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ASIMO · Apr 16, 2008, 02:43 PM

Let's get this "Amazon sucks" issue out of the way first. I placed an order for a two 2.8Ghz quad with Amazon, and it failed to arrive by the 8th of April, as had been scheduled. I call Amazon, they "put a trace" on it with UPS, telling me to give them an extra two days. Two days pass, and I call again on the third day. Amazon rep tells me they have a trace on it (while UPS tracking by now has an "Exception" status) and that it would take up to another eight days. I told them that's not acceptable and either to refund me or ship me a replacement with expedited shipping. I take it up to a supervisor, and she will "try to process a replacement on Monday for delivery by Wednesday and will notify me via email."

Monday arrives, nothing from Amazon. I call them yesterday for the 3rd time and get the same "eight days for tracing" line all over again. Right. All the while already charging my card for the order and expecting me to not have my order for at least an extra 2-3 weeks. WTF is wrong with these people? UPS dropping the ball is not my problem. I gave them two choices again: Expedite my order by Thursday or refund me fully. This morning, I got refunded. Arses. Had they done this last week, I would've had a Mac from my school campus this weekend.

Sorry for the rant, but I hope this serves some purpose for anyone considering buying expensive items from Amazon and then have something go awry. And thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Now, to the main question.

Is the one quad 2.8Ghz upgradeable to take another CPU later, to make it a two 2.8ghz quad? Or is the motherboard design different from the two quad, preventing such upgrades? Pardon me if this has been asked before; I couldn't find much via search.

Thank you.

SierraDragon · Apr 16, 2008, 06:34 PM

As to the Amazon rant, I have had at least 50 great purchase experiences there. Sorry you had a bad experience.

I do believe that you could add a CPU, but that is not my area of expertise.

-Allen Wicks

Cold Warrior · Apr 16, 2008, 07:01 PM

How is not it UPS's fault? It sounds like it shipped but was stuck with UPS.

ASIMO · Apr 16, 2008, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

How is not it UPS's fault? It sounds like it shipped but was stuck with UPS.

Not sure if you're replying to me, but I'll reply.

I didn't say it wasn't UPS's fault. Certainly it's their fault that they lost the shipment. But it's also not my problem. Stuck, lost, stolen. I don't care. And Amazon should have acknowledged that and either refund me upon my request or ship me a replacement with expedited service (as they said they would) when I called back the second time -- after calling the first time and giving them an extra 2-3 days to trace the package.

So anyone else know about the CPU upgradeability of the one quad?

ASIMO · Apr 16, 2008, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by SierraDragon

As to the Amazon rant, I have had at least 50 great purchase experiences there. Sorry you had a bad experience.

I do believe that you could add a CPU, but that is not my area of expertise.

-Allen Wicks

I, too, have had nothing but satisfactory experience with Amazon, almost all without even a hitch of any kind. There was maybe one time when there was a problem, and they sent out a replacement immediately. But that wasn't a nearly $3000 computer.

So when this problem arose with the computer, I understood that they would need to be more cautious and not simply immediately ship me a replacement without first trying to find out what happened at UPS. That's what the extra 2-3 days was for. But afterward when they told me twice on separate days that it would take another 8 days to find out what happened, that's BS and unfair to me. After this experience, I'll stick to buying small items from them from now on.

mduell · Apr 16, 2008, 08:30 PM

As far as I know it's the same logic board with two physical sockets and support for two CPUs. That said, I don't know anyone who has added a second CPU.

Kenneth · Apr 16, 2008, 11:35 PM

I have positive experience with Amazon as well, even buying grocery. However, I have never purchased a Mac from them before.

marmotton · Apr 17, 2008, 11:23 AM

This might help you with your question:

Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English

This certainly does not look easy. Also, I guess it assumes that you would either find the exact same CPU to match your existing one or that you will upgrade both CPUs to a new pair, as the authors describe.

As for Amazon, sorry to hear. I have only had good experiences with them over the years.

Gareth Johnston · Apr 17, 2008, 01:19 PM

Well you can find the CPU's but good luck on finding a decent heat sink, to match the Apple one.

misterdna · Apr 17, 2008, 05:19 PM

Not to pile on, but I've had great service in many years of ordering from Amazon, and last year I was happily issued a credit by Amazon when the HV20 Camcorder I purchased went down in price within 30 days of my purchase. Sounds like your experience sucked (any problems with a big order are a drag), but Amazon seems to have such a great track record that even an occasional blunder like a rare blunder doesn't make me think any less of them. Enjoy the new Mac!