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So it is a software problem! The flickering started again after checking for pinching between the display and the body.

Apple just released EFI update 2.8 and it stopped.

After 4 years... I'm glad they never gave up on the problem!

3/4/2012 2:15:46 AM

what a shitty gpu though... (i have it too)

3/4/2012 3:08:39 AM

what a shitty laptop though... (i don't have it)

3/4/2012 5:52:42 AM

What made the gpu so crappy?

I don't know anything about the gpu.

Just asking for my curiosity...

3/4/2012 11:58:52 PM

It's integrated into the chipset instead of being a dedicated GPU like the 9600M GT is.

3/5/2012 12:17:57 AM

actually jbaz i disagree.

i used to hate apple stuff but this thing has a bigger screen than any note book it's size, has never over heated and well.. now it's almost 4 years old and with my $50 ram contribution (8 gigs of ddr3) its faster than my I5 lenovo is for work (4 gb 1 yr old).

Not to mention all of my other laptops have had cracked plastic and broken hinges by now.

Basically it does everything a laptop should do... and it does it well.

My last laptop was a desktop equivalent... and that was just a dumb idea... if you used it for anything that would require desktop power it over heated, and if you tried to use it when it wasn't plugged in just to surf the web, you had about an hour.

Matter of fact, the only thing good about it is it had an AWESOME GPU but now i have a desktop with 2 gtx cards in an sli array and an i7 2600 processor with 12 gigs of ram... it does desktop duties way better than a laptop.

3/5/2012 7:03:54 AM

apparently your trolling text detection scripting doesn't work...

3/5/2012 8:08:49 AM

BAHHAHA you win


seriously... i just shouldn't post before 9am...

3/5/2012 8:25:06 AM

I literally loled that someone took a trolling post I made as being serious when it's pretty obvious that it was trolling...

obvious troll is trolling another troll as one might say in this situation.

3/5/2012 8:36:47 AM

Quote :

"now it's almost 4 years old and with my $50 ram contribution (8 gigs of ddr3) its faster than my I5 lenovo is for work (4 gb 1 yr old). "

Define "faster". I don't see how an older core 2 duo is faster than an i5. I just sold a early 2010 Macbook Pro with a Core 2 Duo. Was slow as shit compared to the i5 in my year old work Dell laptop.

3/5/2012 9:05:56 AM

I want to define "faster" as the read/write on hard drive. The SSD installs/write/read/etc.. have been magnamimous. I have an SSD where all my applications/OS/etc. is on, while music, movies, documents, etc... are on a 7200 750 gb HDD.

I have to say, I really don't want to ever give up my Macbook late-2008 unless I have to due to wear and tear, because this thing is fast. The only problem I have is with the video card and it does run hot from time to time (but it still functions the way it should).

3/5/2012 11:33:25 AM

So you've got an SSD installed on the 2008 MBP? If you're defining speed in terms of read/write then that's a different story. I installed an SSD on my 2010 MBP and things opened faster but it was "slower" performance wise than my i5 Dell in terms of CPU intensive tasks. Everything from running a filter in photoshop to doing a vlookup in excel was slower on the 2010 MBP compared to the newer Dell w/ an i5. The only thing "faster" about the MBP was bootup and program load time.

3/5/2012 11:48:52 AM

I have a desktop for all that shit :-) it opens and closes typical programs faster.

Ableton functions better . Fuck I forgot my i5 is ultra mobile too. It's shit.

3/5/2012 2:25:21 PM

Different computers for different people. I tried the whole Mac thing for more than a year and just couldn't handle it anymore. It was a pain having to carry 2 laptops around and in the end I just ditched it for my work laptop. Take it i'm in the business world which runs on Microsoft Office so it was hard to do anything productive in OSX.

3/5/2012 3:38:45 PM

Yeah, I mean it sucks that MS Office isn't available for Mac OS X. I wish MS would fix that.

3/5/2012 7:34:29 PM

Let me clarify. My business (like many others) are still on Exchange 2003 and Entourage for OSX SUCKS. Outlook for OSX wasn't available until 2011 and does not support Exchange 2003. Hence not being able to use Outlook for OSX and having to run parallels just for Outlook 2010. Even so trying to use Excel in OSX after learning all the shortcuts in Windows is a pain in the ass.

3/5/2012 10:48:45 PM

I HAVE A COMPUTER TO DO COMPUTER THINGS THAT ARE WAY FASTER THAN THINGS THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE A COMPUTER ACCOMPLISH THE TASKS LIKE BASKET WEAVING

3/6/2012 12:37:23 AM

You use your computer for basket weaving?

I like the Late-2008 model because it has an express card port for different things. But with an SSD with 8 gigs of RAM definitely makes it much faster.

You might want to take a look at your SSD brand though. OWC has been said to be the best priced and the fastest due to 7% provisioning redundancy. I've had no problems so far, and it's pretty stable, cooler and draws less power to use.

3/6/2012 1:45:44 AM

Eh processor is still slow as balls. I'll stick with my Vertex 3 on my desktop. The Vertex 2 in my MBP was decent but I couldn't take the slow processor any more. No matter how fast your SSD or ram is it's not going to perform faster than a newer processor in cpu intensive tasks. Sure boot up and application start time increases are nice but if I had to pick a slow processor and fast SSD or a slow HDD and fast processor I'd always go with the later.

3/6/2012 8:47:31 AM

A problem with an apple computer? More likely than you think.

Quote :

"Scorecard The scores in the new Computer Reliability Report: 1. Lenovo (281) 2. Toshiba (190) 3. Samsung (156) 4. Apple (151) 5. Asus (126) 6. HP/Compaq (100) 7. Dell (68) 8. Sony (64) 9. Acer (40)"

3/6/2012 9:02:54 AM

In the 16 or so months I had a MBP I took it in for issues at least 5 times. Never taken a Lenovo or Dell in before unless I've physically stepped on the laptop and had to get a part replaced.

3/6/2012 9:04:08 AM

I've only had two problems with my Dell XPS 17" that I bought in 2006... GPU died and LCD broke; both covered by the 5 year warranty. That's it. And I still use it to this day.

And that shit has been in two motorcycle accidents, dropped quite a few times and been all over the world. Very much used and abused... although it looks like shit and missing 3 keys on the keyboard.

3/6/2012 10:31:27 AM

Dells support is awesome. Whenever I broke something on my old Dell they'd send a guy to my house next day to replace the part or even meet me somewhere.

I HATE going into the Apple store and having to wait 2 weeks for them to replace something simple. I mean seriously they have to send it out for almost everything.

3/6/2012 12:05:32 PM

Have had them replace the monitor in 3 days and the logic board in 3 days as well on my late 2007 MBP. And I had to have the logic board replaced because Nvidia decided to make shit GPUs for their 8600m GTs, a problem for any laptop manufacturer that used that model.

I would like to know where you get 2 weeks from? I know they sometimes have to send computers off, but it shouldn't be 2 weeks.

3/6/2012 12:46:11 PM

Quote :

"I would like to know where you get 2 weeks from? I know they sometimes have to send computers off, but it shouldn't be 2 weeks."

Read between the lines, 2 weeks is an exaggeration...

And honestly, 3 days would feel like 2 weeks if your laptop is the only piece of equipment when you are working on a job. Even 2 hours dicking around at the store for them to fix something that you brought it feels like 2 weeks; specially when they come back saying that they can't fix it or find out that whatever needs to be fixed isn't actually covered by the warranty and need to cost money.

I don't even bother with apple crappy service and just fix shit myself whenever I had to fix apple shit that my photo bosses/friends use. Its amazing how many times their shit keeps on breaking.

It literally took me 2 hours on the phone to get a quote on how much it would cost apple to replace a keyboard in a MBP, coincidentally it was an 08 model. I actually called the store, they said to call apple directly, then apple said to call the store... It took something like 4 transfers, 3 disconnects and went through two genius' to get to some technical engineer to tell me a rough estimate for the part and labor. And then he said it can only be sold as a service so I would have to call the store again and setup an appointment for the replacement... Jumped on ebay and bought the damn thing for $40 instead of spending $340.

So fucking stupid. I just don't understand how they have an A+ service record. I'm usually good at navigating CS around and know the lingo to get what I want, even with shitty CS like Asus. I mean they may not contact you back for a week, but at least its not infuriating since Asus shit mostly works 99% of the time and doesn't require CS.

3/6/2012 2:34:45 PM

^ Most people (& especially most mac people) aren't tech people. There's a lot to be said for being able to walk into a store and actually talk to someone about your problems and actually SHOW them the problems instead of spending an hour on the phone with someone in India that you can barely understand and wants you to run through 15 different steps to find a problem that isn't even what you told them in the first place. After all, Best Buy, Staples, etc. have departments that will "set up" your computer for you, install virus protection, or replace ram because there's enough people out there paying to justify their existence.

I buy Dell at work because their business service is excellent. I've also bought a few for personal use for family and myself (7 or 8 total I guess) and I've had 2 issues. I couldn't believe that I was talking to the same company. Their home service blows and I'm pretty sure that the people I talked to were half retarded. I'd much rather spend 2 hours in an Apple store talking to a "Genius" instead. Admittedly, out of the 4 mac laptops I've owned, I've never had a problem and had to take one in so maybe something happens that would change my opinion but my experience with one of my ipads was extremely positive.

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 7:36 PM. Reason : .]

3/6/2012 7:35:43 PM

Quote :

"^ Most people (& especially most mac people) aren't tech people. There's a lot to be said for being able to walk into a store and actually talk to someone about your problems and actually SHOW them the problems instead of spending an hour on the phone with someone in India that you can barely understand and wants you to run through 15 different steps to find a problem that isn't even what you told them in the first place."

Maybe I got lucky but whenever I had a problem with my dell (personal purchase) I just hopped on Dell chat, explained the problem, and they sent a tech guy to replace the part within a day. Chats never took more than 5 minutes.

Apple store -> drive to mall -> deal with smelly hipsters -> wait in line -> talk to philosophy grad who can't get a real job -> said grad try to figure out problem -> call manager -> order new parts

-> repeat process to pick it up.

I don't know. I'm just sayin.

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 7:48 PM. Reason : s]

3/6/2012 7:47:18 PM

last june (2011) i took my MBP (late 2007 model i think) to the apply store and mentioned the graphics card/mother board recall. I bought this laptop used. So i wasnt original owner, but somehow i managed to get my name registered as original owner in june of 2010.

they covered the motherboard and called me a day after. it was great.

just though id share. i then proceeded to email steve jobs a thank you email and i havnt received a response yet.

3/6/2012 8:45:44 PM

Quote :

"Maybe I got lucky but whenever I had a problem with my dell (personal purchase) I just hopped on Dell chat, explained the problem, and they sent a tech guy to replace the part within a day. Chats never took more than 5 minutes. "

That would mean you were tech savvy enough to find the chat feature on their website... Hehe... And yes, I do love Dell chat, so much better to deal with CS that way. And it literally only takes 5 mins in every service chat I've done since they started offering that over the years.

But yeah, try calling their home CS line... Its actually really bad. I sometimes average around 20mins per call for simple shit. That's why I like their chat services better. But then again, You and I are tech savvy people and know what we are talking about when it comes to troubleshooting. Plus, I got a few Dell service tech friends so I just hand it off to them to fix my shit. They love it cause they get the extra money from Dell with little effort.

Quote :

"Apple store -> drive to mall -> deal with smelly hipsters -> wait in line -> talk to philosophy grad who can't get a real job -> said grad try to figure out problem -> call manager -> order new parts -> repeat process to pick it up. I don't know. I'm just sayin."

This has been my experience with about 90% of my apple visits and it feels like I'm taking a sick dog to a vet; wasting half my day for something that they'll come back and say "your PC is feeling sad, try again tomorrow or something man...". Fucking hipsters.

Honestly, even the people I know who are dumb shits about PC/Mac's also don't like the idea of taking their MAC to the store and literally carry it to the desk. But they usually get side tracked the second they get there and play with new imac's, tablets and shit like that; so they get to see shiny things and forget that they just wasted half a day dealing with a stupid tech problem.

I donno, I just hate the idea of wasting so much time to drive to an apple store. I hate the idea of even driving to a best buy and I'm literally one mile away.

3/7/2012 9:23:54 AM

While I know that Dell's aren't the most reliable systems, their TS has always been great for me. I order from the business line and use the business TS; so I don't know if their home TS is different, but I've always had quick service and for the most part, I've had techs more willing to replace hardware than sit there and troubleshoot for hours.

The only time I really had bad service was when I had to send in a laptop (didn't have in-home service) and they had it for two weeks and then "lost" it. However, they overnighted me a new laptop that was 1 model level above what I had.... and then my "lost" laptop came in the next day . They didn't fix my old laptop... one sheet of paper said the HDD was bad, but not replaced; another sheet said they couldn't determine/find a problem... So I just bought another HDD, it worked fine and I sold it.

Over 4 dell laptops over a 8 year period, Dell has replaced: 4 HDDs, 2 MOBOs, 4 sticks of RAM, 1 keyboard, 1 LCD panel, 1 wireless module, 1 case/plastic framing, and 1 laptop. Dell either sent a tech to me within 2 days and repaired on-site or overnighted me parts that I replaced myself (and the one time I sent a laptop in, as mentioned above).

3/7/2012 10:06:11 AM

Yes, Dell's Business and Home service is completely different. Night and day, but it doesn't meant their home service is completely shitty as most people believe it to be. Its like the whole Vista shit with Dell... People who think Dell has shitty CS are people who never owned a Dell, but heard of stories from friends of friends of friends.

And yeah, Dell's TS are too happy about just replacing parts, which I'm fine with; means new parts for me to abuse.

3/7/2012 2:20:41 PM

Quote :

"Read between the lines, 2 weeks is an exaggeration... And honestly, 3 days would feel like 2 weeks if your laptop is the only piece of equipment when you are working on a job. Even 2 hours dicking around at the store for them to fix something that you brought it feels like 2 weeks; specially when they come back saying that they can't fix it or find out that whatever needs to be fixed isn't actually covered by the warranty and need to cost money. "

That is arguably the dumbest fucking thing I have ever read on here. Who fucking cares what "it feels like" to you? I deal with facts, not feelings. 3 days is 3 days. When I lost my laptop, it was in the middle of the semester. It was an inconvenience. But somehow, someway, I managed to get by! Cutting the technological cord once in a while isn't a bad thing.

Quote :

"It literally took me 2 hours on the phone to get a quote on how much it would cost apple to replace a keyboard in a MBP, coincidentally it was an 08 model"

Perhaps you're a fucking retard? Someone spilled water on my MBP. I called Apple. We had a 10 minute telephone call and he laid out my options and gave me some tips that might save the laptop. He also told me how much it would cost to fix the laptop. But I guess that "literally took me 2 hours" was that it "literally felt like 2 hours" on a 10 minute telephone conversation... Apple is more than happy to tell you how much money they will take from you to fix something. I don't know a business that isnt!

Quote :

"Jumped on ebay and bought the damn thing for $40 instead of spending $340."

If it was an out of warranty repair, that's what I would have done to begin with. Why is someone as "tech savvy" as you even dealing with tech support anyway when your tiny mind thinks you're capable of the repair?

Quote :

"That would mean you were tech savvy enough to find the chat feature on their website... Hehe... And yes, I do love Dell chat, so much better to deal with CS that way. And it literally only takes 5 mins in every service chat I've done since they started offering that over the years."

If you're "tech savvy," you would be fixing it yourself instead of dealing with CS. That's what I do. Hop onto e-bay, find the damned part, buy it, install it, rock and roll. Unless you're having to replace a motherboard, no repair should take more than 2 hours. Screen replacements can be a bitch sometimes, depending on whether or not you're replacing the panel or the whole display unit (it's so much easier to replace the display unit than the panel. There's no worrying about fucking up the inverter, or dealing with the piece of shit mounts found in HP/Compaq laptops).

Unless this shit is an in-warranty repair, I wouldn't even fuck with the manufacturer. And if it's in warranty, you are dealing way too much with CS to get the shit fixed. I can just see you taking something simple and complicating the hell out of it. I wouldn't even bother with diagnosing the problem. I would just tell them what it is or is not doing and let them take it from there.

For Apple, if you want to go to the store, go online first and make an appointment (so many people forget to do this)-> Arrive 5 minutes early for your time-> Within 5 minutes of your appointment time you will be called. Explain the problem and let them deal with it-> They will either tell you it is or is not covered. If it is covered, they will give you a receipt, you give them your phone number, and you leave. If it is not covered, then you either take the laptop or pay the repair fee.

You can be in and out in 20 minutes.

You have to remember who you're dealing with. You're dealing with dumbasses who deal with dumbasses all day and they don't give a shit if you do or don't know more than they do. Let them do their shit and don't step in the way. You'll just piss them off as they assume you're a know-it-all little faggot, and you'll end up confusing them.

My strategy: Avoid them at all costs.

[Edited on March 8, 2012 at 1:08 AM. Reason : .]

3/8/2012 1:07:25 AM

Quote :

"That is arguably the dumbest fucking thing I have ever read on here. Who fucking cares what "it feels like" to you? I deal with facts, not feelings. 3 days is 3 days. When I lost my laptop, it was in the middle of the semester. It was an inconvenience. But somehow, someway, I managed to get by! Cutting the technological cord once in a while isn't a bad thing."

Your student setting is not the same as a commercial/business setting of needing a working laptop on the job. I was dealing in settings of where people actually used apples to make money and downtime is important. In the instance I've been talking about, its been with art directors and photographers who use nothing but high end apple laptops and desktops; If they get downtime, they bitch and moan louder than anyone I know.

3 days? you will never hear the end of "is that fucking laptop back yet?"

Quote :

"Perhaps you're a fucking retard? Someone spilled water on my MBP. I called Apple. We had a 10 minute telephone call and he laid out my options and gave me some tips that might save the laptop. He also told me how much it would cost to fix the laptop. But I guess that "literally took me 2 hours" was that it "literally felt like 2 hours" on a 10 minute telephone conversation... Apple is more than happy to tell you how much money they will take from you to fix something. I don't know a business that isnt"

No no, my situation actually took 2 hours; but the laptop wasn't covered with the apple care since it just had a standard warranty. It was for a business laptop and my boss made me get a quote from apple.

I told him from the start that it shouldn't cost no more than $70 in parts by buying them from ebay; he didn't believed me and thought it was "too difficult" or some crazy idea. Most artsy people believe computers are built as fragile babies and made to run on magic...

Maybe I kept getting bad CS reps, but all of them just wanted you to send them in so they can fix it and just send you the bill later on without up front transparency of the cost. But again, maybe not the same CS reps for home consumer? The number I always called was the same CS lines for consumer level support.

Quote :

"If it was an out of warranty repair, that's what I would have done to begin with. Why is someone as "tech savvy" as you even dealing with tech support anyway when your tiny mind thinks you're capable of the repair?"

read above. answered



Honestly, for warranty shit, you should not need a fucking appointment to go to the store, drop it off and go the fuck home. Its not some fucking doctor's office.

And I wished my apple appointments were as easy and quick as 20 mins. I usually average over 60mins per visit; but usually its something more drastic than a simple repair since I can manage with most problems on apple, short of a failed part that only apple can supply. And you have to listen to some prick trying to explain the failed part and why its necessary for them to replace it. Its like "yes yes yes... I know whats wrong with it and how it works... give me price the price to fix it".

And they don't just fucking sell you the part so you can do the repair yourself. You have to go to a 3rd party supplier or source on ebay. I mean even Dell allows you to buy oem parts directly from them for out of warranty repairs.

3/8/2012 4:29:35 AM