Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

With the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues Apple has committed to repairing your machine.  If it is experiencing the same problems after the repair as before, then, by definition, it has not been repaired, and it really should not matter what work was done.  Remember, you have a ninety-day warranty on the motherboard and the work that was done to install it.  So, just reassembled the machine, undo all the changes to the fan configuration that you made, operate the machine as it was intended to be, even with an external monitor, and make photos and/or videos of the machine experiencing the same video issues as before.  Then take the machine back to the store that attempted to repair it, and tell them the video issues are still there.  If it doesn't fail their diagnostic programs, show them the photos and/or videos as evidence.  Now the ball is in their court.  It is not your obligation to make the failed repair a success by resorting to the extraordinary measures that you describe.

Why should you persist in your efforts to have the machine repaired?  First, because presently you are evidently spending more time pampering it than working with it.  Second, because I believe after three failed attempts to fix a problem Apple will replace your machine.  Either way, whether they finally repair it or replace it, I think you would admit that the outcome would be an improvement over the current situation.

I understand!

But the only thing they can do is replacing the motherboard again.

The way i see it they replace motherboards with the same version/chipset.

This will never work unless they provide newer/better mb!

But the only thing they can do is replacing the motherboard again.

The way i see it they replace motherboards with the same version/chipset.

Reports about the original boards claimed that heat was stressing the soldering points of the external GPU.  Assuming that that is correct, then there would be at least two logical ways of attacking the problem:  reduce the heat or do something about the soldering points.  Some contributors to this thread have reported having had good success with third parties reflowing the solder that attaches the GPU to the motherboard.  Others are saying that their repaired machines run cooler.

If Apple is using the same chips on the revised boards as on the original, then they evidently are of a different opinion than you about the chipset.  But please, do what you want.  Continue to operate your machine with all the life sustaining measures that you feel proves your point, or do as I suggested.  If Apple succeeds in repairing your machine, then you were wrong about the chipset, but you'll be able to use it the way you intended to when you bought it.  If they don't, you can retain your doubts about the chipset while enjoying working on a replacement machine.

I went to the Genius Bar to get my computer tested for the VST/graphic chip issue. They ran the diagnostic and it passed, the diagnostic took about 15 minutes so it ran the whole diagnostic; unlike in February when my MBP failed the diagnostic within 30 seconds.

But they couldn't figure out why my computer was running at such a slow pace. The technician in the back and the genius couldn't agree on what was causing the problem. They repaired the harddrive bracket because the genius thought the circuits (or something) weren't sending signals to the logic board fast enough but that didn't fix it. Then the tech said it was the brand new (very expensive) RAM I had put in last month that was causing it to slow down. I knew this was total bull because Activity Monitor says I have 6gbs (out of 8gbs) of RAM free and it's still slow AF. But because I used "third party RAM" they couldn't confirm that it was RAM so I said I'll bring the MBP back in a few days after I put back the original RAM.

I asked if the computer is still slow after I put the original RAM in, what then? The tech said if it's not the RAM, it may be the logic board used in the repair and that it may not be compatible with my machine or causing another (unknown) issue. It all goes back to the logic board!

I made another appt at that Genius Bar for later this week and hopefully we can fix the logic board once and for all! I feel like I've been to my local Apple Store so often the employees already recognize me. It'd be funny if it weren't true.

I understand that you took your machine back for two reasons:  (1) the static-like lines, i.e., the video issues for which you had the machine repaired, and (2) the slowness.

Did you have an photos or videos of the repaired machine experiencing video issues?

Regarding the third-party RAM, just play along with them.  You're right to be sceptical.  After all, you bought the RAM after the repair, when you discovered that the machine had become slow.  I would just advise you to be prepared with photographic evidence of the video issues after the repair.  You really want to concentrate on them, for, in the worst case, the machine will prove to be just as slow with the original RAM as with the RAM you installed after the repair, and the technician will argue that that is to be expected with less RAM, and your (more) RAM didn't improve things because it is third-party RAM.  Of course, if the technician agrees that, even with the original RAM, the machine is slow, all the better.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to recreate the video/graphics issue so I can take a video/picture of it, it's very sporadic and it happens for a second or two and it's gone. It happens in the most random of times, like when I switch tabs on a browser so I'm never prepared to take proof. I don't believe I mentioned it before but the MBP also likes to restart randomly by itself, something that's happened to a lot of users on this thread and to me before I got the repair.

I'm lucky that the Genius I had was very helpful and acknowledged (at least to me, in a hushed tone) that the third party RAM was likely not the issue because he ran every diagnostic on the machine and everything passed (hard drive, RAM, graphic chip, etc). I hope he's there again when I go back later this week.

Static-like lines:  Then I guess there were other issues that required the repair.  You aren't by any chance using an Apple LED Cinema Display 24", are you?

No, I'm not using another screen. Before my MBP stopped working altogether last year, I occasionally attached it to my 40" TV for streaming purposes, which in hindsight probably deteriorated the graphics chip more than anything else.

mamihlapinatapai wrote:

 

Unfortunately I haven't been able to recreate the video/graphics issue so I can take a video/picture of it, it's very sporadic and it happens for a second or two and it's gone. It happens in the most random of times, like when I switch tabs on a browser so I'm never prepared to take proof. I don't believe I mentioned it before but the MBP also likes to restart randomly by itself, something that's happened to a lot of users on this thread and to me before I got the repair.

 

I'm lucky that the Genius I had was very helpful and acknowledged (at least to me, in a hushed tone) that the third party RAM was likely not the issue because he ran every diagnostic on the machine and everything passed (hard drive, RAM, graphic chip, etc). I hope he's there again when I go back later this week.

Your descriptions have been often repeated on the pages of this discussion and are like what happen to my computer.   The problem progressively gets worse.  In my case it took about a month. 

You might look into installing a copy of gfxCardStatus so you can see which sites cause the discrete graphic processor to be activated.  Its my experience that sites or applications (iPhoto for instance) will cause the symptoms to appear more often.

My guess, based on reports on this discussion, is that Apple has created a diagnostic that forces the discrete graphic processor to activate and is more predictive.

Yes, it's very unfortunate that I'm not the only person having the same problems. It seems to be pervasive, at least on this thread, so even if the tech at the Apple Store thinks it's the RAM I installed, the other symptoms (restarting by itself, random graphics glitches/lines) suggests that it's the logic board.

Hopefully everyone can get their computers fully working and continue to work for a long time since we all paid a hefty premium for a high end notebook that was crippled by streaming HD videos or hooking it up to an external display, neither of which should've been an issue when you paid $2k+ on a computer.

Run Photo Booth. It lunches discrete GPU, use some effect or try to record a video, it will show you glitches for sure

Had my logic board replaced 3 times by Apple and still had issues, and Apple actually gave me a new 15 inch Macbook Pro Retina! 

I don't get it why is apple not replacing our laptops with 2012 logic boards that seem to have no graphic issues. It would be more permanent fix...

Not meaning to be a wise guy:  Because they wouldn't fit?  Did you ever wonder how Apple makes every laptop thinner than its predecessor and its battery life longer?  Everything is designed together.  Even if the appearance would lead you to conclude otherwise, the motherboard for a later model might have different screw holes, might not fit around the battery, might not support the wireless cards, etc.   In the case of the 17" models, the late 2011 MacBook Pro 17" is the last 17" model that was produced.

Thanks, I'll try that. I have to reinstall the (old) RAM that came with the MBP before I go back for my next Genius Bar appointment.

@TheSnapDude - I think you're one of the lucky few who've been given a new MBP after repeated failures from the 2011 model. You said you had 3 logic board repairs, were they all replaced before the replacement program? Did you do any stress tests/run graphic intensive programs/videos/hook it up to an external monitor that you think caused the repeated failures?