abelliveau

Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro (2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 memory) running OS 10.8.2.  It has two graphics components: an AMD Radeon HD 6750M and a built-in Intel HD Graphics 3000. Since I've had the computer, the screen would get a blue tint when the computer switched between them.

 

However, as of two days ago, the problem has become substantially more severe.  The computer was working fine, when all of a suddent the screen when completely blue.  I had to force restart the computer.  Since then, the screen has gone awry on numerous occassions - each time necessitating a hard reset.

 

I installed gfxCardStatus, and have discovered that the computer runs fine using the integrated card, but as soon as I switch to the discrete card - the screen goes .

 

I am just wondering what my options are (any input on any of these would be appreciated!):

 

1) Replace the logic board.  Would this necessarily fix the issue?

 

2) Is there any way to "fix" the graphics card? 

 

3) Keep using gfxCardStatus and only use the integrated graphics card.  This is definitely the easiest/cheapest option, but to have such a computer and not be able to use the graphics card seems like a real shame.

 

4) Is there any other alternative?

 


MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB memory

Posted on Feb 1, 2013 4:45 PM

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Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

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  • by hvico,

    hvico hvico Feb 15, 2014 2:32 PM in response to akmjolnir
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    Feb 15, 2014 2:32 PM in response to akmjolnir

    The thing is a replacement proved to be a temporary and expensive fix in many cases documented here.

     

    By now I think a good reball provides a better chance of long term survival of the MBP. Any thoughts?

  • by baleares,

    baleares baleares Feb 15, 2014 2:40 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 2:40 PM in response to abelliveau

    Please fill in this apple provided form to report your issues. If enough of us report something may happen. It is quick and worthwhile.

     

    https://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

     

     

  • by g3styx,

    g3styx g3styx Feb 15, 2014 4:12 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 4:12 PM in response to abelliveau

    Hey Guys,

     

    Just want to add my 2 cents: I have a 15" MacBook Pro purchased in February 2011. I opted for the glossy 1680x1050 res screen.

     

    I've only had a few graphics hiccups since I bought it-- a few times the screen has tinted blue when switching between integrated and discrete graphcis and I've had a handfull of BSOD. The thing I wanted to mention is that every time I got a BSOD, I was able to VNC into my Mac to either toggle gfxCardStatus graphics settings or restart the computer remotely (as opposed to a hard shutdown). I'm pointing this out to other people who presume their laptops are "dead" after getting a BSOD.

     

    A few posts that caught my eye were people reporting this issue after upgraded to Mavericks. I'm still running Snow Leopard. I'm curious as to how many other people are/were running Snow Leopard when their MacBook's discrete graphics were rendered inoperable. Perhaps upgrading to 10.9 accelerates the manifestation of the discrete graphics manufacturing defect?

  • by D3us,

    D3us D3us Feb 15, 2014 4:42 PM in response to hvico
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 4:42 PM in response to hvico

    hvico wrote:

     

    The thing is a replacement proved to be a temporary and expensive fix in many cases documented here.

     

    By now I think a good reball provides a better chance of long term survival of the MBP. Any thoughts?

    Posted that myself a few times allready.

     

    Seems like people prefer to spend 310$ or sometimes double that amount for getting their logic board replaced by another one having the same problems...

    Where a reball or chip replacement is a more "real" repair.

  • by D3us,

    D3us D3us Feb 15, 2014 4:58 PM in response to hvico
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 4:58 PM in response to hvico

    hvico wrote:

     

    Invested around 3k USD to get a portable Pro workstation, and I am not going to replace it with a mini desktop computer.

    If with a "portable Pro workstation" you mean just a fast laptop, ok.

     

    If however you want it for video editing or other heavy tasks, doesn't excist imo.

    No mattter if you buy Apple or pc/windows/linuxr laptops, allways the risc of failing if used as workhorses.

    They are made for portabilty, not to render videos for hours.

    Macbooks will even fail faster/more as they're mostly smaller.

    In electronics, smaller often means hotter = bad for the lifetime of it.

     

    If you really want a "portabl Pro workstation" you build yourself a fast, expandable workstation in a desktop case and put a hanle on it for portability.

    Beats even the most expensive laptop for a fraction of the price.

  • by aymericco,

    aymericco aymericco Feb 15, 2014 5:35 PM in response to D3us
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 5:35 PM in response to D3us

    does anyone know how I stop receiving notifications for every message in this thread? I clicked no for every email notification but I keep receiving tens of email...

  • by carl wolf,

    carl wolf carl wolf Feb 15, 2014 5:54 PM in response to aymericco
    Level 6 (14,625 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 5:54 PM in response to aymericco

    Click on your name: profile > edit preferences > email notification preferences

    The last item has many different options.

  • by hsmiths,

    hsmiths hsmiths Feb 15, 2014 6:57 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 6:57 PM in response to abelliveau

    HI There i got a mb pro early 2011 with the same issues but somehow it seem to be working i downgraded to lion and i am using gfx and smc fan controller also invested in a 4 fan cooling pad which seems to help keeping the temps low. at times i get lined screens but after few reboots it starts up normally. does anyone know a place in mumbai or pune in india where they would reball or reshoulder.

  • by hvico,

    hvico hvico Feb 15, 2014 6:57 PM in response to D3us
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 6:57 PM in response to D3us

    For an application developer or a system administrator as I am, "a fast laptop" is equivalent to a portable pro workstation. I don't do graphics or rendering. I just need lots of ram and a good CPU, and the MBP provides that in a portable form.

     

    What is ironic is that I don't even need that d@mn discrete GPU that is causing all this trouble. I just bougth the 15 inch model because the 13 screen is way too small imo, and it happens that the 2 additional screen inches gave me a faulty GPU as a bonus.

     

    Going for a reball next week, I expect a more permanent fix than getting a replacement, even a free one.

  • by graeme-mck,

    graeme-mck graeme-mck Feb 15, 2014 7:24 PM in response to graeme-mck
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 7:24 PM in response to graeme-mck

    Just an update.

    I got the second logic board replacement installed and have been using it over the weekend without incident. One observation is that the fans seem to come on a lot less than before, but this may be just my imagination.

     

    As I mentioned in my original post, even though my Mac is almost 3 years old, I got the replacement logic board(s) and all the labour, etc., done for free under New Zealand’s Consumer Guarantees Acts (CGA),

  • by aymericco,

    aymericco aymericco Feb 15, 2014 8:07 PM in response to carl wolf
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 8:07 PM in response to carl wolf

    that's what I did but it doesn't work...

  • by Marc Leftoff,

    Marc Leftoff Marc Leftoff Feb 16, 2014 9:04 AM in response to g3styx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 16, 2014 9:04 AM in response to g3styx

    My issues were all based on mountain lion. Never made the jump to mavericks.

     

    My MBP is now in the hands of apple. Is opted for the $300 repair as well. Apple is sending it off for repair. It took the Apple Genuis and I about 8 attempts to even reboot the machine on site in order to erase my hard drive. I insisted that my hard drive be reformatted before going off for repair. We'll see how it's returned to me.

     

    Upon attempted to reboot the machine, we tried the built in recovery partition, a network boot on the store's own LAN and the. The last ditch was different Ethernet cable the guy pulled out that was for "extreme cases" interesting stuff.

     

    Even the diagnostic (OS 9) looking software he finally ran had trouble displaying. Finally it worked and reported nothing other than the fact that I had replaced the ram that was originally sold to me.

     

    Finally after everything, the only way he was able to boot my machine for reformat was with the built in recovery partition. We ran disk utility and reformatted.

     

    Now off she goes to be logically corrected.

     

    I asked about just upgrading the machine in fear that this exact same issue will show it's ugly face again. He said, on the first go-round, it's not really an option. But if it comes back, no problem. I inquired about the 90 day warranty etc and what if the problem comes back in two years.

     

    The guy said, this machine now has a great history, enough to warrant a replacement if necessary in the future if, in fact, the issues comes back after the 90 day repair warranty ends. Hmmmm. We'll see.

     

    The guy was aware that I had contacted apple and generated a case, he was aware that it was escalated to a higher level of service due to my email to CEO. And the woman who called me personally in reply to my email also contacted the store manager about my situation, and made sure that all were aware of my issues, concern and the importance of how this affects my future buying decision for my company.

     

    It's all good. I jink a $300 repair for a 2+ year old machine is no big deal. It's money for sure, but come on, how about a car needing a new alternator after the 36- month warranty expires. It's a lot more than $300 and you're gonna pay it.

     

    These are high tech machines. Things happen. I figure I'm about equal had I purchased the three year apple care for $350. In fact I'm $50 ahead of the game with barely a few months left, right?

  • by hvico,

    hvico hvico Feb 16, 2014 9:38 AM in response to Marc Leftoff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 16, 2014 9:38 AM in response to Marc Leftoff

    I think the problem it's not about that $300.

     

    The main thing is replacement logic boards seem to fail a lot sooner than the original ones, as many other affected users report. That logic boards were built using the same flawed soldering process.

  • by akamyself,

    akamyself akamyself Feb 16, 2014 9:44 AM in response to Marc Leftoff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 16, 2014 9:44 AM in response to Marc Leftoff

    If paying $300 gives you another 2.5 years run, indeed you're probably  have a decent deal.

     

    Thing is, most people experience the same failure pretty fast as you must have read right here in this 200+ thread.

     

    Yes, those are high tech machines and bound to have problems at some point, especially when using it and pushing it as it is a "pro" machine after all, but when it is the same part's failure for everybody while having different usage, configuration, I see it as a defect.

     

    Especially when the fix is not a fix.

     

    But again, if it works for you, then, lucky you.

  • by Marc Leftoff,

    Marc Leftoff Marc Leftoff Feb 16, 2014 9:59 AM in response to akamyself
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 16, 2014 9:59 AM in response to akamyself

    Oh believe me, it is one of my biggest concerns. What if the repair only lasts 120 days? That's why I brought it up to the service technician at the Genius Bar. My specific concern was that after the 90 day warranty period, the

    Logic board would fail again. I don't necessarily expect it to fail that soon, but based on what I've read here, I believe it very well could.

     

    My point is this, if indeed they are putting in a new logic board, and my logic board lasted over two years, why would the new logic board not last the same 2+ years? What is it about the machine that would cause it to make a logic board fail faster than the original logic board?

     

    I brought up upgrading to the guy specifically for this reason. He said let's see what happens, your serial number will show all history of this machines repairs, and we will make that determination in the future.

     

    Part of me wants to try to tax this new logic board as hard as I possibly can. Maybe that would cause it to fail sooner or faster showing that there is a flaw. But then I think back to what I've use this MacBook Pro for on a daily basis, and it is exactly that. I have done nothing with this machine other than high resolution digital photography processing in Aperture. Final Cut Pro video editing, and other very high-end graphics intensive applications. My daily workflow consists of using Photoshop, illustrator, in design, Final Cut Pro, aperture, iPhoto, and more.

     

    So the question remains, unless they're putting in a refurbished logic board, why will this replacement board fail faster than my original board did?

     

    Are there other elements in my computer that will cause this new logic board to be exposed to an already volatile environment?

     

    I hope that the replacement logic board will in fact to be brand-new. Anybody?

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