Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

marty1990

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 25, 2011
418
25
England
Since my MacBook is new, I'm very careful with it. The slightest knock panics me. Just wondering what the wear and tear is like? After the mishap today with it getting picked up by the screen, I'm being even more careful. I haven't dropped it, just banged it slightly when putting it down on a table a few times. These are minor and can be ignored, right?

I'm going to be taking this to university, once I've bought a sleeve for it, hence me wanting to know how much it can take, wear and tear wise.
 
Since my MacBook is new, I'm very careful with it. The slightest knock panics me. Just wondering what the wear and tear is like? After the mishap today with it getting picked up by the screen, I'm being even more careful. I haven't dropped it, just banged it slightly when putting it down on a table a few times. These are minor and can be ignored, right?

I'm going to be taking this to university, once I've bought a sleeve for it, hence me wanting to know how much it can take, wear and tear wise.

its made of metal what do you think?
 
I'm going to be taking this to university, once I've bought a sleeve for it, hence me wanting to know how much it can take, wear and tear wise.
That is completely dependent on how you care for it. My MBP is almost 4 years old and looks like it did the day I took it out of the box. YMMV.

On the subject of sleeves, the booq Vyper is the best protection I've ever seen in a notebook sleeve. In my opinion, it offers far better protection than any neoprene case, the zippers never come into contact with your MBP, and it looks great!
VYP4s.jpg
 
Don't drop it, don't spill liquids on it, don't stand on it.

Everything else the macbook will survive without problems. If you hit it on a corner or scratch it with some other metal (i.e. keys), you will see dents and scratches. Don't do that if you want it to look like new for a long time.
 
Only thing that really wears is the matte finish of the keyboard.

Over time, oils from your finger accumulate on the keyboard, this oil attracts dust.

Now as you use your keyboard with said dust on it, your keystrokes tend to gently exfoliate the matte finish into to an ugly sheen or shine.

My recommendation is to clean your keyboard often, once a week should do it. Also take care to clean your keyboard with something slightly damp, using just a dry cloth will only aid the exfoliation of your keys.

That was my experience with the 2010 MBP. I've owned my 2011 MBP for a while now, and I have no such problem.
 
I haven't dropped it, just banged it slightly when putting it down on a table a few times. These are minor and can be ignored, right?

For the most part yes. Just try your best and enjoy. If you're OCD about it all the time, it makes using it more worrisome. So don't just throw it around everywhere, but don't be a stickler for perfection when handling. If you plan to keep it for a long time, its not like a few scratches are going to reduce resale value very much :D (depending on how old it is). Good luck with it.
 
Only thing that really wears is the matte finish of the keyboard.

Over time, oils from your finger accumulate on the keyboard, this oil attracts dust.

Now as you use your keyboard with said dust on it, your keystrokes tend to gently exfoliate the matte finish into to an ugly sheen or shine.

My recommendation is to clean your keyboard often, once a week should do it. Also take care to clean your keyboard with something slightly damp, using just a dry cloth will only aid the exfoliation of your keys.

That was my experience with the 2010 MBP. I've owned my 2011 MBP for a while now, and I have no such problem.

To be honest, I considered buying a keyboard cover to stop that happening. I noticed it happened on my Windows laptop, but that keyboard is a disgrace. Dust and other crap that is just stuck in between the keys that won't come out.

Regarding the keyboard, I'm quite a hard/heavy typer. Should i attempt to adjust my typing or wouldn't that affect it?

@ahdickter; yeah they were only minor. I put it down on my table slightly harder then usual (though to you it probably wouldn't have been, I've been putting it on surfaces very delicately), then knocked the table a few times with my leg accidentally making it shake a bit. It would probably take more bangs being carried around in a bag. Yeah, I guess you're right. Plus, it's insured. Just gotta be more relaxed about it!
 
To be honest, I considered buying a keyboard cover to stop that happening. I noticed it happened on my Windows laptop, but that keyboard is a disgrace. Dust and other crap that is just stuck in between the keys that won't come out.

Regarding the keyboard, I'm quite a hard/heavy typer. Should i attempt to adjust my typing or wouldn't that affect it?

@ahdickter; yeah they were only minor. I put it down on my table slightly harder then usual (though to you it probably wouldn't have been, I've been putting it on surfaces very delicately), then knocked the table a few times with my leg accidentally making it shake a bit. It would probably take more bangs being carried around in a bag. Yeah, I guess you're right. Plus, it's insured. Just gotta be more relaxed about it!

Do not worry, I am a heavy typer too.

What I do is clean my keyboard with Windex and cotton balls once in a while. Remember if you notice oil (from your fingers) on the keyboard then there's going to be dust trapped in that oil that will exfoliate your keyboard as your typing rubs the dust on the keys.

Just try to clean it once a week or once every 2 weeks. It's a good habit to get into anyway, because keyboards are a breeding place for germs (just remember to use Lysol instead).
 
Only thing that really wears is the matte finish of the keyboard.

Over time, oils from your finger accumulate on the keyboard, this oil attracts dust.

Now as you use your keyboard with said dust on it, your keystrokes tend to gently exfoliate the matte finish into to an ugly sheen or shine.

My recommendation is to clean your keyboard often, once a week should do it. Also take care to clean your keyboard with something slightly damp, using just a dry cloth will only aid the exfoliation of your keys.

That was my experience with the 2010 MBP. I've owned my 2011 MBP for a while now, and I have no such problem.

i use rubbing alcohol (>70%) to do this, and it tends to keep the keys in pretty good shape. and I have a 2011. Alot of it depends on your skin type and what oils are released.
 
My macbook is a bit over a year old. I have dropped it several times. It has two small dents in the screen, a few scratches, a few chips of finish taken out of the palm rest area. The speck cases really can save you though, they are the only kind of case that can break a fall. I just dropped my macbook the other day from the couch and onto a hardwood floor, it flipped on its corner and cracked the speck case...but the macbook is just fine!

It takes my abuse and likes it. :cool:

Anyway, always be sure to back up your data on a periodic basis, you NEVER KNOW.
 
While cleaning your keys will prevent early wear and tear, there's this funny thing we call friction that will eventually put wear spots on your keys no matter what you do.
 
Consumers are very careless in the US and western countries in general because of sometimes absurd laws that exonerate them from any liability and care.
 
Consumers are very careless in the US and western countries in general because of sometimes absurd laws that exonerate them from any liability and care.

Uh what? Anyways...

OP: I won't be worried as much about dents unless you literally drop it on the floor... the aluminum does scratch and I would recommend either the incase hard shell or a case when putting it in the bag.
 
Uh what? Anyways...

OP: I won't be worried as much about dents unless you literally drop it on the floor... the aluminum does scratch and I would recommend either the incase hard shell or a case when putting it in the bag.

incase is garbage buy speck
 
As a matter of fact I do live in the US (in Oregon to be more precise) and I see people abusing consumer laws like a way of life.
On several occasions I've seen and even given advice from co-workers (which BTW are American born citizens) to "use" the system.

Some examples:

- using a product within its return period then return it (and getting another one from a different store while exercising the same routine as before)
- whining and lying about an imaginary defect just to return or get a refund
- no matter what big store (costco, target etc) you go to you see quite long lines at customer returns

Now I'm sure the last isn't because products sold in the US are of bad quality but because people like to abuse the system.

I like laws that protect customers but I don't like loopholes people exploit just because they feel entitled to. These loopholes make business loose big money and without businesses we all know there's no jobs either.

Now, having lived in an Eastern European country where such loopholes in consumer laws do not exist I've learned to appreciate the products I buy and care about them knowing it's almost impossible to return them unless the store establishes that there was indeed a fault with the product.

Coming here to the US hasn't changed my mentality but unlike others who probably haven't lived in a different country can see things from the outsider's/non-biased point of view.
 
Only thing that really wears is the matte finish of the keyboard.

Over time, oils from your finger accumulate on the keyboard, this oil attracts dust.

Now as you use your keyboard with said dust on it, your keystrokes tend to gently exfoliate the matte finish into to an ugly sheen or shine.

My recommendation is to clean your keyboard often, once a week should do it. Also take care to clean your keyboard with something slightly damp, using just a dry cloth will only aid the exfoliation of your keys.

That was my experience with the 2010 MBP. I've owned my 2011 MBP for a while now, and I have no such problem.



Listen to this man. Nothing ruins the look of a nice MBP more than random shiny keys!
 
As a matter of fact I do live in the US (in Oregon to be more precise) and I see people abusing consumer laws like a way of life.
On several occasions I've seen and even given advice from co-workers (which BTW are American born citizens) to "use" the system.

Some examples:

- using a product within its return period then return it (and getting another one from a different store while exercising the same routine as before)
- whining and lying about an imaginary defect just to return or get a refund
- no matter what big store (costco, target etc) you go to you see quite long lines at customer returns

Now I'm sure the last isn't because products sold in the US are of bad quality but because people like to abuse the system.

I like laws that protect customers but I don't like loopholes people exploit just because they feel entitled to. These loopholes make business loose big money and without businesses we all know there's no jobs either.

Now, having lived in an Eastern European country where such loopholes in consumer laws do not exist I've learned to appreciate the products I buy and care about them knowing it's almost impossible to return them unless the store establishes that there was indeed a fault with the product.

Coming here to the US hasn't changed my mentality but unlike others who probably haven't lived in a different country can see things from the outsider's/non-biased point of view.

I'm european. I'm not a big fan of the policy here to kiss the customers asses even when they are obviously cheating or misusing their rights. However I'm also not a big fan of the culture in parts of europe, where you are supposed to suck it up. If you complain about food or service in a restaurant in europe, they treat you as if you were crazy.
Have fun when your 2 weeks old hard disc breaks and they tell you that it's probably because you dropped it. How are you going to prove that you didn't drop your laptop in those two weeks?

For your examples:
- yes, it's possible to abuse the return period, and never buy a product. However they do keep track of this, i.e. when you return it you have to present an ID and give your home address. Many shops charge restocking fees or box opening fees, and resell those products at a lower price. Not so much damage done.
- whining and lying to get refund... yeah, that's fraud, don't tell me that it doesn't happen in other countries.
- long lines at returns: Well, that stuff usually takes some time, and the people with actual defects and exchanges stand in the same line

I was happy about the hassle free return policy in microcenter recently. I bought a $140 cable modem/wireless router combo that comcast had certified on their website, just to find out it doesn't work on their system when they came to install cable internet. So I brought it back and bought a $40 wlan router instead. Did I also abuse the system?

Finally, customer protection and return policies force apple and other companies to maintain a minimal level of quality. There's still enough crap with failing graphics cards (8600 GT) and expanding/exploding batteries with Apple, and that's a company that is considered to have a high quality level.
 
- using a product within its return period then return it (and getting another one from a different store while exercising the same routine as before)
- whining and lying about an imaginary defect just to return or get a refund
- no matter what big store (costco, target etc) you go to you see quite long lines at customer returns

None of these have to do with laws, they're all regulated by store policy. When I worked retail, we actually refused some people returns because they were doing exactly the first one.

While you're right that people do those things, it has more to do with the store's policy than the laws of the US or the state in which those stores reside.
 
I have a Incase neoprene sleeve in black for carrying it around. If you are going to carry it short distances like you would a book, it could become scratched or bumped.

I didn't go too crazy with all these screen films, keyboard covers, shell covers and such. However, I did buy a Moshi keyboard wrist rest. I have seen people's aluminum finish there get funky after a while, so I wanted to protect that. One guy I know has two dirt circles there and he said he can't get them off.
 
I have a Incase neoprene sleeve in black for carrying it around. If you are going to carry it short distances like you would a book, it could become scratched or bumped.

I didn't go too crazy with all these screen films, keyboard covers, shell covers and such. However, I did buy a Moshi keyboard wrist rest. I have seen people's aluminum finish there get funky after a while, so I wanted to protect that. One guy I know has two dirt circles there and he said he can't get them off.

palmgaurd?
 
That is completely dependent on how you care for it.
^ This. There are no universal answers for subjective questions. Obviously the wear and tear varies depending on who you ask.

As a matter of fact I do live in the US (in Oregon to be more precise) and I see people abusing consumer laws like a way of life.
On several occasions I've seen and even given advice from co-workers (which BTW are American born citizens) to "use" the system.
Cool story but not germane.
 
Just use common sense and don't give much thought to the wear and tear.

Using keyboard protectors, hard-cases, etc. will protect your laptop, but covering such a beautiful machine with does things kind of cancels the complete experience of owning a Mac.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.