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OT- Coming str8 2 U from a MacBook...


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Hey guys -

 

i'm sitting here typing this post from a black MacBook we just got in our store. This thing FLIES - I mean it really goes. The processing power is unbelievable. But, the emulator is still not really up to snuff yet. In fact I plan on taking my OEM copy of Cubase LE in to work tomorrow just to check and see if it runs, then try some VSTi demos.

 

the screen is crystal clear, the camera works good, and the keys feel pretty good (though it took a bit to get used to at first). Only problem I forsee on these is from a tech standpoint, the way hardware is assembled and yada yada yada. Other than that and my tech opinion aside, this is a nifty little laptop. Just stupid that you pay 1400 bucks for a black one. I couldn't care about the color tell you the truth - all Apple laptops have the tendency to collect grease and oils from your hands within a week and make your new toy look old.

 

More to come.

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Was there ever an official resolution to the excess thermal grease situation? My MBP runs pretty hot, but the CPU never exceeds the "official" spec, even as the case gets nearly too hot to touch in some places. I'm happy enough with the computer to ignore that, and I'd have to assume that Apple engineers know more than I do, but the smearing of paste is a bit suspicious...

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Given thermal paste is conductive, it's practically suicidal.

 

Emulator? I presume you mean the parallels thing? Why don't you install some PC MIDI librarian software on it and see hw much trouble it is to get it talking to an external MIDI device, ideally on an interface shared with the MacOS bits :)

 

B>

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Well all I know is everytime I've had to remove a logic board from the inside of an imac or whatever, the thermal grease surrounded the cpu on all edges, almost making it unbearable / impossible even to clean up. I never actually heard of anyone complaining about it! I thought it was just me whining about it all the time... :)

 

yoozer - what do you mean by the plastic foil?

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Originally posted by packrat

Given thermal paste is conductive, it's practically suicidal.


Emulator? I presume you mean the parallels thing? Why don't you install some PC MIDI librarian software on it and see hw much trouble it is to get it talking to an external MIDI device, ideally on an interface shared with the MacOS bits
:)

B>

 

I think i'm just going to try to borrow it from work for a few days to test some things on it. I am curious myself about that.

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Be logical, though....do you really think that the engineers at one of the biggest and most prominent computer manufacturers in the world would add a "suicidal" feature to the design of their flagship product (actually, *all* their products)? I think a better explanation is that we layman just don't know as much about thermal paste as we thought we did.

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Originally posted by program_insect

Be logical, though....do you really think that the engineers at one of the biggest and most prominent computer manufacturers in the world would add a "suicidal" feature to the design of their flagship product (actually, *all* their products)? I think a better explanation is that we layman just don't know as much about thermal paste as we thought we did.

 

 

Thermal paste is not suicidal, smearing huge gobs of it over a processor because of something you read on a website is.

 

B>

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Originally posted by program_insect

Be logical, though....

 

No, no, no... Apple may be a great company, but the thermal paste application instructions in their internal service documents arent merely just wrong... they are stupid.

:freak:

macbook-thermal-grease.jpg

 

Packrat, the emulator in questiion is Rosetta.

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yeah, I've seen those pics, in fact I've followed this discussion since day one (doing a lot of reading on the apple forums before purchasing my MBP). It was never decisively shown that reapplying the paste caused a drop in operating temperature. For each guy that said he got 10degreesC cooler, another guy said he had no change.

 

True, it looks a bit shocking when you see that much paste (in the service manual, no less)...but I can envision no plausible scenario that would have the entire engineering staff at Apple all let this slide if it was as drastic a mistake as some people think.

 

And from a different tack, the guy who reported a big drop in running temperature also reported a significantly higher amount of fan noise (ostensibly because the reapplied paste allowed more efficient heat transfer to the exhaust system). As an audio guy, if I had to choose, I think I would take a quieter notebook, even if it was hotter. The heat radiates from a part of the computer that I don't touch.

 

I worried myself silly about my new purchase for about a week, but then I realized that it didn't matter since the computer was pretty neat in every other way. My $/50.

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don't take me wrong guys but I'd like to see your reactions if this was a PC manufacturer. You guys give too much credit and blind support to macintosh.

 

It runs so hot it hurts to touch?? that's incredible...

 

 

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I think Apple's response would be to address the problem without admitting it. Chalk it up to the Rev A blues, i think.

I'm planning on waiting for the Merom anyways. Almost had to jump the gun when my iBook wouldnt boot at my gig last friday, but I got it working again.

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i've found the heat to be a non-issue, unless i want to have the macbook actually ON my lap. but then the same applied (albeit to a lesser extent) to my dell 700m (terrible notebook btw).

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What would the issue really be if it's running hot? It doesn't mean anything in use. Is it going to burn up? I think not. It's good to be critical towards flaws, but when the flaw, or so called flaw, has no bearing on computer usage, why worry.

 

My Powerbook feels hot on the left side where i place my left hand to type. It's also hot on bottom that I notice moreso when I put the PB on my lap. It doesn't bother me too much.

 

I played around with the Macbooks in the store and they didn't seem hot at all.

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I would think component life is directly linked to a properly working heat dissipation system. If not all of them are that {censored}ed, it probably means that many of the techs knew better despite the bum instructions.

 

C'mon guys, think about it, a whole syringe full of grease per die? it was a mistake- witness that all these internal documents have been removed.

Y'all know im as big an Apple fanboy as any around these parts, but that hardly means they can do no wrong.

 

Anyways, no need to update my system quite yet. I still have a black Powerbook that's the lynchpin of my studio... though i am getting a little tired of having to slap it to get the display to work, but I'm still patient. Hmmmnnn- maybe just maybe i can replace my Beige with it too.

 

I guess though that replacing the Powerbook depends on whether I can run MOTU Fresstyle for Windows under Parrallels solution with no problem, otherwise I guess I'll be replacing the iBook instead.

*slaps the display again*

might have to pick up another Wallstreet while I'm at it.

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Right. The cooler laptop lives longer, is quieter, and doesn't cause injury when using atop your lap.

 

stiky, were the laptops in the store running a compute-intensive program (e.g. DVD encoding) to get the temp up to its maximum? I highly doubt it.

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Originally posted by stikygum

What would the issue really be if it's running hot?

This decreases the lifespan of the components.

It doesn't mean anything in use.

Yes, it does.

but when the flaw, or so called flaw, has no bearing on computer usage, why worry.

Apple likes to profile themselves as high-end state of the art hardware. A mistake like this puts a dent in the image, regardless if your pants are on fire or not. Less fan noise, better heat dissipation, less chance that it'll break down too early - everyone happy.

Originally posted by XorAxAx

stiky, were the laptops in the store running a compute-intensive program (e.g. DVD encoding) to get the temp up to its maximum? I highly doubt it.

 

This is what sometimes irks me with PCs in general.

 

You've got a device capable of doing the Apollo launch, or launching rockets in general, a miracle of technology that in the past would be able to win wars just because it could be used to perform fast cryptography, and what do people do with it?

 

Exactly, play Solitaire.

 

;).

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The problem is definately that Apple doesn't engineer their computers right. I'm speaking from complete experience here as a tech. You would think that after so many revisions of laptops that they would finally get it right with the heat issues. Yes, the Powerbooks will burn your {censored}in legs if you (ahem) actually use it as a "laptop"(I have a Titanium; trust me, it's HOT). And the viles of thermal paste? Well you just have to know that one of those viles will last you through 5 or 6 computer repairs. Jack Nicholson said it himself: "A dab'll do ya". :)

 

But take a look at the last generation of iMac g5's, before they incorporated an intel chip. They had the biggest problem with the mainboard capacitors popping and leaking. That tells you right there that Apple cut some corners and got cheaper components, not knowing the ramifications of the poor decision. You'd think that after all the slack Apple gets from it's hardware, they'd build a laptop that was correctly engineered from the inside before wasting time on the pretty exterior.

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I always tell my friends and colleagues this: don't buy a Mac thinking you are getting this rock solid problem free BMW of a computer. That's just 180 degrees from the truth. Rather, buy a Mac if you like the platform's architecture, the features, and the available software.

 

I am a PC user (tried a Mac for 6 months), but I definitely respect the Mac's merit in those three areas.

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