Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I wouldn't waste any time taking it back to Apple.  They were supposed to fix the video problem.  They didn't.  Plus it has some problems that it didn't have before.

So what should I do? It's still under the 90 day replacement program warranty so I can get another logic board replacement, I suppose.

Once the warranty runs out in May, I feel like I'll be at an impasse: either get a new computer (picking between 2 bad choices: another Mac which may have worse problems down the line than the 2011 I have now or a crappy Windows one that won't last more than a year and a half) or suck it up and pay someone else to  fix the 2011 MBP I have.

Personally I would take it back to Apple and continue to do so until they either repair the machine properly or replace it.

Don't suppose anything, just take it back.  In my humble opinion, until the end of the repair extension program on Feb. 21, 2016, if your machine is having the problems that the program is intended to fix, you can bring it in and Apple will fix it for free, even if it has already been "repaired" under the program.  That is what I was told at the Apple Store in Basel, Switzerland, and it make sense.  No, I don't have it in writing.  In Switzerland it is customary to take a person't word for something that sounds logical anyway.  And it is logical:  Apple has committed to repairing your machine, not to exchanging the motherboard.  As long is they fail to repair it, you should be able to take it back.  The ninety-day warranty on parts and labor is a standard thing.  The intent is evidently to cover problems that arise from some component on the replacement board being faulty and causing problems that aren't covered by the repair extension program, or problems caused sloppy work when installing the board.

I think what you have to understand is, the recurrence of the video problems is your ticket for a free repair.  And that ticket admits one sick machine until Feb. 21, 2016.  But it's not valid for any other kinds of problems not covered by the program.  For that you have another ticket, the ninety-day warranty, and your argument for invoking it has to be, you have a problem that you hadn't had before the repair.  Even then, you have to hope that Apple will indeed be able to trace it back to the repair, but that is a reasonably safe bet, since, the thinner Apple attempts to make these things, the more they become just a motherboard, a screen and a battery.  Juar don't waste any time in taking the machine back to Apple if either the video issues reappear or something else is evidently not right.  The limited validity of your "tickets" is not the only reason not to.  The more you change in the machine between the time you get it back "repaired" and the time you conclude that you have no alternative but to take it back, the harder it becomes to identify the cause of the problems.

Also don't waste any sleep wondering whether the next repair will be any more successful that the last.  Since you have no numbers from Apple, you can't begin to seriously calculate probabilities.  Then, too, other people have reported in this thread that after unsuccessfully attempting to repair a machine for a certain number times Apple offers a replacement.  So bide your time, be patient, polite but firm, and you can at least be sure that you won't end up with an expensive paper weight.

Good luck!

I think that'll be my plan. I'm going to bring it to the Apple Store soon to hopefully get another logic board replacement and hope that fixes my problem so I can finally be done with this graphics/soldering mess. I believe that all I have to do is show up and tell them I'm having graphics issues again and if the board fails the graphics diagnostic test, I should get another replacement.

Thanks for your input, Richard. I agree that if users experience logic board issues after the 90 day period is up, they should still qualify for a replacement, as long as it's within the program period (before February 21, 2016). But when I went to the Genius Bar to get my first replacement under the program, I was told after the 90 days are up, I'm essentially on my own to get a fix for the logic board/graphics card. I hope the "genius" was just wrong about this since I went to the Apple Store 2 days after the announcement of the program so I wouldn't be surprised if not every employee was up to date on all the particulars of the program.

I also think Apple may be playing this replacement program by ear. They replace the logic boards and if a majority of them continue to fail, even after the 90 days, I (hopefully) believe that they'll provide another one. But if only a small number see failures out of the initial 90 day window, then those unlucky few may be out of luck. Obviously YMMV since I know places outside of the US have laws that protect the consumer, like the UK's Sale of Goods Act so even if their computer fail, Apple may be required to fix them for free.

On the question of whether a "repaired" machine can qualify for the repair extension program after the ninety-day warranty has expired, escalate your question until you either get a "yes," or you understand why the answer is logically "no."  There was at the beginning of the program and perhaps still is no unité de doctrine within Apple governing the matter.  As we agree, a commitment to repair affected machines for a year would seem to be somewhat hollow if it effectively redefined to mean ninety days' freedom from the video issues.

HI All,

Sorry to say that my "repaired" Macbook Pro 2011 is playing up again. I have been using it for since the january 2015 - date at which I got it back from the Apple Store - as a second computer for light duties like web, mail, etc. as I had bought a brand new 2014 MbP to be able to continue to work. Thinking it was working perfectly, I decided to sell the new 2014 Macbook Pro. So, a couple of days ago, I found a client and sold it.

I put the 2011 MbP back into "active service" with an external Cinema Display. And presto, two days later, the first symptoms are back again. The computer will overheat while sleeping and then becomes unresponsive to user input. The screen will flicker from time to time, etc. Exactly what preceded the total lock up of the computer the last time. The discrete GPU is aparently activated continuously with an external display connected.

So, basically, I'm just waiting for it to die again, backing up / cloning my data twice a day

Thanks for your report.  Why are you waiting for it to die before getting it repaired under the repair extension program?  Clone your boot disk, document the video issues with photos or videos, and waste no further time in taking it to Apple.

Regarding cloning:  It would of course be nice if the machine didn't act up while you're cloning the boot disk.  Boot to the recovery partition (ask Dr. Google how, if you don't know).  That should start enough of OS X to allow you to reinstall OS X (which you don't want to do!) , repair your boot disk (you might want to do that) and otherwise use Disk Utility.  Attach an external hard disk to your machine and use Disk Utility to clone the (repaired?) boot disk to it.

Good luck!

Hi Tine, sorry for the delayed response!

I just got my laptop back today, having handed it in on 7th April, so almost two weeks ago. I brought it to Easy-M, who have many stores in Brussels (I went to the one on Avenue Louise 107). They're an authorised Apple reseller/repair here. They seem to have done a good job, everything is working fine here, so time will tell I guess!

Alright, at this moment I am typing from my Macbook pro early 2011 17" 2.2ghz where it experienced the failing GPU, it all started in October last year, and when the repair program was launch went immediately to one of the AASP here in Muscat, Oman, that was February 28, 2015, I got a call only last week that the Main logic board have arrived and then last night that my machine is ready.

So i picked up while ago where the technician explained to me that they replace the board with the details in paper specially the serial number of the board, he said that everything is okey except that my hdd have a bad sector.

Now I have performed disk check and and even AHT but i got nothing.

But anyway, as long as I got back my machine, happy again.

good afternoon everyone. thought i'd pop in with an update. my machine was repaired 4 weeks ago. at first the colors sortof flickered around from warm tone to cool tone while "warming up". this seemed to happen only on the first day or two back from the shop. otherwise good. aside from that i do see  the blocky-antirendering on screen from time to time. this is contained within my browser window, and pretty much when it loads a page with video/flash etc that would likely cause the card to switch over. it's just a quick flash of the blockiness and then clear and good. guess like everyone else i will see if this is just a sortof switchover glitch or something more ominous.

Regarding this

i do see  the blocky-antirendering on screen from time to time. this is contained within my browser window, and pretty much when it loads a page with video/flash etc that would likely cause the card to switch over. it's just a quick flash of the blockiness and then clear and good

it could be some kind of trick on the part of the browser or browser plug-in or site.  The response seems to be much quicker if an approximate version of a page is rendered and then refined than if nothing is happening on the screen while the perfect rendering is being prepared/downloaded.

I had my MB replaced in sweden a few days ago. Macbook Pro Late 2011, Quad Core i7.

My problem with the GPU started when i bought an 1440p external display.

About a month using that display GPU died, and Apple replaced the MLB.

Im a computer technician and i figured that the problem was due to overheating.

I installed Macs Fan Control and monitored the PECI GPU. I sad to my self : better with more noise then burning the GPU again.

But still the freeze of the screen (AMD chipset) came again.

The temperature at witch the chip gets crazy is about 67 celsius.

So i maximized the fans to 6200 rpm and tried to reproduced the overheating by running a 2160p video file.

The screen frizzed again around 67 celsius.

Next thing i bought an external cooling plate, removed the back-cover of the macbook and im running right now by blowing cold air directly into the fans/mlb

I noticed a much lower temperature now, 40 celsius on both CPU and GPU  on standby mode.

Surfing the web and watch Netflix gives about 45-48 celsius CPU and 48-53 GPU.

The only difference is that the fans now can cool down the chipset faster because the cold air, but still if im overloading the GPU it dies around 67-70 celsius.

Im gonna call Apple again and find out if they have another chipset instead of AMD.

Conclusion: This computers are not made for intense grafical overload.

P.S.

I opened my window and cooled down my room to about 17 celsius.

Tested again by running first one 2160p video -> more stable no freeze.

Added another 2160p video , GPU goes now to 70 celsius, fans are at 6200rmp --> no issues anymore.

Conclusion 2: These laptops need a lot better cooling system, or chipsets producing less heat.

I apologize.  I'm confused.  You say, you had your motherboard replaced a few days ago.  Was it replaced under the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues (https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/).  If so, it should have received a revised motherboard, and you should try to operate the machine normally, i.e., without changing the default behavior of the fans and without the cooling plate that you were using before.

If the replacement of the motherboard was not done under the repair extension program, I would recommend enquiring whether the replacement board is one of those being used in the program and, if not, confirm that it qualifies, then take it in.  Apple is refunding the cost of previous repairs; you will have to produce receipts.

I doubt that Apple will agree with your opinion that the AMD chipset is not suited to the purpose.  The existence of the program does indicate, however, that the way the chips were mounted on the motherboard was suboptimal, and, in some machines, the board should be replaced by a revised one.

Yes it was replaced under the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues.

However problem remains, but because i remove the display port cable as soon as the GPU freezes i can reboot the computer.

So the MB is not damaged but reacts to overheating.

By cooling it the way i explained above the computer is capable running intense video graphics.

How do i find out if the MB they put in is revised?

On the dispatch i can only see MLB, 2.2GHZ,QUAD CORE i7 and a serial number

Apple hardware test AST is OK