Were PowerPC Macs better quality?

[kabunaru]

Ever since the Intel switch, there has been a lot of reports of problems with Macs. What do you think Apple is doing with their Macs these days? Most of these days I see people complaining about problems with their Intel Macs.
What has happened to Apple these days? Why can't it just be like the PowerPC era again?

 

[MacsRgr8]

I'm not so sure that's the case...

Many PowerPC based Macs (liquid cooling in Quad G5's f.i.) have had issues over the time.
IMHO it is more of a "modern day computing" issue. Speed sells, therefore more heat and energy is used, and more components can be more liable to be more fragile... etc.
Many more things can go wrong in a computer today than about 10 years ago.

 

[iDAG]

More people are buying Macs than ever. This means you will hear of more problems because more people would have these great computers. Compared to PCs, the Mac is far better off and better built than any of those Windows box builders could ever make. In my opinion, the Intel Macs are better built because over time, Apple continues to improve their designs and they figure out what materials they need to use to build these machines.

 

[bartelby]

In my opinion, the Intel Macs are better built because over time, Apple continues to improve their designs and they figure out what materials they need to use to build these machines.

Shame it all goes tits up at QC then...

 

[ChrisA]

...there has been a lot of reports of problems with Macs.

I think that says it exactly. "reports of". We have even better communications now the forums are bigger we here if there is a small scratch on a plastic case 1,000 miles away.

 

[tersono]

Nope - Intel Macs are just as good quality as those which preceded them. The thing you have to remember is that you hear far more from people who have problems than you do from those who are happy....

 

[Unspeaked]

I've got to disagree with most of the replies and say that the build quality of Macs in general has gotten much worse since around the time the G4 was introduced.

Now, it could be that they're cranking out more machines now, certainly since the introduction of OS X and especially now with Intel, but the 60x series desktops were some of the most solid machines in Apple's history.

Portables have always had issues with logic boards and such, but even that seems to have been at an all-time low around the Wallstreet G3 era.

 

[mduser63]

I don't know. There were plenty of people complaining about problems with PowerPC Macs back when they were still selling them. To be honest, the only Mac I've had any problems with is my PowerBook G4 (see thread about obsolete Apple products). My 1G Intel iMac has been absolutely perfect with no problems whatsoever, same with my MacBook. I also think that iDAG is right. Mac marketshare is approximately double what it was at the end of the PowerPC days. With all those new Mac owners out there, it's inevitable that there will be more problems, but I doubt the percentage of people having problems is much different.

 

[stevegmu]

Made in China...

 

[ReanimationLP]

Made in China...

I highly doubt that has anything to do with it.

 

[gotzero]

Platform change and explosive growth probably did not help out the quality control, but that said, membership on forums like this has flown up also.

I have never had a problem with a Mac that turned out to be related to hardware problem in that Mac not caused by me, so my bench test has been PPC 100% Intel 100%.

My MBP has frankly shocked me with the amount of abuse it has stood up to.

 

[stevegmu]

I highly doubt that has anything to do with it.

Sure it does. Chinese made products seem to have much higher rates of defects than American-made products. Would you buy a car made in China?

 

[mduser63]

Sure it does. Chinese made products seem to have much higher rates of defects than American-made products. Would you buy a car made in China?

PowerPC Macs were made in China too. IIRC the Power Mac G5 was assembled in the US, but most if not all of the parts were made in China.

 

[queshy]

never used a PPC mac before...I guess they only started to popularize a lot after the switch to intel.

 

[iDAG]

never used a PPC mac before...I guess they only started to popularize a lot after the switch to intel.

True, but this didn't happen just because they switched to Intel. People were fed up with Windows and they looked at their iPods and thought "Don't they make computers too?"

 

[rdowns]

Macs, and all computers, have their problems. Apple had issues with PPCs (G3 iBooks , PowerBook G4 and Rev. A iMac G5s come to mind; both had their warranties extended) as they do with Intels. Of course, you hear more about problems than you do from those without.

 

[Sly]

If anything the quality has got better. We don't see major issues like: hinges that break (early G3 & G4 Powerbooks), logic board failures (ibook G3), howling fans (Powermac G4 MDD), or cooling system failures (Powermac G5).

 

[Unspeaked]

If anything the quality has got better. We don't see major issues like: hinges that break (early G3 & G4 Powerbooks), logic board failures (ibook G3), howling fans (Powermac G4 MDD), or cooling system failures (Powermac G5).

Notice those are all part of one long era.

I think the the dawning of the G3/G4s is when things started to go downhill...

 

[Markleshark]

I've had one of each, had them both to bits and upgraded them both myself. So far, no troubles with either.

 

[notjustjay]

Sure it does. Chinese made products seem to have much higher rates of defects than American-made products. Would you buy a car made in China?

It's not so much the fact that it was made in China as much as that we are so obsessed with lowering prices that we are willing to cut whatever corners we can to do it. China is just a convenient stand-in for cheap off-shore manufacturing, and one of many places where this is done -- Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Bangalore, etc.

The whole manufacturing industry seems to be going down this road. It's not just Apple. Was your last toaster as durable as the one you bought 20 years ago? How about your last microwave? Car? Stereo? "They don't make 'em like they used to" is said pretty universally.

I was at Wal-Mart the other day and saw their latest batch of Rubbermaid storage containers. They're a weird shade of blue, and the lids are made with plastic so thin they can't even hold their own flat shape.. they're all warped and, well, "off" looking. You see that everywhere now.

 

[Unspeaked]

It's not so much the fact that it was made in China as much as that we are so obsessed with lowering prices that we are willing to cut whatever corners we can to do it. China is just a convenient stand-in for cheap off-shore manufacturing, and one of many places where this is done -- Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Bangalore, etc.

The whole manufacturing industry seems to be going down this road. It's not just Apple. Was your last toaster as durable as the one you bought 20 years ago? How about your last microwave? Car? Stereo? "They don't make 'em like they used to" is said pretty universally.

I was at Wal-Mart the other day and saw their latest batch of Rubbermaid storage containers. They're a weird shade of blue, and the lids are made with plastic so thin they can't even hold their own flat shape.. they're all warped and, well, "off" looking. You see that everywhere now.

It's funny you randomly point out Walmart and Rubbermaid to prove your point, as the relationship between those two companies is the textbook example of what you're describing, and one of the earliest cases of a product lowering quality to reduce wholesale prices.

 

[bigandy]

more people to complain nowadays.

 

[Fast Shadow]

My G4 Powerbook aluminum was lower quality than my C2D Macbook plastic. So my impression is no, the older Macs were no better quality than today's.

 

[Spievy]

I believe the QC was much better in the '90s than today. I have plenty of old computers MAC & PC from that time period and they all work today, original HDs and everything original. I think todays QC and manufacturing techniques are aimed at a consumable market, than longevity. I believe this is an industry standard than an apple problem.

 

[jeremy.king]

Internet + increased market share = louder whiners. It's an illusion that quality has declined significantly because of how easy it is to complain.

I would guess the defect rates of the Intel machines are similar to the PPC Macs...