For anal buyers, macbook pro is not your choice

If you are very anal about the toys you bought and need to have everything perfect, the macbook pro is not the right computer for you. After having my notebook returned three times (having experienced 4 machines) i finally returned it A few thing i noticed when i bought this machine.

1. Some keyboards are not installed properly. Meaning the thing that snap the keyboard to the laptop will not be on properly (two of my machines had this problem)

2. The clicker will not click on the corners of the machine, giving it a soft feel. (two of my machines had this problem)

3. The casing of the laptop for some will start creak/crack when pressed down. (one of machines had this problem)

4. THIS IS FOR ALL MACBOOK PRO one thing that bothered me the most was the small high pitched buzzing/hissing noise when i connected it to the power adapter. The problem is unrelated with the wine/moo problems. The only way to fix this problem is to run photobooth in the background or mirror widget.

5. HOOOOOOOOOT I know everyone knows this "problem" but this WILL burn your leg and possibly your finger. The keyboards get so warm, your fingers will get sweaty and uncomfortable in a couple of minutes of typing.

6. Well didnt find this a big issue but, the second machine i had, had lcd warping meaning that when i closed the laptop one side would stick up, around lets say 2mm.

Anyways if your really picky about your new toys and pay attention to small detail, as i am, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU of course in my opinion.

 

Geez you seemed to have had a really bad one. The ones that I saw and that my relatives have seemed free of all those problems. Did you keep returning them to the same source? Maybe that's part of the problem...

Anyways, the vast majority of MBP that I saw seemed to be fine, it's too bad yours had such problems

 

Sorry to hear you bad run of luck, I never had any problems with my macbook and its week 25.

I guess you could say I'm pretty anal about my new stuff as well, but I understand we live in a world where nothing and no one is perfect. An example is a new lcd monitor I got has a stuck pixel in the center that I just can't seem to get rid of, but you get over it, as its not really that hard to ignore something.

However, to make a post to imply that every MBP out there is like this is pointless, because sometimes things get through and not everyone will have the experience.

I work in a production facility and even with camaras everywhere and many workers manning a machinie, and not to mention quality control, sometimes things get pass. granted there is no excuse for someone who is in actual contact with the product (repair technician) to let those pass.

I do remember it had to do with one or two keys feeling uneven to you, and it appears that each time you returned it got worse.

 

Sounds like you dipped into a bad batch of MBP's.

I just got mine a week ago and i have to say none of what you listed were problems for me...

My pops just got a Dell 1505 and honestly, the heat on that seems no different than this one. In fact, the exhaust on the Dell bothers me more than any heat issue on my mac.
I wouldnt leave my mbp on my legs, mainly bc i dont want to sweat, but again, same goes for the dell... I have a hard time imagining id burn my skin.... I could never see it burn my fingers (????) not really sure how that would happen anyway unless you maxed your computer and pressed your fingers under the bottom for a very long time.

Also, I thought I heard that hissing/high pitched noise too and i actually posted about it. But it turns out that it wasn real. I had it on the desk near my PC as i was transfering files. Ends up that the noise was coming out of the router/modem or speakers. I moved my macbook and when i went down to turn the PC off i still heard it in that area. go figure right.

Anyway - sorry about the bad luck - i wouldnt universally turn people off to them though, I tend to be quite anal about my new toys (I even imagined the hissing noise for something to complain about!) but ive had a very smooth experience thus far.

-c

 

Mine should be arriving the first of the week. I'll be inspecting the keyboard for the issues you have stated. I'll post what I find.

 

"Also, I thought I heard that hissing/high pitched noise too and i actually posted about it. But it turns out that it wasn real. I had it on the desk near my PC as i was transfering files. Ends up that the noise was coming out of the router/modem or speakers. I moved my macbook and when i went down to turn the PC off i still heard it in that area. go figure right."

Actually it is in all macbook pros. I have went to the applestore thinking it was just my notebook that made that hissing noise, but i checked every notebook in the store and all of them made this small distinctive buzz/hiss noise near where the adapter is.

 

still dont hear the noise, and i dont have bad hearing and im young so i havent lost the ability to hear some high pitches... heh I think you need to do a much much larger and more provable test than listening to a handful of MBP to decree that they all emit a horrendous buzzing dont you?

 

People have different hearing ranges. Guhjeeh ears are probably more sensitive to a particular frequency than most people. It also might be some odd frequency coupling due to the eletrical network in the place he lives in.

 

The noise might not be bothersome to some people, but when your in a dead quiet area you will hear something, well atleast for me that is. As for me i pay very close attention to such things and it drives me crazy.

 

Well every notebook in the store made that noise, so how many notebooks should i test? I also got to experience 4 macbook pros and all of them made that noise. Extreme bad luck? Don't think so.

 

ummm i couldnt hear anything at the Apple store at the Yorkdale mall in Toronto, Canada....i put my ear right up to the adapter and there was no "buzzing" noise...it could have just been that there were quite a few people in the store(a weekend). Then again, none of the MBP's were overly hot that they would burn you(even on the underside near the AC adapter)...warm at most...some were definately cooler/hotter than others though.

I never noticed this about the MBP before but the screen lid is quite flimsy when opened....not enough to make the lcd display bend and make funny colours on the screen but enough to get me worried about the quality of the lid.

 

^^ ones in the store is not hot at all. In fact i would consider it cold compared to how hot it gets. Under usage however it gets burning hot and i mean HOOOOOOOOT. Due to the aluminum construction heat conducts just as fast it expands. Putting your hand on the bottom of the notebook for more than 5 seconds will definitely burn your hand, of course under heavy usage.

 

so if u were to get another notebook would u still recommend the MBP?

 

All the problems I had and having to go back to the store about 5-6 times left a really bad taste in my mouth. Under the circumstances i went through i would never ever buy anything from apple ever again. That said, I do however enjoyed using mac os and its super ease of going about doing things. If small things that i have listed do not bother you, then go ahead and buy it. However this thing will get hot enough to cook eggs.

 

My MacBook Pro is currently sent in for repair for the hissing/electric buzz and I should expect it back by next week.

I talked to Apple Technical Service Provider Support and they said that I would get a new logic board that would cure my issues, although not completely diminish it. It should lower the hissing by 4-5 dB and make the computer cooler.

 

Mine came back much queiter, I can't hear it anymore. However, they really screwed up my video in the process and that one trip to Houston has already resulted in a second trip and looks like another one this week. So in total I will be without my MBP for 3 weeks because they could not seem to fix the logic board with out breaking something else.

 

Thats a bit discouraging to hear cashmonee, it seems like the repair facility yours is being sent too knows jack about repairing or something. I know I have a local authorized Apple reseller thats also AppleCare certified in repairs and I can just drive and have them repair the issues. Talking with the people there has me feeling confident they know what they are doing.

Hopefully this is the last time you have to send it in.

 

I do have to say that I wish I had guhjeeh's problems. The whine has been fixed in the latest revisions, even still it was not that bothersome to me. Heat I think has been overblown and crooked keyboard keys are cosmetic. I will agree those are frustrating, but at least all those notebooks worked.

I am running without my user-added RAM at the request of Apple. So far so good. The test will be when I get home after it has been asleep for hours.

 

Why is Apple asking such a thing as running without user-added ram, and whats the test for?

I suppose i can understand they want their ram to run and stuff, but thats just a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

 

They suspected that the 3rd party RAM may have been bad. It turns out they may be right. I have been running wihtout it since last night and have yet to have the problem reoccur. I actually hope that is all it is and I can go on without having to send my notebook in again.

 

Seems to me a lot of people are having trouble with their macbooks in general. Not just in the forums, but i noticed that a lot of people went to the genius bar to seek help with their semi brand new macbooks/powerbooks.

 

Well, the repair center received my MacBook Pro last week (16th of August) and still have done nothing to it (23rd of August).

Annoying to be without ones notebook, especially knowing it is just collecting dust in some warehouse/repair center.

So when they finally get to it, they have to order the replacement parts first . . . another few days of waiting.

With my luck I get it back all scratched up. The first time I sent it it, I got it back with my screen scratched up and scratches on the bottom. For their own good, I hope it comes back tip-top.