problems with amd gpu on early 2011 macbook pro

It seems more and more people are encountering these problems. I hope affected users will share their stories not only here but at mbp2011 dot com. It will only be a matter of time before Apple decides that they cannot afford to ignore our plights.

😎

Same problem here since about 2 weeks. Hope Apple start a replacement program soon …

Macbook Pro 2,3 GHz i7.

Well, an update

using the gfxCardStatus and the smcFanControl (set minimum to 4500 as Ezan (page 3) suggested on this thread) I have been able to access my early 2011 mac.... but got so frustrated with the whole work around (because the crash and blue screen of death happens less often, it still occurs at times when the chips get overheated), that I went and bought a new 15" top speced mbp (roughly $3.500) - cant afford to lose more time on this stupid issue - after all I lost 5 days trying to fix the issue, and that is a bigger loss than the 3.5K for a new comp.

Old mac given to my kid now (with upgraded ram 16gb, and new 250 Kingston SSD) so hope Apple will fix the problem - then my kid gets a computer that will last at least 2 more years if lucky!

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Message was edited by: frankfromstavanger (added page to find ref.)

Same happend to my macbook pro (early 2011 model: 8,2).

Glitches includes blue screen, greenish appearing pixels, blue screen with black stripes, crashes and so on, even on external monitor connected with display port cable.

These problems occurs at:

- boot time (immediatly after turning the macbook on).

- OS X safe mode.

- other operating systems installed on the macbook pro.

- in apple hardware diagnostic screen.

and so on...

I'll add some pictures if someone interested.

not sure if related but:

I also noticed my power supply is generating charge on the body of the macbook pro.

I discovered it accidently after touching the body, especially around the speakers area, I felt some electric tingling from it.

I have the same problem but now is at the state of unusable Macbook Pro. Problem occurs at boot. Apple had a video problem with the 2010 model and extended the warranty for 3 year. (MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) Intermittent black screen or loss of video) I had two 2010 model that had the problem since new and 1 was repaired 4 times (1 year without computer) and the other 3 times. Apparently they recognized that with every logic board installed they sent me the same problem in the logic board (I had to serialized the new boards with every repair) Finally I have the one repaired 4 times still working. The Macbook Pro 2011 have a hardware issue, I changed HD, Memory, OS, and is unusable and without warranty by a month. Anyone knows if Apple is extending this warranty.

Thanks

No word on warranty extensions, although i'm sure we're all hoping for one.

If you need it - pay for a fix and if previous extensions are anything to go by apple will refund you the cost of repairs if they do an extended service as they did for the 2010 mbp and the 2011 iMac.

I'm in a similar boat, but without an AASP near me (or in my country) any repairs I do won't be authorised and I assume non refundable and will also void any chance i have of having it fixed under extended service (if Apple does one).

Okay, add me to the long list of early 2011 15" MBP 2.2 i7 owners experiencing problems with the 6750m graphics card. I just picked up a used one in perfect physical condition, and it seemed to be working fine, but after running some more graphics-intensive programs, it showed many of the same issues described here and on other posts. After reading up, I downloaded gfx.io and that nailed it, clearly the discrete graphics card is at fault. Since I'm not the original owner and there's no warranty, I'm rather screwed, but it was helpful to find I'm out I'm not alone with this problem. I'm going to mbp2011.com to add my voice that Apple should do something about this issue. The big question for me is whether to replace the logic board - hearing that others have tried this and still have the same problem makes me nervous. Bad money after bad money...

Things are deteriorating and quickly - scenes like this are getting a bit too common...

Same issue with MBP 8,2 mid 2011.

ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH

We are all sick to get problems with video cards in MBP. Basically, in 15 years, i bought 10 laptops and one out of two had a video card issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moreover, the fans are at 6200 all time (all times.....).

Did everything I could to reset everything that could be with no positive result.

We are sick of these issues, and sick to see Apple in a complete denial of their responsibility.

Next time, I will triple check my purchase with dozens of forums and user feedbacks.

+1 have been having this issue with my 2.2Ghz Core it 15" MBP since July.

I've taken my 2.2Ghz Core I7 MBP to two repairers, each of whom was unable to replicate the issue at the time, even though i've been specific enough to send them screenshots and indicate that switching between GPUs appears to cause it (though is unpredictable).

My mbp is ok browsing on google right now. The last incident was caused by closing the lid on sleep, I opened it up to a black and unresponsive screen.

Same challenge as everyone else…machines powers on with lots of thin horizontal lines most of the time then crashes with either blue and black vertical lines or just a grey screen. Occasionally boots ok but as soon as Discrete graphics are enabled (i.e. loading VMWare Fusion or Apple Bridge) it locks. Only way to use the machine when is occasionally boots is to do a quick switch to Integrated graphics only with gfxCardStatus then everything is fine for a while.

Specifics:

MBP, 15-inch, Late 2011, 2.4Ghz.

Problems started 5th Oct 13

3rd party RAM but it's in an identical pair. 3rd party SSD and HDD (replacing the CD Drive).

Never connect to an external monitor.

Hey folks,

I have (or had) the same problem as all of us have. I wrote about my experience a few weeks ago and I am following quite a few discussions here and in other forums. I would like to post my experience and opinions after reading and learning a lot. And: There is hope!

My MacBook and official repair offers

I am in Germany, got a 15 inch MacBookPro 8,2, 2,2 Ghz Quad-Core (new around 2.500 Euro). It was 28 month old when the glitches appeared first. It took quite a long time to discover the problem: dedicated GPU. I went to an Apple Premium Reseller who offered me a repair for 680 Euro after first giving me hope for a free out-of-warranty repair covered by Apple. I had many discussions with Apple in Stores and on the phone with Apple Care and the most important Apple people I could be able to talk to (as they said – but they did not make me feel happy at all). Finally the cheapest offer was changing the entire logicboard for 490 Euro. (In Germany there is no 320 USD repair flat.)

Is this the right way of a premium manufacturer treating its customers?

No. At the end and from the customer’s point of view it is a complete denial of Apples responsibility and not acceptable. It is not accordable with the promise of quality and service. I do not want to comment on that in detail. Everyone should decide for her- or himself, if she or he buys an Apple product again.

I also thought about changing and boycott Apple, but apart from this incident my overall experience with Macs is great, furthermore I have so many licences for Mac software and other infrastructure, libraries for photos and music… it would cost me much time and money to change – and MacBooks are the ******* best notebooks I have ever used.)

What about the workarounds and software solutions?

Workarounds with GfxCardStatus or removing the driver for the dedicated GPU (so that it cannot be accessed and is completely deactivated) are described in detail in this forum. And they are ok for a while, to get back a running system after the first shock. If you get your machine running on the Intel chip only it will stay stable (in case of using GfxCardStatus booting might be an adventure, but from the point the software started it’s going to work).

But hey, it’s absolutely not an acceptable solution: You did not buy a machine like that to run it on low graphics power and without the ability of connecting an external display or projector.

Stop trying to find the failure with re-installing the system and changing things, it’s waste of time.

Apple repair or not?

At first I would have spent the money regarding the value of the machine, but the problem was: In case of replacement they always use boards produced the same time and way the defective boards where produced. (Maybe minor things might be changed during the production time of this board model, I do not know.) So there is a high risk that the problem occurs again with the replacement board, as a few of you experienced and reported here. You can be “lucky” getting the problem during the (ridiculous but common) warranty of 3 month. Being lucky in this case means that you have to run to Apple several times and leave your MacBook there for a couple of days until you might get finally a board that seriously works. If the glitches reappear when you are out of the repair warranty you will be ****** up.

What’s the real problem behind the glitches?

I tried to find out what the real problem is (of course I cannot assure this for each and every case): The GPU or the logicboard are not defective, it is just the solder connections between the GPU and the board that get tiny cracks/fissures over the time (with changing temperatures).

But why is it possible that these connections crack? I am not a real technician, but I am interested in this stuff and I spoke to people who know a bit more about that, so my theory: It’s not the first time that a computer manufacturer builds solder connections between modules on a mainboard. But what changed within the last years: Apple (and others) have been criticized for the environmental impact of their products and the production process, the public had a look at that and new laws appeared, so the manufacturers started to bring the life cycle impact into focus. Now it looks like the “environmental impact” is improved. (in Apple’s case they made a nice presentation you can find here http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/environment/)

Now MacBooks comply with standards and do not contain certain “dangerous and toxic” substances.

Now, for example, they do not use lead anymore. (In the European Union it is officially forbidden for solder connections in electronic products since 2006. It is only allowed for connections that have to feature a strong durability, for example in certain medical products). The main objective of using lead for solder connections is to prohibit embrittlement and cracks in the connection. It is hardly possible to get the same quality without lead. Looks like the problem here.

I am very interested in (environmental) sustainability. But regarding the consequences and the way defective boards are “repaired” by being replaced I would see this approach as counterproductive.

What alternative repair options exist?

The official way is replacing the mainboard. With the big disadvantage that it’s expensive and the much bigger disadvantage that there always is a risk that you will get a board that is also affected and the glitches reappear again after the warranty on the repair (see above) – and the disadvantage that it produces waste by changing parts that are not defective.

There is a better way:

I do not talk about crazy methods like how to “cook logicboards” – however they are no witchcraft: It might “refresh” the solder connections and might help for a while, maybe for a long time, but it’s never sure if and how long it helps. And seriously: It takes you hours to demount the whole machine if you are not familiar with that.

I looked for something professional and found a few small companies on the Internet offering such repairs, but I was afraid sending my machine to someone I do not know. Fortunately I finally found one not far from where I live, in Wuppertal (Germany), called MJ Computer. I visited Markus who runs the company specialised on things like that, doing a lot of notebook repairs like that and work for Hifi companies like Onkyo. He told me that he had this case already a few times and explained me exactly what he is going to do to get it repaired:

• removal of the GPU from the logic board
• removal of the old solder connections from GPU and logic board
• cleaning of all parts
• assembling of new thermal paste (in the right amount, originally there is too much used from Apple’s assemblers)
• assembling of new solder connections (containing lead)
• assembling of the GPU
• cleaning of the mainboard and the cooling parts
• stress tests

The result: I got back a working machine with 6 month warranty on the work. The hardware is still the same, old board, old GPU. The connections are now soldered with lead, because it’s recommended for a higher durability and to eliminate the risk of embrittlement – so I pleased him to do so.

I paid 100 Euro for the repair and I have got a much better feeling than with a replacement board after having learned all that about the origin of the failure and after having read your stories.

That’s what I can recommend: Search for companies like MJ Computer Wuppertal, write Markus an e-mail, make a repair order and you will get back a working machine. His website is in German only, but under “Impressum” you find a phone no., mail and postal address. I have been there and it’s a very trustworthy company.

I hope that I can help you with that, I was extremely frustrated and I am very glad now that my problem is finally solved. I would appreciate to here from you if you can share my experience.

Cheers.

One important thing to add: It might happen that this method fails and the board cannot be used any more. Keep in mind that there is a risk. As I heard Apple might than be even more uncool with repair offers, the repair flat cannot be used and it might be more expensive to change the board at an Apple Store than it would have been if you would have done the repair at Apple before trying a third party repair. I have no experiences with that, the only one I can report that it worked fine in my case.