Week 28 MBP Review!

Hello everyone,
Following one of my post not long ago, I would like to post the pros and cons of my replacement for week 26th whine machine...
1. Apperance, Finishing and General Outlook: The lid and the body are perfectly fitted into each other, not even a paper clip can get through. Keyboard are properly seated and evenly distributed. Trackpad is however a little bit sticky but eventually, it got more responsive (say, after roughly hundreds of clicking action). Backlit keyboard is very bright.
2. Whines Business: still a little bit, but you can only hear it when you bend all the way down to the power plug location. It doesn't matter whether I am running on battery or main power. Actually, I realize that this is the nature of Electronic business...more or less, but it is far better than my previous one.
3. Heat Issue: Almost stays betweeen 40-60C under normal working conditions, such as running Entourage (10 mins refresh), Word (10 pages), Excel with 15 worksheet opened, Safari with 5 tabs opens... However, when I was working in Aperture 1.1.2, arranging and sorting a list of 3,000+ RAW format images, it kicked up the heat to anywhere close to 70-75C and both cores were working at 60-70% (from CoreDuo Temp). But then, the fan kicked off and cool down the business to roughly 65C. I am impressed with the fan's "sound" though.
4. Screen and Video card: Since I am not a gamer so, according to my normal working situation, this is no error. IMHO, the screen (glossy) is perfect with vivid color, high contrast and very bright even in outdoor condition.
5. CD&DVD recording: Read everything and burning everything but DL DVD.
6. Bootcamp: I installed Boot Camp 1.0.2 and it works flawlessly, from partitioning hard drive to install Bluetooth driver, not even an error message. I got a whole thing on Windows XP-SP2 (Pro Edition.) like CS2, Dreamweaver, Flash, Firework and of course, MS Office 2003. They run at no delay compared to "a little Dell"
General Comments:
- I did a fresh installation from the beginning (re-partition the HD and earse-install from accompanied DVDs).I also removed quite a few app. which I don't use regularly such as Garageband, iWork, some proofing languages...It saved me quite a bit a hard disk space to stuff my XP in.
- The machine build, according to Serial Number is Week 28. However, when I installed extra 1GB RAM, I saw on the RAM-slot a piece of barcode sticked on, saying something like W8627...which I thought the Logic Board is week 27th build. I am not sure about this, but if you have any ideas, that would be much helpful. Maybe this is the clue for a new generation of LB? You tell me...
Finally, I have had what I would like to have... and I am very happy. This machine is a monster, it runs (on UB app) so fast compared to my old 1.67 PowerBook although my HD is still 100GB@5400rpm.
Anyway, hopefully this is one of general review week 28th MacBook Pro for those who have and have not experienced any sorts of problems with their respective MacBook Pro.
Have a good day everyone, and I wish you will eventually have what you want, just as I did: a comletely flawless MacBook Pro.
Cheers for that,
James
P.S. If you find this post a bit helpful for your future purchase, please mark it as helpful or even better, solved so that I could gained some points for my status. This is a huge recognition and encouragement for me to continue helping people in general (well, based on Forum Term & Conditions)

AppleCare is great, but we should not be happy with a system that takes 2 or 3 replacements to get a functional machine. Would you repurchase any other applicance in your home that had to be replaced twice? Our appeals to Apple should be to say that this is not acceptable and that we need to be reassured that the next MacBook Pro will not be of this poor quality of construction. I love OSX. I want to stay with Apple. But, in exchange for $3000+, I expect a machine that is of great quality.

Similar Messages

1-day Week-19 17" MBP Review!

Hello, all...
Well, I had been avidly reading the forums for the past week, waiting in eager and dreaded anticipation of my new MBP17 to arrive, coming straight from Shanghai (per the tracking number). Will it moo? Or whine? Or be scorching hot? Will I have to fix key alignment? Or hold the thing closed because the latch isn't working? Or maybe stare in disbelief at screen sratches, dead pixels, or dark blotches in the corners of my screens?
My specs: 17" MBP, 2.16Ghz, 1GB RAM, 100GB/7200rpm HDD (my first Mac).
My baby arrived yesterday in a beautiful little black box. With the utmost care and ease, I unpacked it ever so softly, easily placing all the packaging together neatly (in case I needed to return/ebay it in the future!). I must say first and foremost, Apple has the form factor DOWN. Gorgeous machine, sleek lines, streamlined design, and a pleasure to look at. Mine came with no physical defects at all.
I wanted to put mine through as much stress as possible so I could make my yay/nay decision within the 14-day return period. So I booted up, updated the software, tried updating the firmware (it was already up to date), pushed my remote menu button no less than 30 times, then went straight into Boot Camp and XP installation. I don't really intend on using XP much (although I may have to use CS2 and Studio in XP until the UB versions are released), but as I mentioned, I wanted to put this thing through the wringer right away.
Boot Camp installed fine, XP followed, and I was up and running relatively quickly. A few minor driver issues arose in XP, but they were quickly remedied. XP worked beautifully (or as beautifully as XP works) on the MacBook Pro.
During this whole process, I hadn't heard any whine... but I also knew that the whine dominated in OSX, not XP. So I spent a fair amount of time in OSX, playing with the built-in programs and such. Absolutely no whine or strange sounds. Period.
I knew that the heat test loomed around the corner. "How can I really test this thing out?" I asked myself. Enter my little brother, a gaming expert. I hesistantly handed the MBP over to his anticipating and impatient hands, praying that he break it in gently. He immediately went to work, installing Half-Life2, Steam, and Counter-Strike Source. After the never-ending installation process, he finally started up. With all detail settings on high, the game was stunning. Sharp, beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. I assigned him the "task" of playing CSS for the next hour, which he did without hesitation.
An hour later, I came back to take my laptop's temperature (with my hand). I expected high temps with the load he was placing on the machine. The MBP was very warm, hot in certain places, very warm on the bottom. Possibly a "thermal paste" problem, but I can't say for sure. The fact that the case is aluminum comforts me tremendously (I have worked with metal extensively in the past and aluminum transfers heat very efficiently, especially when compared to other metals and definitely other materials such as plastic). The case acts as a huge heatsink. So when I imagine that all the heat I'm feeling is heat that could have been smothering my machine's internals, I don't dislike it nearly as much.
Could it be cooler? Yes, but it was only slightly warmer than my office G4 Powerbook 1.33GHz/512MB, especially on the bottom. Is it so bothersome that I will consider returning it? Absolutely not. I paid $3000 for a good machine and I feel I got one. I also understand the laws of thermodynamics and the properties of aluminum, so I'm less inclined to whine about that. If you ask me, I personally prefer a hot aluminum laptop over a cool plastic one. The former is constantly ridding itself of the heat, while the latter is essentially a convection oven.
The screen: beautiful. A noticeable bit brighter than the PB, but I don't know if I'd say "36% brighter." I specifically looked for dark blotches in the corners and didn't see anything. I noticed an extremely slight difference in brightness in the corners, but I'd expect that from a 1/4" laptop screen. When using the computer, it's definitely not noticeable at all.
Overall impression: I love it. I'm extremely difficult to please (I'm one of those guys that goes for the middle of the row of items when buying stuff off the shelf) and a perfectionist on top of that. But Apple [finally] got it right with this thing. The fact that it's a Week-19 machine may have something to do with it.
I hope this helps anyone on the fence. I read every thread I could find about the new MBPs so I could make an informed decision. Keep in mind that forums such as these usually attract the users with problems, not those who are happily using their machines and are satisfied with their purchase.
If I missed anything, let me know. By the way: what program can I use to take specific temperature measurements? I'd like to do that and post the results.
Good luck to everyone.
Regards,
Zayd
17" MacBook Pro, 2.16GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB/7200rpm HDD Mac OS X (10.4.6)

My pleasure... I thought it would help to hear some good news for a change.
My MBP is still great. I got around to checking the CPU temp after an hour of intense gameplay: 64 degrees Celcius. I haven't seen it get warmer than this. With average use, I'm usually around 55 degrees. When first powered on, I'm at 30 degrees.
It is important to note, however, that the case does get warm -- warm enough to think that it's bad for my CPU. But, as I mentioned, I switched back to OSX and immediately checked the temp, which was always around 60-65 degrees.
Whine update: I've detected a minute whine from the processor -- likely the same whine everyone has been talking about. I can only really hear it when my ear is to the left speaker, so at normal usage distances, it's hardly audible. Definitely not bothersome at all.
Feel free to ask any questions!
Zayd

My MPB 17 (Week 23) Review

I'm a long-time powerbook user, and just upgraded from a 15" AlBook (first generation) to a 17" MacBookPro. Here is a brief list of the good, bad and ugly. I'd consider myself a power user (programmer & database development, lots of VirtualPC / Parallels use) so my perspective may not be that of the average user.
The MacBook:
17" with 120gig drive, one gig of RAM, matte display.
I upgraded to 2 gigs of RAM with a generic RAM stick from a local vendor.
The Good
• Delivery / Shipping -- was quoted 10 days from order to arrival, the MBP actually arrived within 48 hours. It made it from Shanghai to my doorstep in under 23 hours! Perhaps FedEx should get credit for this. However, my coworker's order did not fare so well (see below).
• Noise -- this is one of the quietest laptops I've owned or used (over a dozen in my life). Several friends (all who can hear the "Mosquito" sound that's been on the net lately) could not hear any high frequency noise. If you max out both processors, there is a very slight fan noise. Hard drive is whisper quiet. There is a very slight "morse code" sound from the CPU, but it's only audible if you put your ear to the macbook, and it is much, much quieter than the similar sound that my G4 AlBook has.
• Screen -- big & bright. In terms of brightness & saturation, it makes my apple 20" Apple LCD display look a little washed out. Previously, I would have called the 20" display "the best I'd seen". The viewing angle is, of course, better on the 20".
• Build quality -- the case is good, screen closes evenly, lid is even (but see below)
• Speed -- it's fast. Way fast.
The Bad
• Heat -- using CoreDuoTemp, I'm seeing temps of about 60C to 65C when idle, which seems high to me. However, if I max out both processors, the temp won't go above 85C, and I can hear the fans turn on. The bottom of the case gets blazing hot, noticeably hotter than my 15" AlBook (which I thought was hot). All in all, I can live with this -- in practice it means no using on lap while wearing shorts.
• Migration Assistant -- after transferring over 60 gigs of data, I had some problems:
1. My spotlight index was fubard. Searches in Mail would only find about a dozen mail messages for a certain keyword (where I know there are 1000s of matches).
2. Static IP address problems -- I had a couple of static IP address network configs which did not seem to work right after transfer. I re-built these from scratch which seemed to fix the problem.
• Delivery / Shipping -- a coworker ordered a CTO macbook at the same time, and his has now been in FedEx's system for 3 days, and mysteriously was routed to Indiana from Anchorage (for delivery to Southern California). Mine came directly from Anchorage to SoCal.
The Ugly
• Screen Hinge -- if I tilt the macbook towards me, at around 45 degree tilt the screen will start to close. If I'm not paying attention, and tilt it further, it slams shut with some speed. This makes it unusable when lying down in bed or on the couch. Reading these forums, it looks like this may or may not be a design or build flaw. I may call apple to get their perspective on a fix.
• Screen bezel is sharp -- yesterday, the screen slammed shut on me and actually cut my thumb! The inner lip of the aluminum bezel is very very sharp. On my 15" AlBook, it's not quite as sharp, and the screen stays open so it's not an issue. I'm not the litigious type, lucky for Apple.
• Freezes & Kernel Panic -- I've had two freezes and one kernel panic in 48 hours. All three incidents happened within 5 minutes of waking from sleep, and two of the incidents happened when using a non-Apple wireless network (an old netgear box). One happened before I added the 2nd RAM stick. I've turned off hibernate, turned off IPV6, and things seem a little better now.
Summary
If I can't solve the kernel panics & freezes, the machine will be unusable. I'm hoping that these are software bugs that can be fixed by 10.4.7. I'm not sure if I can live with the loose screen hinge. Otherwise, the machine is quite good. I'll report back in a week or so with more thoughts...
MacBook Pro 17 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Update: after writing my first post, I had another kernel panic, while using Airport.
Since then, I've rebooted, turned off Airport and plugged into a wired ethernet network. I've been running Parallels, surfing the net, streaming iTunes music, reindexing Spotlight and re-building large mailboxes in Mail. After several hours I'm panic-free. I've also run extensive RAM tests that came back clean.
Based on these symptoms (which other folks seem to share), I'm suspecting these kernel panics are due to some sort of Airport driver bug.
FYI, here are a couple of panic logs from /Library/Logs/panic.log
Thu Jun 15 22:00:00 2006
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x0019C9EF): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 0, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x202d2d21, CR3: 0x00d81000, CR4: 0x000026e0
EAX: 0x036d3ac0, EBX: 0x037c7280, ECX: 0x00107f00, EDX: 0x0040c220
ESP: 0x202d2d21, EBP: 0x00107edc, ESI: 0x00000000, EDI: 0x00000000
EFL: 0x00010002, EIP: 0x202d2d21, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x00000010
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x107d78 : 0x128b5e (0x3bbf84 0x107d9c 0x131bbc 0x0)
0x107db8 : 0x19c9ef (0x3c13b4 0x0 0xe 0x3c116c)
0x107e68 : 0x197b8d (0x107e7c 0x107edc 0x202d2d21 0xf7f40048)
0x107e74 : 0x202d2d21 (0xf7f40048 0x10 0x317a0010 0x10)
0x107edc : 0x37f2e2 (0x375f700 0x37c7280 0x0 0x107f00)
0x107f0c : 0x38f5d8 (0x37c7280 0x0 0x107f6c 0x128dbf)
0x107f4c : 0x6f75b2 (0x3aacc00 0x0 0x37c7280 0x0)
0x107f7c : 0x6f7673 (0x375f700 0x0 0x3761f80 0x51)
0x107f9c : 0x658c01 (0x375f700 0x0 0x3761f80 0x51)
0x107fbc : 0x3ac6fa (0x3761b80 0x0 0x3761a80 0x51)
0x107fec : 0x197c93 (0x51 0x2500be98 0x2500be98 0x2000007f)
0x2500bf44 : 0x1990f4 (0x0 0x0 0x3175768d 0x216)
0x2500bf64 : 0x135d78 (0x0 0x0 0x2500bf94 0x135798)
0x2500bfd4 : 0x197a29 (0x0 0xffffffff 0x36bed48 0x37c7280) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC(1.1.0)@0x6f6000
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform(1.0.4)@0x657000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.0)@0x565000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily(1.2.0)@0x653000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.6.2: Thu Apr 13 18:48:29 PDT 2006; root:xnu-792.9.59.obj~1/RELEASE_I386
Fri Jun 16 10:38:50 2006
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x0034FD9C): mbuf address out of range 0x80
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x24eb3cd4 : 0x128b5e (0x3bbf84 0x24eb3cf8 0x131bbc 0x0)
0x24eb3d14 : 0x34fd9c (0x3db980 0x80 0x24eb3d54 0x196fd8)
0x24eb3d34 : 0x350143 (0x36b69200 0x1 0x37aee18 0x0)
0x24eb3d54 : 0x233063 (0x36b69200 0x1 0x0 0x1)
0x24eb3e14 : 0x222007 (0x36b69200 0x14 0x24eb3f14 0x9719ce)
0x24eb3e54 : 0x223a8b (0x36b69200 0x14 0x11 0x0)
0x24eb3f64 : 0x211109 (0x36b69200 0x36b69200 0x42cb5c 0x135798)
0x24eb3fa4 : 0x1f773d (0x3cb4804 0x36b69200 0x36bf4816 0x1)
0x24eb3fd4 : 0x197a29 (0x0 0x0 0x376aef0 0x134aec) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.6.2: Thu Apr 13 18:48:29 PDT 2006; root:xnu-792.9.59.obj~1/RELEASE_I386
Mac OS X (10.4.6)

FWIW: MW has posted it's final MBP review w/ benchmarks

http://www.macworld.com/2006/02/reviews/mbpromain/index.php?lsrc=mwrss
Haven't read it yet myself...

Count me in too. Early 2008 MBP with 4 GB Ram. Web process + Safari killing the cpu.

Brief MBP Review...

I got my MBP a few days ago and I have a little review. I noticed the whine whine when I first got it. It also had one dead pixel, but neither was really too big of a deal. My girlfriend got hers the same day and had no whine. The whine was only present when it was not running off battery. It was just a high pitch sound that could only be heard when working in dead silence. Keeping photobooth open during those silent times when it was plugged in solved the problem. Even though it was not bothering me, I took it to the Apple store the day I got it. They exchanged no problem but told me most of them have this inverter problem. The new one I got also had the whine, but no dead pixel, so I still gained. I've been living with the whine with no issues for a few days now. As far as the heat, it does get hot, but it's really no problem at all for me. I got mine stock with the 512 mb RAM with the intention of buying an extra 1gb RAM from crucial. I ordered the extra RAM the day I got my computer and have it in now. I had a few days working off of 512 mb. It does get quite sluggish at times with only 512 mb. I strongly recommend upgrading the memory.
I am absolutely obsessed with this computer and have not been able to put it down since I got it. I would strongly recommend this to anybody. The problems are not big enough to make this a bad computer. They barely detract from it's overall quality.

Your post helps to remind those of us less fortunate that most people get a good machine. I've got a new logic board, a new battery, now my right speaker is crappy, my trackpad button "clunks", and my bottom case is warped. I affectionately have changed the name from "Apple" to "Banana". I'm just glad I got AppleCare, as support is good. After my AppleCare runs out, OSX might run on something else, or maybe Apple will have found out a way to build a PC laptop for $3000 that is worth $3000.

Ok, so the honeymoon is over....(a week in review)

It's been a week since I purchased the iPhone and so far I have been delighted with the product. I've read the horror stories about problems with activation, e-mails,battery life, and countless other topics that I read about in this forum and in all fairness I have not yet encountered a major problem.
The peformance of the phone is what I've expected from apple. True there is room for improvement but what you have right now, this phone kicks azz.
Some of my reviews of the services and features of the iPhone:
AT&T- Activation was slow, but I expected that. I had to wait 2hrs. for the activation but once the phone the fun begins. I have made over 80 calls, the longest was 30mins. No one was dropped volume was loud and clear.
E-mail- Set-up 2 accounts: .Mac & SBCglobal. No problemo here with sending and recieving.
Safari- In some of the hot spots it's a little slow at home it's acceptable, not as fast as the desktop or laptop but when its at EDGE mode, I just cringe. Cut and paste...apple need to work on that real soon.
TextMsg- I'm not much of a texter but I have adapted to the touch screen easily. I use a similar screen at work but with practice, my typing errors has been cut down.
iPod- It's an iPod. I don't plan to listen to music on my phone that much. I have a Nano and the 60gb for that.
Camera- I'm a snob when it comes to this because I'm an avid photographer. If you're not shooting a DSLR like the Nikon D-200 you're shooting crap.
Google Map- Not exactly GPS but it's a useful tool. I was able to zoom in at my home in satellite mode, scary stuff
I know there are some other features I didn't mentioned but like I said, the overall performance iphone has been really good. Overall grade would be an A-
Mac OS X (10.4.10)

My wife and I have had ours for a week and we are THRILLED with the phones.
AT&T - Mine took nearly 30 hours to activate, my wife's 7. I was angry at 1st about this but once the phone was working, I was happy. We left verizon and our chocolate phones for the Iphone and could not be happier. I have not experienced any connection issues, though my wife has had on instance of losing the service altogether. We found out it was an AT&T glitch that deactivated her phone, then reactivated it. Odd, and happened once.
Email - This is the MAIN reason I have the Iphone. I can get my emails anywhere and its a joy to send and receive email. Love the touch keyboard and can type amazingly fast on it now. My buddy has a $500 blackberry but I like my Iphone so much more.
Safari - Have not had one single crash and no problems at all. EDGE is slow as heck, but my WIfi is fast. Im happy so far and Apple has announced a flash plug in coming with the 1st update.
Text - AMAZING! SO much better than my chocolate. Again, the keyboard is so cool, and easy to use.
Ipod - Best Ipod Apple has made, BUT 8GB is not enough, plus I do not want to drain my battery using the Ipod. I have 2 nanos to cover my music. Coverflow and the album art plus touch interface is amazing. Im sure Apple will release a new Ipod like this. If so, Im in.
Camera - I too am a camera snob and use a Leica M8 (sold my D200) and the camera in my Iphone will not get much use except to maybe take a pic of a contact for my contact list. Its good for a phone though.
Google Maps - I have used this 4 times in the past week and LOVE IT! Amazing app to have with you on the go.
After 1 week I give this Iphone an A. I have found it a joy to use, I have had no major issues (low volume appeared to fix itself), and the touch screen has been flawless in operation. Anyone who bashes the Iphone has not really used it or given it a chance. Updates are coming, including flash, and other cool things. Anyone who says a Blackberry pearl is a better phone is crazy. If I was offered $1k and a pearl for my Iphone I wouldn't do the trade. Sorry.

13 weeks MBP 13" Battery 85% ??

Hello people, i recently bought a brand new mid 2010 mbpro 13"
im worried about my battery health
85% (4906/5770) it was 86% couple of days ago and 96% about a week ago
28 cycles
13 weeks
i have calibrated 2 times but nothing changed, should i send to repair?
thanks!
is my battery messed

Hello!
My MBP 13" battery also have the same problem. After the recent sudden shutdown, the technical support told me to calibrate my battery.
While it was charging with the adaptor, my Full Charge Capacity was 5002.
and now that i have charged fully + at least 2 Hours, it became:
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4484
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4609
im also puzzled too~

My, new "2" 21 week MBP's

so the time had finally come,
both machines worked perfectly expect one of them had a kernel panic problem that I solved (had power mangment issues).
not that I know what a whine sounds like but I dont seem to have "a whine", I expected heat, and I got heat, but I found that even though it does get warmer than warm its okay, when its on battery its suprisingly cool (lowest screen brightness)
installed boot camp, and its running flawlessly, going to install boot camp and windows on the 2nd one to see if any generic errors get thru. but so far I still didnt go through testing it alot, will try to connect it thru my bluetooth gps to see how it might work.
but seriously bieng a switcher from PC, this thing is amazing.
if anybody has any questions ill be glad to answer, (both are week 21's)

if anybody has any questions ill be glad to answer,
(both are week 21's)
Good for you - take a look at my issues:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=496837&tstart=0

1 week MBP - 7 cycles and only 94% health !!!!!

I've received my MBP last Monday (18th January 2010), I've now 7 cycles completed and Istat Pro says that my battery's health is only 94%!!!
This shouldn't happen this far, am I right??
Since day 2 or 3 it has been decreasing... I intend to calibrate it today, but nevertheless don't think this is normal. I've been using it normally. Any advice/suggestion?
Thanks!

Here's what it says in system profiler:
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 5126
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 6153
Health Information:
Cycle count: 8
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 1725
Voltage (mV): 12530
According to: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220
My battery's health (doing the maths) is now only 92,3% (6153/6665)*100
Even lower than Istat predicts!

Week 52 MBP--will this assure me of no problems?

I have an unopened Week (Build) 52 MBP 15" sitting here.
Before I open it, is that late of a build going to assure me of no problems?
(Ok, I know any computer can and will have problems...)
But, specifically, have they resolved the following issues by this build date:
1) Grainy display
2) no power on left side USB
3) Uneven display lighting
Thanks for your help...the stories of the aforementioned three issues have spooked me.

You can find your week number by looking at your computer's serial number. It will probably start with something like W8649...
No idea what the W means, I think the 8 is where it was built, the 6 is the year (2006). The number after the 6 is the week number, which is the week the computer was built. I'm not sure if that means mine was built in the 49th week of the year, or the 49th week of the model life. Actually my post has been fairly useless. I do know that a higher number is better. A 49th week MBP will likely have far fewer problems than a week 29, because there has been more time to sort out all the bugs.

Am I doing the right thing of selecting MBP instead of rMBP?

Hi,
I'm a game developer and am getting my first Mac computer just to jump into iOS game development. I currently have a Core-i3 17" laptop and it's doing what I want but can't make iOS files. I'm not sure what to do with my current machine when I get the Mac, maybe I keep it for our game development team, maybe not.
I spent 3 weeks reading reviews and forum boards regarding MBP and rMBP and finally chose MBP but as I've read more MBP reviews, reviewers despite saying that MBP is a good machine, say that it's the last iteration of Apple in the design and "a thing from the past".
Let me tell you about my thought process and hopefully people can help me:
Display:
rMBP's best thing against MBP is it's display, which I don't think I have any use for. I usually work with text editors to write code and almost never watch movies with my laptop's screen and always connect it to my TV via HDMI and no game engine is Retina-enabled as of now and I don't have images that fit that display nor I do film editing or intensive photography/Photoshop. So if I get the Retina display, I'll mostly switch it to 1440x900 in order to "work" with most softwares and as I'll be still using Windows alot, the 2880x1800 has no usage there as none of the softwares that I work there updated themselves. But it's IPS/LPS technology will be lovely for me and I don't forget first time I saw one of those 27" Apple monitors that blew me away.
rMBP wins here but I'm afraid it will hurt me more than being useful to me.
HDD:
I'll surely install Windows there so a 256Gb SSD will fill up way easily. I'll keep a lot of stuff on my machine and getting a better external drive helps but if I get rMBP I'll have to buy one, which adds another $100 or $200.
Also give that if you fill up an SDD, you'll lose performance gradually, I'll probably have to invest around $200 to get an external HDD if I end up with rMBP.
Also I want to install games on Windows to use it's GPU and with 256Gb, that will suffer if you use more than it's %85, it will be a waste. I know I can install games on external drive but that's not cool.
Yes SSD is fast, and my helps my work and loading games but I think here the size matters more than speed.
So MBP wins here. (I can later change MBP's optical drive to an SSD and put my OS'es there)
Upgradibility:
Since I'll probably leave for a teaching job and there are not apple stores there, if I want to repair my machine, I'll have to use unauthorized repairs so fixing MBP's are hard already, give the glued battery and soldered RAM, makes it almost impossible.
And also if I get rMBP, I'll have to panic and upgrade RAM at least, even though even games do not need that amount of RAM and when they do, my GPU will be the bottle neck years before that.
(Very nice article regarding thsii: http://ifixit.org/2763/the-new-macbook-pro-unfixable-unhackable-untenable/)
MBP clearly wins here.
Weight & Size:
Yes I, like most people, prefer a lighter machine but since I'm to a 17" HP and an old Core Due Toshiba, I think the 15" MBP will be light enough and that extra lightness is not mandatory for me.
rMBP wins but goes to some extra points that MBP aldready has.
Optical Drive:
I almost do not use it, so I can live without one. But I like the fact that I, apparently, can remove MBP's super drive and put an SSD there, maybe I'll do this like in about a year or so that I'll upgrade it's RAM, give that I take MBP.
MBP wins, because I can remove the optical drive and put whatever I want instead.
Resale value:
rMBP wins, clearly. Because most people's brains are in their eyes.
Possible error:
rMBP is first generation and new batch of a new electronic product and we've already heard and read about defected machines and me living overseas will make it even worse if anything shows up.
One of the things that I don't like about MBP is that I feel like I'm buying a last-generation thing because clearly Apple's aim is towards Retina and SSD but I'm going against it. Maybe I'm all wrong and should trust Apple.
So what do you think on this? Please be specific as you like, I hate general sentences without proof. And if you compare things, please show some website or proof for it so it will be easier to talk on a solid base/accusation.
Thanks in advance. It will be my first Mac that I'm buying with a looot of savings, that's why I'm scared a bit.

Ordered 7/16/2012 the 2012 15.4" Macbook Pro (NON retina)
With:
2.6GHz i7 CPU
1GB GPU
HR Antiglare Screen
750GB 7200 RPM HDD (soon to be replaced with Crucial M4 SSD with a fresh install of Mountian Lion)
I really wanted the rMBP but just could not see the real value of the Retina display when the (HR) 1680 X1050 is really ideal for me. I also have the late 2011 Macbook Air that has 1440 X 900 resolution, it's not antiglare and not glossy either. I also have a 2006 Black Macbook with 1280 X 800 and it's not antiglare and not glossy. If the rMBP offered a antiglare display I'd probably still be deciding (took 3 weeks already).
The thoughts that keep me on the fence between the 15" rMBP and 15" MBP was "I need to buy the future and not invest in the past".
And since I made the decision Im glad I did (15" MBP Antiglare).
my Pros/Cons list
                         rMBP          MBP
Speed                   X                X     (tie, if add SSD)
Expansion                               X
Weight                  X
Generation                              X     (decided long ago to NOT buy 1st generation anything, if possible)
Repairability                            X
Resale                  X                       (not sure here but makes since, new beats old)
Antiglare                                 X
Cost                     X
Ports                                       X     (FW800, Gigabit Ethernet, DVD/CD drive)
Value                                       X

MBP 17" aluminum wont start

My new (I've had it one week) MBP 17" wont start. A program froze (a casino game). I tried force quit and that didn't work so I turned the computer off & tried to re-boot. Now when I turn it on I get a plain white screen and a series of three "beeps" from the left speaker. I've tried the suggestions from the manual but it keep getting the same response. Any suggestions???????

must be a ram -problem; call apple and tell them how many beeps ...
before you can try: open your mbp and take out one of your ram's and start, if beeps still occure take out this ram and put in the other you removed before ...
take care that ram seats properly !
p.s. look in your manual, how to open your mbp you can keep it open for this procedure above but take care that it's on a clean soft-cloth; also keep in mind what screws are where !

Anyone with a "Week 13"?

Anyone got their hands on the 13 week MBP?
If not, does anyone know when it's time for a 13?
When did people get their week 12 builds?

Hi
I don't mean to sound stupid, but how do you know
which week your macbook pro is? All I see on the
apple store web site is that it says "now Shipping"
and thats all as to which week it is.
Thanks for the update.
It's in your serial, it should look something like this:
W86XXzzzz
W8-Shanghai
6-2006
XX-your week build

What is all this about 'weeks'.

Sorry if this sounds stupid, but how do you know what week a MBP is? All I see on the web site is "now shipping". What week are we on now? What is the best week? Can you order a spacific week MBP?
Thanks for the update

Peter,
It's going great, I'm taking the SATs tommorrow! Hopefully I'll see good results..
I guess I'll give Apple a call and see if they have any 13's. Hopefully I'll see a MacBook Pro on my desk in the next few days (after tommorrow most likely). I'm going for the "Ultimate" configuration, I don't feel like waiting 2-3 weeks.
EDIT: Well, the store doesn't know how to tell what week it is even after I explained what all the letters and numbers mean. sigh After I told them that they should check again, they simply said that they can't give this information away. BS.
EDIT #2: Great, now I called Custome Relations and got this lady who wasn't even paying attention to me. As I was asking my question, she was typing something and then asked "I'm sorry, what was that?". Later she said that there's is no way she could help me, and no one I could ask about this. Go Apple! Way to take care of a buyer! Not!

AppleCare and very faulty MBP. Experiences?

Well, I bought my MBP around 3 months ago, and has been infested with all sorts of trouble...
-Runs incredibly hot. In all fairness, I am a graphic designer, and use a lot of processor intensive apps, so that could be a factor, but still, there's something just wrong about a "portable computer" that scalds your legs just for using Photoshop.
-It has the, now infamous, moo.
-It has the, now unbearable, whine.
-My battery is totally dead. One day it was reporting that my remaining charge was 32 hours and 34 minutes, and the next day it just died on me. Won't charge, won't show up on Mac OS (the little X icon on the Finder). Totally dead.
-When I bought it, my screen had NO dead pixels whatsoever, then one day one dead pixel showed up, then 2, then 3, now it was up to 4 or 5, I can't really tell. I am aware about the "dead pixel policy" but having no dead pixels on the day of purchase, and then gradually seeing 4 or 5 just worries me.
Needless to say I am pushing to have this machine replaced, but Apple has just said "We'll look at it, and we'll decide if a replacement is due or not".
I don't know about you, but I spent a little over 2000 Dlls on a machine and, call me crazy, but I expected it to work... now I have to wait for the manufacturer to decide if the product I paid good money for is defective or not. Hint: Yes.
I dropped it off today at an authorized service shop, and will wait for the resolution...
What do you think? Do you think a replacement is in order?
Have any of you experienced something similar?

Hi, your battery is just one out of many (all?) first few week MBP's batteries being bad. I got mine replaced instantaneously (think it came one day after I called in). Don't know why Apple never officially withdrew them.
For the dead pixels, I recommend trying to massage them out (I'm not kidding). They may just be stuck pixels, not dead ones. I had this too after a few weeks. Use a dry cloth (I just took my cotton t-shirt) and massage over the pixels for a while. Let us know if it worked.
The moo is a fan that goes on and off apparently keeping the MBP around the maximum temperature. A software update could fix this by introducing some buffer interval so that t doesn't go on and off so quickly. Hopefully Apple will do this. I only get this when it's not sitting on a flat surface (such as carpet, my lap), indicating that convection is hindered.
The whine...I recommend QuietMBP. Works very well on mine. The root of this problem is a the processors being put into a low voltage state to save energy. Not really a bug. I know Windows doesn't have the whine and longer battery life, but it's a completely different OS.
Good luck.

Week 28 MBP Review!

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