Third Macbook - and still not perfect

[cighh]

First - ran way too hot (idled high 60s) - too hot on palms to use for extended period.

Second - harddrive "parked" every minute or so (the same loud click you hear when shutting down)

Third - plastic bezel surrounding screen is "loose" in a few places, also very slight bulge at bottom, also slight "gaps" on edges elsewhere) - did they run out of glue?

(other than that - seems to work as fine as one can expect a current Macbook to work) (typical heat, slight fan noise - which to me is ok, speakers fine, no plastic on vents, mouse pad working ok)

(still within first two weeks)

Are we asking to much to get a machine with no "issues".
(ok - I could glue this one - but should I have too?)

Ive spent about 5hrs per machine - installing apps, transferring data from pc, loading updates, configuring, installing Parallels / WinXP (which works great)

btw - X-Plane V8.40 works fine on the Macbook (2.0/512)

If I was to keep the machine - I would add more memory.

(love the features/os - dissapointed with the qc at this point - long time pc user)


JM

Toronto, Canada

 

[ManchesterTrix]

I would suggest that you back up your Hard drive now that you have it setup again. That way if you replace it, you can just restore from a Disk Image and you're set up in minutes instead of hours.

 

[cighh]

update - the ac adapter just started "crackling" (or sizzling) - and is hot....
(during battery calibration)

 

[aquajet]

btw - X-Plane V8.40 works fine on the Macbook (2.0/512)

At what resolution setting and what options?

Sorry to hear about the troubles.

 

[cighh]

1024x768 (tried higher - it works but the a/c panels dont seem setup up for it)
most options set to def (med)
some slowdown if many ground objects
I would like to see it with 1GB (I have 512)
Processor and Fans wind up a bit - but its bearable
Suprisingly usable - even with integrated video

(Ive used it for years on a pc - first time on a mac)

Second Life also works pretty well.


JM

 

[cighh]

btw - I still think the Macbook is one of the best machines designed (laptops or desktops Ive used) and most fun to use.

Im a network consultant - and have just spent the day on it - replying to email in Entourage, cross-sharing data with Foldershare (with PC from office), entering Timesheets in Excel, Surfing the net with Firefox, running Radmin over OpenVPN in Windows XP running in Parallels (this works really well), listening to iTunes, monitoring servers and sites remotely over the net, printing to USB connected HP1150 printer thru Airport Express, all wirelessly throughout the house - with no dropout.

(tip: put Parallels in Suspend mode if you dont want to shutdown the virtual machine completely - it reclaims most of the memory used and frees it up for OS-X - when you "unsuspend" it starts up again in about 10secs)

Spotlight is way better than any Windows search. (what a concept - search all data quickly from one simple interface: contacts, calendar, files across the drive - not just in the current app or window)

This machine has exceeded my expectations in many ways - and once the nigly qc issues are worked out and Office for Mac runs native (instead of with Rosetta) - it will be the machine to beat (for regular mac users and cross-over users like me)

(and all the claims about being good at editing video etc are true - Ive yet to see Video Editing sw on a pc - even higher end one - that doesnt glitch when playing back - this doesnt happen in IMovie - even with a stock machine)


JM

 

[Scarlet Fever]

i have two terminal windows of "yes > /dev/null" running and the CPU is at 100%, and the temperature if hovering around 80 C. The case is warm, but not untouchable. My guess would be mid/high 20s. And the fans are on, but theyre not that loud. my tibook makes more noise that this.
maybe you just seem to be picking the worst of the batch. Would you be happy to be using this computer in 2-3 years time? if not, get the problems fixed. If you can cope with it, enjoy it!
My MacBook is perfect; no excessive heat, no mooing, no whining, doesn't discolour, no cracks... just what i would expect from apple (just what a lot of people don't seem to be getting getting...)

 

[aquajet]

1024x768 (tried higher - it works but the a/c panels dont seem setup up for it)
most options set to def (med)
some slowdown if many ground objects
I would like to see it with 1GB (I have 512)
Processor and Fans wind up a bit - but its bearable
Suprisingly usable - even with integrated video

Yeah, maximum supported panel size is 1024x1024 IIRC.

I suspect you're using version 7 scenery? I couldn't imagine it would work that well with version 8 scenery and only 512mb RAM with integrated video.

Thanks for the info, BTW

 

[cighh]

It is version 8 scenery - and works ok - until theres alot of buildings - then it slows down to (it claims 20fps) - but it seems slow.

If you change the view (pan to look elsewhere) - it speeds up again.

Not ideal - but useable.

Has anyone tried TrackIR-4 Pro on a Mac?

 

[joseph2166]

What's the status of the whine issue with the macbooks? I had a MBP which i eventualy replaced with a iMac20" - I love both the computers but the whine on the mbp was too annoying for me when word processing etc.

Is the whine still there for some people - on both mbp's and macbooks?

 

[DMPDX]

How is everyone finding temps for the macbook or any intel machine for that matter. istat pro istat nano and all the others dont give me any readings on my imac or my sis's MacBook. Anyone know?
-dsm

 

[drlunanerd]

Sorry to hear of your quality control problems, that's a shame and a poor show by Apple.

However, like every time Apple releases new hardware, those that get "perfect" machines rarely post about it. They are the silent majority.

I'll chime in with my own experience with a black MacBook:

Not one single problem. No excessive heat (idles at 40-50C); I've not heard the fan yet in 3 days solid use at room temperature and outside in direct sunlight; no mooing, purring, barking or chirping.

I've used tons and tons of computer hardware in my life, from ICL and IBM mainframes to Sinclair Spectrums and of course loads of Macs.

This is, incredibly as I'm a cheapskate, my first personal Apple laptop purchase and I couldn't be happier.

Really sorry for those that have lemons. Get 'em replaced and the odds are you'll get a good one, although the OP certainly isn't getting lucky so far!

One thing: 512MB RAM is a real bottleneck if you're working with multiple apps. I'm waiting for 2GB to turn up and I expect it'll then fly.

 

[DMPDX]

Sorry to hear of your quality control problems, that's a shame and a poor show by Apple.

However, like every time Apples release new hardware, those that get "perfect" machines rarely post about it. They are the silent majority.

I'll chime in with my own experience with a black MacBook:

Not one single problem. No excessive heat (idles at 40-50C); I've not heard the fan yet in 3 days solid use at room temperature and outside in direct sunlight; no mooing, purring, barking or chirping.

I've used tons and tons of computer hardware in my life, from ICL and IBM mainframes to Sinclair Spectrums and of course loads of Macs.

This is, incredibly as I'm a cheapskate, my first personal Apple laptop purchase and I couldn't be happier.

Really sorry for those that have lemons. Get 'em replaced and the odds are you'll get a good one, although the OP certainly isn't getting lucky so far!

One thing: 512MB RAM is a real bottleneck if you're working with multiple apps. I'm waiting for 2GB to turn up and I expect it'll then fly.

How did you find out that youre running at around "40-50" degrees celcius??!!
-dsm

 

[drlunanerd]

CoreDuoTemp - Google it. Cool little app. (ho ho, no pun intended!).

 

[DMPDX]

CoreDuoTemp - Google it. Cool little app. (ho ho, no pun intended!).

I Just tried that and it asks me to go into the util folder and do all this and that. Is this safe to do? Asking since Ive had BADDDDD experience with entering the wrong things into terminal and ruining my computer.
-dsm

 

[aquajet]

It is version 8 scenery - and works ok - until theres alot of buildings - then it slows down to (it claims 20fps) - but it seems slow.

If you change the view (pan to look elsewhere) - it speeds up again.

Wow, that's surprising. I suspect a memory upgrade would help improve the performance.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Nik73]

What's the status of the whine issue with the macbooks? I had a MBP which i eventualy replaced with a iMac20" - I love both the computers but the whine on the mbp was too annoying for me when word processing etc.

Is the whine still there for some people - on both mbp's and macbooks?

I'm sad to say mine has the CPU whine on both battery and when charging. It is also has the inverter whine at anything but full, 40% or zero brightness (I believe this is rare on the MB's).
Neither are loud, I have to say, but loud enough to be annoying if there's no tv on or music playing. It also gives me a splitting headache. I would recommend experiencing it before you buy, if you can, as it may not bother some people (if it's even there of course. Unfortunately I'm going for a refund and am going to wait to see if it gets sorted further down the line. Shame as it is an amazing machine!

 

[joseph2166]

I'm sad to say mine has the CPU whine on both battery and when charging. It is also has the inverter whine at anything but full, 40% or zero brightness (I believe this is rare on the MB's).
Neither are loud, I have to say, but loud enough to be annoying if there's no tv on or music playing. It also gives me a splitting headache. I would recommend experiencing it before you buy, if you can, as it may not bother some people (if it's even there of course. Unfortunately I'm going for a refund and am going to wait to see if it gets sorted further down the line. Shame as it is an amazing machine!

This a macbook or a pro?

 

[cighh]

ok - shall I go for a fourth? - or get a refund and try again in a few months (on my 3rd)

 

[cighh]

btw- the bezel surrounding the screen is not glued on.

it is held in place by small clips (Tabs) - spaced out every couple of inches.

If yours is loose - it is possible to "Reseat it" gently pry it open (before and after
"the gap") - then push back down to reseat.

 

[MACDRIVE]

ok - shall I go for a fourth? - or get a refund and try again in a few months (on my 3rd)

I'm sorry to say, but by the way these things have been going, you might just be better off getting that refund. Whatever you do, please don't except any defects. In the long run, you'll be glad you didn't.

 

[dailyrorschach]

I felt like I had to reply here, because I also have had a MacBook with no problems. This is the first Mac I've owened, I've used them at work, my Grammar school had them as the only operating system. I think this is why I was so turend off, this was before the OS X days. I wanted to buy an apple last summer, but then heard rumors of the Intel switch, quickly confirmed, I waited and then when I got home from school my Dell that I had been nursing though 4-6 years of use and a semester of crashes finally died the day I got home, I took it as an omen.

The MacBook works great, I bought it Wednesday, and not once have I heard a single fan. There is a bit of heat, but nothing to excessive, I suppose it's firmware not turning the fan on, I think I could do with a bit of noise once and a while to keep this thing a little cooler, but since its bearable I don't mind. No mooing, whining, nothing like that.

I calibrated the battery the other night, and now with WiFi I average around 4 hours of time away from a power source. I was a little surprsied when I opened to find the power cord without the AC cord as standard, so obviously I'm using that one, no reason not to ground if you can. I'll keep the attachment, I guess I might need it the two prong one day.

That thing is also fine, not too hot cracking or anything.

Unfortunatley, it does sound like there are some bad batches floating around out there off the line. Which made me apprehensive to go buy right away, but I did and am glad for it. I got the White 2.0 with 1 gig of RAM, and this thing has been flying.

I also do IT over the summer, but I didn't put in windows, don't think I will most of the laptop work I need to do on calls involves telnet, and the terminal handles that just fine.

I hope you have better luck, maybe you should talk to the Store, not that they would tell you, and see if they got a new shipment in? Try a new lot.

 

[Nik73]

This a macbook or a pro?

A MacBook mate. When I rang Apple UK they said it was the first case of inverter whine they'd heard on the MB. Typical! lol

 

[cighh]

Im going for the refund - number 4 - may have been ok - but my first two weeks is almost up - and I dont want to be stuck with a lemon.

I will definitely look at this again in 2 months (Im going to Europe at the end of August and need a machine for remote support etc)

The Macbook definitely fits the bill - it passed everything I threw at it - except quality control. (no thanks to Asus, do they do final assembly too - or just build some of the components?)

Good luck to all - I will monitor these forums to stay up to date on whats happening - and look forward to better builds in the future.

(presently backing up the machine with DejaVu - to my pc, before I reinstall the OS (and wipe the drive)

good-bye Macbook(3)

 

[cighh]

btw - I took some temp readings on the outside of the case (using a laser temp
reading tool - as seen in automotive stores etc).

Peak bottom was 115F - (left side - underneath)
Top - 113F (left side - on top)
KB area and palm rest - approx 90-95F
Area between KB and screen also 115F

(even on a 3/8 cork placemat - this last machine was uncomfortable on the legs after about 60mins - of typical use) (itunes, surfing net, reading email etc)
(machine 2 was cooler, machine 1 was hotter than machine 3 - no readings)