2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Hi friends,

Call me crazy but yesterday, I switched on the laptop and It appeared the grey screen. The computer was totally frozen like always. I put it inside a blanket totally covered for 5-10min and it was really very hot after. I left it got back cool for 10-15min (ambient temperature) and I switched on later...It worked..¡¡¡¡¡. I remembered that I´ve got the smcFanControl so I switched on it and put the fans to 5000rpm. The temperature initially was on 25° Celsius. After I ran some apps like Safari or iPhoto, it raised to 30°-32° but it still works. After I ran Photoshop CS5, It raised to 45°C-48°C but still works. I´m going to try with Final Cut and some apps like DaVinci Resolte which needs a lot of RAM and GPU resources. The Mac runs slow but I think that if you need to recover information or files from your Mac, It can works. I´m doubting it can help us to do anything else but at least I can access to OX. Next steep will be replace the thermal paste on the CPU. Some users told something about reballing. Maybe reballing and one of this cheap tables with fans working together it can delay the problem again until Apple decides to launch a worldwide repair programme. I hope it helps. I keep on fighting to let Apple know they can´t ignore us and the issue.

Same problem here with a MacBook Pro early 2011 but I am only facing this problem using bootcamp runing windows 8.1

My system is a Windows 8.1 x64 Pro with Boot Camp 5.1 running on a 2011 17 Macbook Pro. I'm experiencing Windows crashes and distorted screen images with artifacts almost every time I start programs that require heavy video-processing (e.g.: games). The problem also happens, even if rarely, at random without doing anything particular.

Any fix ?

Well Yes you are right I got same problem in OS X today and after few sec screen was normal again but system was stuck or freezed and I restarted by pressing and Holding power button and got following screen.

Its a MacBook Pro 17 inch Purchased in June 2011.

Same here. MacBookPro8,3, late 2011 17" i7 with a Radeon 6770M, it's under two years old.

As of about two days ago, I have intermittent graphics glitches/crashes, Windows 7 has more issues and Mavericks so far only in discrete graphics mode. Anything that uses the GPU pretty much guarantees a crash and an exciting new stripy pattern.

I have insurance but on past experience I'd expect them to say this is a manufacturing defect, I doubt Apple will agree but they can't both be right. I'm also in the UK so there's the Sales of Goods Act, £2,500 for a laptop that lasts under two years sounds fairly unfit for purpose to me.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-p roduct

I guess then if Apple don't even recognise you can reball the GPU, they can't really refuse a subsequent replacement logic board when they admit this is a design flaw.

I mean, I'd only be doing it 'cos it's the only option left if I want to use this £2,500, supposedly premium grade, PC beating, audio/graphics professional laptop I bought only two years ago for anything more strenuous than keeping up with this thread or stopping some very impoerant papers from blowing away.

Sometimes.

Interesting conversation with a "Genius" at the Apple Store. When I mentioned that the 2011 iMac had a recall due to a faulty GPU, he said that Apple does not do recalls, and that it was not on the official list, which he quickly pointed to on his iPad.

https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

That's funny Mr. Genius. I found it here.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167

For those heading to the Apple store--print these out for reference if they act as if they are not aware that there could be such a thing as a widespread issue for Apple products.

Hey guys,

I have a Macbook Pro 15 inch Intel Core i7 2.2 GHz late 2011 Memory: 10 GB

2 x HD 750.16 GB 5400 rpm and 1 x 250 SSD

Bought my Macbook Pro in 28/06/2012. I have no Apple Care.

Yesterday 10th of May 2014 my screen went to white with vertical lines after restart my screen got vertical lines or horizontal lines. I was working with Premiere Pro editing software with a blackmagic intensity extreme capture box connected via HDMI to my Dell 2701 screen.

Reboot several times in safe mode then my screen turned into Blue with Vertical Lines.

Did several reboot but with no succes my Macbook screen start with Apple Logo and end with white screen.

Top left keyboard got hot and fans are working hard.

I did a hardware test starting up with keyboard key D result was no trouble found.

Reading this forum and checked some screenshots It looks like that I have the same problem as a lot of other users.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with an Apple Repair centre.

Do you guys have some tips for me to resolve this problem ?

Thank you,

AndyGee

So far this week i'm not experiencing hanging anymore (only after fresh OSX 10.9.2 install)...

1. Settings > Energy Saver > tick OFF Automatic graphic switching...

Note: Delete gfxCardStatus if you have installed it. (because with gfxCardStatus it will tick ON Automatic graphic switching everytime you reboot/restart)

It has happened to me too, mine is a 15" early 2011i7 MBP. It started with random lockups a month ago and last week i crashed and got a half resolution purplish apple logo with interlaced lines on startup followed by a purply-grey screen and no OS bootup. I did all the PRAM stuff, hardware tests(all passed ok) and even obliterated my bootcamp partition before I found this thread. I can get the MBP to bootup in safe mode and this is what I see:

The "Genius" bar quoted me $310 to replace the logic board after running their tests on it to verify what I already knew. There is no way I am going to pay apple additional money to give me another logic board which contains the same defect that will fail again in the future. I have read up on as much info as I can about the 2011 MBP issue as I am an effected user.

It has been speculated that apple switched from leaded to unleaded solder for this particular generation of MBP's, but I cannot find confirmation on this. If this is the case it would be a smoking gun to the failure point.

I may try to use a heatgun on the GPU to resoften the solder and reconnect the pins as shown in this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8LqIHMnlQ

I may also consider doing it correctly and having the GPU raballed, but so far that seems fairly expensive too, as an example: http://www.mobilemactechs.net/Services/Services.html

From apples perspective I can see why they choose to ignore the "2011 MBP issue", it is clearly out of applecare warranty so the consumer is SOL, it's a 3+ year old product, they want you buying the new stuff. In my perspective people buy apples expecting them to not have as much planned obsolenses built in as their competitors do, but maybe that is just not the case anymore.

This whole experience has left me disappointed with apple, I use their products to edit video on final cut to make a living and when they don't properly support those products I can't help but search for alternative hardware and software. I will not recommend apple products to clients as long as this issue falls on deaf ears by apple computer.

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Hello guys!

I suffer a same problem since 2 months and it is very unsatisfying!

I tried to apply the different tricks for being sure after each restart it uses "Intel HD Graphics 3000" but I had many problems and after deleting all the AMD extensions instead of using "Intel HD Graphics 3000", it restarts on AMD And also Gfxcardstatus could not alter the graphic card because of erroneous beliefs about "external display"

Is any person known about this subject? Each time after a restart I have to apply the famous Heating method for resuscitating my MacBook pro 8.2, early 2011, 2.2 GHz i7, AMD 6750! Please help me to be sure after each restart, I won't put 30 min for using it!

I am sorry for my English😎

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Started with me end 2011,beginning 2012 (6 months normal use)

The effects on my screen are everytime different

I have re-installed MacOSX twice, but no:

Every time this happens the ventilator has been spinning before crashing....i use for the time being the integrated circuit only as i'm able to disable the discrete video-card...as soon as i swith on the the discrete, it crashes.....i also found that working from a external FW disk also prevents the problem...so it's as well probably heat-related...

So, finally I got my MBP e2011 from pro repair shop (not Apple). They replaced faulty GPU chip with a new one and now it seems, that computer works again. GPU was reballed with lead solder in October 2013, but after one month symptoms came back. I was advised (from repair shop, that made me reballing) to replace GPU chip, just for the price of a new AMD Radeon 6750m, that was 30€ and shipping back from Germany to Slovenia.

I am still figuring out under which OS (SL or Mav.) my MBP will last longer with a new chip. There are some differences between those two OS, how they are switching between integrated and discrete graphics. Any your experiences are welcome to share with me 😉

I also use Macs Fan Control app to control fans when to kick in.

I will still follow this thread and inform you if I will have graphic crashes again, but so far so good (two days now from repair).

This picture is a render from ACAD (1600x1200p). Before the GPU replacement, I was not able to produce this task without a graphic crash, white, gray, blue stripes, shifted screen picture etc. It looks now that i am able to do these tasks again.

samthing here..almost every model of Apple Laptop...starting form the 2000 Powerbook Pro , first Titanium to 3 aftrewards models of MBP.......so disappointed...so frustrating....

Mine is now 2 i7 with AMD Radeon HD 6490M....and this problem is since end 2011 / beginning 2012...so busy can't even miss my MBP for a week to get analysed....but at the moment can generate the problem at the moment i engage the discrete diplay driver......or freezes, or get blocks ..but most of the time it shows this:

Everything else has been ruled out, OS, drivers, dust...

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Hi folks,

same exact issues (and pics) on my MBP 15" 2,2 GHz Intel Core i7, Intel HD Graphics 3000, OS X 10.9.2, bought in early 2011-Italy.

So far it has been working well, in the last 2 weeks I'm facing the same issues you share; below there are 2 pics (very similar to abelliveau's ones..), need to force the restart, etc

It's pretty much clear to me that a huge amount of reports on the same issue cannot be a coincidence...tomorrow I'll meet the Genius Bar guys let's see what they say

For people who can not immagine what environmental factors mean to this problem, here are some pictures of one of the 2011 MBP I received for repair today, I will let you make the judgment and find one of the reasons your computers are overheating and failing.