MacBook Pro 15" returned

That's really disappointing - and I'm sorry to hear it.

Your experience is NOT the norm.
What will you do ?
Get another or - ?

I also considered to buy the MBP some Months ago and decided not to after hearing about various problems. But I still think it's very fine machine IF it works properly.

But a notebook, regardless of which manufacturer, is just to fragile to own one without 24h-on-site-support (which apple doesn't offer..). I had similar problems like you 5 years ago with a Sony, 60% of the time I was waiting for repair, 4 logic boards, 3 Rams, 3 optical drives and 1 HD got replaced in ~24 Months! The longest repair took over 14 (!!) weeks, after that the notebook worked for 2 days and went out again.
That day I bought a Dell with 24-h-support. It's very comforting if you know that you won't be longer than 24 hours (sometimes 36) without a working pc!

Thats why I went for the Mac Pro last week for photoshop. movie-editing, coding and as a TV/home cinema. For school and other portable needs, I'll still use my old Dell Notebook (still with 24h support), don't like XP at all, but whats the best machine worth if it isn't working...

NORTHERNLiGHTS, hmmmm, I'm more partial to WhiteWidow myself.

I'm a great believer in praise where praise is due, and likewise critiscism where necessary.

You'll find a lot of Apple Fanatics on these boards who truely believe that Apple can do no wrong and anybody who has the temerity to question their intentions or their products should be flamed on the spot (you can almost hear the reply buttons being clicked right now). I've been using Apple kit for years and years, and I still believe that the Macintosh User Experience is without compare. I won't deny that I've almost been tempted back to the PC/Windows camp numerous times over the years (mainly due to the hardware supremacy) but now Macintosh users have the best of both worlds!

I too am disappointed that you had to wait 44 days for the replacement parts from Apple. The only thing I can think of is that the service centre were waiting on a new revision that was in the pipeline in the hope that it would provide a better chance of a solution in the long run. Even still, this isn't your fault and 44 days is simply unacceptable.

It is however important to remember that the faulty hard disk that ended up in your machine could have ended up in any other manufacturers machine – because all the manufacturers source their parts for numerous difference suppliers. The manufacturers of the hard disk mechanisms found in Power Macs varied from week to week and I'm sure that the same is true of the MBP. You could have bought a Sony VIAO instead and have the same thing happen to you.

Whilst the timescales involved surprised me, the other problems you have experience don't – because I too have been a MBP owner. I had numerous problems with my two MBPs. They were dog slow, got so hot that you couldn't pick them up without instinctively wanted to drop them instantly. They were both unacceptably noisy and neither of them could drive a 30" display properly.

The machine that they were going to replace, my trusty 17" PowerBook ran rings around them performance wise. I kind of got the impression that the design & testing of the MBP had been 'rushed'. Certainly within weeks of the machines release there had been a number of different revisions, and when it came to trying to find a replacement for the first one, the reseller and I had to phone around branches to find out the serial numbers of the machines they had in stock.

To my mind, there's little point in trying to shoehorn a fancy graphics card in to an 'impossibly thin enclosure' when said enclosure isn't able to handle the compounded thermal considerations, and the end result is that you have to underclock the fancy graphics card thereby negating a lot of its benefits. Maybe Apple should have stepped back and rethought the design when it finally dawned on them that their 'impossibly thin enclosure' was exactly that.

I'm not sure what you're using the machine for (so my recommendation may be inappropriate) but you should definitely check out the MacBook.

In the end I returned a both my original MBP and it's replacement and purchased a MacBook instead - and I haven't looked back since. I still can't figure out why the MBPs were so slow as the MB is far faster and bests the 17" PowerBook easily. Perhaps I was just unlucky, twice.

It's a close run thing, whilst I love the Mac Mini and the new iMac, the MacBook is probably my favourite Apple Mac to date. In hindsight, the MacBook is more my kind of machine – something simple, done well. Its keyboard is a great illustration of this philosophy. In my experience, Pro users put stability and reliability before speed and unnecessary features (i.e. an underclocked graphics cards and a backlit keyboard).

The MB & the MBP have the same processor, 667MHz frontside bus, PC-5300 memory, 2GB memory capacity and hard disk. Both machines also have the same 1000Mbps Ethernet and 54Mbps AirPort capabilities, SuperDrive, MagSafe and iSight camera. The only thing difference is the MBPs 'better' graphics card, support for the 30" Cinema HD Display and possibly the only feature that the MBP does actually have going for it, it's stunning 15" display.

If you want the MBPs stunning display then you're kind of stuck – but if all you want is a rock solid little performer I can't recommend the MacBook enough. You'll get a taste of the 'real' Macintosh experience and you won't be disappointed!

Sh!t that was a big post wasn't it?

Must remember to stop letting myself get carried away!

(steps off soapbox and tip toes away).

First I thought you'd be from holland, but switzerland is not soo much differnt....

Gruss aus Zürich

I have a MacBook Pro 15 inch and my wife and daughter each have a white MackBook all work great with no problems at all. I use the MacBook Pro all day every day at work so it gets plenty of use.