[mduell]

Interesting... I've heard they've had to bin the mobile chips for power and that basically confirms it. The better (lower power) chips got shipped out as X7900 and the poorer ones got shipped out as X7800.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Interesting... I've heard they've had to bin the mobile chips for power and that basically confirms it. The better (lower power) chips got shipped out as X7900 and the poorer ones got shipped out as X7800.

Yeah. From what I've heard they basically set the XE envelope at 44 W and initially 2.6 GHz was the best they reached. In the meantime they get reasonable yield for 2.8 GHz at 44 W (14x max. multiplier) and 2.6 GHz at 35W. There we go: X7900 and T7800.

[TailsToo]

I wonder if Apple will do more of the quiet upgrades like last week, where they just give you a higher-end processor option, rather than all new models.

[wreckerone]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

I will offer an opposing viewpoint. At US$349 AppleCare is a very expensive way to add warranty to years 2 and 3 of a MBP's life. Most warranted failures occur in (free coverage) year one, and most of what does occur in years 2-3 either is not covered (e.g. damage, theft) or can be performed for less than $349 with newer/better replacement parts anyway (e.g. hard drive failure). Better IMO is to put that $349 aside to contribute to your next laptop purchase.

Note that I just saw on another thread a fellow debating between 2 used aluminum G4 Powerbooks: price range $300-375. Buying AppleCare that starts after a box is already a year old, one is by definition insuring a box when it is already becoming tech obsolete and is losing value fast.

Mac pro laptops do not fail at anywhere near the rate in years 2 and 3 that would justify $349 for insurance on a year-old box.

No problem waiting until the end of year one if one does want AppleCare. Apple will email you multiple times reminding you that you can still buy AppleCare. Apple probably makes much more money on AppleCare than on any other product...

-Allen Wicks

Hey Wicks, what ya been doing the last ten years?
Brad Dolgin

[VuONG]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

I will offer an opposing viewpoint. At US$349 AppleCare is a very expensive way to add warranty to years 2 and 3 of a MBP's life. Most warranted failures occur in (free coverage) year one, and most of what does occur in years 2-3 either is not covered (e.g. damage, theft) or can be performed for less than $349 with newer/better replacement parts anyway (e.g. hard drive failure). Better IMO is to put that $349 aside to contribute to your next laptop purchase.

Note that I just saw on another thread a fellow debating between 2 used aluminum G4 Powerbooks: price range $300-375. Buying AppleCare that starts after a box is already a year old, one is by definition insuring a box when it is already becoming tech obsolete and is losing value fast.

Mac pro laptops do not fail at anywhere near the rate in years 2 and 3 that would justify $349 for insurance on a year-old box.

No problem waiting until the end of year one if one does want AppleCare. Apple will email you multiple times reminding you that you can still buy AppleCare. Apple probably makes much more money on AppleCare than on any other product...

-Allen Wicks

i dunno about you but it kinda sucks when its 1.5 yrs and your logic board fails which does happen when you carry around your laptop, apple also as a lemon policy when something on your laptop fails more then once they will replace it with a new one. Also its a laptop, not a show car your suppose to beat it up a little.

350 is only 14% of the cost of total cost of a top of the line macbook pro.

general rule ive heard is for a desktop warranty is kinda pointless, but is almost the opposite for a laptop

[Simon]

Originally Posted by VuONG 

general rule ive heard is for a desktop warranty is kinda pointless, but is almost the opposite for a laptop

Seconded.

Desktop repairs are not as frequent and when they become necessary, they're usually cheaper and some of the time you can do them yourself really easily. Notebook repairs are far more frequent, are a lot more expensive, and they're certainly more tricky.

Compared to what an hour of labor and notebook replacement parts cost, AC is cheap. Compared to the $3k I spent on my MBP, $349 is not a big price to pay.

[Imolared]

I bought my Macbook from Amazon when they came out in June 2006, around August 2007 I stupidly plugged in an external hard drive using one of those IDE to USB 2.0 adaptor, it blew out the system board.

I never bought Applecare as I thought that I would never had to deal with a "board replacement".

BUT, I remember using my American Express Blue card when I placed my order with Amazon. I believe it's standard with all Amex card to have the "Buyers Assurance Plan" which doubles the manufacturer's warranty. Called them up, they told me to get a quote to see how much it would cost to replace the board from an authorized Apple Repair Center, I did and the quote came pretty close to what the cost of a brand new laptop. Amex asked me to send my laptop to them, 2 weeks later I got credited for the full amount of the purchase price of the Macbook to my card... hence I'm in the market for a Macbook Pro now.

Bottomline is: Check your credit card details, most offer this benefit, if it doesn't I highly suggest checking out Amex Blue/cash cards, these cards are free of yearly fees and usually offers competitive interest rates.

-Imo
Ps. I don't have any affiliation with Amex, just very happy with the outcome of my Macbook issue.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Compared to the $3k I spent on my MBP, $349 is not a big price to pay.

AppleCare coverage is for 13-36 months old MBPs. MBP value at 13-36 months old is much less than $3000, actually more like less than $2000, and is falling fast. $349 is a big price to pay.

Originally Posted by VuONG 

350 is only 14% of the cost of total cost of a top of the line macbook pro. ...general rule ive heard is for a desktop warranty is kinda pointless, but is almost the opposite for a laptop

A desktop Mac Pro may cost about $7000 with hard drives and display, and has a much longer life cycle. $249 for a MP, not $349, is actually a much better life-cycle expenditure. Especially since all 4 hard drives and the display get covered.

Y'all keep buying $349 AppleCare for MBPs. It gains Apple a lot of cash to develop cool new stuff!

-Allen Wicks

[Mojo]

Regarding Allen Wicks anti-AppleCare posts...

First, anyone who purchases a portable Mac and does not get AppleCare is crazy. Every portable Mac I have owned has had hardware issues and not just in the first year. And even a casual perusal of various online forums will provide plenty of evidence that Apple portables are prone to all kinds of hardware problems.

Second, anyone who pays the full retail price for AppleCare is crazy. The L.A. Computer Company has it priced at $235 (sorry, the link function isn't working properly at the moment). That works out to less than $10 a month for the extra two years of warranty coverage.

I think that extended warranties are usually a rip-off. But when it comes to portable Macs it is a necessity. You can analyze the cost-benefit ratios all you want, but it is relatively cheap insurance and should even a minor repair become necessary the cost of AppleCare will be a good deal.