Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Just added my two cents... sent an email to Mr Cook about this...

I got my MBP back from repair. I have got Apple Care so I did not have to pay for it. I update the machine to Mavericks. I am going to stress the GPU and see what happens.

Bought a MacBook Pro 15" on february 2011 now it's on the second skin because of  AMD GPU big fail, just like thousand people.

I PRETEND APPLE SPEAK ABOUT THAT

FYI

I called my local genius bar to discuss this issue and found out the following:

1. Apple doesn't pay any attention to these support communities unless its a software issue so don't expect them to read any of this.

2. They will only note an issue with your mac if you visit the genius bar or use their support.

3. If you are in the U.S, they will fix your mac for a flat fee of $310 and no extra charge.

After reading the previous comments, I'd just like to comment about backup laptops. My laptop is fundamental for my job, being a computer engineering consultant. I actually use mostly open source software, or however mostly portable software (e.g. Opera Mail), thus the fundamental applications could run e.g. on a small Linux netbook in emergency.

But for my personal life, especially photography, my workflow is based on a Mac. Given that I've learned in the past years that Apple is no more the reliable thing that used to be in the past, I never sell the previous laptop, but use it as a backup, keeping it "reasonably" aligned to the current one. For instance, in my current laptop I have 4 cores, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 750GB hard disk (in a Optibay replacement of the optical reader). The previous laptop has got 2 cores, 4GB RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 750GB hard disk, but of cheaper models and less performant, to save some money. With the appropriate setup, I can easily sync all the disk contents from one to the other, so I can swith to the older model almost anytime. Sure, I would suffer from the reduced performance, but it would be only for the period of the repair.

Sure, this costs some money, both because I can't sell the previous equipment and because I have got to spend something to keep it as much aligned as possible (e.g. when the previous laptop was my main one, it only had a 256GB SSD); but in the end, this is the only way to avoid disrupting my business, as any incident like this (that, furthermore, happened when I was consulting at a customer in a critical moment) would probably cost me more.

The whole point is keeping at least the disk(s) of the backup machine of the same size as the new one, so the syncing is easier (you don't have to decide what to sync and what not; if you prepared in advance the software/scripts/whatever to perform the sync, you can do it pretty quickly). This really minimize a lot the disruption caused by a repair.

Just my 2 cents.

Well guys, just received my call in behalf of Tim Cook.  Same history, you know, Apple is doing... at the end, Apple is just watching us and investigating the problem.  BTW, I'm located right now in Panamá, Central America.  Truly speaking, I wasn't hoping to receive a call from Apple down here.  I explained and asked the representative to watch this forum and to comunicate this problem to whom it may concern inside Apple.  Well, I signed the petition, called Apple, and posted my work around with this issue.  I hope all, old and new comers do the same.  Lets hope for the best.

Thats what I did here in Brazil...

I had to send my MBP 8,2, to an Apple expert... and they did the reflow... its working so far... had to send back to upgrade memory and HD... spent so far R$709 (Us$280)...

Lets see how is it going to perform from now one... I am also upgrading the OS X... to Mavericks!

I work with different kinds of softwares... FCP, Logic Pro, CS5 (inDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator)

I cant wait for Apple... I dont think they´ll make a recall...

I sign the petition for a recall that other users posted the link.... but I dont think we can do much more than that... I am so dissapointed with Apple once again!!!

Hope the machine will now last...

- APPLE, less than 3 year old MBP and thats it?! Straight to the Bin?

- Come on!!!

As most of you, I've also been suferring this problem lately.. and I must admit I'm puzzle how Apple is ignoring all of us. Needless to say, it's unaceptable for a (supposedly) high-end laptop to die in 2 years.

Apple, fix my Mac!

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I had my Macbook Pro logic board replaced for just under $400, picked up on Nov 20th. The last few weeks I've had it randomly shut down and today I got the blue screen again! Well I'm barely within the 90-day period so back it goes tomorrow to get "fixed" again. I truly had high hopes for this but now I realize there is no solution outside of a new computer or hoping it fails within the 90-days so you keep getting replacements. Apple is really just like any other computer manufacturer, plagued with bugs and recalls. I guess you can't blame them for a third-party company's bad parts but you can blame them for how they're handling the issue...

Keep reporting this issue people. At some point its going to start getting embarrassing for Apple. Despite what Apple say, they are aware of what happens in the forums.

Let's up the pressure, it has to be a group effort so don't just spectate from the sidelines. We helped make this company bigger than some small countries! We deserve better.

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I was the one who used MacBook Pro 15-inch. Late 2011 (MacBookPro8, 2).

And found problems with GPU AMD Radeon HD 6750M.

When switching to the Intel HD 3000 GPU from AMD Radeon HD 6750M, and remember to turn off, restart, and when the display cannot be used as shown.

Sometimes not be used for anything, and sometimes when you login to access it soon returned to its original state.

Restart first time

+Enter

and Restart again.

before login

when login, can't Press any key or click.

Mr.Arnon Manosagoon

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Add me to the list. My early 2011 MBP 15" freezed yesterday with a weird screen and won't boot anymore. Just a grey screen with fine red lines or a blue one if I wait long enough. When booting from the Recovery DVD, it will only beep 3 times, which repeats....

Under AppleCare, my logic board was replaced last September for this hardware failure. I haven't had problems with the replacement board, at least not yet. But my AppleCare is up in June, and I definitely can't afford to replace another failed board out of my own wallet. Having to do so would make me outraged at Apple and less inclined to stick with another Apple computer, even though I am a lifelong user.

With some people reporting a second board failure, has anyone in that category in the US thought of contacting their state's consumer affairs department about this issue? BBB, maybe, as well? I'm wondering if any US states have something akin to a "lemon law" that would cover computer products that prove to be repeatedly defective. Aggrieved MBP owners might find some remedies if there is such cover to be had.

I also wonder about our Apple-using friends overseas. Are there any consumer protection agencies in your non-US country that might have a say in this?

If you decide to contact any consumer agency, please post what happens here, whether the results are favorable or not.

My MBP is now showing these symptoms only when I run applications that are graphically demanding... took it into apple store fashion island today this is what happened.  The technician  diagnosed my problem after 2 minutes of observation as a logic-board issue and quoted me $310.

This is my description of the problem:

• red squares all over my screen into lock up... reboot over and over until i get a screen without any artifacts then it works until I activate VLC, CS6, or any graphics intensive process. 
• vertical blue lines into lock up... reboot over and over until i get a screen without any artifacts then it works until I activate VLC, CS6, or any graphics intensive process.
• vertical grey lines into lock up ... reboot over and over until i get a screen without any artifacts then it works until I activate VLC, CS6, or any graphics intensive process.
• pixelated ghosting (?) where the screen gets very distorted and images overlap
  • during this i can actually command+q and prolong the period before failure.
• black screen / lock up ... reboot over and over until i get a screen without any artifacts then it works until I activate VLC, CS6, or any graphics intensive process.
• grey screen / lock up ... reboot over and over until i get a screen without any artifacts then it works until I activate VLC, CS6, or any graphics intensive process.

So although he clearly has seen this problem before, and after I made him aware of this thread and accompanying threads and articles that seem to highlight this problem he went in the back. 5 minutes later he came out and stated that applecare has no knowledge of this being a problem... so im just confused.

If it is this big of an issue, how hasn't this been addressed by corporate???

Basically I have a product that 3 years after purchase can do less than the first gen ipad my 2 and 4 year-old nephews play with...

Sincerely,

Confused guy with a $2500 wordprocessor

MacBook Pro

15-inch, Early 2011

Processor  2.2 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory  16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Graphics  AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB

Software  OS X 10.9 (13A603)

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Hi Guys, I joined the happy club of screwed macs just yesterday.

It is a mbpro 8,2 Early 2011 15'' MC721LL/A (with maverics).

It happened for the first time while I was launching Photoshop, the screen suddenly turned black. I forced the shut down and rebooted.

After I powered the computer back on I could see the normal gray screen with the apple logo in the center. As soon as the wheel started spinning the screen turned blue, and there was nothing else I could do.

Tried to boot from usb, but I got the same result.

The computer looks just dead. I haven't been able to boot since the first time it happened. I tried many times with no result... and it sounds quite annoying that after an expensive repair it could even run into the same issue again