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 Vigoleis,

    Vigoleis Vigoleis Mar 12, 2014 8:59 AM in response to moto-moto
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 8:59 AM in response to moto-moto

    .. they must know about the Macbook issue too.... so why are we not getting repairs?

    Apple probably has so many quality issues with different products, it would be very crititcal for the business if they  would admit all of them. The last years the gap between aspirations and reality has increased significantly and ist seems to get worse.

     

    I am also thinking about saying good-bye to Apple. The first step was switching to Android from iOS two weeks ago. It was astonishingly easy. The user experience is not that much different and I don't miss any app from the iPhone. If I don't get a satisfying solution from Apple for my MB Pro the second step is not far away. I am not fanatically loyal, Mr. Cook.

     

    BTW: Our hosehold has three MacBooks, one iMac, two iPhones, one iPad, one iPod Touch, one IPod Classic.

  • by christian187,

    christian187 christian187 Mar 13, 2014 8:23 AM in response to ju_no_hands
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2014 8:23 AM in response to ju_no_hands

    The same situation over here: as I already have posted, my MBP early 2011 ist affected too (2.3 GHz, i7, recent upgrades to SSD Samsung 840 Pro and 16 GB DDR3).

     

    Today I entered the Apple Flagship Store here at Munich, Germany. All i can tell, this is not the Apple Store it used to be. Having read all the experiences in this thread I already had an idea of what I had to expect.

    I am very sorry to say. Fact is, the average "genius" is a student that shows absolutely no interest in customer service. Even if you're trying to give them a little hint. They can sell but are not able to help you with your problem.

     

    I found three "genius" waiting for customers and started the conversation: "Hello, I have bought an Early 2011 MBP at your store. And as you might already know, there are quite a few of them showing problems by switching to the..."

     

    "Discrete graphic card." answered one of the "genius".

     

    Me: "Oh, you already heard about it?"

     

    "Genius": "No, not at all. I was just guessing."

     

    Me: "Well, as you said it has an issue when switching to the discrete graphic card. Then... "

     

    The "genius" finished my sentence: "Then the system crashes unrecoverably."

     

    Me: "So i'm not the first customer if you already know about it!"

     

    "Genius": "I haven't heard about any such problems with early 2011 MBPs."

     

    Me: "Then you can't even tell me, if Apple had any plans of replacement? No lists, where I could complain or at least subscribe?"

     

    "Genius": "No, i am very sorry but I could offer you a logic board replacement. But that would be about 400 to 500 Euro. I can ask for the exact amount if you'd like to."

     

    I set up my friendliest face and answered: "I could show you threads at the Apple support community pointing out that there are thousands of customers with exactly the same issues with early 2011 MBPs. Assuming this is a problem caused by hardware design you really expect me to pay up to 500 Euro? Really? Well, what about the warranty if I would decide for a such a replacement?"

     

    "Genius": "3 Months on all replacement parts."

     

    At this very moment I realized, that I would not get any more assistance from these young "genius". So, what else could I do. Asking for the manager? I hesitated for a moment and finally left the apple store to think about it.

     

    <Edited by Host>

  • by frjodupa ,

    frjodupa frjodupa Mar 12, 2014 9:20 AM in response to christian187
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 9:20 AM in response to christian187

    good afternoon to everyone s have wue continue and make this public until appel recognize the failure of these models Macbook Pro 2011 to my no ne has been another solution than having to repair it for 600 € but at least let the rest of prospects know the truths of appel.

  • by clintonfrombirmingham,

    clintonfrombirmingham clintonfrombirmingham Mar 12, 2014 9:32 AM in response to Vigoleis
    Level 7 (30,009 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 12, 2014 9:32 AM in response to Vigoleis

    Vigoleis wrote, in part:

     

    I am also thinking about saying good-bye to Apple.

    After over 30 years (Apple ][ before Mac in 1985), I've come to that conclusion, too. I've already ordered a very powerful, BTO Sager NP9377-S - should be here in another 10 days or so. It will mark my first purchase of a personal Windows machine. I expect the transition will take about 12-18 months before I'm truly comfortable with the new OS but, to be honest, I'm excited about it.

     

    I haven't had as many bad experiences as some others here - I've only had my logic board replaced once and I had AppleCare so it didn't cost me a thing. But when Apple effectively (and literally) 'closed' the MacBook Pro line with only Retina machines, combined with the way that they have kept their distance with this manufacturing defect, I knew that it was time to move on.

     

    I'll be keeping my MacBook Pro until it finally dies but will be using the Sager for all of my 'real' work. And, as I said, I'm rather excited - this is going to be a real adventure for me. I'm just sad that I feel that I MUST take this drastic step: I can't deal with closed systems and will no longer deal with a company that refuses to take ownership of defective manufacturing. I'll still be on these boards and will keep up my knowledge of Macs as long as I still have this one. I'm simply no longer going to sink money into Mac-only software (I already subscribe to Adobe's Creative Cloud and Microsoft's Office 365 so there will be no great changes there) nor into any more Apple products.

     

    Those who are going to simply buy Retina models, etc., are very brave - I'm not. I need something that works reliably from a company that stands behind their products. Since the Sager has a Thunderbolt port I'll still be able to use my Thunderbolt Display and drives, too.

     

    I'll just cease being an Apple customer when this MBP gives up the ghost. There will always be new suckers to replace those of us who choose to say farewell.

     

    Clinton

  • by Vigoleis,

    Vigoleis Vigoleis Mar 12, 2014 11:52 AM in response to CatFisce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 11:52 AM in response to CatFisce

    If Ubuntu runs stable couldn't this be a software/OS related issue?

  • by wmage,

    wmage wmage Mar 12, 2014 12:01 PM in response to christian187
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 12:01 PM in response to christian187

    Hi Christian,

     

    i have a date at genius bar @ saturday morning in Oberhausen Centro. think i receive the same answers as you, but will try it.

     

    otherwise i make an reball for my lovely working machine and hope, that my baby have a long live. because there is no other notebook that offers te power including a very good OS. hope the best...

     

    Tom

  • by jokokoko,

    jokokoko jokokoko Mar 12, 2014 12:30 PM in response to Vigoleis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 12:30 PM in response to Vigoleis

    Well, the software-related issue is, that you cannot deactivate the AMD graphics in OS X as "simple" as in Ubuntu.

    What we're doing is to turn off the AMD graphics everytime we boot Ubuntu. For OS X, this option does not exist.

  • by Dahlialady,

    Dahlialady Dahlialady Mar 12, 2014 12:47 PM in response to Vigoleis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 12:47 PM in response to Vigoleis


    It seems that, from all that people have reported here, the GPU problem essentially a hardware issue…either with the type of soldering used at the time of manufacture, the thermal paste application, or the heat dissipation design… or all three, or more. But the problem also does seem to present itself earlier in computers which are used to do the very stuff a professional level computer was purchased to do.

    Some software (Mavericks) seems to bring it on early also...but that is probably because the computer has an underlying hardware issue(s). And, many people who reported problems here were using external monitors - which is consistent with the performance of graphic design work, and similar professional work by the user .

    .........

    I suspect that  US customers are not limited by Apple's warranty terms …the warranty terms pertain to what Apple agrees to do voluntarily. Apple's warranty would probably not limit what a state US court applying a state's Consumer Protection law would decide about Apple's obligations to its customer under the circumstances discussed here. IMHO


  • by Vigoleis,

    Vigoleis Vigoleis Mar 12, 2014 12:57 PM in response to jokokoko
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 12:57 PM in response to jokokoko

    O.K. thanks for the explanation I didn't get the essentials before. Then I can at least use my MBP with Ubuntu. Will only work as a secondary device because I need Adobe software for work.

  • by Gabrielus,

    Gabrielus Gabrielus Mar 12, 2014 2:32 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 2:32 PM in response to abelliveau

    Well I sold my 2011 MBP for a couple hundred bucks for spare parts and I don't regret selling it so cheap to get rid of it before I took it to a gun range. It was my first Apple laptop and it will be my last. Now I'm just waiting for my iPhone 4 to die out on me before I switch over to android or a windows phone so I can officially be done with anything Apple.

  • by frjodupa ,

    frjodupa frjodupa Mar 13, 2014 8:26 AM in response to Gabrielus
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Mar 13, 2014 8:26 AM in response to Gabrielus

    <Edited by Host>

  • by Astrolabium,

    Astrolabium Astrolabium Mar 12, 2014 6:13 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 6:13 PM in response to abelliveau

    I too have had the same issue... I tried everything and nothing worked. What I find interesting though is that a related article shows up on this page describing an identical issue with iMacs sold during the same year. (Link: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167) However, the iMacs in that replacement program have a different graphic card than the one in the Macbook Pro, but I don't think it's a mere coincidence. I believe that as many users are having the same problem with the Macbook Pro, Apple should make a similar replacement program that covers us. Meanwhile, I feel I will actually have to find a new computer that is NOT made by Apple, makes me sad but I really can't afford to get a new Macbook Pro with such a high price thinking it would die on me within 3 years!

  • by D3us,

    D3us D3us Mar 12, 2014 6:55 PM in response to wmage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 6:55 PM in response to wmage

    wmage wrote:

     

    and hope, that my baby have a long live. because there is no other notebook that offers te power including a very good OS. hope the best...

     

    Tom

    You really believe a macbook pro is the most powerfull or fastest laptop?

    Dream on

     

    If you talk hardware only there are better ones with a lower fail rate wiping the floor with the most expensive macbook.

    Like for less then 2000$ you get 32GB of ram, an nvidia 780m, or if you do cad a quadro, can moutn 4 hdd etc...

     

    OS is a matter of preference.

    If one wants to pay a premium price only for that and have to buy something with a higher failure rate then even cheap laptops...

  • by TJayG,

    TJayG TJayG Mar 12, 2014 8:35 PM in response to D3us
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 8:35 PM in response to D3us

    Possibly not in this rendidtion, and I'm not geek enough to know the specs, but visually this guy looks pretty sick and could be a condender in the future... http://www.razerzone.com/au-en/gaming-systems/razer-blade

  • by Cosmic dolphin,

    Cosmic dolphin Cosmic dolphin Mar 12, 2014 10:42 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 10:42 PM in response to abelliveau

    Very sad to say mine has now failed too

     

    Experiencing identical issues as other people in this thread.

     

    Starts up > Chimes > Apple logo with coloured horizontal staggered lines on screen > Spinning gear under logo > Hangs on white screen.

     

    Lasted me 2 years and 9 months. What a joke...

     

    MBP cost $2500 new. With it I also purchased a Cinema Display for over $1000, as well as, a number of other Apple specific items amounting to appproximately another $1000. All collecting dust...

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