Why so many negative post regarding 17 inch Uni?

[Safari King]

I have a 2008 17 inch model which I am selling and have purchased the new 17 inch Unibody due to the promise of better battery life. I assume there are those that are having no issues with there new units, but after reading all of the negative posts, and not so many "positive" ones i am a bit concerned about my order which was placed a few days ago. For those having issues, are you convinced you still made a good purchase? Do you feel Apple will resolve with a software update? This will be my second MacBook Pro and I have had no issues with my first.

This is my first post so go easy on me please.....

thanks all.

 

[Justibackwardsn]

Personally, I'd stick to the old one. Or if you have the money, get both. There's not TOO much of a reason to upgrade to the new one.

The only negative thing I've heard about the 17" uni is the heat distribution is funky.

 

[ayasin]

I assume there are those that are having no issues with there new units, but after reading all of the negative posts, and not so many "positive" ones i am a bit concerned about my order which was placed a few days ago.

Forums are disproportionately weighted towards those having trouble. I challenge you to find any machine in this forum that has more positive than negative/trouble posts about it. This in and of itself is not a reason to be concerned. You might be concered if, relative to other machines, there were a higher incidents of trouble reports, but that's definitely not the case here. My machine for example is perfect andi it's a 17" unibody. Most poeple with machines like mine will never post because there's no reason to.

or those having issues, are you convinced you still made a good purchase? Do you feel Apple will resolve with a software update?

only you can really answer this question as it's very personal. You're looking for better battery life from your post so if it performs below your expectations/needs then you'll be unhappy and if it meets or exceeds you'll be satisfied. Other's have different criteria for what they think makes their purchases "worth it".

This will be my second MacBook Pro and I have had no issues with my first.

This alone should give you some confidence (obviously it gave you enough to order another one). Just to add to that, this is my 4th mac and I've only had a minor cosmetic problem with one of then (which Apple fixed promptly).

This is my first post so go easy on me please.....

thanks all.

Welcome to the forums .

 

[infernohellion]

When something is right and perfect, people just don't complain, they will just be happy and keep using it and won't be bothered to post anything about it on the internet (I am one of these people)

But once anything goes wrong, they will complain, bitch about it.

It's as simple as that
Welcome to the forum.

 

[amitdoc2b]

I upgraded from the March 2008 17" MBP to the new unibody, and I have posted a little negativity.. but that exists for any computer you spend over $3000 on after taxes. I am overall VERY happy with the purchase, and your upgrade from the 2008 version is much larger than you think.

Here is the benefits from upgrading from a March 2008 stock model to a new 2009 stock model (although neither of mine were stock):

-Faster processor
-Larger hard-drive space
-Double the memory, with quicker DDR3 over DDR2, and larger memory capacity (up to 8GB)
-60% greater color gamut in display with great vibrancy
-Glass screen with black bezel corner to corner design
-Magnetic Latch
-Oversized glass trackpad
-iLife '09 software
-Free new printer after rebate
-Two NVIDIA cards, both which are newer than March 08 model's
-Battery indicator button
-Increased battery life (from approx 4.5 hrs to 8 hrs in my usage)
-After you sell your 08 model, all you really pay is the difference for the new one

These were good enough reasons for me to upgrade.

I have a 2008 17 inch model which I am selling and have purchased the new 17 inch Unibody due to the promise of better battery life. I assume there are those that are having no issues with there new units, but after reading all of the negative posts, and not so many "positive" ones i am a bit concerned about my order which was placed a few days ago. For those having issues, are you convinced you still made a good purchase? Do you feel Apple will resolve with a software update? This will be my second MacBook Pro and I have had no issues with my first.

This is my first post so go easy on me please.....

thanks all.

 

[Safari King]

I upgraded from the March 2008 17" MBP to the new unibody, and I have posted a little negativity.. but that exists for any computer you spend over $3000 on after taxes. I am overall VERY happy with the purchase, and your upgrade from the 2008 version is much larger than you think.

Here is the benefits from upgrading from a March 2008 stock model to a new 2009 stock model (although neither of mine were stock):

-Faster processor
-Larger hard-drive space
-Double the memory, with quicker DDR3 over DDR2, and larger memory capacity (up to 8GB)
-60% greater color gamut in display with great vibrancy
-Glass screen with black bezel corner to corner design
-Magnetic Latch
-Oversized glass trackpad
-iLife '09 software
-Free new printer after rebate
-Two NVIDIA cards, both which are newer than March 08 model's
-Battery indicator button
-Increased battery life (from approx 4.5 hrs to 8 hrs in my usage)
-After you sell your 08 model, all you really pay is the difference for the new one

These were good enough reasons for me to upgrade.

Thanks All for the feedback. I will keep my order as is and now understand a little more about the forums here!

Take care

 

[Thunder82]

Thanks All for the feedback. I will keep my order as is and now understand a little more about the forums here!

Take care

I also love my new Unibody 17" .. I honestly don't have a single complaint about it. I'd keep your order as well.. chances are good that you'll have a perfectly fine machine

 

[tonkaxxtuph]

I just bought my antiglare 17" mbp unibody yesterday and don't have amy complamts about it. The only complaint I have is with the price. But I love it! I thought about the glossy but didn't want to be looking into a mirror all day! So go on get your mbp and me glad!

 

[Siebe]

Although I have issues with the 9600M GT graphics processor (in rare occasions: distortion and green lines in screen), I am very happy with the 17" MBP.

First I was concerned that the laptop was too big (footprint), but since i have it for more then a week I have to say it's perfect.

Speed is great (2.93 ghz CPU), display is fantastic. Only the 9600M is giving problems. I have to call Apple for this.

 

[srl7741]

I upgraded from the March 2008 17" MBP to the new unibody, and I have posted a little negativity.. but that exists for any computer you spend over $3000 on after taxes. I am overall VERY happy with the purchase, and your upgrade from the 2008 version is much larger than you think.

Here is the benefits from upgrading from a March 2008 stock model to a new 2009 stock model (although neither of mine were stock):

-Faster processor
-Larger hard-drive space
-Double the memory, with quicker DDR3 over DDR2, and larger memory capacity (up to 8GB)
-60% greater color gamut in display with great vibrancy
-Glass screen with black bezel corner to corner design
-Magnetic Latch
-Oversized glass trackpad
-iLife '09 software
-Free new printer after rebate
-Two NVIDIA cards, both which are newer than March 08 model's
-Battery indicator button
-Increased battery life (from approx 4.5 hrs to 8 hrs in my usage)
-After you sell your 08 model, all you really pay is the difference for the new one

These were good enough reasons for me to upgrade.

I have both notebooks still and I would have to agree, very well put on that.

I can add that thus far (2 weeks) The uni-body seems to run cooler than my older model. My older 17" would often heat up enough that I would have to remove it from my lap for a few minutes till it cooled back down.
Don't forget about the new uni-body design either. It's much better than the older build.
If I must complain about the new notebook it would be that the speakers in the new uni-body seem worse than on my older model. I can set the two next to each other, same setting, same sounds (music or whatever) and the older MBP has a much better sound.

 

[BJNY]

I just bought my antiglare 17" mbp unibody yesterday and don't have amy complamts about it. The only complaint I have is with the price. But I love it! I thought about the glossy but didn't want to be looking into a mirror all day! So go on get your mbp and me glad!

Where were you able to walk in a store, and get a anti-glare version?
Thanks.

 

[retrospek]

I bought my 17" last week and absolutely love it I thought it would be too big but I couldn't imagine using anything smaller now...

 

[abcdefGARY]

Post deleted.

 

[Sir Cecil]

My new Unibody MBP is perfect so far, in every way.

In another thread, someone mentioned "teething problems."
Within minutes, someone else replied that he'd seen that too, as "teeth-like" light bleed.
That should put some of the negativity in perspective.

 

[Quu]

I upgraded from the March 2008 17" MBP to the new unibody, and I have posted a little negativity.. but that exists for any computer you spend over $3000 on after taxes. I am overall VERY happy with the purchase, and your upgrade from the 2008 version is much larger than you think.

Here is the benefits from upgrading from a March 2008 stock model to a new 2009 stock model (although neither of mine were stock):

-Faster processor
-Larger hard-drive space
-Double the memory, with quicker DDR3 over DDR2, and larger memory capacity (up to 8GB)
-60% greater color gamut in display with great vibrancy
-Glass screen with black bezel corner to corner design
-Magnetic Latch
-Oversized glass trackpad
-iLife '09 software
-Free new printer after rebate
-Two NVIDIA cards, both which are newer than March 08 model's
-Battery indicator button
-Increased battery life (from approx 4.5 hrs to 8 hrs in my usage)
-After you sell your 08 model, all you really pay is the difference for the new one

These were good enough reasons for me to upgrade.

If you think those are good reasons for Upgrading from a March 2008 model try from an August 2006 Model like I did!

Everything 'Stock'

- 802.11n WiFi
- Faster Drive Burning
- 1920x1200 Display
- LED Backlighting
- 40%+ Higher Display Brightness
- 60%+ Colour Gamut (And probably even more I just have no measure)
- Magnetic Latch Replacement
- Higher Resolution iSight Camera
- 3x the Hard Disk Storage
- 4x the RAM + 4x the Maximum RAM Amount (1GB vs 4GB and 2GB Max vs 8GB Max)
- 2.66GHz Processor (Old was 2.16GHz)
- 64-bit Processor
- 45nm vs 65nm Processor
- 6MB L2 Cache vs 2MB
- Faster Front Side Bus
- DDR3 RAM at 1067MHz (old was DDR2 at 667MHz)
- 9400M + 9600GT 512MB (vs ATi X1600 256MB)
- 40% increased Trackpad size with Multi-Gestures (2006 model only had 2 finger scrolling)
- New keyboard design (Debatable if this is better or not but whatever)
- Display Port (Debatable if this is better or not but whatever)
- 8 Hour Battery Life
- Battery Indicator built in to the side of the notebook Chassis
- More Rigid Unibody design
- 30% Smaller Power Brick
- 'Green' design
- Easy replacement of RAM and Hard Disk without dismantling the entire Notebook (RAM was easy on old model but Hard Disk was a chore!)

Quite a lot of changes from the original one that I purchased. Although I did upgrade mine myself, it originally shipped with a 100GB 7,200RPM Hard Disk which I upgraded to a 320GB 7,200RPM hard disk and I swapped out the 802.11G networking card for one from a later generation Mac Pro which offered 802.11N networking. But still even with these it was a huge system change for me. And it's not even been 3 years! - I really wonder what Apple will have available in another 3 years.

 

[alphaod]

People normally don't come and ask for help when their computer has no issues.

 

[amitdoc2b]

You actually included some things in there that even the March 08 didn't have that I didn't mention on the list, thats great!

I definitely agree you made a great choice in the upgrade.. my comment was for the original poster considering the laptop he had (and the one I had).

Congrats on your new MBP!

If you think those are good reasons for Upgrading from a March 2008 model try from an August 2006 Model like I did!

Everything 'Stock'

- 802.11n WiFi
- Faster Drive Burning
- 1920x1200 Display
- LED Backlighting
- 40%+ Higher Display Brightness
- 60%+ Colour Gamut (And probably even more I just have no measure)
- Magnetic Latch Replacement
- Higher Resolution iSight Camera
- 3x the Hard Disk Storage
- 4x the RAM + 4x the Maximum RAM Amount (1GB vs 4GB and 2GB Max vs 8GB Max)
- 2.66GHz Processor (Old was 2.16GHz)
- 64-bit Processor
- 45nm vs 65nm Processor
- 6MB L2 Cache vs 2MB
- Faster Front Side Bus
- DDR3 RAM at 1067MHz (old was DDR2 at 667MHz)
- 9400M + 9600GT 512MB (vs ATi X1600 256MB)
- 40% increased Trackpad size with Multi-Gestures (2006 model only had 2 finger scrolling)
- New keyboard design (Debatable if this is better or not but whatever)
- Display Port (Debatable if this is better or not but whatever)
- 8 Hour Battery Life
- Battery Indicator built in to the side of the notebook Chassis
- More Rigid Unibody design
- 30% Smaller Power Brick
- 'Green' design
- Easy replacement of RAM and Hard Disk without dismantling the entire Notebook (RAM was easy on old model but Hard Disk was a chore!)

Quite a lot of changes from the original one that I purchased. Although I did upgrade mine myself, it originally shipped with a 100GB 7,200RPM Hard Disk which I upgraded to a 320GB 7,200RPM hard disk and I swapped out the 802.11G networking card for one from a later generation Mac Pro which offered 802.11N networking. But still even with these it was a huge system change for me. And it's not even been 3 years! - I really wonder what Apple will have available in another 3 years.

 

[SFStateStudent]

People normally don't come and ask for help when their computer has no issues.

+1 ^^^ I totally agree with alphaod; my issues aren't posted unless they are real issues v. hypothetical and I need immediate help. My MBP arrived DOA with a battery that didn't charge, but Apple sent a new one, and 24 hours later it arrived on my doorstep. I posted the issue here at MR and received multiple responses that allowed me to take immediate action with AppleCare after going through the suggestions here within the forums...

Congrats OP, on your new purchase...

 

[Abstract]

Yes, there are generally more complaints here than compliments, but to be honest, the frequency of complaints you see here about a specific issue reflects how often a machine is prone to suffering the same problem for non-geeks in the real-world.

Anyway, once the initial problems are dealt with by Apple, I have found that the 17" MBP receives the fewest number of complaints out of any laptop Apple makes. It was true for the 17" PowerBook released in 2003, and it was true for the 17" MBP. It's not just related to the small number of people who own (i.e. can afford) a 17" MBP when compared to Apple's other laptops, either. They just did not have as many problems. They tend to deal with heat better, and may suffer fewer complains about dents, scratches, loose video cables (which may cause flickering), etc etc etc, because most 17" MBP owners don't carry them around as often as 15" MBP/PB, 12" PowerBook, or 13" MB/MBA owners.



I think you'll find that by rev B, the 17" MBP will suffer from the least number of problems, even after taking the small number of 17" MBP owners into account.

 

[HLdan]

You also have to keep in mind how many Macs Apple sells. Not hundreds but many more thousands. Of course there will be issues once in a while but as a whole there's probably a lot LESS issues that this forum makes it out to be.

Also TBH, I think some issues that people complain about (while possible to be legit) are brought on from the user. People installing all kinds of haxies and mistreating their computers so when a problem arises they post here but keep concealed what they may have done to create the problem.

 

[danny_w]

I upgraded from the March 2008 17" MBP to the new unibody, and I have posted a little negativity.. but that exists for any computer you spend over $3000 on after taxes.

It's amazing how prices and expectations change over time. In the 90's the computer companies kept coming out with newer and faster machines, but at that time any desktop that anybody would seriously want for work was in the $3500-$4500 range, with laptops even higher. Now a $3000 top of the line laptop that is far more powerful than anything available back then is considered expensive; most of us even consider a $1000 Macbook overpriced (and it is compared to Windows machines). How times change.

 

[Safari King]

You also have to keep in mind how many Macs Apple sells. Not hundreds but many more thousands. Of course there will be issues once in a while but as a whole there's probably a lot LESS issues that this forum makes it out to be.

Also TBH, I think some issues that people complain about (while possible to be legit) are brought on from the user. People installing all kinds of haxies and mistreating their computers so when a problem arises they post here but keep concealed what they may have done to create the problem.

Again, Thank you all for the explanations regarding the original question. When spending $3000 dollars its nice to do a sanity check sometimes and get confirmation from others who have more experience in dealing with this sort of thing.

Cheers all...

 

[UA412]

I was thinking about getting my first mac but almost decided against it last year because of all the post about how bad the new alu bodies were. Read on here how they had so many problems. Ended up getting a new MBP right before Christmas and I haven't had a problem with it.