Refurbished MacBook Pro Availability Shifts The Value Equation
by Charles W. Moore
The appearance last week of Apple Certified Refurbished MacBook Pros on the Apple Store's Special Deals page starting at $1,699.00 gave me pause to re-evaluate my late February purchase of an Apple Certified Refurbished 1.33 GHz 17" PowerBook for not a whole lot less than that.
I hadn't been anticipating MacBook Pro refurbs. for several months yet, and I deduce that their arrival barely more than a month after that model started shipping is evidence that the early-production reliability issues being cited on tech support forums are quite widespread, providing a copious supply of refurb. candidate machines.
If you spend any significant amount of time on those troubleshooting sites, that's not surprising news. Early adopters of the MacBook Pro are evidently experiencing a greater incidence of quality and reliability issues than is typical with new Apple laptop modelss, although nothing fatally disastrous. Typical problem areas seem to be odd and irritating noises, video anomalies, and excessive heat generation. I also read of the odd case of MacBook Pros arriving DOA. Consequently, I guess Apple has been replacing a fair few machines, ergo: the stream of units for refurbishing.
Also see:
http://www.petitiononline.com/whinefix/petition.html
and
http://www.maconintel.com/news.php?article=161
While the MacBook Pro is very beguiling in the abstract, I'm never a happy camper when it comes to quality flaws and reliability problems, so I still think I made the right decision in giving the MacBook Pro's initial version of pass. So far, my 17" PowerBook is a solid and smooth performer, promising (it's early days yet) the sort of hassle-free reliability I've come to expect from my Mac laptops.
The other major consideration (after price and reliability) that made me opt for one last kick at Power PC with my latest system upgrade is Classic support. I'm actually using Classic Mode more with the 17-incher that I was with my old iBook and Pismo, thanks to the fact that with 1.5 gigabytes of RAM, I can keep Classic up and running continuously without incurring virtual memory related slowdowns and memory corruption.
The Intel Macs' lack of Classic support is still a significant roadblock for me that underscores the Power PC machine being an appropriate choice. There is also the matter of the MacBook Pro offering a little or no performance advantage over 1.25 GHz or better G4 machines running Power PC native (not Universal Binary) applications, especially ones highly optimized for the G4 chip's Altivec velocity engine. One such a program that I use a lot is Photoshop Elements 4.0, with no Intel-native Photoshop applications likely for at least another year.
Last week, BareFeats' rob-ART morgan posted results of a shootout between:
A MacBook Pro CD/2.0 -- Apple Intel MacBook Pro with 2.0GHz Core Duo and 2GB of memory
A PowerMac G5/2.0 -- Apple Dual Single-Core G5/2.0GHz Power Mac with 2GB of memory
A PowerBook G4/1.67 -- Apple PowerBook G4/1.67GHz with 2GB of memory
Performance of Photoshop CS2 and After Effects 7 on the three systems was compared, and Rob noted that The MacBook Pro ran After Effects only 8% faster than the single processor PowerBook, and suggested that if you rely heavily on Adobe professional apps, you won't see a performance increase on the Intel Macs.
You can read the full report here:
http://www.barefeats.com/rosetta.html
However, if you're not put off by the potential for some reliability flakiness, and don;t find Classic Mode support or Altivec performance particularly compelling issues for you, a refurbished MacBook Pro makes a lot of sense, especially since, in this instance, you're going to get what is essentially a brand new machine with a full warranty for $300 - $400 less than the regular retail price. I guess a lot of other people thought so too, as the initial batch of 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz units sold out in a few days. Then the 2.16 GHz model appeared and soon sold out as well, but the 2.0 GHz version os back.
Available on the Special Deals site at this writing is:
Refurbished MacBook Pro /2.0GHz Intel Core Duo/15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution/2.0GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 Cache/667MHz frontside bus/1GB RAM/100GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive/Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)/ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory - $2,199.00
I expect that more of the refurbished 1.83 GHz and 2.16 GHz models, which had been priced respectively at $1,699.00 and $2,399.00, will be available soon.
Also, be sure to visit our Clearance Mac Laptops page at Mac Prices for a current list of refurbished MacBooks.
The other specifications are:
MacBook Pro 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo/15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution/1.83GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 Cache/667MHz frontside bus/512MB/80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive/Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)/ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory - $1,699.00
Refurbished MacBook Pro - 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo/15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution/2.16GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 Cache/667MHz frontside bus/1GB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM/100GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive/Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)/ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory -$2,399.00
My own experience with my recent purchase of an Apple Certified Refurbished PowerBook has been very positive, and has convinced me that I will probably be going refurb. with my next system upgrade as well.
My 17-inch PowerBook, which was issued its new refurbished serial number on July, 17, 2005, appears to have been a hardly used if at all, with no cosmetic damage or evidence of wear on the trackpad or palm-rests. It came packaged in a new-machine- style Apple carton (albeit a brown cardboard one rather than a full color lithographs on the box), with the cables, peripherals, manuals, and software CDs packaged as new.
Pretty impressive. As noted, you also get the full, one-year basic Apple warranty as well as eligibility to upgrade to three years of AppleCare coverage at extra cost.
It seems plausible that a lightly-used refurbished machine could actually be a statistically better prospect for avoiding new-machine problems, since it has presumably been checked out and given a clean bill of health by trained technicians, although a friend of mine did get a DOA Apple Certified Refurbished iBook a couple months ago. He received a prompt refund, and instead purchased a new, 1.33 GHz iBook.
That anecdotal experience notwithstanding, my inclination would still be to go refurb.. With an Apple Certified Refurbished unit, or one from a reputable third-party firm like TechRestore (where I purchased my 17" PowerBook), the risk is minimal and the saving substantial. TechRestore even offers a 30-day merchandise return satisfaction guarantee. TechRestore is also offering a $25 discount to The PowerBook Mystique readers off any PowerBook or iBook in stock. Just enter the code CWM during checkout when ordering online. The coupon code is valid from now through 12/31/2007.
For more information, visit:
http://www.techrestore.com/
Apple defines its Certified Refurbished Products as "pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple's stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. These products have been returned under Apple's Return and Refund Policies. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, all units undergo Apple's stringent quality refurbishment process.
Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:
is fully tested (including full burn-in testing).
is refurbished with replacement parts for any defective modules identified in testing.
is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes, etc.).
includes the operating software originally shipped with the unit and the custom software offered with that system. See each products "Learn More" for more details.
is given a new refurbished part number and serial number.
is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.
Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple's Finished Goods testing procedures.
For more information, visit:
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/apple_certified.html
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