display anomalies

I have seen this problem for a few months, too, and I'm also the one who suspects that this is caused by the graphic chip being damaged by thermal heat. I experienced this problem with any mix of the following conditions:
a. Tiger (Latest) and Leopard (10.5.5)
b. Clean Install (at the first login window!) and used
c. Boot from build-in disk and boot from external disk

It the temperature matters, the threshold should be very low! My machines, purchased in mid 2006, often runs around 60 Celsius degrees when idle.

I will raise the fan speed using smcFanConrol and see if I need greasing.

Yep, same here... artifacts and sometimes screen freezes...

Radeon X1600 Driver 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo Macbook Pro - MacBookPro1,1

Exact same problem with the exact same graphics card. I also seem to be experiences rather frequent total system freezes as well though.

Hello,

as described in the replies above i replaced the heat conductive paste. I now get among 5 °C better temperature (i am now at max 65°C at all sensors GFX is at 50-55°C at any time, Cleaned my fans, replaced the paste). But thats not enough to stop the failure because the systems thermal range is up to 65°C whats 15° C in failure range, i experienced.

Remember: Failure doesn' t appears surely under 50°C

i think the GFX Chip or the GFX Memory is affected by some heat related defect. If you have this defect, maybe through long usage of the device, it will stay defect and vulnerable to this heat related effects we are experiencing now, produced at much lower temperatures as have been there causing the original defect.

What speaks for the GXF Memory:
Not so much, this effect is not memory typical. Defect memory does not works or is losing or changing data. We dont have this effects. Even i don't know if the GXF Memory is shared? If it is, i already replaced the whole system memory.

What speaks for a damaged GFX Chip:
Much more than for the memory. So the effect appears using some single graphic routines used by the MAC OSX. I think the GFX is injecting this wrong information (randomly but heat related) to the memory when using one of this critical (damaged) functions. So its only logic that you can remove them by using this functions again, for example by resizing the window.

At conclusion i think our GFX Chip is damaged thru usage of the MPB! That should not be!

Only way to fix i think:
Replace your logic board.

if you have better or more information, links fixes, or maybe a shop where i can get the Logic Board for 200 Bucks 😉 , please provide them here.

This is a known issue with a defect in the nvidia GPU. Apple has finally fessed up to the issue. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

They are hoping and praying that two years passes and they don't have to fix too many. Mine just died and you better believe they will be fixing it.

This is a known issue with a defect in the nvidia GPU. Apple has finally fessed up to the issue. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

They are hoping and praying that two years passes and they don't have to fix too many. Mine just died and you better believe they will be fixing it.

Thank you so much for the information!!!


YES!

It's only for Nvidia GPU's, we all have Problems with ATI GPU's.

******!! could not be true!

I'm also a user of MacBook Pro with ATI GPU. (Core Duo model)

Hi you,

I have a new guess about that problem!

one my USB-Hubs wracked down today. This things are cascaded in 2 levels. I noticed malfunctions using the mouse and keyboard when switching from one machine to another with a Belkin Dual Link Dvi Switch.

by the way i never reproduced the graphics-error we are talking about when i was outside on battery.

The mouse response was as expected by energy problems, unsteady blinking or nothing.

so i plugged that thing directly to the right port and the same happened again.

USB Controller at low energy? i have plugged a lot of devices and hubs which are are supported by power supplies each, but it seems like this. at the other side, low energy on the logic board can cause wired behaviors i expected earlier. That seems possible. i removed all the usb hub cascades and unplugged all the harsddiscs and stuff.

The failure is gone here now . . . ??? unbelievable. I was 1 step away buying a new board at ebay . . . phew!!!!

Test this:

Unplug all your Peripheral things! check out what device is wracking your machine. I hope thats really the problem!

**** steady energy support! doesn't seems to be bad turning devices off sometimes.

Please report back here, good luck!

Hi you,

I am sorry but the effects just came back. Today Apple released a new patch

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/12/15/applereleases_mac_os_x_10_5_6update.html

including:

Graphics

* Includes general improvements to gaming performance.

* Includes graphics improvements for iChat, Cover Flow, Aperture, and iTunes.

* Includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.

Hope that helps

sorry

After applying the patch and hard working and testing the machine:

- The machine didn't freeze till now, ok, i can wait for it.
- no changes after the Update, effecting the other problems Graphics are still, how had apple called it "graphics distortion issues" , yes distorted, very matching description, thanks apple, we couldn't do better. Can not believe we and Apple talking about different problems.

Apple please:

is there a ATI firmware update or can i underclock that thing, is there anything i can do to get rid of the problems? I don't wanna play i need this thing to work with.

thanks

SOLVED!!!!!!!!!

Had the issue and suspected the temperature. Mi wife has the same laptop purchased on the same store same date as mine. Her serial number differs in only one or two digits. My laptop has the abnormalities and my wife's laptop is ok. The only difference is that for unknown reasons her laptop usually works much cooler than mine.

I used SMCFan Control up to 5.5k with no success. Still believed it was temperature related so I re-applied thermal paste and puchased one of those USB powered laptop coolers. The ones that have a couple of fans blowing air to the base. The issue has dissapeared (have not applied osx patch 10.5.6 yet). I don't think the thermal paste did the trick, the cooling base was fantastic dropping the laptop temperature to 40~50 degrees C depending on the load with fans fixed in SMCFan Control at 2000 RPM.

I suggest getting one of these bases and NOT reapplying thermal paste. It is too risky. Hope it helps.