NVidia 9600 graphic cards defective?

If you absolutely need the new 15" model you have no choice but to buy it - all you can do is buy Apple care and try to stress the machine as much as you can to expose problems earlier so that Apple can replace or repair it until you are happy.

Sure there are many who have no problems with their 15" MBPs and at the same time there are many who do have overheating/blank screens/loose hinge problems. It all depends on the usage/build and may be other factors like the factory and batch. So no one can really say for sure that new ones will be 100% trouble free.

So if that sounds scary to you (it does to me - I will not touch any computer with 2 new Nvidia GPUs and a new Nvidia chipset in it with a 10 feet long pole) you can either wait for next revision (historically Rev B Apple products have resolved most issues of the prior revision - recent case in point being Macbook Air) or buy a previous gen model which is on sale at huge discount.

an anyone confirm that the newer MacBook Pro's coming out of the factory don't have this problem?

How can we confirm this unless we cut apart our MBPs and test the solder. To be sure, I'm not sure what to make of the article. I cannot believe after the first debacle that nVidia would actually make the same mistake twice. To that end, since there's very little evidence (being so new) of this as a problem, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

I am afraid this is the truth. I bought a MBP a week ago and it now starts randomly ( 3 times a day ) freezing with the screen either black or pumping and the audio looping. It is my first mac and I am super disappointed.

you don't have to cut yours apart.
these people did it for you.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/921/1049921/inquirer-confirms-apple-mac book-pros-have-nvidia-bad-bump-material

I am afraid this is the truth. I bought a MBP a week ago and it now starts randomly ( 3 times a day ) freezing with the screen either black or pumping and the audio looping. It is my first mac and I am super disappointed.

That could be another problem because my MBP has not exhibited any issues and I use it nearly everyday and quite extensively.

There's really no way to tell if you have the problem with a defective soldering short of either cutting it open or having a problem but not all problems with a MBP are caused by the solder as reported in the inquirer link

Herein is the flaw in that story. The computers in question were not proven to demonstrate any operational flaws, in fact the authors stated quite emphatically that these were off the shelf purchases. Hence it is not logical to assume that there is any correlation between what they found and the rumors that the Nvisida chips are defective.

Now, the chips may be defective (or at least some of them) but that article is only conclusive proof that there are bumps and the have a higher concentration of lead than the "other" bumps.

Now I don't know if this is relevant, but tin and lead are components of solder. Perhaps Nvidia is using a high lead composition solder? I don't know, but this is as valid a conclusion as any provided in the Inquirer article. Maybe that's why it's called the Inquirer - a rumor rag like it's supermarket namesake.

My assumption and yes, I know what happens when you assume 😉 is that since the earlier nivida debacle. They would make real sure that their manufacturing process would not contain the same defective materials that thy got burned on last time.

One can only hope, due to the type of problem, we'll not starting seeing failures for a little while given the nature of the accusation.

The problem is really the nVidia 9600M GT. Are you using it or the 9400M? You can choose which GPU to use on the Energy Saving panel: "Improved battery duration" -> 9400M, "Better performance" -> 9600M GT.
When I play intensive 3D applications or games, with the 9400M no problems, with 9600M GT systematically freezes...

Yes, I'm on the more powerful and faster GPU because most of the time. I use aperture quite a lot and other applications I typically stick with the 9600 since I'm running it plugged in.

With that said, I've also used the 9400 extensively and found no issues with taht GPU as well. At times I like to work on my laptop in front of the TV and the 9400 provides better power utilization so my batter lasts longer

Message was edited by: Michael Flynn

I'm was looking forward to buying a Macbook Pro - I bought an iPod ages ago then later got an iPhone - never had any problems with them, they worked as advertised. I've been a slave to M$ far too long and after Vista; I decided enough is enough - I'm going to get a Mac.

Then I saw a few articles about heat problems then Wifi Issues then I read about a weird RAM issue that caused crashes (This is why I want to get away from Microsoft...) and now it's a defective GPU with bad bumps.

I really want the Macbook Pro - they are a work of art, but I'm not prepared to fork out 5 grand (AU) for paper weight. So I guess I'm stuck with XP until revision B gets released - lets hope they get that one right.

I'd recommend you go ahead and get one if you want one. It won't be a paper weight, most of the machines are working absolutely fine and if there are flaws with a given unit Apple will replace it. I spoke to the people who do the warranty repairs for Apple in this county and they said they haven't had one unit in yet, so I think that shows how few units have problems.

I know if you have a problem with your mac it's really a pain, but the chances of it happening are still small.

If I was in your position - I would preferably wait and watch till next revision is released and if I absolutely wasn't in a position to wait and watch I would buy the previous generation model which is going for a huge discount right now - at least in the US.

I have not had good experiences with Apple Rev A products and so far they have satisfactorily fixed all major issues in Rev B so there is a perfectly valid reason to wait.

Just wanted to add that I have had 3 MacBook Pros and have returned each one due to manufacturing problems. I'm also in the UK and they have all been custom builds (max spec). I am not going for a 4th broken unit I am having my money back.

I got an MBP (custom configured) a week after they were announced. It works great... almost. I only use the 9400M at school for web browsing and word processing - so I don't know how it behaves when stressed, but when gaming on the 9600M (World of Warcraft primarily), I do experience the "black screen" where the screen goes black and the sound loops.

I was expecting the SMC and Firmware updates to fix the issue, but they did not. It just happened to me. Using smcFanControl 2 to speed up the fans while gaming makes the issue much less frequent but it has happened once even with fans sped up.

I can't even bother getting a replacement (if that would even help) because I need my laptop with me at all times.

All I can say is Apple quality is going downhill fast, and if I were you I would definitely wait until another revision if you can.