MacBook Pro - To wait or not to wait?

Revision D? I hope you're referring to something other than the MacBook Pro, because the MBP is still on Revision A. Each revision is almost like a major release, if I'm not mistaken. Someone correct me if I'm wrong..

devision D

Read this ... http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=168


"""
Apple's MacBook Pro is undoubtedly the fastest and most powerful notebook computer Apple has ever launched, but it's not without its problems.

Tuan Nguyen at Daily Tech has posted a number of issues with his MBP:

- AirPort doesn't automatically rejoin a preferred network after waking from sleep.
- AirPort reception drops down to nearly 1 bar randomly once in a while.
- At the lowest screen brightness setting (one bar), the LCD's backlight flickers noticeably.
- Heat is a big issue. Using the AC power, the palm rest area becomes very warm, and the area above the F keys is very hot.

Apple's own MacBook Pro discussion boards are filled with posts about various issues with the new notebook but it doesn't mean that it's defective. After all, only people that are having problems are going to post to the boards. Apple's dedicated MacBook Pro Support page has some great tips on troubleshooting most issues.

While I agree that it gets pretty hot (especially above the F2 to F4 keys after more than an hour of use) my Airport reception is good and I don't have any LCD backlight flicker on my MacBook Pro 2.0GHz.

Other users have reported a high-pitch "CPU whine," which I hear intermittently on my particular MBP. Another problem is "Display whine" which is caused by a buggy display inverter and is only head at higher brightnesses. To test if you have this listen carefully and turn your MBP brightness all the way down to two bars. If the sound goes away, you have the problem.

According to Daily Tech the MBP issues are well known at Apple. Apple has started addressing the issues by replacing affected machines with a new "Revision D" logic board. The revision of your logic board is only identifiable by the serial number. You can get the serial number from inside the battery bay or by clicking on "About This Mac" in the finder and clicking twice on the software version number.

- Serial numbers starting with W8611 are Revision D
- Serial numbers starting with W8610 are Revision C

For what it's worth, my MBP serial number starts with W8607. MacBook Pros shipping now are in the W8612 (Rev. D) serial number range.
"""

Oh, good information you have there then I was under the completely wrong impression then. My MBP is I believe, an 8611 serial. I'll have to look again when I get home.

Where did ZDNet get their information about which serials pertain to which Revision?

Anyway, good post.

Also, for what it's worth... assuming I have the 8611 serial, and assuming that is indeed the start of Revision D... then all the current "niggles" aren't entirely worked out. I get the whine every now and then, although not consistently, and it goes away with any use of iSight stuff.

EDIT: I have an 8613 on my laptop at home. Maybe most everything is worked out w/ the exception of the whine VERY VERY rarely. I haven't had ANY regrets about purchasing my MBP though. I love it to pieces

Take a look at this page: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=173

I'm wondering if the other article has a typo, as this page sayd that Serials beginning with 8612 as opposed to 8611 are the Revision D.

Hmmm.....

Well...

DISCLAIMER: While I'm an IT professional, this is still my opinion and nothing more.

My opinion is that the MacBook Pro is the absolute worst option right now for any buyer. Buying first rev hardware is always risky, especially with a company as relatively small as Apple. Every first rev Apple product I have ever purchased, was either returned or sent in for repair. That's just MY experience...your mileage may vary.

Secondly, you're talking about buying a first rev hardware product, running a first rev software product, that being x86 Tiger. Yes, it has been in development for years, however it has just finally hit the shelves, and has many bugs and issues, more of which are cropping up each day.

All in all, this is the worst combination of product you could possibly buy, first rev hardware, running first rev software...and the MacBook Pro shows it. They run blazing hot, catch on fire, whine, flicker, and otherwise malfunction.

If you need a Mac now, I'd try to find a new 15" Powerbook from a third party retailer, or if you absolutely must have x86 I would at least wait for the next rev of it. It has great potential, but in my opinion is a disaster waiting to happen, with no real benefits (not until more Universal Binaries come out, anyway).

So, my two cents. And to all those who are happily running MBP's, all the power to you. Rock on. I'm sure my Powerbook will be replaced with one in 6 months to a year, but no sooner.

Osiris22x said:

All in all, this is the worst combination of product you could possibly buy, first rev hardware, running first rev software...and the MacBook Pro shows it. They run blazing hot, catch on fire, whine, flicker, and otherwise malfunction.

Click to expand...

I just wanted to say, that (and I'm not sure of the figure, but...) 10's of thousands of MBPs have been sold already, and as of then, there have been MagSafe fires, both of which have questionable things shown in the pictures. The MacBook Pro does NOT run hot when it is not charging, and even then it's not that hot in my opinion when it is charging. The flicker was fixed VERY early on... I have seen absolutely no signs of this, and neither have the people that I know w/ MBPs. I personally get the whine maybe once every 20 times I boot up, and while I'd rather not have it at all... I can DEFINITELY deal with it.

Now when you say "otherwise malfunction", could you elaborate? I haven't had any sorts of malfunction at all. I don't have any Airport disconnects or anything strange like that at all.

Also, had they taken OS X and rewritten it from the ground up for x86, I'd say "yea, you're right, Rev A software", but that's not what is required to be Universal. My guess (I'm not completely positive all that it entails) is that there are some header includes, and some simple CPU optimization that does NOT affect the core code, but rather just allows it to utilize the full potential of the CPU.

And, just for the record, most of the "problems" that appear in only some laptops to begin with, have been fixed as of Rev D. So any new purchasers are out of that issue. I have a theory for the MagSafe fires, but that's an entirely different story, and I won't waste the space here.

I'm a mac book pro owner. I'd say many of the heat problems, sound problems are exaggerated, because mine, the one i got a few days after it came out, does not have any problems. on the other hand, the cd drive has gone to @#$%%^&*åc®†ßx®∑´§™•¨ß√∂ß√¨Åı¨ˆŒÍı¨ˆ˜Œ!!!!!!!!!!!! it won't eject a disk. anyway, I love the MBP, but I would hold off just a little while longer, if just to be absolutely sure. i mean, a tiny percentage of people have problems, but just to be sure i would wait a little bit

I got my Macbook Pro only 4 days ago, best buy. Although software is limited, it is still worth the money.

oo3 said:

the overheating can be simply solved by purchasing a laptop cooling fan. got one for my mbp and it doesn't get that hot at all. i can use it for hours and not worry about overheating.

i've had my mbp for about a month and i've had no problems whatsoever. you just have to know that it's a first generation so there might be problems. but i haven't had a single one.

Click to expand...

what kind of fan cooler is that?I was wondering if it does work.I would go ahead and get one for myself if it can solve the heating problem.

I saw one by targus that could work....
here it is: http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U