Received Replacement 17" MBP today

[Transeau]

Okay, this morning FedEx showed up with my replacement 17" MacBook Pro. (Complements of Apple's Executive Relations Department) After sever arguments with various employees and managers at the local Apple Store about my display being floppy and there feeling that it was acceptable, Nate Doss in the Executive Relations Department felt that I should have a new one.

So, now I have my new one.. SN is W8622. Here is how I feel about it...

Display: Perfect image quality
Hinge: 98% perfect. It could still be a little tighter, but I can now use the notebook in bed without the LCD closing on my fingers.
Heat: Idles at about 109F, acceptable. Gets warm on the lap, but not nearly what my Dell P4 3.0GHz does.
Noise: Almost silent. Slight hint of the fans running at all times, but acceptable.
Speaker Quality: Perfect. No distortion at all.
Case: All edges are lined up correctly, touchpad is flush with the case, grey plastic around the edges is mostly flush. Acceptable.
Misc: One screw was over tightened on the memory cover, but I was able to swap the ram without issue. The battery capacity is about 2~3% higher than the rated 65Wh

It looks like they got this one right.

 

[MACDRIVE]

Misc: One screw was over tightened on the memory cover, but I was able to swap the ram without issue.

How did you know the screw was over tightened?

 

[chosenwolf]

How did you know the screw was over tightened?

A shot in the dark, but it was probably harder to remove than all the other screws?

 

[jsnuff1]

wow you people need to chill...no one is going to get PERFECT macbook...you know why? IT DOESNT EXIST.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

wow you people need to chill...no one is going to get PERFECT macbook...you know why? IT DOESNT EXIST.

And how is our emotional semipregnant Sally feeling this morning?

As far as I can read everyone is already "chillin' ", so relax mate. The OP just made a thread about a very good MBP, not the opposite.

 

[lamina]

wow you people need to chill...no one is going to get PERFECT macbook...you know why? IT DOESNT EXIST.

Perfect ones do exist, its just that people bitch about flaws more than they post an appreciation of the computer's perfection.

 

[bbrosemer]

Wow people have their sights set entirley to high with these computers. They work fine the OS gets the job done and instead of spendiing a 1/2 hr, each time I boot trying to make the computer run faster, which is what I have to do with Windows, I can spend that 1/2 hr. getting some work done. I love my MBP, and the hinge is just fine.

 

[Transeau]

Wow! Drama! Who'd of thought!?

Maybe some of you missed the point.
My point was that the replacement is as close to perfect as it gets!
I wasn't being negative. I said that one screw was too tight. I started stripping the head while opening it. Not so much Apple's fault as much as my fault for not having the perfect screw driver to fit. (Not all #0 drivers are the same)

As for the hinge - Well, it falls within the specs now. Apple's choice to make the hinge looser was smart of their part - it will really cut down on the number of damaged hinges. But I think they went a little too far. It's still not a big deal now. I'm just very very happy that I can use it in bed again.

So, to recap for those that need it spelled out a bit more.

I'M HAPPY WITH IT. It's great!

 

[Transeau]

I love my MBP, and the hinge is just fine.

That's great. I'm happy for you. My hinge is fine now too.
The first one I had (getting shipped back today) was not.
I'm getting tired of people saying that I'm expecting too much.
I think you would have been pretty upset the first time yout LCD hit your knuckles while you were typing.

Just to be clear - my origonal 17" MBP's LCD was unable to stay open unless it was at a 90º angle from the base.

 

[Transeau]

A shot in the dark, but it was probably harder to remove than all the other screws?

very hard. I almost stripped one of them. (again) My 15" MBP ended up getting one of them cut off with a dremmal. (My fault)

 

[eAspenwood]

I received my replacement 17er last week too. I had it replaced mainly due to a faulty sleep disengage probelm.

However, the previous 17er and the current one do have the loose lid hinge. That's my only issue with it. Not a major issue, just annoying to think about because the powerbook didn't have this problem. No more working in bed.

Other than that, its a great machine.

-- J.

 

[chosenwolf]

Wow people have their sights set entirley to high with these computers.

As they should.

I came from the PC world and could have bought a core duo powered DELL for about $1,000 cheaper, but I chose to invest my money into Apple. I went ahead and purchased their best model, the 17" MacBook Pro. To my dissapointment, if I touch it or put the notebook or put it in my bag while sleeping, it will wake up. The LCD does collapse (loose hinge), And also, it gets hotter than ANY PC notebook I've ever used or owned.

How will one not complain?

I received my replacement 17er last week too. I had it replaced mainly due to a faulty sleep disengage probelm.
-- J.

Does it work now? I have the same issue, but I don't want to send it in so they could bring it back worse.

 

[eAspenwood]

Does it work now? I have the same issue, but I don't want to send it in so they could bring it back worse.

Yes, my replacement does not have the sleep problem. I think the problem is rare, unlike the loose hinge.

I'd ask for a replacement if your still under the 14 day period if the sleep problem bothers you. It sure as heck bothered me.

 

[chosenwolf]

Yes, my replacement does not have the sleep problem. I think the problem is rare, unlike the loose hinge.

I'd ask for a replacement if your still under the 14 day period if the sleep problem bothers you. It sure as heck bothered me.

It does bother me, but damnit I've set up my MAC to my liking, spent a week to get it to specs. I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it out/waiting and being without my notebook.

 

[eAspenwood]

It does bother me, but damnit I've set up my MAC to my liking, spent a week to get it to specs. I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it out/waiting and being without my notebook.

I understand that dilemma very well, believe me. If you have the virture of patience (which i don't), you could wait a while for an oppurtune time you could do with out for a couple of weeks. The benefit of waiting is that they'll have a lot of practice at fixing these 17 MBPs by then.

I'll send mine in to get the hinge tightened in a few months once I get a backup machine (a used macbook would be nice).

Or I could take a blow torch to the hinge mechanism like Transeau did at one point. . Just kidding.

 

[Transeau]

Or I could take a blow torch to the hinge mechanism like Transeau did at one point. . Just kidding.

Okay, so I'm nuts... I picked up a nice black macBook this morning... Now I have both

 

[twalkabout]

screen issues

Just got my replacement 17" MBP. Went with a glossy screen. I sent my original one back b/c of the loose hinge issue and uneven brightness on the screen. The new one's hinge is definitely better - I can hold it to about a 60 degree angle before the screen closes (whereas before it was about 20 degrees). However I am still having issues with the screen. There are lighter areas in both bottom corners and there is a whiter horizontal line across the bottom of the screen. Not a big deal, but annoying when trying to watch a DVD with black bars in a dark room, the white spots really stand out. Does anyone not have this screen flaw? From other posts, it seems like they all have this issue, so I think I'll just give up...