The insanity of new MacBook syndrome (how I scratched my screen and learned to accept it)

Bit of a long post, this happened 2 days ago btw.

So recently I reached out over options to upgrade a 2015 i7 MacBook Pro, the m4 air had just released, but all else being equal I had already made up my mind I wanted the screen on the pro

Thanks to everyone for suggesting refurb.. I looked into it and came across Hoxton Macs (uk based) a space black 16inch M3 pro 32gb 1TB ssd popped up in ‘good’ condition. While it was sat in my basket the price dropped below £2k!

So, not knowing exactly what good condition meant… I went for it.

Next day it arrived, no original box but very well packaged. I spent 2 hours studying every square inch. Checked the screen at all angles for blemishes, ran a test for stuck/dead pixels. I used smartmontools to see the ssd has average amount of writes. The battery has average cycles for its age, still showing 100% health. No Apple care but still under warranty until June this year.

It’s completely immaculate in any meaningful way. The only things that shows use are a few slightly shiny keys and tiny micro scratches around the MagSafe port. I was stunned, Bravo Hoxton Macs!

Then, as I was setup to run migration assist alongside my 2015 MacBook (didn’t even actually do this as I learnt not best from intel-M macs) it asked me to attach the MagSafes for both machines and the fun began..

Unwinding the stiffer chord for the new MagSafe the metal connector whipped around and made solid contact with the top left of the M3 screen.. FFFFFF

I’m not a clumsy person, my 2015 MacBook Pro screen sat next to it is still perfect. I’ve just put 4 small but deep scratches on the immaculate screen of this perfect machine that I’ve just spent hours checking… I’m mortified.

Then I powered it up.. the scratches disappear in use and my blood pressure starts coming back down. I download Davinci Resolve, start running some 4K drone footage through effects and colour, something that would bog down the old i7 instantly. The screen looks beautiful, the machine is scrubbing effortlessly through effects at full resolution and I realise everything is going to be fine. Wooosaahhh

Tldr; bought a beautifully refurbished 16” M3 pro 32gb 1TB ssd and proceeded to scratch the screen as soon as I had verified just how beautiful it was. And it’s ok

Hope this helps anyone else wrestling with new MacBook syndrome no matter how old the machine is

Bit of a long post, this happened 2 days ago btw.

So recently I reached out over options to upgrade a 2015 i7 MacBook Pro, the m4 air had just released, but all else being equal I had already made up my mind I wanted the screen on the pro

Thanks to everyone for suggesting refurb.. I looked into it and came across Hoxton Macs (uk based) a space black 16inch M3 pro 32gb 1TB ssd popped up in ‘good’ condition. While it was sat in my basket the price dropped below £2k!

So, not knowing exactly what good condition meant… I went for it.

Next day it arrived, no original box but very well packaged. I spent 2 hours studying every square inch. Checked the screen at all angles for blemishes, ran a test for stuck/dead pixels. I used smartmontools to see the ssd has average amount of writes. The battery has average cycles for its age, still showing 100% health. No Apple care but still under warranty until June this year.

It’s completely immaculate in any meaningful way. The only things that shows use are a few slightly shiny keys and tiny micro scratches around the MagSafe port. I was stunned, Bravo Hoxton Macs!

Then, as I was setup to run migration assist alongside my 2015 MacBook (didn’t even actually do this as I learnt not best from intel-M macs) it asked me to attach the MagSafes for both machines and the fun began..

Unwinding the stiffer chord for the new MagSafe the metal connector whipped around and made solid contact with the top left of the M3 screen.. FFFFFF

I’m not a clumsy person, my 2015 MacBook Pro screen sat next to it is still perfect. I’ve just put 4 small but deep scratches on the immaculate screen of this perfect machine that I’ve just spent hours checking… I’m mortified.

Then I powered it up.. the scratches disappear in use and my blood pressure starts coming back down. I download Davinci Resolve, start running some 4K drone footage through effects and colour, something that would bog down the old i7 instantly. The screen looks beautiful, the machine is scrubbing effortlessly through effects at full resolution and I realise everything is going to be fine. Wooosaahhh

Tldr; bought a beautifully refurbished 16” M3 pro 32gb 1TB ssd and proceeded to scratch the screen as soon as I had verified just how beautiful it was. And it’s ok

Hope this helps anyone else wrestling with new MacBook syndrome no matter how old the machine is