Thanks for the encouragement chaps, and I've decided to keep the machine *IF* I get assurances from Apple/retailer that they will resolve the issue to my satisfaction - that is to get the working machine that I paid for, or give me my money back or replace the machine.
After uploading my purchase receipt Apple confirmed 12m limited warranty, 3 year Apple Care would seem like an insurance policy I should consider. Hefty price, but given the nightmare scenario of trying to fix out of the warranty?
I do have this hunch though, that perhaps ALL nMP are affected, or borderline affected, with the problem surfacing only when a slew of variables cosmically coincide. Based on what? Not a lot - just the prolific nature of the problem (I've read about it on other forums too eg
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=390208), and.. gut feeling - it just smacks of a design flaw / general production fault
It obviously affects users with all three graphics card options, outside the soft-recall production date window, and regardless of OS version (albeit with varying frequency). I would love to be proven wrong!
What I can say :
1/ My production date is outside the window of concern - BY A WEEK
2/ It cannot be an overheating issue, my first encounter was during first power up and setup!
3/
Kris Kelvin - great find! My lockups DO coincide with the following :
kernel: (IOAcceleratorFamily2) bool IOAccelDisplayMachine2::display_mode_did_change(uint32_t): vendor driver returns false
I believe the time I see on these logs is associated with when I return to the computer, not when the freeze occurs. Eg computer froze 19:02 (as shown by screensaver).. I return to computer at 19:07.. log shows latter time.
