't exactly .000001 inch thick.

OP Don't worry. It's a Mac, not a dandelion. Use it to your hearts content. Obviously since you are using it for work get AppleCare. Otherwise the only thing you may have to replace in the future is the hard disk and fan, since they only have a limited lifespan.

 

[electroshock]

You've got good comments here. Only suggestion is to make sure you've got a random screensaver kick in within a minute of inactivity to help preserve the LCD because otherwise, it's far too easy to cause LCD burn-in. I've had LCD burn-in occur after only 8-10 months! Fortunately, with external monitors. After that, I've been a lot more careful about screen saver settings.

 

[Richard1028]

However, I have a feeling he will just laugh at me because they already offered me a new Dell Desktop to use. But I refuse to switch to Windows for creative purposes.

Huh? What makes your creative talents so superior that you couldn't reproduce them on a PC using the same applications? And on a unit most likely more powerful and faster than that MBP of yours?

No offense, but if you worked for me and refused to use what I gave you based on some arrogant notion that your mac is superior and somehow makes you more creatively productive I'd send you packing.

 

[miles01110]

Any problems your computer experiences probably aren't going to stem from "overuse" unless you get screen burn-in, which can be fixed easily.

 

[mattDC5R]

I use my MBP (early 08 non unibody) everyday at work and as well as a few hours at home each day for the last 18months and it really does run as well as the day i bought it.

Its set up with a 20" ACD and a mStand at the office, and i take it to site for programming on a regular basis so it may end up be connected/reconnected a couple of times a day.

It has had the Superdrive and a screen replaced under warranty but thats really not related to the amount of use it sees to be honest, as i hardly ever use the Superdrive and dead pixels appeared within months of purchase.

Its all my own hardware but I claim it on my tax and I get to use a computer i want to use so its a win win situation IMO.

From what I've seen of the unibodys they certainly feel far more sturdy than mine so I wouldnt be too worried about if it was me.

@Richard1028 i hope your saying that as a hypothetical, if the OP is happier using a Mac and feels he is more productive using it then isnt it a good thing? if your a business owner and have that attitude then i feel sorry for your staff!

 

[tcphoto]

Are you salaried or freelance? If salaried, why would you volunteer using your own gear and software without compensation? When I shoot a job, I write an estimate containing my creative fee, licensing of images and expenses to accomplish the job. What would happen if your computer was stolen on the job or if the machine went down and needed repaired? You may prefer to use it to complete the project but your boss reaps the benefits without paying for the tools.

 

[dwd3885]

However, I have a feeling he will just laugh at me because they already offered me a new Dell Desktop to use. But I refuse to switch to Windows for creative purposes.

If the Dell desktop was a quad or i7 or something, then I don't know why you would have refused that. Adobe apps are made in 64-bit on Windows (Photoshop at least) So the performance would've been much better. This whole, "macs are better for creative pros' is bull. Creative pros like them because they are nice to look at and so is the OS, which creative pros like because they are creative! I have a Dell quad and a unibody mbp and Photoshop and Lightroom just fly on the Dell. For instance, It takes 37 seconds for my MBP to merge 3 photos to hdr, but it takes my dell 17.

 

[Eric S.]

My issue is that this is my personal computer and I want it to last me a long time. I'm concerned about how much I'm killing the life of my laptop by leaving it on for 8 hours a day while running these programs.

I use my unibody MB eight hours a day (or more) at work, and four or five hours a day at home. If it dies I'll replace it, but I don't expect that to be at least until the Arrandale models are out.

 

[Kronie]

I have a Dell quad and a unibody mbp and Photoshop and Lightroom just fly on the Dell.

Why do you think that is?

MacBook Pro Unibody 15", 2.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, 10.5

Dell Quad 2.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM, 640 GB HD, Windows 7

 

[dwd3885]

Why do you think that is?

MacBook Pro Unibody 15", 2.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, 10.5

Dell Quad 2.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM, 640 GB HD, Windows 7

no duh. That's my freaking point. ?

The OP said he was offered a new Dell desktop, maybe it was a quad, if it was, it would obviously be faster than the MBP. I wasn't comparing OSX to Windows. The point was he shouldn't dismiss the Dell for 'creative purposes'.

 

[sn0warmy]

OP Don't worry. It's a Mac, not a dandelion. Use it to your hearts content. Obviously since you are using it for work get AppleCare. Otherwise the only thing you may have to replace in the future is the hard disk and fan, since they only have a limited lifespan.

I was actually a computer tech for a while as well. I know that replacing the drive/fans on this thing takes like 1 minute. So if that's all I should be worrying about then I think my concerns have faded.

You've got good comments here. Only suggestion is to make sure you've got a random screensaver kick in within a minute of inactivity to help preserve the LCD because otherwise, it's far too easy to cause LCD burn-in. I've had LCD burn-in occur after only 8-10 months! Fortunately, with external monitors. After that, I've been a lot more careful about screen saver settings.

I'm not even using the on board monitor. I'm just using an external. So I don't need to worry about that. Thanks for the heads up though.

Huh? What makes your creative talents so superior that you couldn't reproduce them on a PC using the same applications? And on a unit most likely more powerful and faster than that MBP of yours?

No offense, but if you worked for me and refused to use what I gave you based on some arrogant notion that your mac is superior and somehow makes you more creatively productive I'd send you packing.

I hate windows, therefore I don't see the point of using an XP based Windows system with a P4 and not-so-great graphics card when I have a perfectly capable, brand new MBP to use.

I never "refused" to use what they offered. I just simply said I was willing to use my MBP to get the job done and my boss was very understanding and happy in the fact that I was actually saving him some money. No offense, but you wouldn't have to worry about me working for you because you do not appear to be the friendliest or most understanding of bosses.

If the Dell desktop was a quad or i7 or something, then I don't know why you would have refused that. Adobe apps are made in 64-bit on Windows (Photoshop at least) So the performance would've been much better.

Believe me, if it was a newer Dell with something like an i7 in it I would be happy to use that and give Windows 7 a go. But in my case it was only a P4 with built in graphics card. So I figured, why not just use my laptop? It's been a couple months now and I was beginning to worry about all the wear on it, that I hadn't thought about initially. But it appears that I really don't have anything to worry about.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[tempusfugit]

I would definitely use smcfancontrol or something of the like and jack up your fanspeeds for CS4, as I know my MBP hovers at 80 degrees celcius when encoding H.264 even though I jack my fans up to 6200 rpm.

Fans are easy and inexpensive to replace, logic boards are not.

if youre using it hard for prolonged periods of time, for sure jack the fans up. keep it as cool as possible.

 

[Rampant.A.I.]

Huh? What makes your creative talents so superior that you couldn't reproduce them on a PC using the same applications? And on a unit most likely more powerful and faster than that MBP of yours?

No offense, but if you worked for me and refused to use what I gave you based on some arrogant notion that your mac is superior and somehow makes you more creatively productive I'd send you packing.

He probably just likes the platform better. You know, since that's pretty much the reason most of us are posting here.

And I don't know how wanting to use the computer you're comfortable using your workplace is any more arrogant than insisting someone do everything "your way or the highway." He's not tying up company resources using a company machine, so what real harm is bringing his home computer to work doing, exactly?


I'd get a taller stand for more airflow underneath, and maybe even one of those USB keyboard/mouse switching devices that lets you use the same KB/Mouse combo with two machines.

 

[sn0warmy]

I would definitely use smcfancontrol or something of the like and jack up your fanspeeds for CS4, as I know my MBP hovers at 80 degrees celcius when encoding H.264 even though I jack my fans up to 6200 rpm.

Fans are easy and inexpensive to replace, logic boards are not.

if youre using it hard for prolonged periods of time, for sure jack the fans up. keep it as cool as possible.

Yeah I have the laptop on a targus stand with fans built in. That dropped average internal temps by as much as 10 degrees Celsius.

I've also been running SMC fan control as well. I'd say that it never gets above 70 degrees Celsius.

.....
I'd get a taller stand for more airflow underneath, and maybe even one of those USB keyboard/mouse switching devices that lets you use the same KB/Mouse combo with two machines.

Good thinking. I think I'll fins something to put under the Targus stand to give it more air flow.

 

[dwd3885]

Believe me, if it was a newer Dell with something like an i7 in it I would be happy to use that and give Windows 7 a go. But in my case it was only a P4 with built in graphics card. So I figured, why not just use my laptop?

Wow, a P4. I hoped you laughed at them for offering you that!

 

[sn0warmy]

Wow, a P4. I hoped you laughed at them for offering you that!

haha, when it was offered I just asked if I could use my computer instead. When the answer was 'yes' I was very pleased.