Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I have no idea what the cost is... Surely cheaper than a new macbook- that is my next option:)

First they replaced my gpu- got it back- a few weeks later on it started splitting again.

I sent it back to them and they have now replaced the vram and the problem is gone. As I said earlier- they still have my logic board for testing. For me that is not a problem as I have a stationary computer I can use. I`d rather they keep the logic board for testing than rushing to send it back to me:)

I guess when I get my logic board back I´ll know if this is a fix in the long term.

ohh...ok,i think i must check on my vram then. let me know how much they charged you for vram replacement;)    

RolandRoshim wrote:

 

Sorry for posting this again,but i think now i will make this much more clear:

Im just lost...few weeks a go i replaced that bloody amd radeon GPU chip because i though this will be the end for my problems and after one week i started to have similar issues...freeze,black blank screen and nothing... just power button off,and again on, and then its working again... im having this situation few times in a week...mostly while working on photoshop and sometimes even doing nothing,just listening music. No graphical artifacts, no screen splitting, or something like this.

Macbook pro 17-inch, Early 2011, 2,3 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB + AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB graphics

Question:

what do you think about all this situation i have after GPU replacement? I though this will be the end of my problems...but... Should i ask them to replace same chip again? But maybe problem exists not in the GPU ? Im lost, please kind people,help me with suggestions.

Depends, what did they do exactly?

Replaced with a new chip? Lead or lead free?

What equipment did they use?

If not done correctly, it can indeed fail again.

If a new chip chip, reflowing that again should fix it.

As mentioned VRAM can be a cause, but more on artifacts.

It can of course be the culprit on freezing etc too but that is mostly the gpu.

Who repaired yours? Contact them again, maybe they fix it for free again?

If done by someone really understanding the process it should be a long lasting fix.

Don't care what people say about reflow vs reball, but a good reflow can last longer then a bad reball.

If done using correct paramters and materials which many don't allways follow correctly...

Thx mate for kind answer, that gave me some ideas to think, will see.

I see a lot of people here are still asking if Apple will fix this issue free of charge. At this point, Apple doesn't recognize this issue, so we need everyone here to help bring it to their attention.

1. Take your MacBook to apple for diagnostics testing
   1. This could take up to a few days, so be prepared
2. Once you've gotten the test results back, if it is a logic board issue, call Apple and ask to speak to someone in Customer Relations.
   1. Go to this link for a list of support numbers --> http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57
   2. Tell the Customer Relations rep about your issue. If you give them the model number and the location you took it in, they will be able to look it up and confirm the problem. If enough Customer Relation reps hear about this, there's a chance Apple will finally recognize this issue. If Apple finally recognizes this issue, they should reimburse anyone who already spent money on repairs, and will make it free for anyone with this issue moving forward.

This is going to require a team effort to get this rectified. Everyone that can, please help us get this issue noticed!

problem with my early 2011 MBP 15'. It seems to be a quality control problem from Apple!!! my computer is 26 months old. I paid 2200 $ for it and they are asking 1200 $ to fix it. But it is malfunctionning bacause there is a fabrication problem. thousands of people are complaining for the same problem. It is supposed t be professional material...

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Same issue as well on my 2011 15" MBP.. Split screen, grey screen, blue screen. Will not boot. Determined to be bad GPU on logic board, Replacement is $ 600 Canadian. Either I fix it or have $2500 paper weight. Not covered under any warranty or recall. Thanks Apple!!!!

Today my early 2011 MBP (Radeon 6750M / 1 Gb) suddenly stopped booting. It showed the gray Apple screen along with dark grey horizontal lines, then it showed another gray screen and that was all. At the same time the fans seemed to be working at top speed. Using boot camp as an alternate boot method, it showed the Windows loading screen with three huge vertical violet stripes and hanged there. Tried everything, SMC and PRAM reset, no luck. Then after rebooting many times somehow magically came back to life and booted normally, but then in OS X it suddenly freezed and rebooted again with a kernel panic, showing the gray lines again after that. Finally after another reboot it booted normally, and rebooted many times now and it seems to be working fine again. But I lost all my confidence in this machine, it is a time bomb! Please Apple do something!!!

I really need to get back on using my MBP but I still chicken out from having a costly repair of the logic board despite it fixing the issue for a short time.

Hey guys,

I am having the exact same issue. I called Customer Service and asked for this problem to be escelated and it was, then I spoke to someone higher who took notes and witnessed these forums. He then forwarded me onto a man within Customer Relations who is currently reviewing this issue and said he will get back to me on Friday the 14th of February.

I was told the only way something will be done about this issue with the Discreet Graphics Card failure within Early and Late 2011 Macbook Pro's is if enough people bring this to the attention of Apple. (Apparently multiple forums including this one of 210 pages isn't enough).

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@Marc Leftoff...

"I must say that buying a new Mac Mini for probably the same price as the MBP repair is sort of genius. Providing you have a decent display for the Mini"

  << I was running my MBP with a display anyway.  So this was no problem with my transition

"It's probably as fast if not faster than your 2011 MBP also."

  << Faster actually.  I opted for the fastest Mini available. 

"So what is your plan for the broken laptop?"

  << The apple store genius, and his manger, said I wasn't covered.  So I'll wait a little while.  If Apple does nothing I may have the graphics chip and vram replaced and keep the MBP as a backup  machine.

"...if we were to connect this machine to a thunderbolt GPU and then add on a new display, would that bypass the broken discrete graphics and make it like a new?"

  << Interesting idea.  If I had one I'd try it!

I was thinking the same, I mean to buy a mini mac, but I doubt in do it because that is like reward apple for sold me a computer that cost about $US3000 and that is this moment is dead and all that I can see is an gray screen. Regards.

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A mini is not a solution, neither it is deleting ATI kernel extensions, rebooting 30 times or so. Just workarounds, great ideas but workarounds. Invested around 3k USD to get a portable Pro workstation, and I am not going to replace it with a mini desktop computer.

I just signed the petition.

I called Customer service too. I established a case and have an appointment Friday morning. The guy said he see all the chatter about the issue and Apple is aware of the problem, but has not offered a solution yet.

I plan to pay for the fix and hope that one day I get a refund. If they offer me a discount on a new MBP, I may do that o avoid possible future issues with this same machine.

If they fix my machine nd it happens again it will only confirm the problem is beyond a repair. I think if they replace only the GPU chip, there is a chance future issues will occur.

I have to assume that only a full logic board replacement will fix the problem for good. That is unless they new logic board has the same issue.

Hmmmm. I think I'd prefer a new MBP and a credit towards one.

What would you think is a good option for a credit toward a new retina 15" machine? I'm thinking maybe $1000 towards a new MacBook Pro? Is that a good deal?

WHo knows, but it's an interesting concept.

Anyone here in Georgia getting ready for this big ice storm? It's supposedly 1 hour away and going to be catastrophic.