Considering a Macbook Pro

[Shackleton123]

21 hours ago, DMC1 said:

 

 

Yes, you go with what’s best for you. I’ve had the same MacBook Pro since 2011. I put a 500 gb SSD in it a couple of years ago and it runs great. Very well built, and still looks like new. I run MS office for the Mac, without any issues. I don’t do any video editing or gaming stuff.

I do think that the current MacBook line up is a bit pricey but I do believe they will outlast a windows computer. I’ve gone through 3 x windows laptops at work in the same time that I’ve had the same MacBook Pro.

It all depends on what you need it for, as I find that nowadays I can do a heck of lot just on my iPad.

 

On the other hand I have gone through 3 Mac's (one MBP and two MBAir's) plus two iPads!!  and during that time my Sony Vaio remains in perfect working order. It's had 3 major Windows upgrades and is still going strong. Conclusion? - You need a bigger sample base to make any kind of meaningful comparison. "Mine has never failed me" is meaningless.

[DMC1]

On the other hand I have gone through 3 Mac's (one MBP and two MBAir's) plus two iPads!!  and during that time my Sony Vaio remains in perfect working order. It's had 3 major Windows upgrades and is still going strong. Conclusion? - You need a bigger sample base to make any kind of meaningful comparison. "Mine has never failed me" is meaningless.

I just said in that older post that I’ve gone through 3 windows laptops at work (broken down), whilst I’ve owned one MacBook Pro in the same timeframe, which had no issues apart from a free new battery under warranty. How’s that not a good sample base? You’ve clearly been very unlucky with Apple products, whilst I have with windows laptops at work.

I’ve had 5 iPads and 3 iPhones and none of them have failed or needed repair, likewise all the android phones we’ve had in the house, never any technical issues.

[Shackleton123]

36 minutes ago, DMC1 said:

 

 

I just said in that older post that I’ve gone through 3 windows laptops at work (broken down), whilst I’ve owned one MacBook Pro in the same timeframe, which had no issues apart from a free new battery under warranty. How’s that not a good sample base? You’ve clearly been very unlucky with Apple products, whilst I have with windows laptops at work.

I’ve had 5 iPads and 3 iPhones and none of them have failed or needed repair, likewise all the android phones we’ve had in the house, never any technical issues.

 

I wasn't having a go at you :) but these web forum debates about which is best - mine or yours? well they are fairly meaningless unless you have a big number of comparison results. There are a LOT of Mac Fanbois out there who shreek at anyone knocking Macs and make all sorts of fantastic claims for them. It was all engineered by Steve Jobs of course who built up the hype to fever pitch and the latest guy (correct spelling) is no different. Your experience of macs has been good, mine hasn't. Whereas you have had no failures in either camp, I have - mostly with the Apple products. Who knows why. But it has cost me a lot, and led me to believe that Mac Quality is not what it was, not by a long way, even though the price differential continues to suggest otherwise.

 

[Jimi007]

Every one of my Apple products still works. Even my 1995 3400C laptop! I learned to fix them, not that hard. Although the screens are giving out on a 2000 and 2008. They still work to an external screen. I have friends who work at Apple, they advise me what the best bang for the buck is and say don't buy the extended warranty! I bought a new MacBook Pro three weeks ago. 13” 3.5 GHz i7, 16GB RAM and 1 TB internal flash drive. Just a wee bit faster and better than my late 2008 MBP that I upgraded to the max 8 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD! And the new one sure runs a LOT cooler! The size and weight difference as well as the speed difference is unbelievable! It was time for an upgrade! From left to right; G4 Titanium, 3400C, late 2008 intel duo core, new 13” i7, old dual processor G4 tower.

 

 

[jonwilly]

There is 'Talk' of New MacBook Pros mid year, I will be waiting until say August before I spend my windfall.

 

john

Thanks all, for polite advice.

[KiChakayan]

On 2/23/2018 at 3:59 PM, richard_smith237 said:

By ordering online you can spec out your machine as you wish. Orders arrive fairly quickly (2-3 days usually)

Just wondering; can you spec the keyboard? I have been using the Swiss French (QWERTZ being best solution for French/English work) keyboard for 30 years now and would go bonkers if I had to use a Thai/US one. 

 

Replacing the battery on my Macbook Pro Retina 15 (2014) took over 3 months, as the keyboard and trackpad are glued to the battery and it took them that much time to procure the the Swiss French parts.

Edited April 8, 2018 by KiChakayan

[sometimewoodworker]

9 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

Just wondering; can you spec the keyboard? I have been using the Swiss French (QWERTZ being best solution for French/English work) keyboard for 30 years now and would go bonkers if I had to use a Thai/US one. 

 

Replacing the battery on my Macbook Pro Retina 15 (2014) took over 3 months, as the keyboard and trackpad are glued to the battery and it took them that much time to procure the the Swiss French parts.

While I think that it unlikely that you can order one with that keyboard in Thailand I don't know as I don't read Thai. There are 4 choices of keyboard available, you will need someone the read the options

ions 

[jackdd]

Thai / US / Japanese / Chinese

A bit strange that they offer Thai and US, because the Thai layout "includes" the US layout

[sometimewoodworker]

18 hours ago, jackdd said:

Thai / US / Japanese / Chinese

A bit strange that they offer Thai and US, because the Thai layout "includes" the US layout

Not at all strange, as the US keyboard does not have any (possibly) distracting strange foreign symbols on it.

 

AFIK the US keyboard is always a BTO option except in the states where you have a a US English option plus about 15 others

[Nowisee]

I'm in the Apple eco system, just like their stuff and easier to use for me.
That said, my late 2013 MBP 13" has been a pain in the ass.  In the 4+ years I have owned it, (bought thru Thailand online store) I swear Apple has replaced everything in it.  Two of the repairs the useless folks at the local authorized service center would not repair... walked into the Apple store in Seattle and they took care of straight away. The screen twice (AF coating coming off) and last time it was 5 days away from 4 years old and would not have been covered.
NOW, the damn thing won't boot into recovery or let me re-install the OS.  Using it with an external hard drive.  Pretty sure its not a hardware issue. 
Looking for a good repair shop in Chiang Mai.

My last iMac was stilling doing good at 5 years when I sold it. 

I'd like to wait until the newer iMacs come out, then I will be done with MBP.  Bad timing now.

[JepSoDii]

35 minutes ago, Nowisee said:

I'm in the Apple eco system, just like their stuff and easier to use for me.
That said, my late 2013 MBP 13" has been a pain in the ass.  In the 4+ years I have owned it, (bought thru Thailand online store) I swear Apple has replaced everything in it.  Two of the repairs the useless folks at the local authorized service center would not repair... walked into the Apple store in Seattle and they took care of straight away. The screen twice (AF coating coming off) and last time it was 5 days away from 4 years old and would not have been covered.
NOW, the damn thing won't boot into recovery or let me re-install the OS.  Using it with an external hard drive.  Pretty sure its not a hardware issue. 
Looking for a good repair shop in Chiang Mai.

My last iMac was stilling doing good at 5 years when I sold it. 

I'd like to wait until the newer iMacs come out, then I will be done with MBP.  Bad timing now.

I have a mid-2012 13" MBP and it has taken a lickin' but keeps on tickin'. I have little doubt of the local incompetence so I can't offer a reliable repair shop here in CM, but next time around, do you have the option of buying elsewhere? The US/Seattle store if you can time a trip right, or alternatively, Hong Kong or Singapore? I'm in the market too, and just waiting for a 15" with 6-core and 32GB max RAM. When that happens, I'll plan a trip home to the States and get it. So my travel sked is based around the MBP release and features schedule, odd as that may be. Fortunately my current machine works well, which allows me to wait it out.

[jackdd]

I don't think it makes a difference in which country you buy it, the parts all come from china.

 

A key of my 8 months old 15" MBP stopped working properly a few days ago, seems to be a common problem: https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/21/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems/

They told me they have to replace the whole upper body of the Macbook (Keyboard, Touchpad, Battery), now imagine what this would cost if it happens out of warranty....

[Nowisee]

Having the convenience of buying it and service in the states makes one spoiled.  When the damn things fail here, it's unnerving.  

I'd gladly go down to BKK if they had a real repair place... I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking like this.  That store would be swamped with repairs.

In all fairness to those that try to repair.  It's Apples stranglehold on parts/schematics that prevents a lot of repairs... not to mention they make shit so it almost can't be repaired.

When you're addicted to Apple, it's had kicking the habit... 

 

From my experience with this MBP,  I consider buying Apple Care part of the purchase price.  OR, sell it after 11 months.  Always keep a fresh one... that might be an idea.

[sotsira]

On 4/24/2018 at 10:16 PM, jackdd said:

I don't think it makes a difference in which country you buy it, the parts all come from china.

 

A key of my 8 months old 15" MBP stopped working properly a few days ago, seems to be a common problem: https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/21/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems/

They told me they have to replace the whole upper body of the Macbook (Keyboard, Touchpad, Battery), now imagine what this would cost if it happens out of warranty....

This is a common problem with all the new designed keyboard models introduced since 2016. 

Many unhappy owners are requesting Apple to make a recall on 

these machines through an online petition.

Some have even issued law suites against Apple due to the lack of

Apple's support .

Like you said, it's a major expensive job to replace the keyboard (about $700 in the US)

and then it's only going to reoccur after a short time scale. 

Many owners 1yr warranty have already elapsed, so not a good 

situation to be in.

[taninthai]

Interesting about the keyboards I have a MacBook Air 2012  had it sincec2012 and it’s always been perfect,,during my last 8 months didn’t use it as just bought iPad Pro,anyway tried switching MacBook on after 8 months and it wouldstart up and then switch off,you also couldn’t charge it.

took it in shop and they said key board seems to have a short got wet or something,the MacBook was left in a sealed silicone case under a cupboard on concrete floor for 8 months ,I put it down to Thailand climate <deleted> electronics up yet again,there was bits of mood/ mildew on the case,,,so in U.K. at the moment new keyboard cost me £135,,,,,was not at a apple shop and don’t know if it’s original or copy keyboard but it all works fine now.

[SheungWan]

3 hours ago, sotsira said:

This is a common problem with all the new designed keyboard models introduced since 2016. 

Many unhappy owners are requesting Apple to make a recall on 

these machines through an online petition.

Some have even issued law suites against Apple due to the lack of

Apple's support .

Like you said, it's a major expensive job to replace the keyboard (about $700 in the US)

and then it's only going to reoccur after a short time scale. 

Many owners 1yr warranty have already elapsed, so not a good 

situation to be in.

 

[sotsira]

It seems that Apple have made some significant decisions over the last couple of years with the designs of their new iPhones and MacBooks, with unfortunately terrible feedback and reviews.

 

I'm a huge Apple fan and have been since 2008, but right now, 

I'm sticking with my trustworthy mid 2010 MBP & iPhone 5 & 6 which work perfectly.

 

If i were  to acquire a new MBP I would defo look at the s/h market 

with models up to 2015, or the current  Mid-2015 15" - MJLQ2LL/A

which Apple are still selling.

 

Anything related to 2016 onwards I would steer clear until Apple 

pick up the ball that they dropped back then.

[rwdrwdrwd]

As a mac user for over a decade I have to say don't buy a new MacBook Pro - they are lemons, with very frequent keyboard issues that require repair - not something you want to be doing regularly in Thailand.

Go for the older style MacBook Pro retina with a magsafe 2 connector.

[KiChakayan]

2 hours ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

As a mac user for over a decade I have to say don't buy a new MacBook Pro - they are lemons, with very frequent keyboard issues that require repair - not something you want to be doing regularly in Thailand.

Go for the older style MacBook Pro retina with a magsafe 2 connector.

Hmmmhh.. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro retina 15. Took over 3 months to replace a swollen battery.....

[rwdrwdrwd]

1 hour ago, KiChakayan said:

Hmmmhh.. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro retina 15. Took over 3 months to replace a swollen battery.....

Unlucky.. I've had a few over the years and never had this happen.

I certainly preferred the older style where the case was easy to open and repairs / upgrades were easy to do myself - my 2011 MBP was great, bought the top i7 processor with the lowest RAM and HD and as soon as I got it I swapped out the RAM and HD for 16GB Crucial and an OWC SSD and the machine was very powerful and better than the highest available spec. Only cost me about 5000 more once I sold on the originals. Sold the machine for about 30% less than I'd spent four years later. I'd have kept it but my employer bought me a new machine so was superfluous - confident it'd still be a good machine today.

These days laptops (it's not just Apple) tend to be very locked down, not easy to upgrade components incrementally which I think is a big shame. It's worse in Thailand since official repairs aren't done in the country.

Edited July 27, 2018 by rwdrwdrwd

[KiChakayan]

44 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

These days laptops (it's not just Apple) tend to be very locked down, not easy to upgrade components incrementally which I think is a big shame. It's worse in Thailand since official repairs aren't done in the country.

Mine is a 500 Gig version, thought about upgrading to to one Tera, OWC didn't provide it for my model.

[DMC1]

Unlucky.. I've had a few over the years and never had this happen.

I certainly preferred the older style where the case was easy to open and repairs / upgrades were easy to do myself - my 2011 MBP was great, bought the top i7 processor with the lowest RAM and HD and as soon as I got it I swapped out the RAM and HD for 16GB Crucial and an OWC SSD and the machine was very powerful and better than the highest available spec. Only cost me about 5000 more once I sold on the originals. Sold the machine for about 30% less than I'd spent four years later. I'd have kept it but my employer bought me a new machine so was superfluous - confident it'd still be a good machine today.

These days laptops (it's not just Apple) tend to be very locked down, not easy to upgrade components incrementally which I think is a big shame. It's worse in Thailand since official repairs aren't done in the country.

Yep, my 2011 mbpro with SSD is still going strong. Best laptop I’ve ever had. I also doubt I’d buy one of the newer models.

[SooKee]

I was fairly heavily invested in the Apple eco-system (as is their want) and I guess with anything, if you don't have problems with 'X' it can make you view them as great.  They can be, I guess, but my experience with Mac Book Pros has been less than stellar.

 

MBP 15" (2012 IIRC): First problem was a HDD failure.  3 months later, GPU failure.  Luckily still in warranty.  Got shot of it.

 

MBP 13" (2015):  Runs hot, right speaker blew.

 

Shit happens I guess.  Plan to try something else next time round, not Apple.

[geriatrickid]

I will not be replacing my Mac book with another. I ditched my iphone and cannot be happier. No more throttling of speeds or battery hijinks.  My ipod battery wore out years ago and after 2 of them, I never replaced  it. I don't use most of the gimmicks on  my Mac  and work almost exclusively in win word and XL. I hate the windows office for Mac and prefer to use my work or mobile PCs. My Mac was intended for field work and when traveling. With the new products available from competitors, Apple technology has lost its edge.  Apple was  wonderful 5 years ago, but is  losing market share with good reason. I have also realized that with the money I will save, I can upgrade my laptops every 3 years. I don't feel as bad when something breaks either, and boy were my apple products unreliable.

[Jimi007]

I have two MBPs, a late 2008 and a 2017 I bought in early 2018 they both work great. Other than the screen on the late 2008 has some lines now. My iPhone 6s works fine. I started buying Apples in 1996 as I have friends who work at Apple and get the employee discount on my computers. My iPhones were buy one get one free. I maxed out the RAM at 8 GB and put a 500 GB SSD in my older MBP. The newer one had 16 G RAM and a 1 TB flash drive. Video output works great. 

 

Over the years I have had 5 Apple computers, the only one that doesn't still work is a G4 Titanium laptop. My first, a 3400C still works, I use it to FAX. My hard drive on my really old iPod is finally giving up, my 8 year old iPod touch still works as do my old iPads.