Macbook Pro user opinions

Well, I almost bought a base FW390, decided to wait so I could buy a upgraded version, and after using both a FW and MBP at best buy I am in love with the MBP.

Now, its quite a chunk of change and will be awhile before I can buy one but I wanted to hear from unbiased users about the cons of a MBP, i've heard stories on overheating units, bad wifi reception etc, etc.

So let me know MBP users, what do you hate about your notebook?

 

I have always owned Sony laptops before i bought my first mac (mbp late 2008).

In terms of build design, the mac is miles ahead of sony.. don't get me wrong, sony has a pretty decent build design, especially for the Z and TT models.. but it all boils down to what you are going to use the laptop for..

one of the main pros is the battery life, over 4 hours for a 15.4" laptop wheing less than 2 kg is pretty amazing.

I have been encountering issues running windows vista/7 on bootcamp, i am getting freezing errors due to the trackpad and it doesnt seem apple really cares about it...

 

This is my 3rd MBP (15" TiPro & 12" Alubook) that I have owned over the years. I have owned two Dell 17" 9100 & E1705 that I gamed on. Hated them due to the weight, overheats & always missing my Mac laptops. My Dell E1705 starting overheating to a point where I couldn't play games unless I have a fan blowing into my laptop. I finally got sick of that and got me my current MBP. I'm loving every bit of it. The only regret is I should of gotten a 17" and a late 2008 model instead of the early 2008 model.

While playing games on my MBP it does get hot but never like my previous Dells and I have a laptop cooler that helps cool it down.

 

The MBP is the best system I have ever owned. Its also my first Mac after decades of Windows use. I have no regrets at all.

 

In a word.....nothing.

Screen is the best screen i've ever seen. Keyboard perfect. Trackpad perfect. Battery life 5 hours as advertised. The speed is phenomenal. The unibody build quality is out of this world. Absolutely no problem with wifi either, and I live in a fairly big house, with solid brick walls inside, not just rubbish partitions, and the wifi transmitter is the other end of the house. No problems at all.

In short, I prefer it to my first born. Questions?

 

if you had looked at the fw390(which i did too, at the 190 or 290 or eqv.)

you will get a faster GPU, more simplistic style(like it or not), less resolving screen (1440x900 < 1900x1080)

trackpad is indeed better, screen wise difference isn't noted(sony doesn't disappoint people on screen on their more expensive model), lack of blu-ray(and HD movie on computer)

if you are not into gaming, FW actually provides some benefit an average user will experience with more desktop area and similar battery life(5.5 quoted from website).

ps. i don't fine fw style to be inferior, good thing about mbp is despite of being 15" notebook it weights like a 14" where as fw is a 16" notebook that weights a lttle more/similar to a 15".

 

no way fw will get 5.5 hours!

 

Well the MBP is an awesome machine. IMO it is one of the best, if not the best notebook on market in terms of design, looks and usability.

The WiFi issue is still there but it's really a non-issue and here's why. It really only becomes an issue if you're trying to hang onto a questionable signal that's weak and prone to interference, like it is at my work. Inside a house or an apartment it won't be an issue at all. It's no worse than the old MBP and I'm inclined to say it is better now. It's the small price we pay for that aluminum enclosure.

The heating issues are definitely improved in the unibody. I used to only be able to put up with my old MBP being on my lap for a short period before it became uncomfortable. With the new unibody I haven't had to do that yet but then again I don't game on it.

I want to nitpick here a little so here it goes.

The battery compartment lids are a concern. For the most part they fit well but I've seen so many MBPs (including the three I went through before settling for one that's reasonable) with the lid, in part at least, not flush with the case even when inserted fully and correctly. Also I've seen some that wiggle a little either left-right or up-down. For a machine that has almost flawless design and superb build, this was a let down IMO.

I have never seen this mentioned but I swear the speakers on the new MBP (unibody) are not as good as those on the previous MBP. I've even had them side by side playing the exact same track and the new unibody sounds tinny in comparison. Having said that, I get my hearing tested every six months for work and I have zero-loss in both ears which is a curse. My wife couldn't hear a difference.

These are trivial but that's what nitpicking is, right?

 

I'm getting over 5 hours on mine.

Screen - superb.
Build - superb.
Everything else except not being able to get up to date drivers for my modems - superb.

 

^really?my uncle is only getting ~3! what spec do you have?

 

Definitely nothing I hate. I'm on the base Macbook Pro. Let me think up some cons here:

-Maybe the resolution could be a tad higher.
-Touchpad doesn't seem to work well in Boot Camp using Windows.
-I tried to cut costs by getting 3rd party ram - it only froze the machine so in the end I went with the overpriced Apple ram.
-Wish the base was expandable to 8 gigs of ram.

That's really all I can think of.

 

I've used my 2006 Macbook Pro VERY intensely since I bought it June 2006. Usually 9-14 hours per day (I work on it and then do some web browsing on it).

The issues with this model that I have come across:

1) The battery is destroyed. My fault though I guess, I didn't maintain it, it was usually plugged in to power and I didn't power cycle it so it died.

2) The case has lost silver finish where my left palm rests and where my right wrist rests. It seems like the bottom of the case has a tiny gap with the case (is this the start of case warping?)

3) Firefox crashes.

This is after some very intense usage and abuse. The unibody case in the new MBP fixes the case issues I had, the battery issue is fixed in the new 17" but NOT in the new 15". So you will have to maintain your battery.

As for Firefox crashing, well that's Firefox and Firefox extensions issues I guess. My MBP ws my first mac and it's been SO good I don't think I'd go back to windows for work. Outstanding machines, you'll be very happy.

 

haha I've been messing around with the 15" MBp at best buy all day today again

probably the only thing lacking is the resolution