Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

All I'm expecting is a warranty extension program, I can't see why Apple is not doing the right thing.

juat picked up my Early 2011 MBP from the local Apple Store. This is the 2nd logic board that they have replaced under AppleCare warranty. The genius with whom I worked said to me "if you have any more issues with this machine, just come back and I will see what we can do to get a new MBP in your hands.

So here's hoping for the best, one way or the other.

Michael

Just recevied my MBP from my apple reseller. They switched the logicboard and luckily it was still covered under warranty. It's been a week since I've used it, and nothing is wrong thus far. Hoping it'll last and not just some temporary fix. Sending it back to them is so troublesome.

so I picked up my 2011 MBP yesterday from the GeniusBar. They installed a replacement logic board (this is the 2nd one since August). Today the screen is "splitting" even in SAFE MODE!! (I have a video of it freaking out as proof).

So back it goes again to the local Apple store.

Here's to wishing me that Apple decides to give me a new machine (as implied when I picked it up a day ago).

Michael

I, too have this issue. However, the affected computer is a MBP 15" Late 2011. So it appears that the problem may not be limited to early 2011 machines.

Specs: 16GB RAM, 1T SSD boot drive, 2.2GHz Intel core i7, intel HD graphics 3000 512M

Running Parallels 9.

For me, it started just after installing Mavericks. From the thread here, I suspect that Mavericks had nothing to do with it, but that it was a problem waiting to happen. I'm a heavy user. The computer is on 24/7 and travels with me continually. It gets so hot that I can't put it on my lap without being burned. I finally invested in fan platform to keep it a little cooler. I do suspect the heating/cooling issue referred to in this string is the culprit, or the GPU is simply faulty and burns itself out over time.

BTW, i also have a 17" MBP early 2011 that has had no problems to date. I wonder if the extra size allows the board to stay cooler...

And, I agree with most all the comments here: When you pay a premium price for a computer, you expect premium quality, life span, and any defects in hardware, regardless the cause, should be dealt with as a warrantee issue. That 15" MBP cost easily 2-3 times what any fully tricked out PC would have cost.

I'm working in Malaysia, so running down to an Apple store is not in the picture, nor is sending it off for weeks to be "looked at". So, I'm seriously considering spending the $600-$800 logic board replacement cost to just buy a good PC and be done with it.

It's sad when a company like Apple simply ignores a massive defect and believes their loyal base will remain loyal. They could easily replace every defective machine - with a new 2013 model, and it wouldn't even show as a blip on the P&L for the year. As it is, it looks like many loyal users are seriously thinking about moving to the PC base. Their comment will be, "I would love to have a Mac, but I just can't trust them anymore." As stated here too, our comments are only the tip of the iceberg. We're the techies who know where to look for solutions. I wonder how many people just closed the case, put the machine on a shelf and went out and bought a PC.

Goodwill is hard to build and easy to destroy. Every one who has a problem that can't be resolved or that costs us $800 to fix will tell 10 of our friends (mac users or not). They will tell 10 and so on. Apple's reputation is building, and not for the better. Tim Cook is nearing an inflection point in the history of the company. Let's hope he can see far enough into the future to realize that satisfied, loyal users outweigh almost any monetary costs.

Count me in as another victim of this issue

My early 2011 MBP started acting weird right after I installed Maverick. Random crash and weird diplay problems I know it sound insane, but it seems like a lot of people began to have this problem after installing Maverick. I was so sure it was a software related problem that earlier today I even formatted it and reinstalled OSX from scratch, but it crashed on me right after the first boot of the fresh install.

From there I knew it wasn't a software issue and after looking online I quickly found all those thread about the same issue with early 2011 mbp. Apparently, it is related to the 6750 display adapter. I installed a little utility to prevent graphic card switching and I set it to integrated intel graphics only so I'll see how it goes. If it stops crashing, I will know for sure it is related to the 6750 card.

Anyway, this whole thing is really not good and Apple have to do something about it. It seems to be happening to way too many people to be just a normal failure. It has to be some bad design and the fact that this problem starts appearing with maverick for A LOT of people is even more suspicious.

Wake up Apple and stand up to your reputation please!

There is no way I will pay the fruit premium another time if Apple doesnt do something about this issue.

Add me to the growing list. My early 2011 Macbook Pro went dead. I am going to the apple store to get it diagnosed, but I am of warranty so most likely my 2200 dollar investment just went down the hole. Thanks Apple

My son's MacBook has also gone phut.

Early 2011 MBP 15".

Blue screen, overheating. Graphics jumping about. Will sometimes boot up, but it's basically totally unusable.

It's out of warranty of course, so my son is now the proud owner of a smart-looking piece of useless junk. It took him a long time to save enough money to buy it.

Its getting frustrating to see the MBP sitting there useless while I am forced to use my 6 years old Sony Vios, which incidentally is working great. I expected the much costlier MBP to have a better reliability and life expectancy for the premium I paid.

I am seriously thinking of sending it to be repaired tomorrow by reworking the GPU instead of having a nice looking unreliable or non-functional MBP gathering dust.

Add me to an increasing list of frustrated users.

BTW, mines a late 2011 15" MBP with 2.2Ghz i7 GPU Radeon 6750M and HD3000.

So after 6 months and many trips to the Genius Bar and two logic board replacements (covered under AppleCare warranty) and a handful of online support cases and lots of gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, yesterday a very considerate Apple Genius exchanged my unreliable early 2011 MBP for a brand new MBP! Gratis. The manager of the store did not seem particularly happy about it but this Genius was a senior level guy and the manager took his word for it.

The lessons I have learned:

• document everything, being methodical and consistent
• be friendly with the support staff and never accusational
• be patient
• and finally, be sure to purchase AppleCare
• find an individual with whom you can work (and one who is senior level) because it is going to take a while to resolve

I wish the best for the rest of you. May you have as much satisfaction as I have with Apple.

Still a loyal fan

Michael

Hi Manjax23,

I'm based in mumbai. Can we please get in touch? I had the thermal paste replaced, but the problem came up and now it doesn't go past apple screen with red lines and fans on full speed.

Thanks

Hello

I have same problem with my Macbook pro 17" late 2011. The screen is black and I take it to autherized sevices. They told me the logic bord fail and problem with GPU. I am going to replace the logic board.

I think Apple must think more and pay attention for this issue because a lot of people have the same problem with the same devices.

I have been experiencing the same issues with my Macbook Pro 15-Inch Early 2011.

When it boot, the apple gray logo show lines in whole screen.

When it start OSX, i open Safari or other software and the screen split in 2 parts, mouse icon change to error lines and then my screen turn completely gray with no more to do just restart again.

What we can do?

Apple please Enter this model to a Exchange and Repair Extension Programs!

It cant be that so much people have the same problem.

Add another MBP to the list.

While operating OS X 10.9 on MBP A1286 2.2GHz late 2011 my screen flashed and went black when watching a YouTube video. A forced restart gave me a gray screen after the Apple logo. A second forced restart in Single User mode presented me with a dark blue screen after the Apple logo. A third reboot in verbose mode allowed me to download and install gfxCardStatus.app 2.2.1. I am now able to use the MBP with gfxCardStatus.app installed.

I was not aware of a heat problem nor a racing fan.

Well, count me in too. Another 15" MBP from early 2011, randomly locking up when the discrete GPU is in use. Sometimes it takes a couple of attempts until I can boot it up again, I immediately use gfxcardstatus to lock it to the internal GPU. Unfortunately switching users seems to use the discrete GPU anyway, so switching to a second user is when it usually locks up.