What mods/customizations/add-ons have you done to your new MBP?

[murdercitydevil]

ITT we discuss what kind of "upgrades" hardware-wise we have done to our new MBPs. Please post your model and what you've done! This includes stuff like clear cases, invisibleshields, hard drive swaps, colored keys, etc, as long as it's physical and hardware based, anything goes!

My MBP - 15" high res antiglare i7

I have done the following:
Replaced thermal paste on CPU/GPU
Fixed the loose plastic brackets using fiber washers
Put on Moshi ClearguardMB

I plan on also getting an SSD in the future and using an Optibay. I also have both a rainbow retro apple sticker and insert coming from iColours. I may use the sticker, or, if I ever find a guide on how to remove the display casing on an AG model, use the insert.

What have you done?

 

[Gorilla Power]

I got a beautiful lime green Speck SeeThru case and an Evil Monkey decal (although I haven't put it on yet).

Hardware-wise, an 8GB RAM upgrade from Hynix and an Intel X-25M G2 160GB SSD. The baby screams now.

 

[btrav13]

Some black satin case from eBay that is NOT see through (shoulda looked more carefully at the listing). Might buy that carbon fiber case that I see advertised all the time. Moshi palmguard as well as Moshi keyguard. I made my own little USB hub at the house that has an MX Revolution, Time Machine drive, and ipod doc all plugged up to it so I only need to plug in 1 USB plug when I get home.

 

[cyclical]

- Replaced thermal paste on CPU/GPU with MX-3
- Replaced stock 500GB HDD with Intel X-25M 160GB SSD
- Thinking about getting a WD My Passport Essential External USB drive...

 

[MrCheeto]

Added a scope and fore-grip, as well as a nitrous line.

How does the paste replacement fair if using ArcticSilver F5?

 

[murdercitydevil]

Added a scope and fore-grip, as well as a nitrous line.

How does the paste replacement fair if using ArcticSilver F5?

I think the general consensus is that ANY popular name brand paste is better than the stock goop. But in terms of actual performance, AS5 hasn't been the top performer for a while.

 

[m85476585]

6 GB of RAM
SSD with a hard drive in the optibay
Blue tape in front of the sleep LED to make it less bright and blue

 

[MrCheeto]

Blue tape in front of the sleep LED to make it less bright and blue

Ingenious and intriguing! So many people have radified their Apple and forgot the other light!

So...maybe somebody will think of a way to dye the holes a certain color or something. Personally, on my MacBook Pro unibody, I'd like the holes to be rainbow colored, as well as the Apple.

Does anybody else feel like Apple monochromized the logo just to spite us? LUL

 

[kny3twalker]

Fixed the loose plastic brackets using fiber washers

Can you explain this or provide a link, thanks

and I upgraded mine to 4GB Ram, SSD is next (when prices drop).

 

[dsprimal]

put a spoiler on the back of my mbp

 

[MrCheeto]

That's rather pointless for a notebook, doncha thank?

 

[murdercitydevil]

Can you explain this or provide a link, thanks

and I upgraded mine to 4GB Ram, SSD is next (when prices drop).

I made a thread called "MBP clicking noise" that describes this noise...basically, if you take the MBP apart, you'll see two plastic brackets, one near the hard drive, one near the battery. Their purpose is for the latches on the back unibody shell to snap into and hold in place. However, they wobble around and make noise occasionally when the MBP is moved. One guy in the thread put foam in between the bracket and the screws, and other people used washers I think. I went to home depot and got the smallest non-metal washers they had. I actually had to snip a piece off because they wouldn't fit otherwise. But it keeps everything tight and there is no more movement or noise.

 

[MrCheeto]

LUL, the principal of an SMS is just over some peoples' heads.

 

[2high2aim]

I got a beautiful lime green Speck SeeThru case and an Evil Monkey decal (although I haven't put it on yet).

Hardware-wise, an 8GB RAM upgrade from Hynix and an Intel X-25M G2 160GB SSD. The baby screams now.

wow evil monkey thats a sick evil monkey sticker to put on your MBP

 

[murdercitydevil]

LUL, the principal of an SMS is just over some peoples' heads.

they are two different noises. I know very well what the SMS is and it's not the same noise.

 

[mrsir2009]

Where can I buy those vintage Apple stickers that fit over the Apple on the back of my macbook pro screen? (I'm living in New Zealand).

Cheers!

 

[MrCheeto]

ebay has heaps of 'em.

XD

 

[mrsir2009]

ebay has heaps of 'em.

XD

Cool, thanks! And can I purchase stuff from eBay from New Zealand?

 

[MrCheeto]

Yes.

 

[mrsir2009]

Yes.

Sweet!

 

[Sandford]

I have done the following:
Replaced thermal paste on CPU/GPU

Did you notice any significant improvement?

 

[Gorilla Power]

wow evil monkey thats a sick evil monkey sticker to put on your MBP

Thanks !

 

[murdercitydevil]

Did you notice any significant improvement?

It was around a 10 degree drop during load. I don't regret doing it, if that's what you mean.

 

[MrCheeto]

Carp on a trawler! 10ºc or 10ºF? Either way, I'd sooo do it right now if I had something better than this AS5 and didn't have so much at stake.

Although, this AS5 did help my AMD 3500+'s temps and stopped my G4's overheating issues.

Man, I thought those little pads that Apple used in the PowerPC days were bad, who the HELL would think that ladling a glob of this paste on your processors could do any good?! Somebody needs to inform Apple of the loss of cash in material and temp issues because of those careless slack jaws over in Malaysia, or wherever.

 

[RossMc]

Nothing yet. Got one of these coming soon.