MBP Build Inconsistencies

For those interested in getting the Macbook Pro, I just wanted to share my purchasing experience. I went through a couple of 15 inch MBPs before my current one. Here are some build inconsistencies I have noticed between the three machines:

Machine 1:
- Deffective screen. The left side of the panel exhibited constant flickering, specially when brightness was set to 70% and viewing a grey background.
- Warped lid. When closed, the left side of the lid is higher than the right. (I have read somewhere that this is quite common though).

Machine 2:
- Dead pixel, smack right in the middle.
- Space between the lid and the body at the rear of the machine (by the hinge) is waaaay too close on the left side. In fact, it was so close that the lid and body when opening and closing actually rub against each other - causing a scratch.

Machine 3:
- Three scratches/rub marks (one at the rear, one at the bottom and one at the lid). The marks are not noticeable unless viewed from a certain angle and lighting. Otherwise, so far so good (knock on wood).

Well, that's it so far. The Macbook pro looks like it uses quality design but Apple needs to better QA these things - or maybe I'm just being too picky. On a side-note, the people at Apple have been nice and replaced both machines. They did however gave a bit of a fit regarding the dead pixel exchange as a single dead-pixel is "within spec." Good luck to all.

P.S. I was originally set on getting another Dell, but this bootcamp/parellels thing won me over. ;-)

 

it sounds like you are being too picky... but either way im glad they replaced your machines!

my friend also had a dead pixel, but it was on like the bottom right corner and it wasnt obvious so it didnt bother him.

my machine is perfect! no deformity- no scratches - no dead pixels

 

Yeah totally. I think the placement of the dead pixel is key. When it's in the middle of the screen, it's very obvious. But yes, thumbs up to Apple for replacing the machines.

 

Apple has picky customers, perfect designs on which even small flaws stand out like a sore thumb, and somewhat spotty quality control.

Lucky they have top notch service, but to be honest, I would be severely pissed off if my MBP had a dead pixel, warped screen or worst of all a flickering screen. I am going to buy one and I am definitely doing it in an Apple store with the 15 day no questions asked return policy. And I am going to return them until I get a perfect one, like Fujikon

Point in case: I had a Powerbook and still have an Acer Travelmate. With the Powerbook, I had the bottom case replaced for close to $250 because I had dropped it and couldn't stand the small dent at the bottom. And I had the screen replaced under warranty for small horizontal lines most people could not see. The Acer also has the lines problem and numerous dents and scratches but I don't care, it's not all that obvious. The Acers overly-busy design hides small flaws pretty well

 

When you position yourself as a super premium product, you will get picky customers.

My Dell E1505 and my Macbook Pro are nearly the same specs. In most ways, the Dell has superior specs (160GB v 120GB hard drive, 3 year v 1 year warranty, 1680x1050 v 1440x900 screen, 2GB v 1Gb initial ram) and yet my Dell was $750 less. I'm less inclined to complain about the Dell for the most part.

 

What happens if a customized MBP has problems? I ordered the 15 inch 7200RP MBP and I'm kind of nervous that I'm going to have the hassle of ordering a new one, waiting, etc.

 

Well, it may have just been bad luck in my part. Good luck with yours.

 

Totally agree with both Orthorim and Count. It's the same with cars for example, you get people complaining about rattles and other small issues in Lexus and Acura boards but not so much in the Toyota and Honda boards. When people pay a premium for luxury, they expect premium quality.

 

I know this is a little bit OT but sorta on par. I don't mean to be disrespectful but dude, that Dell is an Inspiron, the regular Macbook is above that one. I checked out the E1505, it has shared graphics, much bigger and thicker, no cam, no bluetooth, pop out optical drive, no 6pin 400/800 firewire, no gigabit ethernet, no backlit keyboard and the casing is plastic. That's why it's $700.00 less. I don't dislike Dells although I would never get one because I use Macs only but at this point your MBP is worth more than $700.00 difference.

On a side note I agree with the OP about the warped lid. I have had 2 PowerBooks and both of them had the lid flushed on one side and raised on the other when closed.
I have brought this up with Apple and the first one they actually exchanged but said is was within specs. I think it's very poor and I wish Steve Jobs was standing there so I could point that out to him and see if he would defend that. The screen warp looks defective. I was in the Apple's retail store last week and the LED 15" was really warped when closed. Nothing has changed in the 4 years although some of my friends actually have a perfectly even lid.

 

Eh, I don't think he's too picky at all. You have a right to expect quality on par with what you paid for, especially when it's obviously their fault.

Even if those problems occurred on an inspiron (not that I"d ever have an inspiron for any reason whatsoever), I'd still try to get them to fix it...not saying they'd be willing to, but I'd definitely try at least.

 

I think you're exactly right. Over the years I've had a few minor problems with Apple products (not just Macs), but every issue has been dealt with very well by Apple.

Recently, however, my MB, after my having owned it for over six months, just went beserk, as did its replacement. The screen died twice. When fixed the first time, the machine was returned with deep scratches in the lid. A short time later the screen died again. Almost immediately after being returned for the third time, I was going to install new ram but the retainer which holds the battery in place, popped off! That was the end of that notebook. Then, its replacement, when I got it home and out of the box, would not start - ugh.

Disgusted with the MB situation, I decided to upgrade to a MBP; paid the difference in price and again took a new machine home. Like MB #2, the MBP would not start . . . back to the Apple store I went. At this point, the store manager seemed as flustered as I, and embarrassed with what was going on with these machines. Immediately and without any questions or hassles, the MBP was replaced by MBP #2, with which I'm not posting.

The moral of this little dissertation: the Apple folks will treat you well and make things right even if it takes a while.

To be fair to Apple, I've owned a lot of Apple "stuff" and never before experienced a real problem that wasn't handled well with a single visit. Apparently, I just wasn't meant to be a MB owner.

 

My E1505 does have a video card, is thicker, does not have a cam, does have bluetooth, how is slot better, the firewire is the smaller plug, but, whatever, it's a cable, I have no FW800 peripherals, does not have GigE which does suck, and yeah, it's plastic. I may be alone on this, but so far, I have not found the backlit keyboard to be all that useful, and I really thought it was going to be a killer feature. Since we are talking keybaords, I prefer typing on the Dell keyboard, even though it's "uglier."

But in day to day use, it's a computer, has the same CPU and ram, it does its job great, and it has a larger HD, a better screen with higher res and a 3 year warranty.

The price difference was $1250 v. $2000 which IS substantial. To be fair, I did use a 30% off Dell Coupon.

I like them both fine, but, is the Dell a better bang for the buck? Absolutely, this is pretty much not debatable. This is why Apple is a premium product.

 

If you were talking about a Latitude and claimed that it gave a better bang for the buck, I'd wholeheartedly agree. I'd also agree that the MBP is not the best value for your money. However, the Inspiron series is such that that even though the cost is fairly cheap, it's still poor value

Not taking your coupon into account, the Inspiron is cheaper by only about $214.
Even counting the other specs that the Dell came with (extra gb of ram, larger HDD), tell me that an LED screen, a thinner, lighter and better chassis, and a better design/style aren't worth $214?

On paper, an Inspiron has the same specs and a better warranty, and all that. But if that was really all the truth, Dell would never have had to introduce the XPS or Latitude lines. The reality is, an Inspiron is just sub-par compared to most consumer-grade laptops -- as it was designed to be by Dell. Inspirons feel like they're about to snap any second. They also look ugly. The keyboard does not feel firm at all and I can consistently found myself typing much slower when I use one. All in all,even for a cheap laptop, I found it wanting in many areas.

Also, non-business Dell warranty and service simply cannot compare to other laptop warranties (have you ever tried to speak English to one of their customer service reps or technicians?! I got frustrated and gave up after the 1st 2 hours).

I get your point, and I agree the MBP isn't necessary the best value for your buck, but I don't think an Inspiron is the right analogy to contrast it with. Again, if you were talking about the Latitude series, it'd be a whole different story

 

Okay dude, then you have completely contradicted yourself. Why did you buy the Macbook Pro? Makes zero sense after what you just said about your Dell. Also one note, the 4 pin plug on a PC is not "Firewire". It's only an iEEE1394 plug. There's a difference. When you plug in your Firewire peripherals they are powered by the Firewire interface as well as controlled. Only Apple machines have powered Firewire 6 pin plugs, after all Apple designed it. Back to my question, why would you buy the MBP? You just gave reasons why the MBP cost too much but then you bought one???

 

how do you not understand it ...buying a mac pro is like buying a Mercedes benz Vs the Honda quality Dell. People pay extra to ensure premium satisfaction and experience.

 

Yea! More contrarian dudes!

I have a MBP and I have a Windows computer. I don't see what the big deal is.

This thread is about people expecting more from Apple products since they are positioned as a premium product, and that's true.

 

Have you ever owned a Mercedes? I wish they were as reliable and trouble-free as Hondas. If Dells are built as well as Hondas, they're great machines.

 

Very true, but very off topic.

 

But if you bought a new Mercedes and found a slight scratch on it as soon as you got home... you're going back to the dealer, demanding a new paint job and an SL600 loaner...

 

True, but I'd do the same if I bought a MBP, a Dell or a Yugo. I suppose I'd have to re-think the idea of a loaner . . .

@HJT: the Mercedes comparison was mentioned by another poster; I was just pointing out that the comparison was not apt.

 

yeah I have a Mercedes ML500, BMW 5 Series, and a Toyota Camry. All of them are very reliable, except Mercedes and BMW costs a lot for yearly maintenance while Camry is almost free. '

I have a Dell also, and I think they are awesome, for the price that is.

 

Okay, well that's the point you should be making instead of talking about how much more your Dell has and how much more you like typing on it vs. your MPB and then saying that Apple charges a high premium and you get so much more on a Dell for $700.00 less. Those were your words. Now you say that you paid for a Mercedes vs. a Honda. You keep contradicting yourself. Okay as long you are happy. The topic of the forum is about MBP build. You never really said much about that.

 

They aren't built as well as Hondas. Every Dell I've owned has been subpar. IMO, Dell's are overpriced for what you get, especially in the inspiron line.

I've gone through a LOT of Dell laptops at work. Only the Precision M70 held up over time. But it was 2" thick, and an inch wider than the MBP and weighed close to 8lbs. It was a horrible greenish-grey color and had the worst screen I have ever used on a laptop. And being a Precision workstation model, it cost $3500 (with the company discount!) at the time, around $700 more than the most expensive MBP.

I've never seen a Dell with a decent LCD panel.

 

I thought dell makes one of the nicest LCD panels around, if you get lucky on the panel lottery that is.

 

I like my Samsung 1680x1050 panel on my Inspiron E1505.

My Inspiron 5150 had a great 1600x1200 screen.

My Inspiron 5000 had a great 1400x1050 screen.

Latitude screens do seem to suck though.

 

Dell do indeed make good screens but as pinwanger mentioned, you'll get one only if you win the dell roulette.