Macbook Pro...whines, humms, overheating, oh my!
 

How many of you are seeing the various problems with the 15" MacBook Pro that it seems are prevalent on the Apple forums?

I'm trying to decide if I should risk version 1.0 of the Macbook Pro.

Thanks,
Scott

I would buy one and if it acts up return it. You have a year in which to do it. Overall, the reports of noisey, overheated MacBook Pros are small in comparison the the ones the work properly.

I have had my 17" Macbookpro for about 2 weeks now, and have never encountered these problems. All this commotion is just caused from some obsessive compulsive person who can't stand the noise of a fan coming from a laptop. I can barely hear it when rendering video in AE7 or while playing BF2. It does get hot, but what laptop doesn't?

This is the best computer I've ever owned, and my very first Mac. I love it!

Ben, welcome to Macintosh! There are, however, some legitimate issues with a few of the MacBook Pros regarding noise and overheating. I thinks it's limited to the 15" models though.

I think this is going to give some people the wrong impression. You don't have a year to return it. You would have a one year warranty if there's a problem. I have always been really impressed with Apple's service, but you need to realize they won't replace your computer, just repair and return it to you. Some issues take a long time to be resolved (for example see the following: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=45834)

Also don't fall into the trap of "I'll buy it and just send it back for a refund if I don't like it." Caveat Emptor: be sure to read all the fine print before buying: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...spolicies.html

Apple will let you return a computer within 14 days if you aren't satisfied, but there's one big "catch": If you customized the computer in any way then it is not returnable. So, for example, if you ordered a powerbook with extra RAM or a larger hard drive, it wouldn't be returnable. And on items which do qualify for a return, you will be assessed a 10% restocking fee if it was opened.

Now please don't get me wrong. I'm a big Apple supporter and I don't know about any problems with the MacBook Pro's - in fact they look really cool to me. But I just want to point out that you need to read all the fine print and think carefully before entering your credit card number and placing an order. We have a couple old threads here from upset people who found that their computers could not be returned. Likewise, there are examples of people who felt Apple should give them a new computer instead of repairing their old one. I was told informally by a "genius" at an Apple Store that if they were unable to fix my Powerbook problem after sending it in 3 times that they would be willing to discuss replacing it. In my case, the third time was the charm and my 15" G4 Powerbook is still working fine (which is good, because my AppleCare has expired now :-)

So the point is: do your "due diligence" to research any concerns you have BEFORE you buy. Also, I would seriously consider purchasing the AppleCare extended warranty on any laptop. I've never purchased it on a desktop system, and have never needed it. But laptops are another sort of beast...

My 15" Macbook Pro does get pretty warm. After the latest firmware updates it seems that the CPU throttling must be kicking in. It doesn't get so hot anymore when I'm not really taxing it. I can actually sit it on my lap now if I'm just surfing the internet or something like that.

As far as the whine, I can kinda hear something if I'm in a totally quiet room. I can't believe that this is the whine that all of the people are complaining about. It's nothing compared to my Lacie drives. It really just sounds like a computer operating to me. It's much quieter than my old 12" Powerbook.

I am new to Mac as well. My MBP 17" get so hot, I cant even touch it. It gets hot right behind the keyboard below the monitor. I took into Apple and they recreated the heat, and told me this is absolutely normal becuase of the dual processors. They said if it gets to hot it will shut itself down.

I excepted this, and hope that nothing happens.

No problems here with my 17" MBP. It's very quiet. Much more quiet than my year old Sony Vaio. It does get warm underneath, but I never have it just sitting in my lap, so that does not affect me.

according to apple, these laptops are not suggested to be used on.....laps... thats really what a technician said. We have 17" MBpro for work and I kid you not, this thing is untouchably hot... Supposedly mac did a horrendous job of putting thermal compounds on vital components, and there could be a plastic sheet that they forgot to take out from the back vents... These aren't rumors, so if yours get ridiculously hot, check for those.

We're steering clear from macs now on, support is decent if you have applecare, but the hardware isn't just that great. Theres no customization options, simply, upgrade to a new computer... We run bootcamp and are using premiere on it with all the final cut issues with Intel based chips... Back to topic, no whiny noises though, and the fan is barely audible.. Putting in 2 chips and various hardware in aircraft grade aluminum isn't the smartest thing however, this thing is soooo hot..

Hey Spike,

If there is plastic covering the vents, how can it be removed? Do you have to take the computer apart?

Thanks,

Carl

Carl, do a google search onthat, you'll see plenty of blogs with people showing pictures, step by step, removing the plastic cover. It should be right underneath the vents on the back of the screen.No disassembly is required, you can just simply peel it off, if you see it. We didn't have this problem, however, our rig is still insanely hot. We are ultimately going to take it apart and re-apply the thermal compound. This is a polite tone on the thermal compound issue: http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...on.html?page=1

I returned my MBP and decided to keep my 15" Powerbook until they worked things out. Some people have redone the compound, etc. and helped with the problem. This is a problem with ALL MBP's it's just up to the owner how tolerable it is. Heat is the enemy of a computer and I just did not trust it in the long run...



ash =o)

Thanks Spike.

When I first started using my refurbished 15" 1.83GHz MBP it ran pretty hot. To the point that the panel on the left side of the keyboard became uncomfortably hot. And forget about putting it on my lap if I wore shorts.

But after the firmware update is doesn't seem to be getting anywhere near as warm.

And there has never been any issues of fan noise.

What firmware update? Will it download when I check for software updates, or do I have to downlaod it manually?

Thanks.

Run Software Update from the Apple Menu and it will download the patch. I just got a refurbbed 2.0 GHz Macbook and haven't had any problems with whine or too much heat. Well, compared to my old Lombard all metal Mac laptops have been waaaaaay too hot. I personally would trade a 1/4 inch of thickness for better ventalation or whatever!

On the plus side, it came with 2GB of RAM instead of just 1GB! Refurbbed rocks! ;-)

I guess the patch is already installed because it says everything is up to date.

Thanks.

I just bought a new MacBook Pro this past weekend.

Mine barely gets hot at all. It gets hot on the bottom of the laptop itself, but that is typical for laptops. It certainly doesn't get any hotter than my wife's Dell, and my wife's Dell has one of those vacuum cleaner sounding fans running on hers a LOT. Mine is quiet.

Now the area between the screen & keyboard does get a little warm, but it is certainly not TOO warm. I can press my fingers on there and hold them there and it does not even get uncomfortable.

These heat issues have been resolved by Apple via 2 methods:

1) FW/OS updates - basically they are turning on the fan more often to help cool it down.

2) Logic Board upgrades. Apple is I believe currently on Rev. E. You'll see lots of stuff on "Rev. D" boards, but the Rev. E boards aren't even "named" yet. Basically those folks sending theirs in for repairs are getting them back with the new Logic Boards installed, and a new set of disks shipped to them (10.4.5 apparently won't work on the new logic boards, you must have 10.4.6 or better). Most of the people in the Apple Stores are completely unaware of this (or anything beyond Rev. D boards, if they even know about that). The new Logic Boards (I am calling them Rev. E) are brand new. Apple only starting putting them in new and returned for service machines at the end of June, so these new MLBs are barely 3 weeks old.

When I got mine I told the guy at the apple store that I wanted the glossy screen MBP with the highest serial number (or whatever it is) that they have in stock

I told him at LEAST W8611xxxx if not higher. I got one that is W8623xxxx (first they brought out a matte that started with w8624xxxxx).

Anyway, mine came with 10.4.6 install disks and NOT 10.4.5 install disks. I assume that it must have the new Logic board because I have NONE of the problems that others have mentioned (heat other than normal laptop heat, screen flickering, whinning noises, fan constantly on, etc.).

I would reccomend that you actually go to an Apple Store if that is an option where you live and do what I did and get the one with the highest W86 number on the box!

Alex F

I recently boght my MBP as well and I have no problems (so far) with it. It gets warm like the previous poster said but that's it. It's certainly not hotter than my friends 15" 1Ghz powerbook. Overall I'm thrilled with it. A little off topic...I'm also running it with the Firmtek sata card and the 2 bay enclosure with sata2 drives (3gbps I think?) and it's awesome. I can edit hdv no problem on this thing.

Cheers,
Scott

I bought a 15" MBP in early June, but was too busy to even open it up and set the thing up for two weeks. When I finally got around to turning it on and setting it up, I noticed that it was unbearably HOT and had a hideous whinning noise. Then on the second day, after about 12 hours of total use, the machine crapped out completely. DEAD. No power at all.

I took it to the Apple store, but it was 16 days old, and thier "swap it out" deal is only good for 14 days. But they sent it in for repair, and a couple days later it returned with a brand-new logic board ($850-ish part, thankfully fixed under warranty). The new board solved all the problems. It's now rock solid, doesn't whine at all, and runs cooler (although it's still fairly warm). It's a great little computer.

I'm actually GLAD that it died; the new logic board was a vast improvment. :-)