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iBorg20181

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2006
281
0
Minneapolis, MN
Yup mine is uneven as well, its time like this i miss my G4. The display isnt as bright but it was even and un-grainy (no "organic" look)

Mine basically feels like someone painted a think grey L on it. In other words. the left side and bottom area are dark and its quite visible. Not grossly but visible nonetheless. Sigh, its a great machine but the little niggles......

You have a flawed screen, and should get a replacement!

Mine is glossy, the lighting is even throughout, no pixel problems - flawless.

Can you actually "feel" a difference on the screen? As in a surface flaw?

:confused:

iBorg
 

QurazyQuisp

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2006
28
2
Jersey City, NJ
Absolutely! Mine arrived here in Minnesota the day after arriving in Alaska (in the am). Since tomorrow is Sunday, you should get it Monday - good luck! You're gonna love it! :eek: :D :)

iBorg

Yeah, I can't wait... although I was kind of hoping to get it later... I can't open it until wednesday night at around 10 PM. I have two midterms this week, one tuesday the other wednesday night and if I want to keep my 4 point this far into the semester, I can't let a macbook pro get in the way... It'll be sitting here staring at me, all boxed up for three days...
 

DHagan4755

macrumors 68020
Jul 18, 2002
2,271
6,159
Massachusetts
I know so many people at the particular Apple Store I bought this...but I don't think a glossy display will necessarily address the issue of uneven backlight...do ya think?

I think the reason that Apple's displays are mediocre is 1.) because they are, and 2.) because Apple's playing into the happy medium. Their screen resolutions right now are in this intermediate resolution...for example the 15.4" MacBook Pro's screen is at 1440 x 900. Hear me out here. This problem with the uneven illumination only occurred when Apple increased the resolution of their displays, starting with the last rev of the PowerBook G4s.

I think Apple is gong to stick with this MacBook Pro design until WWDC next year when 10.5 is already out and resolution independence is implemented in 10.5. I think when Apple has its resolution independence running in 10.5 it will allow Apple to offer the 1920 x 1200 displays that people have been clamoring for over the years and the resolution of OS X will be able to be scaled to make OS X look good on one of these displays.

When I was in the Apple Store earlier today I noticed someone at the Genius Bar with a MBP having a question about some audio software and as I looked over, I noticed right away that the person decreased their screen's resolution from the native 1440 x 900, because it was blurry. I don't think Apple wants its customers doing this — hence they aren't going to go hog wild on high res displays if their customers are only going to decrease the pixel size so they don't go blind.

So back to the point about uneven screen illumination...I think because Apple's trying to play the happy medium, they aren't getting the best screens...the ones that we know exist at 1920 x 1200 with huge viewing angles. If you think about it — the 17-inch MBP looks horrendous with uneven illumination. But that screen has a higher resolution than the 17-inch iMac whose screen has no problems with uneven illumination.

Sorry for the novel but it's just a fluid train of thought from me.
 

iBorg20181

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2006
281
0
Minneapolis, MN
Yeah, I can't wait... although I was kind of hoping to get it later... I can't open it until wednesday night at around 10 PM. I have two midterms this week, one tuesday the other wednesday night and if I want to keep my 4 point this far into the semester, I can't let a macbook pro get in the way... It'll be sitting here staring at me, all boxed up for three days...


Dude, you have way more patience/self-control than me! I'd be all over that new MBP like a crack-addict on a new buy! No way could I wait for 2 days, while it's sitting there .... taunting me .... daring me to open it .... :eek:

iBorg
 

Zadillo

macrumors 68000
Jan 29, 2005
1,546
49
Baltimore, MD
New 3DMark06 score with the X1600 at 520/530:

mbp3dmark06520530rl7.jpg


3DMark05 score with the X1600 at 510/520:

mbp3dmark05510520bo9.jpg

These scores are awesome. Do games actually seem to run fine at these levels (no artificats, etc.)? How about fans and heat?

Really though, these scores are fantastic.

If anyone is curious about a comparison, I had a P105-S9722 for a little while, which has a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo and a GeForce 7900GS in it. It would get around 6000 in 3DMark05, and around 3800 in 3DMark06. So really, 5000 in 3DMark05 and 2500 in 3DMark06 is really pretty impressive for the MacBook Pro even with some overclocking.
 

wildmac

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2003
1,167
1
I know so many people at the particular Apple Store I bought this...but I don't think a glossy display will necessarily address the issue of uneven backlight...do ya think?........

Whatever the reason, if the 17s are having this problem consistently, then I'm going to just get a MB. (Funny, my wife's Dell 9300 doesn't have a problem with uneven screen illumination). I need a high-quality screen, and it appears the 17s have issues. sigh... the credit card was out, and ready....
 

Zadillo

macrumors 68000
Jan 29, 2005
1,546
49
Baltimore, MD
I know so many people at the particular Apple Store I bought this...but I don't think a glossy display will necessarily address the issue of uneven backlight...do ya think?

I think the reason that Apple's displays are mediocre is 1.) because they are, and 2.) because Apple's playing into the happy medium. Their screen resolutions right now are in this intermediate resolution...for example the 15.4" MacBook Pro's screen is at 1440 x 900. Hear me out here. This problem with the uneven illumination only occurred when Apple increased the resolution of their displays, starting with the last rev of the PowerBook G4s.

I think Apple is gong to stick with this MacBook Pro design until WWDC next year when 10.5 is already out and resolution independence is implemented in 10.5. I think when Apple has its resolution independence running in 10.5 it will allow Apple to offer the 1920 x 1200 displays that people have been clamoring for over the years and the resolution of OS X will be able to be scaled to make OS X look good on one of these displays.

When I was in the Apple Store earlier today I noticed someone at the Genius Bar with a MBP having a question about some audio software and as I looked over, I noticed right away that the person decreased their screen's resolution from the native 1440 x 900, because it was blurry. I don't think Apple wants its customers doing this — hence they aren't going to go hog wild on high res displays if their customers are only going to decrease the pixel size so they don't go blind.

So back to the point about uneven screen illumination...I think because Apple's trying to play the happy medium, they aren't getting the best screens...the ones that we know exist at 1920 x 1200 with huge viewing angles. If you think about it — the 17-inch MBP looks horrendous with uneven illumination. But that screen has a higher resolution than the 17-inch iMac whose screen has no problems with uneven illumination.

Sorry for the novel but it's just a fluid train of thought from me.

You know, it's not like Apple's the only company that makes LCD's with the potential for uneven illumination (hell, Apple doesn't even make the LCD's anyway, they of course get them from other manufacturers like everyone else). I briefly owned a Toshiba P105-S9722, and it had an LG-manufactured LCD that had all sorts of uneven illumination, with bright splotches throughout the display. Previously I had a Sony Vaio S360, and even as nice as that display was, it also had some clear uneven illumination that was more noticeable with certain images, etc. being displayed.
 

Zadillo

macrumors 68000
Jan 29, 2005
1,546
49
Baltimore, MD
Whatever the reason, if the 17s are having this problem consistently, then I'm going to just get a MB. (Funny, my wife's Dell 9300 doesn't have a problem with uneven screen illumination). I need a high-quality screen, and it appears the 17s have issues. sigh... the credit card was out, and ready....

The MacBooks can have this too; I also had a MacBook before I returned it. The screen was beautiful, but there was clear uneven illumination, most obvious when showing all black (like during a Windows XP bootup).

Also, different Dells have different LCD manufacturers (a number from LG and a number from Samsung, in particular). There are plenty of current generation Inspiron E1705's that have pretty significant backlight bleeding, etc.

-Zadillo
 

wildmac

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2003
1,167
1
The MacBooks can have this too; I also had a MacBook before I returned it. The screen was beautiful, but there was clear uneven illumination, most obvious when showing all black (like during a Windows XP bootup).

Also, different Dells have different LCD manufacturers (a number from LG and a number from Samsung, in particular). There are plenty of current generation Inspiron E1705's that have pretty significant backlight bleeding, etc.

-Zadillo

Well, with a MB I'm not going to be as critical, as I won't be using it for the same things I would use a MBPC2D for. If I get the 17", I have to be able to do design and photo-editing on it, on the road. If I need to hook up another monitor to get good display, then I'd just use my desktop computer.

sigh....
 

Multimedia

macrumors 603
Jul 27, 2001
5,212
0
Santa Cruz CA, Silicon Beach
Screen Blotches Is An Old Problem Redoux

Crikey!! This looks like a deal-breaker for me. I went to Pasadena CA Apple store today, looking at the 17 MBPCD, and the uneven illumination was very obvious. I was going to go look at another Apple store, but it sounds like this is a common problem. If I get a 17" I'm going to be using it for photo-editing and design work, so I can't have it unven like that. Guess I may jsut get a black MB and use it for my basic traveling needs.
You were looking at the old CD screen not the new C2D one. This was a problem exactly 3 years ago with the first 15" Aluminium 1.25GHz PB. I know 'cause I had one like it. Sent it in for screen replacement and it came back fine. Thought they had learned from that experience how to not let this happen again. :eek: :confused: :rolleyes:
 

sycho

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2006
865
4
So, I was expecting my Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro on Friday, but it looks like I'll get it Monday. Now, is it best to calibrate the battery right away, or could I put it off for a couple days. I have work all Monday night, I work at the college I attend, at the computer helpdesk, and I'd like to play with my baby. I'd also like to use it Tuesday morning for class / showoff:p . Any one think that it would be a horrible idea to not calibrate the battery right away?

Just so you guys knew, the plan was:

work at 4PM, let fully charge, and remain fully charged for 2 hours, so lets say 7PM.
Use it until it dies, I'm thinking 10PM, sleep for several hours, well, I'd like to sleep too, so that would be until about 6:45AM. Well, now what can I use for my 8AM class? So yeah, I'm quite antsy to use my notebook:eek: .
 

iBorg20181

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2006
281
0
Minneapolis, MN
So, I was expecting my Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro on Friday, but it looks like I'll get it Monday. Now, is it best to calibrate the battery right away, or could I put it off for a couple days. I have work all Monday night, I work at the college I attend, at the computer helpdesk, and I'd like to play with my baby. I'd also like to use it Tuesday morning for class / showoff:p . Any one think that it would be a horrible idea to not calibrate the battery right away?

Just so you guys knew, the plan was:

work at 4PM, let fully charge, and remain fully charged for 2 hours, so lets say 7PM.
Use it until it dies, I'm thinking 10PM, sleep for several hours, well, I'd like to sleep too, so that would be until about 6:45AM. Well, now what can I use for my 8AM class? So yeah, I'm quite antsy to use my notebook:eek: .

Apple recommends calibrating the battery soon after purchase, but it's certainly not going to hurt anything to use it for awhile first - it's just that the battery's time/charge indication may be "off" until you calibrate, and it may not fully charge/discharge as completely until you do.

iBorg
 

glhiii

macrumors 6502
Nov 4, 2006
287
143
17" screen

I have the last 17" Powerbook (1.67 gh, hd screen). It is supposed to be somewhat less bright than the 17" MBP screens. My screen is evenly illuminated, but has a narrow viewing angle so that if one part of the screen is bright, another part is not. This is annoying at first, but one adjusts to it (sort of). Apple increased the illumination of the MBP screens across the board, and I wonder whether they did so at the expense of uniform lighting. I have read that the viewing angle of the 17" MBP's is larger than that of the Powerbook, but I didn't notice that when I compared the two in the Apple Store. Another issue is that the 17" MBP currently available will not open as far as the Powerbook, and that is a real problem for me (which is why I didn't get one). It will be interesting to see whether the new 17" MBP opens further.
 

sycho

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2006
865
4
Apple recommends calibrating the battery soon after purchase, but it's certainly not going to hurt anything to use it for awhile first - it's just that the battery's time/charge indication may be "off" until you calibrate, and it may not fully charge/discharge as completely until you do.

iBorg

sweet, i'll get the rents to plug it in on Wednesday morning since i get to sleep in:p
 

wildmac

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2003
1,167
1
You were looking at the old CD screen not the new C2D one. This was a problem exactly 3 years ago with the first 15" Aluminium 1.25GHz PB. I know 'cause I had one like it. Sent it in for screen replacement and it came back fine. Thought they had learned from that experience how to not let this happen again. :eek: :confused: :rolleyes:

The one I saw today was not blotches, but VERY uneven in brightness. Much brighter in the upper center, and tailing off from there. NOT good at all, especially when I turned around and looked at the LCDs behind me. It was similar to the pics posted by another here, but even more pronounced.

I'm going to visit another Apple store Monday or Tuesday, but If what I see isn't a lot better, than it looks like a MB is in my plans.
 

Multimedia

macrumors 603
Jul 27, 2001
5,212
0
Santa Cruz CA, Silicon Beach
17" Tilts Full 135º Again

I have the last 17" Powerbook (1.67 gh, hd screen). It is supposed to be somewhat less bright than the 17" MBP screens. My screen is evenly illuminated, but has a narrow viewing angle so that if one part of the screen is bright, another part is not. This is annoying at first, but one adjusts to it (sort of). Apple increased the illumination of the MBP screens across the board, and I wonder whether they did so at the expense of uniform lighting. I have read that the viewing angle of the 17" MBP's is larger than that of the Powerbook, but I didn't notice that when I compared the two in the Apple Store. Another issue is that the 17" MBP currently available will not open as far as the Powerbook, and that is a real problem for me (which is why I didn't get one). It will be interesting to see whether the new 17" MBP opens further.
According to the 17" Owner's Manual it will open a full 135º. Earlier in this thread there is considerable discussion on this subject.
 

Multimedia

macrumors 603
Jul 27, 2001
5,212
0
Santa Cruz CA, Silicon Beach
CD MBP Screens Are Not C2D MBP Screens

The one I saw today was not blotches, but VERY uneven in brightness. Much brighter in the upper center, and tailing off from there. NOT good at all, especially when I turned around and looked at the LCDs behind me. It was similar to the pics posted by another here, but even more pronounced.

I'm going to visit another Apple store Monday or Tuesday, but If what I see isn't a lot better, than it looks like a MB is in my plans.
I REPEAT:

You cannot judge a C2D MBP screen by looking at a CD MBP screen.
 

5150 Joker

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2006
82
0
Davis, California
These scores are awesome. Do games actually seem to run fine at these levels (no artificats, etc.)? How about fans and heat?

Really though, these scores are fantastic.

If anyone is curious about a comparison, I had a P105-S9722 for a little while, which has a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo and a GeForce 7900GS in it. It would get around 6000 in 3DMark05, and around 3800 in 3DMark06. So really, 5000 in 3DMark05 and 2500 in 3DMark06 is really pretty impressive for the MacBook Pro even with some overclocking.


Yep it's completely stable in games like BF2142. If I can download the firmware and reflash it with a volt mod then this puppy could probably get 550/550 pretty easily. Firmware mods are very easy with nVidia cards but I haven't really messed with ATi firmware in a long time.
 

wildmac

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2003
1,167
1
I REPEAT:

You cannot judge a C2D MBP screen by looking at a CD MBP screen.

Well, the photos posted earlier seem to show the problem still exists. That being said, I'll see what's on the floor on display when I visit the store. :rolleyes:
 

raleigh1208

macrumors member
Aug 1, 2006
55
0
Raleigh, NC
There's been a lot of discussion on how far back the MBP screen will open. This week at my local Apple store I put a CD and a C2D 15 inch MBP side by side and opened the screens as far as they could go, and then looked at them from the side, and to me they were both exactly alike and aligned. So I didn't see any difference between the old MBP and the new MBP on that issue.
 

miniguu

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2005
160
0
On the screen unevenness issue..

FWIW, it seems to be a function of screen brightness on my 2.16/glossy. It's most noticeable when it's dimmer (<25% of brightness bar), and when viewing light uniform images. I get a grey "L shape" along the bottom and right edge of the screen.
The unevenness disappears when I go above 50% of the brightness bar, and when doing normal tasks like viewing web pages/word/games etc. It doesn't bother me much, but I don't do anything that requires accurate color.
 

deathjux

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2006
9
0
I always find it funny how there is so much whining when it comes to Apple portable computers, especially lately. So it's not 100% perfect 100% of the time: it's a computer and there will be manufacturing tolerances. I know it was expensive as mine was too, but everything can't be perfect always.

Anyway...

Has anyone successfully installed Boot Camp and Windows on their C2D MBP? Everything went smoothly for me until I shut it down and rebooted into Windows at a later time. The machine will spontaneously reboot ~10-15 seconds after the Windows desktop loads. I used System Restore to roll back to right after I installed it, and everything worked great. I installed the drivers and even got Steam and Half Life 2 loaded and working. Then, after I booted into Windows later in the day, it is doing the same rebooting nonsense. The Mac OS continues to run perfectly.

Anyone else experiencing this issue? The XP logs (so uninformative compared to the OS X logs) don't even show that Windows is recording the rebooting.
 

Aelyrin

macrumors member
Oct 30, 2006
88
1
Missoula, Montana
The one I saw today was not blotches, but VERY uneven in brightness. Much brighter in the upper center, and tailing off from there. NOT good at all, especially when I turned around and looked at the LCDs behind me. It was similar to the pics posted by another here, but even more pronounced.

I'm going to visit another Apple store Monday or Tuesday, but If what I see isn't a lot better, than it looks like a MB is in my plans.

If you were looking @ a 17inch MBP at an Apple store, you were not looking at a MMBP C2D version. Noone has the 17inchers yet, they wont until next week @ the very earliest. I will be surprised to see them in Apple Stores before next Thursday/Friday.

Multimedia is trying to say that you cant judge the NEW C2D MBPs by what you saw on the 17 inchers in the store or by any pictures you have seen in these or any other forums. Those are older machines. Noone has a C2D 17in MBP yet.

There MAY be a problem with the 17s, but we wont know until next week. Be sure when you are at the store on Monday or Tuesday that you are looking @ an up to date MBP C2D and not an older model. If you are in the market for a C2D 17, I would probably give it another week or 2, let everyone who has them on order get theirs and start praising/complaining. Don't go in on Mon/tues and expect to see a new 17 as they wont be in yet.
 

iBorg20181

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2006
281
0
Minneapolis, MN
Well, the photos posted earlier seem to show the problem still exists. That being said, I'll see what's on the floor on display when I visit the store. :rolleyes:

I'm always a bit skeptical of pics posted on internet forums, unless it's from a pretty well-known person, who knows how to take a decent photo of a computer LCD - there's no way to verify a "comparison" shot, you can't tell what the lighting conditions were, how they used/didn't use flash, were camera settings appropriate for the indoor shot, etc.

Go to a few Apple stores, compare Merom MBPs (as Multimedia said, you can't necessarily base your decision on Yonah MBP screens) and then decide. My glossy screen 2.33GHz MBP is breath-taking, bright, evenly lit, no light-leakage, and flawless. Hope you find the same!

:D

iBorg
 

5150 Joker

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2006
82
0
Davis, California
I always find it funny how there is so much whining when it comes to Apple portable computers, especially lately. So it's not 100% perfect 100% of the time: it's a computer and there will be manufacturing tolerances. I know it was expensive as mine was too, but everything can't be perfect always.

Anyway...

Has anyone successfully installed Boot Camp and Windows on their C2D MBP? Everything went smoothly for me until I shut it down and rebooted into Windows at a later time. The machine will spontaneously reboot ~10-15 seconds after the Windows desktop loads. I used System Restore to roll back to right after I installed it, and everything worked great. I installed the drivers and even got Steam and Half Life 2 loaded and working. Then, after I booted into Windows later in the day, it is doing the same rebooting nonsense. The Mac OS continues to run perfectly.

Anyone else experiencing this issue? The XP logs (so uninformative compared to the OS X logs) don't even show that Windows is recording the rebooting.


I'm running the latest version of bootcamp and it's rock solid for me.



I'm always a bit skeptical of pics posted on internet forums, unless it's from a pretty well-known person, who knows how to take a decent photo of a computer LCD - there's no way to verify a "comparison" shot, you can't tell what the lighting conditions were, how they used/didn't use flash, were camera settings appropriate for the indoor shot, etc.

Go to a few Apple stores, compare Merom MBPs (as Multimedia said, you can't necessarily base your decision on Yonah MBP screens) and then decide. My glossy screen 2.33GHz MBP is breath-taking, bright, evenly lit, no light-leakage, and flawless. Hope you find the same!

:D

iBorg


Same here, no uneven lighting on my glossy screen even with the brightness turned down. I think what people are experiencing are a function of viewing angles and the dimming nature of a matte screen.
 
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