really want a mbp but I have one concern

I absolutely love macs but there is one issue that has me a little concerned, and I am kinda hoping has been resolved. I have first hand experience with 3 apples. A Ibook G4, a first generation macbook, and a powerbook G4. Thing was all of these suffered completely burned out, or semi burned out logic boards. The macbook's was destroyed completely while still under warranty, and continues to work fine.

However the powerbook, and ibook both suffered this fate around the 15 month mark. So it was outside of warranty. It wasnt completely the end of the world, they would still run fine for the most part... although tended to freeze more. To make that worse starting them up was a real issue.

So really I am just wondering with the new MBP are there still problems with the logic boards being damaged? Cause right now I am looking at it like I absolutely need the applecare which adds a considerable price to the system. Thanks for any help.

 

i have the 3 year warranty. If it lasts beyond that ill be happy! I dont expect much in terms of long lasting with laptops, it makes for less disappointment!

 

I haven't heard of any widespread problems, and there are many members with MBPs over a year old no issues, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The again, you seem very lucky .

 

Honestly I laughed when I found out the issue with my ibook G4. I pegged at anything but overheating. I brought this thing to school for two years and the impacts that I know happened to it:
Atleast three falls off of the couches at campus
it has been kicked at least 4 times. I would keep it in my backpack, and my friends found it fun to kick my backpack to get my attention.. forgetting I had a computer in there

So I give the thing a ton of credit, I just laughed when I found out what actually went wrong. I think I am going to go shopping soon. A friend just bought the previous MBP (no new trackpad features, and still santa rosa chips), but got it at $700 off brand new still to boot.

 

Sorry one last question. Is the battery life cycle as bad as the apple site reviews make you want to believe?

 

Your battery is expected to be at 80% battery health after around 300 cycles, each cycle being when you use the battery and charge it back up. So depending how often you use your battery, if it was daily that could be within a year, but for me, I use it maybe once or twice a week, so at almost a year now, I've only done 52 cycles. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

I've owned three Macs, and the only problems that I ever had with any of them was on one of the units, my old iMac, the hard drive and the cd-rom drive failed, but that's it, and that's after many years of constant use. So Apple makes great products IMO, and I wouldn't worry too much about quality issues with them.

 

Ya thats what I figured. And I know companies make the numbers as big as they can. But judging from the user reviews it was making the 300 cycles seem more like 20. So I am just going to chalk that one up to people expecting batteries to last forever. Thanks again.

 

My battery is having issues, I think I need to call in to get a replacement (if they'll bend over and give me one). After 76 cycles, it's down to 56% (over 7 months).

 

Applecare for MBP is easily found for $199 or even less. It covers everything including the accessories that came with the MBP (i.e. magsafe power adapter, remote) for three years. Also includes phone support for the full period. The MBP battery alone is $159 and the magsafe adapter is $99. It's a no brainer IMO.

 

Are you sure applecare covers the battery? Can anyone confirm this? I have just never heard of any warranty covering batteries.

 

I was told by apple directly that it covers everything in the box, including the accessories. I'm pretty sure that includes the battery.

 

AppleCare covers it if it is defective. So if its health is too low too quickly, then they will replace. But if its a normal setting (300 cycles, 80% health), then its considered as wear-and-tear and not covered.

 

Read the Battery Guide (somewhere in this forum) and you will know a lot more than the average person about Li-Ion batteries and how to ensure the longest battery lifespan.

Basically do not let it drain all the way to 0% or whenever your laptop shuts down, charge it back between 10% and 20%. Li-Ion batteries do not like being drained all the way down. Only drain them all the way down when calibrating the battery gauge(every 30 cycles or so).There are some other important bits of info that can be found in the guide, but I covered some of the most important aspects.