Concerns about MBP

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this forum lately. I was a MAC user before. I used to have a 12" PowerBook G4. I lost it and eventually settled with a XPS M1330, so I can game and I needed Windows anyway. Lovely machine, but once the problems started to surface I got a full refund.

The reason why I want to go MAC again is because it now has the option to dual-boot with Windows. MAC OS will most probably be my primary OS if I get it, but will run Windows on either Boot Camp or VM Ware or Parallels. Will be using Windows to do my presentations, assignments and some softwares that dont run on OS X.

I am concerned about heat issues. I use my laptop on my lap a lot. Also, I have a believe that if the laptop runs too hot, the computer's life span will be shorter and the components gets damaged faster, is this true?

I dont have much money to spend, probably a max at $ 1450, the lower the better. I thought of getting a refurbished MBP. I can wait till June. Newer models may be out, may be tempting, but I dont have the money.

I plan to get the laptop in the US, shipped to a friend who can bring it back for me. Where else is a good place to look besides eBay and craiglist - hate CG as most stuff there are so much expensive and they never reply to your emails.

Anyway, any additional suggestions are most welcomed. Thanks for your inputs.

Cheers

Edit : Am looking to keep the laptop for 3 years at least.

 

I would agree that any device that has excessive heat will probably suffer from a shorter lifespan.

That being said, I haven't noticed my MBP being too hot.

My opinion might be influenced by the fact that I primarily use it on a desk instead of my lap. But I imagine that as long as your lap is clothed, it really shouldn't prove to be too much of an issue.

 

If a computer runs warm it does not mean that it is going to have a shorter lifespan. The only reason high temperatures are bad for your notebook is because there is a higher chance of frying components, and when you fry something you will definitely know when you have. It is an all or nothing deal, there is no wear in circuitry. Registerys are simply turned on or off, there is nothing mechanical in the chips so it cannot get worn down with wear and tear.

 

thanks for the inputs, will go down to a local apple store next week to check it out again....

 

Regarding the heat, it's highly depends on what you do with you MBP. My MBP generally runs below 50c, even with Vista loaded in VMWare Fusion. But it will also goes more than 50c at times when I do some processor intensive tasks, but you just feel it getting warm not excessive hot till unusable on the lap. If you use a lot on your lap, i would still recommend you to get a iLap anyhow.

If you can wait till end June, I would suggest you do so. If the new revision's price getting too high to be affordable, you still have the option to buy the older version in refurbished section.

 

I own a 2.6GHz Penryn MBP, and use it run a lot of processor-intensive graphics apps; the computer sometimes gets warm, but nowhere near hot to the point of being uncomfortable. That being said, skyjuice's iLap suggestion is a good one: it's not good (for your reproductive health, of all things) to be using any notebook on your lap.

 

When mine starts to get warm I just up the speed on the fans a little bit with smc and it makes everything better

 

My 2.4GHz Penryn run quite a bit cooler than my 2.16GHz Merom did.

 

thanks a lot guys, appreciate the feedback...when i use my laptop, normally i have itunes on, and definitely firefox or sometimes safari on with say 10 tabs open...even with powerpoint running sometimes...mostly it would be lots of word/ppt...but for gaming, i definitely expect the temp to go way up...if i game..i think i would game 2-3 hours straight..but since am going to uni, i think i might be doing it a bit more less...

the smc software...it allows you to control your fan speed right? say if i want to run windows on bootcamp..and i run smc on leopard, maybe double the rpm, my question is : if i reboot into windows, will my new fan speed be the one i set using smc? also, is it ok to increase the speed of the fan and leave it as default? i am thinking that it would reduce its life span? sorry i came from a dell xps that has so many things failing, including the fan..

thanks stunner on the explanation on excessive heat.

i have also read of problems with the mbp's wireless connectivity, especially in windows. is it just the few people who complain on these forums or is it a flaw in the mbp?

team, i would take your advice,thanks.

skyjuice, well, the thing is i dont live in the US, and where I stay, the MBP retails around 80% more than the refurbished prices...and i would need to get one so that my friend who comes back end of may can bring it back for me...i do have someone i know coming back to my place end of june, i think its a perfect time, but i cant be sure if or not the person can guarantee me that he will bring it back. most of my friends and even relatives do not want to bring it back for me because they say its too risky. oh well...

anyway, thank you all for your replies. appreciate them.

 

My MBP usually says below 45 degrees celsius. Unless you are maxing out both cores for an extended period of time, it stays pretty cool. The new MBP's with the penryn cpus run a few degrees cooler than the older ones with merom cpu's