Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Thought I might add myself to this debacle. Running an early 2011 MacBook Pro showing the same issues as the rest in this thread. Grateful for the temporary fixes here that allows the MBP to function on the integrated card for the time being.

This has lawsuit written all over it, just like the issue iMac screens going out. Apple, just do the right thing. You have enough money to resolve this fairly. Most of us however can't afford to pay for possible repeated repairs every few months!

Well, to all the Apple Fanboys here and the people who have not so much knowledge about computers, here is a small primer of what is happening when you go to the "Genius" Bar ( what a weird name anyhow ).

Most of the "Genius" are not actually hardcore microelectronic engineers. They are trained screwboys. They have an general understanding of the architecture of the System as much as any 16 year old had, when he assambled his own computer back in the day ( sure some of them are more "motivated" but we talk about generalities here that applies for 90% of all Apple stores ).

So what they do: they run a standardized hardware test to see whats wrong with your computer. Or better, which comoponent fails. They don't necessarily know WHY or HOW. This test doesn't tell them that...to find that out, it would mean you have to dig down VERY deep and that would normally cost more then a week and some man power. Because of time and economical issues, they usually just replace the whole junk. Its easier, its cheaper...but of course as long as not someone of the real engineering department is looking into it, the problem NEVER really will be analyzed ( its like with Car manufacturers, nowadays the mechanic is merely replacing blackbox components). So, if you bring you MBP to the "Genius bar" that is whats happening .

With this problem, obviously they are over-challenged cause they can only replace ( apple doesn't give them more authoritiy anyways ). So, as long as Apple is not putting someone from the Hardware department on it, it won't be really fixed.

The fix of running the integrated gpu is just a FIX! Its not a solution. For some people it also doesn't work just because they work with software that REALLY needs good GPU support and the light-weight Intel is just not providing the sets. Period. If you use your machine as a glorified Facebook operation station, a typewriter or do some lightweight photo editing...then you actually couldn't care less.

But everything from Videoediting, to Soudnediting to 3D animation...there is no way how you can make this work without the GPU supporting you. It is either so slow that you want to smash your head against the wall or it just doesn't work ( believe me, been there ).

SO ...can we now actually cross to the realm of possibilities that make sense and try to keep organized in pressuring Apple into doing something...or at least admitting that they don't do anything and recommend to buy just a new one on good faith. That would help us all more. Apple is not a bad company and lucky for them, they have one of the best operating systems on the market, but they became complacent and comfortable and seem to more and more consider the Working-Computer market as a pain in the butt. Neglecting it badly. Generally it is of course more economical to sell digital throw away products like IPhones and IPads...

@ t500

t500 wrote:

 

3 months ago I paid Apple $300 months ago for the replacemnt. Now its died again. I cant believe it.

If you are just a few days over the 90 days, then Apple will probably still will help you without any additional costs, at least you can try it. Go to the Apple Store and tell them the whole story.

Do you have also this Graphics Issue?

Enjoy your 

After the "fix" I tested Protools, it works. But as I suspected all waves plug ins are just blank pages because they need the main graphic cards to show they GUI, the sessions open normally but I cant use some of the plug-ins. As well the CPU temperatues are around 98 celcious degree alot more than before. So yes I can get the job done but hard to get work done. Thanks apple_power anyway.

Hi. I have the same problem. MBP 15' late 2011. Apple wake up!!! I have AppleCare but I'm not sure that this is panacea. Yes it is free of charge but nothing more.

I brought my macbook pro late 2011 at assistance, luckily it was still under warranty. But the problem is that the logic board is replaced, soon I will have the same problem. My work with an external monitor but I do not see the monitor of the macbook pro. Dead.

@ marcoliverhofer

marcoliverhofer wrote:

 

SO ...can we now actually cross to the realm of possibilities that make sense and try to keep organized in pressuring Apple into doing something...or at least admitting that they don't do anything and recommend to buy just a new one on good faith. That would help us all more. Apple is not a bad company and lucky for them, they have one of the best operating systems on the market, but they became complacent and comfortable and seem to more and more consider the Working-Computer market as a pain in the butt. Neglecting it badly. Generally it is of course more economical to sell digital throw away products like IPhones and IPads...

There is no need to put pressure on Apple or inform the press or call Jay Leno!!!!

All you have to understand, is that this is a Community Forum… or in other words Users help Users.

A few of us already informed Apple about this issue with links to this thread, so they know. But for a Replacement Program, Apple (as any other big Company) needs a certain number of incidents. This may sounds odd to you, many of you think a machine which cost $2000+ should last four times longer than a computer with a price tag of $500. This is wrong, even an Apple computer can break after a short time, most of it covered by the warranty. For extended warranty you can go for AppleCare.

Apple computers are made from standard components, the are no magicians at work nor they use holly water. But I have several computers from Apple and they are still working, e.g. a Mac PowerPC 8200 and even an original Macintosh 512.

So, yes Apple is an excellent brand and makes incredible products, but they can break too.

This is sad for all of us, but there are some ways to alert Apple about this issue, NO NOT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, I think at the present time it is not appropriate to ask for such a sledgehammer.

So what can you do?

• You can go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and file a 'Bug Report'
• You can contact the Apple Support here http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/contact/
• And you can make an appointment with a Genius in an Apple Store, just ask them to have a look at the problem and let them file the issue to the head quarter. (No need to leave it there)
• And at last, add a reply here, but be a little more specific, don't just write "Me to", also put what kind of MacBook you have, Graphics Card and look in you Logs for GPU and add that to the thread.

And for sure, you can go through all the points listed above

Enjoy your 

apple_power wrote:

 

@ marcoliverhofer

marcoliverhofer wrote:

 

SO ...can we now actually cross to the realm of possibilities that make sense and try to keep organized in pressuring Apple into doing something...or at least admitting that they don't do anything and recommend to buy just a new one on good faith. That would help us all more. Apple is not a bad company and lucky for them, they have one of the best operating systems on the market, but they became complacent and comfortable and seem to more and more consider the Working-Computer market as a pain in the butt. Neglecting it badly. Generally it is of course more economical to sell digital throw away products like IPhones and IPads...

 

There is no need to put pressure on Apple or inform the press or call Jay Leno!!!!

All you have to understand, is that this is a Community Forum… or in other words Users help Users.

 

A few of us already informed Apple about this issue with links to this thread, so they know. But for a Replacement Program, Apple (as any other big Company) needs a certain number of incidents. This may sounds odd to you, many of you think a machine which cost $2000+ should last four times longer than a computer with a price tag of $500. This is wrong, even an Apple computer can break after a short time, most of it covered by the warranty. For extended warranty you can go for AppleCare.

Apple computers are made from standard components, the are no magicians at work nor they use holly water. But I have several computers from Apple and they are still working, e.g. a Mac PowerPC 8200 and even an original Macintosh 512.

 

So, yes Apple is an excellent brand and makes incredible products, but they can break too.

 

This is sad for all of us, but there are some ways to alert Apple about this issue, NO NOT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, I think at the present time it is not appropriate to ask for such a sledgehammer.

 

So what can you do?

 

• You can go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and file a 'Bug Report'
• You can contact the Apple Support here http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/contact/
• And you can make an appointment with a Genius in an Apple Store, just ask them to have a look at the problem and let them file the issue to the head quarter. (No need to leave it there)
• And at last, add a reply here, but be a little more specific, don't just write "Me to", also put what kind of MacBook you have, Graphics Card and look in you Logs for GPU and add that to the thread.

 

And for sure, you can go through all the points listed above

 

Enjoy your 

Well, you have a point, however there is a relation between the price of a macbook and what you may expect from its lifecycle. In my country there is anyways The law states that a consumer may expect a economic lifecycle for a product in relation to the price. In other words; if a laptop dies after 2 - 2,5 years it DOES matter wheter it originally cost 500 euro of 2000 euro.

I'm not saying we should all sue Apple, but I really DO feel Apple has to start some sort of program for solutions.

But, that said, I have no idea how they could possibly do this, cause not all systems are from the same line-up (early / late 2011, or even 2012), and the faults are also a bit different - though there is definately a large userbase with the same problems.

Ok, first of all, let me tell you, I didn't just fell off the turnip truck....I actually revived this whole discussion some 100 threads ago or so...just go back if you find some time. Moving on..

I work in this field ( IT engineering that is) for quite some years now and I have to say, that all this "Apple will do this and safe the day" is a little bit wide eyed.

As you pointed out, it is like any other company. There are many signs that Apple is just well aware of this problem ( ways how they handled similar cases etc. ). I know that many people ran to their Apple store, so did I , twice...

But lets break it down. For a company like Apple, it is much easier to not do anything...AND cheaper, then starting a recall or overall repair program which would include new RD on top of it all ( which companies generally despise ). Apple has a strong reputation, that is why they can cannibalize it to a certain extend. There is always threshold of how far you can push it, but so far, Apple doesn't have to be afraid. People are still "on their side"...

We don't talk about some elements that just break once in a while...that is not the point.

Very obviously there is a problem with the device and its overall design. Period. Is it AMD's fault ? maybe...does it matter ? NO! Apple builts those things, test it properly, to some good Quality Control.

But apparently that has faild ( actually it started mainly in the last 5 years, before, I barely heard of this amoutn of recalls and repair programs ).

I would even say that the older Mac's had a good QC...but it looks like the policy is shifting ( as I have stated in my earlier post ). Its not about "just one" Mac that breaks. I'm not that up tight.

And concerning the money, yes, I would excpect from a premium product that it doesn't have design faults. Period. If I pay the money, I expect that they put the cost into QC. Imagine a Porsche that has a series wide failure with its breaks....that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it ????

Just stop being a blind Fanboy...will ya ? Start looking at the cases...

And many companies produced faulty products and only could get redirected after they were pressured into it...that is just the long history of consumer products.

I am sorry to say, I agree with marcoliverhofer. I think at the very most, if Apple even does acknowledge a defect is extend the warranty period on the motherboard to 3 years, which is starting to get close anyways. Any redesign or long term solution will never happen. Sorry guys but that is just the reality, at most they will swap out motherboards until the time runs out.

The problem is if Apple doesn't do anything about this, me and a lot of people are no longer gonna buy their products.

I've just talked for over an hour on the phone with a reballing specialist. This is what I'm told: since the Kyoto protocol, companies are no longer allowed to use lead in their solder, which generates a lot of problems, since the solder will start to melt down once the microcomponents start heating up and cooling down. He told me it's only a matter of time until most notebooks manufactured today start failing, specially in hot countries, but failing after only 2 years is more of a design flaw or poor quality control. So the way I see it, it's only a matter of time until a huge amount of people start noticing their 2000USD macbooks are failing due to the same issue.

I work with video editing, so I felt I was stuck to OS X and Mac computers. However, since the 2011 MBP issue, I'm anxiously looking forward to moving to Adobe Premiere and PCs, and I'm gonna be VERY vocal about it. PCs are cheaper and I have the option to choose a different brand if the one I'm using lets me down the way Apple is doing right now.

Brussels, Belgium, and same problem with a Late 2011 model. Gfxcardstatus installed so np, but unable to use an external screen, unable to play games, terrible graphics performance with motion and imovie among others.

Instead of moving over to windows as I'm a logic pro user, I'll have my logic board sent for a gpu replacement made by a reballing specialist. Count 300$ buddget and problem solved. I insist on the fact we're talking about a gpu replacement, an operation that Apple is unable to perform on a less than 2 years old machine that went out of warranty for some obscure reasons as the warranty should be 24 months  here in my country. Shame but... when the chips are from AMD, why blame Apple?

Guys, do it, shell out the 300$ ask your local reballer and enjoy your mac. It'll cost you less trouble and energy, and even money. If you need to blame a company, blame AMD for shipping apple defective gpu's by thousands, as YES you can count the cases by the thousands now, and YES AMD is responsible, because the RAM on the gpu is defective in our case.

This is a well known problem with all kinds of laptops, pc or mac. If now Apple could help us identify the gpu well so reballers could fix them properly 100% of the time, we'd all be grateful.

Hi. So glad I found this thread. I have an Early 2011 Mac Book Pro 15' bought on 26th March 2011.. My Mbp is completely dead. Won't boot past the apple logo followedby  a white screen..

Its on original 4 gm ram that came with it. Worked great for more than 2 years and then this happened...A few weeks earlier the problem started with random freeze with different colour screens and vertical lines all over the screen. Initially it was once or twice a week. Then it became once or twice a day..Then eventually 4 to 5 times a day. Last week it refused to boot. It would start and shut down instantly on its own. All given up it started up till day before yesterday.

     Since then its completely gone kaput. On trying to safe boot it gives a blue screen with white/yellowish vertical lines. On normal boot it gives the chime, shows apple logo and then a white screen. Thats it... nothing after that..The keyboard lights are not lit up. can get to the OS selection screen  by pressing Alt/Option key. Recovery does not work either.

Took it to Apple Authorized Service..They told me the GPU is causing problems and the logic board needs to be replaced for INR 38000. The replaced board would have only a 3 months warranty. So if this fails again I have lost both money and the computer.

As of now my INR.1,25,000 worth MBP is completely useless. Luckily my wife's Vaio which is almost 4 years old now is working flawless..Looking at so many problems of the same kind Apple should do the right thing here and get these faulty GPU's or whatever is needed to be replaced. I agree its AMD component thats causing the problem but we didn't pay AMD for our Mbp. We paid apple and a fault is a fault.

I refuse to shell out the 37k INR to replace the whole logic board as suggested by the Apple authorized service here in India. If they dont do anything about it..Apple has certainly lost me as a customer. Was already looking for a new PC when I came across this thread. I could get a new laptop of a different brand for that price which would work for another 3 years if not more.

I found a very competent reball specialist in my location, but so far have been unable to locate a GPU for replacement? It's a Radeon 6770M. Who sells this kind of component online?