Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Same problem here...

  Nom du modèle :          MacBook Pro

  Identifiant du modèle :          MacBookPro8,2

  Nom du processeur :          Intel Core i7

  Vitesse du processeur :          2 GHz

  Nombre de processeurs :          1

  Nombre total de cœurs :          4

  Cache de niveau 2 (par cœur) :          256 Ko

  Cache de niveau 3 :          6 Mo

  Mémoire :          8 Go

  Version de la ROM de démarrage :          MBP81.0047.B27

  Version SMC (système) :          1.69f4

  Numéro de série (système) :          C02G76Z4DRJC

  UUID du matériel :          A7586A89-ED3B-5C45-B9AA-EFD0127830E4

  Capteur de mouvement brusque :

  État :          Activé

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd weigh in on this... My MB Pro 2011 2.2 i7 15" with the 6750 chip also failed... I was dreading the Apple store genius bar appointment today at Bentall Centre in Kingston-upon-thames, London UK as I bought the MB in February 2011... So it's significantly out of warranty...

They diagnosed the problem, as is described exactly in this forum - needing a new logic board... He quoted £416.40 incl VAT. (£323 for the board, £24 labour and £69.40 VAT)... Then... all of a sudden he's like "We've got this covered" - There was me getting ready to start going mental on everyone in the store...But yep... He took the MB Pro in and said it'll be fixed in 3-5 working days, for free!

Maybe Apple have 'secretly' acknowledged the issue? Or maybe it depends on which store / who deals with you or maybe this was a late Christmas present from Apple to me... Either ways, I hope everyone else gets their issues sorted... It does seem that maybe, just maybe, they're acknowleding the issue...

OK, now I do not count on apple. Does anyone know what needs to be replaced in computer, to eliminate the problem? Buy what I need and I'll give the site an independent who will replace. Once already mentioned in this way the GPU, but after six months the problem returned.

sabbir, keep us updated. and try to get number of the issue or repair order number

Finally I think I got it resolved. This info might help those in bangalore.

Here goes my experience, I took Apple's MBP to apple reseller (imagine) store, Bangalore. They appeared as if Apple had brain-washed them and feeded recorded messages. System doesn't boot -> replace Hard-disk. Display crashes -> replace logic board or Screen. All I heard in my 30 min discussion was REPLACE..this..that..

And that too replacement does costs huge money and time (in my case, replacement products once ordered would take 5-7 working days).

After googling/researching stuff for nearly a week, concluded that GPU chip had thermal paste issues and needed to be reballed.

I took my laptop to microworld, Margosa Rd, Malleshwaram for a BGA Reballing. The whole process took around ~1.5 hrs and costed me Rs. 2,500/-. To my disbelief MBP back to life again.. and so far, no reboot, no crashes...

Apple should not only learn to take responsibility, but should also train their reseller on how to provide cost-effective solutions.

Just thought i'd chime in - it's been 4+ weeks since my last confession.

To re-cap

- Same problems as the majority listed here

- replacement board ordered - 1+ week wait

- Board arrives - board DOA

- Wait 1+ week again (around 18 days total)

- Board replaced.... had issues with the IR connector but re-seating the cable fixed it

Since then I haven't had any issues

I'm running the discerete card every day for around 12/15 hours a day (dual monitors)

I ran the system quite hard with virtual labs as I was preparing for exams

Temperature around 82-85 degrees fans on max

I do think i got a fairly "virgin" replacemement board as my thunderbolt firmware was thesame as what the early 2011 MBP shipped with

I try to at least once a day to cause the sytem to switch between integrated and discrete gpu as this is when I would see issues... all good so far.

Almost a week ago I sent a letter to the Apple BeNeLux Headquarters. No reply so far, could be due to Christmas etc. Still hoping to get an official reaction soon. I explained my situation to them, also pointing out this forum thread was growing to an insane amount of replies and pointing towards some other websites that report the issue. I'm afraid they'll just tell me it's out of warranty and I'll have to pay for logic board replacement, but I thought I had to give this a shot. Will keep you updated about it.

DASonneveld wrote:

 

Almost a week ago I sent a letter to the Apple BeNeLux Headquarters. No reply so far, could be due to Christmas etc. Still hoping to get an official reaction soon. I explained my situation to them, also pointing out this forum thread was growing to an insane amount of replies and pointing towards some other websites that report the issue. I'm afraid they'll just tell me it's out of warranty and I'll have to pay for logic board replacement, but I thought I had to give this a shot. Will keep you updated about it.

If you can't get it sorted, live in BeNeLux too.

Might be able to help you.

Thanks D3us, I will contact you if Apple's not willing to help.

Hi, so just as an update... Handed my MB Pro yesterday to Kingston Bentalls Centre... Received an e-mail in the evening telling me that the work has been completed, picked it up this morning and it's working fine... The repair ID is : R111683421.

I hope this brings some positive outlook... Apple have been great.

@DASonneveld,

I live in Utrecht having the same problem. I had my GPU reballed to no avail. Now going to try to replace the GPU with a new one. If you are interested in the results and how/where to do this (in case Apple is not coming for help), send me an email (vivaarjan on gmail).

gfxCardStatus is not useful if the computer doesn't finish booting to a login window.

Only the early 2011 MBP's are lemons, not the late ones, so Apple does know how to fix it.

No, both are (seek through the threads and see for yourself).

Anyway, those interested in a GPU replacement..

The internal part number for the 6750M is

Hi,

Add me to the list. Early 2011 mbp 2Ghz

My macbook died early 2012 due to an unrelated issue and I had my logic board replaced. When it came back it functioned well for a month- until the gpu glitches appeared. Due to circumstances I never returned it to have the logic board replaced- again- but recognised the issue to be with the amd chip and disabled it with software. Managed to squeeze a few weeks worth of use out of it, but finally it refused to boot. Mid 2012 this issue was not really that well known- and I could not find any info on the internett of similar faults. Disappointed- I packed it down and never opened the box until I early this December decided pick it appart for scraps.

After seriously voiding the warranty I found that the thermal paste on the cpu and gpu where more or less cooked away with little or none contact. After replacing the paste I was able to boot the machine- but the glitches still appeared when the gpu was sufficiently loaded.

When I found and read through this thread I realised that the only good solution for me was a gpu replacement. I packed the logic board and shipped it to bga_repairs. Within a week I received an email with photo proof of the job and shortly after that my mac was good as new. It was not that expensive either- certainly less expensive than having my whole macbook shuttle back and forth by airmail to the service center- as that is my only option in order to have it serviced.

Happy new years people! My macbook can now handle real work again:)