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MacBook Pro
Just acouple things about my new MacBook Pro, 2.16 Duo Core with 2 gigs RAM. First of all this baby gets way too hot. Up by the hinge on the left side it is smokin hot. I just sold my G4 iBook and actually miss it. I like the extra resolution on the MacBook 15.1 widescreen monitor, but as far as raw performance, even with the 7200 rpm drive, I think the old iBook gave this a run for its money.
Worth the $2500 it cost? I doubt it…not right now anyway.
Another thing is that there is a lag between commands. for example, in Entourage, if I delete a message there is a full 2 count begore I get the trackpad control back. It’s like a little freeze and happens often. I’m certainly looking forward to loading the FC Studio apps in Universal (discs coming soon) but the lack of universal apps is not good.
I also want to put in the new dual SATA card with a two drive RAID to see how it stands up to some editing and encoding.
In all I am most concerned about heat and how it might affect overall lifespan of components. I wonder how much the 7200 rpm drive is contributing to the heat.
Any other MacBook Pro users out there with a raving review?
Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media -
2 Replies
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I’m loving mine. I did some video compression tests and got speeds that are close to my G5 tower. I’m impressed. Have you done any tests like that? It should be FAR faster than your iBook was.
I haven’t had the issue with the trackpad you mentioned. It sounds like this is what’s causing you to judge the system as “slow” overall. Look in the system preferences for the trackpad. Perhaps you can adjust the settings in some way to make it work? I don’t know, it’s worth a look. It may be worth taking to an Apple store if it persists, mine has been fine.
The heat is an issue. I have a 5400 drive and it’s hot for me, too, so I don’t know that the drive is really adding that much in your case. It’s mostly the chips. I wouldn’t worry about the computer, just your legs. It seems like a lot of laptops these days are really more “table-tops” than “laptops.” Not much to do about that.
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I jumped into my 1.83Ghz MBP in the first few weeks of availability. Learned a valuable lesson of being an early adopter….never do it again! I acutally returned my first MBP back to the store for a complete replacement. The heat, the crashing, the rebooting, the battery life…you name it, I had it go wrong. On my second MBP, I actually had to ship it back to Apple for 7 new parts including new logic board and complete flush and fill of the OS.
Regarding the heat. I found that when I upgraded to 2Gigs of Ram, the heat got worse. Since I just got my 2nd MBP back, I have been gun shy to put the upgraded ram back in as the 512MB seems to run a little cooler. Overall I think the Core Duo was not meant to be crammed into a Apple laptop. Maybe the new Core 2 Duo chips will run cooler, but I won’t jump on that band wagon for a few months.
Make sure you have updated all the firmware (apple’s download page) and not just the software updates. The last one I did seemed to make the fans run a little longer, but kept it cooler.
Now onto the SATA 3/4 express options for your MBP. Read up on some of the reveiws in the apple forum or over on barefeats. The cards do not seem to be up to the task, but it has been a month or so since I read up on the problems.
One thing you could do to cut down on the heat if you are using your MBP in a office or home setting and not only on your lap….buy a cooling pad:
https://www.vantecusa.com/p_lpc401.htmlSitting in the wings for the “Rev B” MacPro towers.
Andy Edwards
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