Another MacBook Thread...

[EricNau]

OK, I realize there have been plenty of threads on MacBook problems and reviews already... but there haven't been any from me!

FedEx just delivered my MacBook this morning, and my initial review is that this machine (white, 2.0 GHz, 512 RAM) is amazing. It's very fast, the screen size is perfect, the glossy screen IMO is ideal, the MagSafe connector provides hours of fun, the keyboard is great, and the large track pad is wonderful.

I only have noticed two problems, and they both involve the screen:
When I turn the screen below half brightness, I can see wavy lines flickering up and down the screen (similar to a dying florescent tube light).
Also, it seems to have uneven backlighting towards the bottom (brighter in the center and darker in the corners).

...Does anyone with a MacBook notice either of these two things?

Also, this "moo" that everyone is talking about, is it an obvious cow-like noise, and is it constant (or does it come and go?), and how loud is it. The only noise I hear is the familiar clicking noise of a processor (not too loud, but much louder than my iMac G5).

One more thing; the SuperDrive seems "clunkier" than the one in my iMac G5. Does anyone else notice the optical drives in the MacBooks making unusual noises when inserting/ejecting disks?

Thanks!

 

[dsnort]

I've had my black MB since wednesday, all good so far. The only time it "mooed" at me was when I had loaded down with tasks. All other times, quiet as a church mouse. I think people should realise that laptops are not designed to take the place of ALL the functions a desktop does, and should recognise it's limitations.

 

[purelithium]

I only have noticed two problems, and they both involve the screen:
When I turn the screen below half brightness, I can see wavy lines flickering up and down the screen (similar to a dying florescent tube light).
Also, it seems to have uneven backlighting towards the bottom (brighter in the center and darker in the corners).

Sounds like a problem with your screen's power supply (inverter?). I would send it back to apple, or take it in to get looked at by a genius.

I've never had either of those issues. I've had my macbook since the beginning of june, no problems whatsoever.

 

[FullmetalZ26]

One more thing; the SuperDrive seems "clunkier" than the one in my iMac G5. Does anyone else notice the optical drives in the MacBooks making unusual noises when inserting/ejecting disks?

I don't have a MacBook (yet...), but the slot-loading drive in my Mini makes a decent bit of racket when pulling a disk in and mounting it. Offhand, I think it's three clunks interspersed with varying whirrs and such as the disc is clamped down. Perhaps the drive in the iMac is thicker (since there's more space in the casing for it) and manages to be somewhat less noisy?

 

[EricNau]

I don't have a MacBook (yet...), but the slot-loading drive in my Mini makes a decent bit of racket when pulling a disk in and mounting it. Offhand, I think it's three clunks interspersed with varying whirrs and such as the disc is clamped down. Perhaps the drive in the iMac is thicker (since there's more space in the casing for it) and manages to be somewhat less noisy?

Mine is more like 2 sets of 3 clicks, which is probably more or less the same as your mini. You are most likely right about the differences between the iMac and MacBook drives. Also, I just looked and they are made by different companies, which I'm sure also contributes to the sound differences.

 

[EricNau]

OK, I've never owned an Apple notebook before, so the answer to this question may be painfully obvious...

Is there a way to set processor performance (in energy saver) on a MacBook? I can't seem to find this option...

 

[EricNau]

Is it normal for notebooks to make that processor clicking noise? I was a little surprised to hear it in my laptop because I haven't heard that noise since I got rid of my Pentium 3.

I know, I'm asking a lot of questions, but I really appreciate those who answer.

 

[T-Stex]

Is there a way to set processor performance (in energy saver) on a MacBook? I can't seem to find this option...

I can on my PowerBook, and would only assume that it would be the same for a MacBook. Under System Preferences->Energy Saver->Options, there's a little pull-down menu near the bottom that's labeled "Processor Performance".

Also, as far as the "Moo" issue goes, I wouldn't go out of your way to see if your MacBook has it. If you use the MacBook for a while, and you can't tell, then leave it at that.

 

[Killyp]

...The only noise I hear is the familiar clicking noise of a processor (not too loud, but much louder than my iMac G5).

That would be the hard disk. I always thought it was the processor until I took my Dell apart and (stupidly) stuck my head in it while it was all still running. You could hear that it's definitely the hard disk clicking. Processor just makes a kind of hum sound...

I can hear my iPod clicking if I put my ear right next to it....

 

[regre7]

I always thought it was the RAM. Oh well. Makes sense, nothing on the RAM stick is moving.

 

[stefan15]

What you are hearing is the hard drive.

It is probably worth mentioning, that on the Windows side of things, Intel makes a piece of software, free for download, called Intel Application Accelerator (IAC). One aspect allows you to modify your hard drive's Acoustic Management (which is that noise you here).

If a harddrive is running at max speed, you will hear the most noise. But you can also choose to tone down the noise (naturally, speed will be somewhat, although very minorly, affected) in favour of a quiet hard drive.

My BIOS allows you to modify acoustic management settings, but I have no idea how you would access that on a mac.

 

[EricNau]

What you are hearing is the hard drive.

I never realized that. I guess I always assumed it was the processor because I only heard it when the computer was "thinking," but that was a stupid assumption.

I can on my PowerBook, and would only assume that it would be the same for a MacBook. Under System Preferences->Energy Saver->Options, there's a little pull-down menu near the bottom that's labeled "Processor Performance".

I can't find it. I know the area you are talking about, but it's blank (see attachment).

 

[it5five]

Mine is more like 2 sets of 3 clicks, which is probably more or less the same as your mini. You are most likely right about the differences between the iMac and MacBook drives. Also, I just looked and they are made by different companies, which I'm sure also contributes to the sound differences.

Yeah, my MB makes the same sort of noise.

 

[EricNau]

I also seem to be having problems with the battery now. Once the battery gets to 99-100% while charging, it says "Calculating... until full" for the next hour, and then it will say 100% and the charge indicator light on the Magsafe will turn green.

Also, the time left until full is consistently way off. At midnight it will say 1 hour left, and then at 1:00 it will say 35 minutes until full and at 1:30 it will say 35 minutes until full (is that normal)?

I've already calibrated the battery twice.

 

[EricNau]

When watching a DVD in Front Row when running off of the battery, the screen is constantly dimming and getting brighter (about every minute). Is this normal? Can it be fixed?

 

[Mackilroy]

Very, very odd… that isn't normal at all. Can it be fixed? I'm not sure. You might want to go to Apple's pages and see if anyone else has that problem.

 

[FullmetalZ26]

I also seem to be having problems with the battery now. Once the battery gets to 99-100% while charging, it says "Calculating... until full" for the next hour, and then it will say 100% and the charge indicator light on the Magsafe will turn green.

This is actually a feature, not a bug. When the battery gets close to full, the Mac slows the charge down to a trickle to keep from stressing the battery too much. It then feeds the battery a very small charge over a longer period of time to get it the rest of the way to 'full'. Also, if the battery has a 95% or higher charge when plugged in, it won't charge it to 100% to prevent the battery from being worn out prematurely.

 

[archurban]

I can on my PowerBook, and would only assume that it would be the same for a MacBook. Under System Preferences->Energy Saver->Options, there's a little pull-down menu near the bottom that's labeled "Processor Performance".

Also, as far as the "Moo" issue goes, I wouldn't go out of your way to see if your MacBook has it. If you use the MacBook for a while, and you can't tell, then leave it at that.

your assume? wrong. macbook doesn't have that option. recently SMC update for 17-inch macbook pro or new 15-inch macbook pro has that option. but macbook isn't.

 

[JAT]

When watching a DVD in Front Row when running off of the battery, the screen is constantly dimming and getting brighter (about every minute). Is this normal? Can it be fixed?

This is probably a display settings issue.

 

[EricNau]

This is actually a feature, not a bug. When the battery gets close to full, the Mac slows the charge down to a trickle to keep from stressing the battery too much. It then feeds the battery a very small charge over a longer period of time to get it the rest of the way to 'full'. Also, if the battery has a 95% or higher charge when plugged in, it won't charge it to 100% to prevent the battery from being worn out prematurely.

Can anyone else confirm this?

I know Apple batteries do use a trickle charge towards the end, but I was under he impression it happened long before 99%. I also find it odd that it cannot predict when the battery will be charged (it just says calculating). No matter how fast the battery is charging, it should still be able to predict the time left, right?

 

[EricNau]

This is probably a display settings issue.

I realize it is probably the 'Automatically reduce the brightness of the display before display sleep' setting, but two things still puzzle me... 1)Why does it continue to get brighter again (instead of just dimming), and 2) I also have this setting checked for the Power Adaptor, but it doesn't seem to do it when I'm plugged in.

 

[wako]

When watching a DVD in Front Row when running off of the battery, the screen is constantly dimming and getting brighter (about every minute). Is this normal? Can it be fixed?

did you put the power setting to "Better Performance"?


As for the screen issues, I have none of them on my MacBook. I have no idea what you mean by the waves, but it doesnt sound good. I would say call Apple up just because of that.

 

[EricNau]

As for the screen issues, I have none of them on my MacBook. I have no idea what you mean by the waves, but it doesnt sound good. I would say call Apple up just because of that.

I did my best to get a video of them. In real life, they are not as obvious, but still annoying. Just to make sure it wasn't the camera, I took a video of the screen on full brightness, and it didn't flicker at all.

The video is a available at my Public iDisk Folder:

[EDIT]: File Removed

 

[Faraday]

Superdrive noise and screen brightness

In response to two of the questions raised by the original poster.

1) Yes, the super drive in the Macbook is definitely 'clunkier' and noisier when loading or ejecting discs than earlier models. The superdrive in these machines is a super-thin 9.5mm unit, and the disc loading mechanism has probably been redesigned, hence the extra clunk.

2) Yes, the screen does not appear entirely evenly lit when it is first opened, particularly when the unit is cold. I've found this generally goes away in a minute or two as the screen backlight tube warms up.

I haven't seen any screen flickering or lines at lower brightness levels. My screen dims smoothly and gradually all the way to black.

 

[unixfool]

Can anyone else confirm this?

I know Apple batteries do use a trickle charge towards the end, but I was under he impression it happened long before 99%. I also find it odd that it cannot predict when the battery will be charged (it just says calculating). No matter how fast the battery is charging, it should still be able to predict the time left, right?

I can confirm this. I plugged in my laptop after moving to the couch from the dining room. It was at 100% when I unplugged it. When I plugged it in, it was at 98%. I was waiting for it to charge and its STILL sitting at 98%. So, yeah, I can confirm that part of your set of questions, but not the other questions you have.

I'd not worry about it unless you begin to have more prevalent issues. Just enjoy your Mac instead of trying to catch every potential bug.