Screen turns black when gaming?

Just wanted to add my experience. I bought my MBP 7 days ago and have had this problem since day one. I've had no joy from apple support trying to get them to admit that the machine needs to be replaced. I've tried smcFanControl and it seems to work. Age of Empires 3 consistently crashed after five minutes. First time I played it with smcFanControl, I played it for two hours without a problem. I've since played it another two times for several hours each time without crashing.

This mirrors my experience.

I've had this MBP for less than 14 days. Started getting the BSOD when gaming on WoW. Downloaded FlatOut 2 demo (man that's a fun game!) as an additional test based on suggestions in this thread. So far smcFanControl has kept me from having any more crashes. I did call AppleCare today about it to see what they would recommend. Because its less than 14 days he gave me a case # and suggested I take it to a nearby Apple Store for replacement. He didn't have any Apple provided information about the issue but I mentioned the Apple Support forum topic and he found it quickly.

The fact that several Mac blogs have picked up on the Inquirer article today (AppleInsider, MacNN, etc) may mean this is finally getting enough attention to get some sort of response. We'll see, I guess.

I will post back with an update (if I get a replacement, if the replacement fixes the issue, whatever). I agree everyone experiencing the issue should call AppleCare just so they know how often this is happening.

P.S. just to balance the good with all this bad ... I LOVE this laptop! The unibody design is the best Apple portable I've ever used (since 1995). Aside from this one issue I could not be happier with the purchase.

Kavenly, can you please post some benchmark scores? i.e Cinebench
and also do you note any difference with the fans (speed,noise,gpu temps while gamming) - you can check with istat.
I'm wondering if apple to "solve" the issues either clocked down the nvidia chips or ramped up the fans.

Kevenly,

Did apple replace just the logic board or did they give you a brand new computer? I called Apple support and talked to them about the BSOD. They want me to send it in for repair. They said it will take 10 days. I was hoping they would swap it with a new one, but they won't do it. Can anyone else confirm that BSOD is fixed in the new built? I am sick of having my screen freeze up on me.

Nvidia should pay Apple for all these repairs.

I have been a Mac user for over 10 years and have had two problems that required doing without my babies for a week. I am expecting my new MBP in a few days and appreciate forums such as this one to find out what I need to check for and test once my new MAC arrives. If there is a problem Apple can ship it out for repair or replace it for the entire length of my Applecare.... These issues should be fixed sooner than later. Quality Control has taken a toll across many industries and it is very sad to see that we dedicated users/consumers are experiencing an increase in poor product releases. Apple should take a serious look at what is actually going on before releasing products that tarnish the Apple brand. They should also consider offering 200-300 rebates for all the trouble of having to turn these in for repair more than once. 🙂

I took mine to an Apple certified repair shop. They said they can do nothing until Apple gives it some sort of acknowledgment/repair code. I can pay for a logic board replacement, but I'll be *$&@ if I pay any more to make this thing work as advertised.

Keep bumping this up!

Just thought I'd provide some sort of update regarding my own personal experience. I noticed this problem shortly after purchasing my MBP late in October. It happened to me a few times, and near the end of November I made an appointment at my local Apple Store Genius Bar to discuss the issue. I was informed, as some others were, that there was nothing officially documented, but they recorded what I was reporting. I didn't actually post my experience on these boards until yesterday, but guess what? I received a call today from a VERY polite and professional Apple employee who has been following this thread. I was asked for a little more information and was informed that Apple engineers are trying to figure out what is causing the issue for the affected machines, and hence they asked if I would be willing to visit my local Apple store to exchange my MBP for a brand new one so that the Apple engineers can basically analyze all aspects of my system (hardware and software) to see if they can get down to the bottom of the matter. I am only now re-installing my software, so I've yet to try gaming to see what happens, but I just want to let everyone know that Apple does care and they are looking into the matter.

Here's another perspective on things:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10119277-92.html

Basically what the article says is that the problem back in june was the combination of:

*High lead bumps + weak underfill = 'Material set' which was buggy*
Then nvidia switched to
*High lead bumps + robust underfill = 'Material set' which ought to be fine*
According to nvidia intel shipped hundreds of millions of chipsets in this combination.

So now the question is, was the exchange of just the underfill enough to fix the problem of cracking/dying chips?

Points which speak against it:

1. Now all new nvidia chips don't use high lead bumps anymore (eutectic solder + robust underfill)
2. A chipset (which has been sold by intel) has different thermal properties than a graphic chip. A GPU like a CPU is exposed to much higher temperature and stress levels
3. What does a company do if it has a big stock of already produced (but buggy) chips? It can't change the chip itself but it can change the underfill (which doesn't belong to the chip) - which of course improves the situation but definatly doesn't solve the problem in the long term

Just my two cents,
ToM

Message was edited by: tom_1st

Like many here I "had" the same problem. My late Macbook 2.4 would freeze when using it with Windows XP (Bootcamp)when playing a 3D intensive game. The freeze would randomly happen. It could take 5 minutes or 30.

I found out the problem in my case:

The notebook became too hot when running a 3D game, even the fans running like there is no tomorrow.

I used the notebook on a wooden desk. This was the problem, the head would built up and "stay there".

So my fix is:

I took a metallic plate which would sit on top of two rails. This means there is air under the plate. Now the macbook rests on this plate. The heat is now transfered a efficiently by the metal plate and to the "air" in the space between the metal plate and the desk itself. The coolers still run like ****, but the GPU stays at like 70 C.

I am planing on buying an aluminum stand for the macbook, so I don't have to use the "Do-it-Yourself" variant anymore.

Honestly though, this really makes me angry. A Notebook should be usable on any desk without frying its hardware.

I do not believe it is a driver issue based on the following logic and evidence.

Everyone with a new MBP basically has the exact same hardware/software.

However, not every new MBP experiences these BSoD. (My 1st one suffered from BSoD. The one I exchanged it for does not.)

If there was a bug in the drivers or firmware, then every person with a new MBP would be experiencing this problem without exception. This is clearly not the case. (I cloned the Hard Drive from the MBP experiencing the BSoD to the new MBP and the new MBP has not experienced any BSoDs.)

Conclusion, it is 100% a hardware issue.

Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for allowing additional air space for cooling as helping. This includes using a cooling pad with fans pulling heat/ air away from the MBP which sits approx. 3/8" above (resting on small pads placed in the corners of an antec cooler).

My MBP 2.4 GHz screen went black and never returned. It's being repaired now and the Apple Genius stated Apple is aware of the Nvidia issue and that the replacement board will not have the Nvidia problem.

I wasn't gaming but I was converting HD mpeg video to H.264 which should stress the machine quite a bit--not sure if the graphics processor is an active participant in that process. I thought the batteries were low and it went to sleep while I was away. Nope, no screen. As some others have said, the machine is otherwise running--was able to extract my files over the network.

I have the same problem running Oblivion in Boot Camp. Sometimes it happens right away and other times I can get a few hours into the game.

I sincerely hope this is a software fix in some way considering the hassle that is involved with hardware replacement.

definitely didn't help me by adding open air space underneath... i had mine sitting high on some open boxes, nothing directly underneath but air and was still crashing. just a few minutes into Oblivion and a little longer into HL2. but always in the same places... black screen, skipping audio, nothingness...

After all these problems and the lack of an official Apple response, I declined delivery of the new 2.4Ghz MBP from macconnection. I sent them links to the all of the forum posts and they said they'd waive the 15% restocking fee. They have much better customer service than Apple, in my experience. I couldn't justify putting down close to two grand and risking having to send the computer back multiple times. Hopefully this gets straightened out down the road.

The funny thing is that when I was going to order direct from apple, I asked about this problem and one rep. said they could "guarantee" there was no problem with the new unit. I then called back the next day, just to see and sure enough, I was told they could NOT guarantee it would be free of this problem.

I'm a long time apple owner, but yikes, they are incredibly shady. No new apple for me for a long time:)