Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

danielwilliam wrote:

 

That's correct. Most of what I read is people who have got their logic board replaced have been through more than one replacement. I can only recall reading one post where after 3 months, someone's computer was still funcitoning properly after a logic board switch. Everyone else is reporting the same issues after having their logic board replaced.

One of the frustrating parts of this issue has been the inability to track repair results long-term and draw any conclusions from them.  In the three longest threads about this issue, many users only post for a very brief period of time and the disappear when they are either satisfied or have given up.  There are so many people who post about getting a repair... and then never return after it's done.  Did the new logic board work out?  We'll never know unless they post again.  I'm inclined to think that some number of those people have had success, but who knows. 

So this post reminded me that I was overdue for an update!  I nervously exited the 90-day warranty period on logic board #4 about a month ago.  I use it constantly, and monitor the GPU switching with gfxCardStatus.  It uses both cards routinely.  I haven't seen any of the behavior that I saw with previous logic boards.  But I also know that this board likely has the same inherent defects, which means I'm not really ever going to be sure that the laptop is "safe."  That's why I continue to follow these threads. 

saramwrap wrote:

 

That's why I continue to follow these threads.

Same here - I had my logic board replaced eight days ago (but I had AppleCare so the replacement was free). My AppleCare expires in April of 2015 and I worry that I'll have to go through this again - as so many have. I've no idea why Apple isn't responding to this problem - likely it would be a logistical nightmare: the logic boards just don't seem to be a fix, and I doubt that they would build new boards to solve the problem.

I'll stay tuned to this thread - and hope that my logic board replacement continues to work.

Clinton

I had my logic board replace about 3 months ago and it's still working great. This is #1 for me. Hopefully, it'll last!

It's been a week since I got mine replaced. Up to now it's doing great, no problems at all. I have even noticed that the computer keeps cooler now while on stressfull tasks. Anyway, I've got 6 months warranty due to Spanish consumer laws, so I've got plenty of time to give it more and more work load and see what happens.

The worst bit of this all is that, as much as I'd love to invest in one of the new haswell retina models and had always intended to upgrade at some point, objectively speaking, it would probably be a poor investment wouldn't it?

Exactly the same here. When I bought my first own Apple laptop (first TiBook) I started a trend in the then 3 people company that would lead to everyone except for two people exclusively using Macs and we're talking about >60 people ATM.

If my MBP had went bad just a couple of days later I'd now be using one of the shiny new Haswell MBPs however since the coincidence of thousands of MBPs breaking all around the world I had to recommend a halt for buying new Mac products and I'm definitely holding off on buying one personally until this issue has been solved in a satisfactory manner; I definitely want to avoid creating the impression to Apple that it's okay to sit this huge problem out because the easiest "solution" is to simply replace a defect product with a new one.

Same story, early 2011 MBP keep it on integrated but fails once in a while (resulting in gray, blue vertical stripes or black screen at startup), even had it on ice today to cool it to normal levels. Only thing i can do now is read mail and surf the internet, aperture will start discrete and machine dies on me..

Is this a new lifecycle approach?

That's correct. Most of what I read is people who have got their logic board replaced have been through more than one replacement. I can only recall reading one post where after 3 months, someone's computer was still funcitoning properly after a logic board switch. Everyone else is reporting the same issues after having their logic board replaced.

It's still too early to tell because the flood of machines started failing only late in 2013 so they don't even have their boards for a full three months, for instance mine will turn 3 (months) on Feb 1. One thing that is pretty clear though is that many have obviously received refurbished boards likely even some that have been swapped but not properly diagnosed as faulty so they were being reused as replacement parts where they immediately started failing again. I for one would deem it very likely that my replacement actually was new since vendors usually do not downgrade firmwares to the first released (and thus quite buggy) version in the refurbishment process. A new board would actually mean that it should run about as long as a new device would.

This made the front page of Apple Insider.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/01/16/owners-of-late-2011-macbook-pros-repor t-critical-gpu-failures-system-crashes

If you get a replacement logicboard, it might be worthwhile opening up your mac and cleaning out the fans, then cleaning off the original thermal paste from the CPU and replacing it properly with new thermal paste.

Apparently the application of thermal paste on the CPU is very sketchy on the 2011 mbp. Going through these steps should make sure your mac doesn't overheat so much anymore. Also always work with it in a highly ventilated space.

Apple Achilles' heel  in the MacBooks has always been the GPU, I’ve had 5 different models and they all demonstrate a graphics issue at some point

My current is a 17in MacBook Pro that I’ve had in twice under AppleCare:

1) repaired once, failed within 3 days

2) repaired again, and it's been fine since Sept 2013

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,3

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 8 MB

Memory: 16 GB

Boot ROM Version: MBP81.0047.B27

SMC Version (system): 1.70f6

Chipset Model: AMD Radeon HD 6750M

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x8

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Well I guess I am part of the club now. I didin't know there is a thread so large on this issue until I read the Appleinsider article. Yeap I have the same issues / symptoms on my late 2011 15 Macbook.  Once in a blue moon will just freeze and be unresponsive or turn gray. Have to power cycle it. I had this issue since day one but never realized is a hardware issue.  So what's next? Is apple gonna pick up the bill?

Yup, I sent it around. I hope more portals will pick it up. I want to say thanks to AppleInsider for a great, kind and swift response. People need to know about this. I got really mad today when I was quoted $1000 for a replacement. This exact error in design, implementation and production of GPUs has been happening for three-four times in a row now.

I took my early 2011 15" Macbook Pro back to the Apple Store yesterday where I demonstrated repeatedly that the video was messed up and the finally agreed to replace the logic board.  This is after prior visits where they thought it was caused by the hard drive and cable which they replaced.  Fortunately, the gentleman at the Genious desk saw the issue and took it in for repair.  Fortunately, my Apple Care is good through March 11, 2014 and the replaced logic board is covered.

I had numerous hardware problems develop with my early 2011 15" MBP. The problem with the graphics card failure was what finally forced me to take the MBP to Apple for evaluation and repairs.

First I had all kinds of anomalies appear on my screen, isolated incidents at first, progressing to constant problems and then to complete failure a few months after the intial glitches. I was having trouble with the fans running with grinding noises at high speeds but apparently failing to cool various components within specs, according to Hardware Monitor's frequent warnings.

Ultimately I had no graphics at all, rendering the laptop 100% useless. I had multiple logic board problems starting several months after I bought the MBP: failure of one USB port and the SDHC card reader port, failure of the optical drive to write any media, failure of one side of stereo output. The official Apple diagnosis was that it was logic board failure, so I'm spooked quite a bit to find this thread.

For the record, my MBP was repaired in early September 2013 and the repairs have held up so far. However, Apple only replaced one of the two cooling fans, and one fan (I suspect it's the one that wasn't replaced) has been making a grinding noise at times, so eventually I'm taking the machine back to Apple for another round of repairs. Apple also didn't replace my screen, which has a darkened appearance around the perimeter. This time I will insist.

My condolences to anyone who's having to pay out of pocket for repairs. I am fortunate that my MBP is covered by AppleCare until this June. If there's going to be another hardware failure, I certainly hope it falls well within that window.

If this is such a widespread problem, has anyone considered going with the threat of a class action? It would seem a big enough problem to warrant this, given Apple's slow/non-response thus far.

I too am having this problem AGAIN on my late 2011 MBP. If I have another logic board replacement, this would make the 4th logic board they have gone through keeping my computer running. Make sure you take screen shots of it acting up if you have that opportunity before it finally crashes! Time to contact Apple Support again.