Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Sara>  Any progress on your case?

Fixed mine with hair dryer. Found this video and did the same to the gpu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jFTi_P24z8 but I didn't need to disassemble anything, just opened the cover.

Did it on my own risk, because I'm too far from any official service anyway. Right after doing this trick, it failed once with "bad memory" beeps, and I replaced 2x4Gb RAM with 2x2Gb modules installed initially, and it worked since then, later I've installed same 2x4Gb modules again and this issue didn't happen for like 3 months.

My mid-2011 MBP started experiencing these issues about 2 weeks a go on a wednesday eventing. Then after putting  it back to it's original config (RAM, SSDs, Optical drive) and several tries to reinstall I left it on while it tried to boot into the ML installer while going shpping. When I came back, it worked - until wednesday event of the  following week, when it went black, fans started spinning and after booting the screen was tined and lined - booting impossible. I let it sit under my 12" powerbook (which still runs perfectly, btw) and just opened it back up half an hour ago and it booted fine. I get the feeling it's trying to mess with me. Let's see what it does next wednesday eventing.

The battery is still in very good condition (84% capacity remaining) after 2 Years, and I haven't used an external monitor in the last 2 months. No funny problems with external screens in it's lifetime.

So far, my fourth logic board has been working just fine. I've been trying to give it a good workout whenever I can, so I can make sure I've done my best to identify any problems before the warranty ends on the repair.

We have to do something. I have exact the same problem, but I thought nobody ever had this issue. My Macbook early 2011 "17 i7. Worked great untill this Spring. I can not even understand the source of this problem. My mac first crashed in June, so I formated my hard drive and reinstalled Mac OS. First boot was a failure, but after I rebooted the machine, it worked without this black magic failures for a month. Then it became to fail once a day or even a week. Past two weeks I can't work with discrete graphics for 10 straight minutes. Sometimes, when I wait to something to happen after it crashes, panic kernel occurs.

If someone interested, I could provide system report on last panic kernel.

And what is the worst – I have noone to contact here (russian province, we have no apple support at all) so I have to repair my machine all by myself.

+1 to that!

I have just had the dreaded call from the Apple Store. My Early 2011 needs a new Logic Board! £350 this is my second Logic Board to be replaced luckily the first was in warranty.

Will have to repair it as I use it ALOT for work. Mainly Fusion in various OS so always running hot and now I know why.

Gutted.

+1 to that!!!

Same problems, discrete gpu die (Pink Glitchs)!

I got the same problem, the Radeon 6750 GPU of my macbook pro (15" early 2011) died !

Like the cost of the replacement of the logic board  (Core i7 2.2 Ghz) is around 600 EUR ATI in France, I try to find a workaround. My idea : automaticaly force the hd 3000 internal GPU and use an external USB graphic adaptor to connect my Asus PB278 !

To try to disable for good the Radeon 6750 GPU of my macbook pro, I tried to move all the ATIxxx and the AMDRadeonyyy kext files out of the "/System/Library/Extension" folder ( move only the ATIRadeon2O00X doesn't work).

It's not the right procedure : in this situation the used GPU at boot time is the Radeon and  the gfxCardStatus menu bar app is not able to force the usage of the integrated GPU (an error dialog appears). So I quickly moved back the kext files.

Today I am still in the situation where after each boot I must manualy force the usage of the discrete GPU to prevent the video failure.

Notes:

I set off the disabling of the screen to prevent an automatic swicth on the discrete GPU.

I filled up the google form "Early 2011 MacBook Pro GPU issues" created by saramwrap :

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PuJ2QS2Ri7fw9HVaNHLQ4OYZCb99zonc96HmhTWEAoY/

Look at the synthesis :

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PuJ2QS2Ri7fw9HVaNHLQ4OYZCb99zonc96HmhTWEAoY/vie wanalytics

Regards

All,

I have just sent this to Mr Cook.....maybe a naive attempt to get Apple to look into this issue but I am fuming at the cost of two logic boards in two years!

Dear Mr Cook,

I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to a very grave hardware fault that is currently being experience by many, many owners of a MacBook Pro Early 2011 notebook.

Similarly to the Early 2010 MacBook Pro, there appears to be a design fault that is causing the GPU to overheat and eventually fail that requires a Logic Board replacement at a huge personal cost to the owner. It is clear from this thread on the Apple Support Community this is a common problem and points to a design issue with this model of notebook for which I would like Apple to investigate and provide a formal response or at a minimum advice how I can raise this formally with Apple.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23274748#23274748

My MacBook like many others is currently having it Logic Board replaced (for the second time in two years) at a cost of over £400! (Repair Number: R104198586). This is an astronomical cost for such a young laptop - and nothing I have ever experienced having owned Lenovo, HP and Dell noteboooks. Considering the price point and build quality of Apple products I would not expect this issue to occur.

I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.

Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards

Grreeeaaaat.  I had the same issue (2011 2.0 Ghz 15" MBP graphics failure) while working on a flight days ago.  Thankfully there was an Applestore not too far away and my machine is still under Applecare.  The Apple technician immediately agreed it was a graphics card issue and instituted a logic board replacement.  Upon entering info into the Apple repair system the technician was surprised to learn that this IS INDEED A KNOWN ISSUE. 

Now I am on edge awaiting for this refurbished logic board to fail again.

I've been down this road with my wife's old MBP with the Nvidia 8600 gfx chip. That took three failures before she got a new machine.  I do not have time for that.

I've also been having this problem for the past few months. I've taken my 2.2Ghz Core I7 MBP to two repairers, each of whom was unable to replicate the issue at the time, even though i've been specific enough to send them screenshots and indicate that switching between GPUs appears to cause it (though is unpredictable).

I've become a full-time student since purchasing my mbp so can't afford to buy another computer of comparable specs.

I might as well add my name to this huge list. I have just had the same problem occur. approx 2yrs old early 2011 MBP. This is really unacceptable of Apple. This many problems and no recourse. I think I will begin sending emails to Apple execs. starting with Cook. Maybe if enough of us fill their emails we will get some satisfaction.

follow the link to two photos with the dedicated video on and off:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y4ze7sxktzorok5/y8_nzYln9R

Add me to the list. 

Honestly thought I had included Apple Care in that $3400 price tag from 20 months ago:(  Sadly I failed on that front.

Just chatted with Apple support.  No known warranty extensions on the logic board, yet.

Apple, if you listening, help!

Gfxcardstatus, thank you for making the intolerable tolerable.

Unbelievable! After reading the 26 pages in this discussion I know exactly the current value of my $3,700+ investment in an early 2011 MBP, adding 4 gigs of RAM, some Apple Music Production Apps and associated Apogee external recording hardware. Add to that the precious time I have wasted since early spring trying to understand and fix what I thought surely were patchable software glitches that have been increasingly disrupting, stopping and worse, losing recordings completely due to computer freezes. Then consider the goodly amount of hours spent over the past two years studying digital recording techniques, learning to operate various recording programs, external hardware and it's associated software with intentions and standing requests from several respected, local/regional to at least co-produce and assist in arranging some of their most recent material as soon as felt technically competent to begin. The well marketed promise of Apple quality, serviceability, reliability, compatibility with other well regarded digital audio device manufacturers, digital audio recording software developers and the personal assurances of a sales associate representing  the Apple brand convinced me to make their products the heart of my small, but professional audio recording service.

I declined, and still would, any additional Apple Extended Care at the time I acquired my Macbook.The purchase of "extended warranties" for any product is acknowledged in any credible opinion article as the biggest scam currently legal in United States business canon. I certainly remember my hearty share of loot from adding a nicely printed, intentionally legal looking document to nearly every item I sold back in my retail electronics days. Behind closed doors sales professionals are taught exactly how to entice the customer into accepting the additional "benefit", as it were, and it's associated cost as though the retailer lost money on warranty's they were not obliged to extend at any cost, offered solely for the customer's benefit and peace of mind. A careful reading of these documents reveals the exceptions, exclusions and numerous conditions that nullify what is practically just a piece of paper that cost no more high end stationary. In those days I got half the price of each extended warranty sold, in cash, at the end of each day as a special incentive. The retailer got the other half, sharing some unknown percentage of that with the manufacturer. The negligible cost of printing was born somewhere, but the actual cost of honored extended warranties was born by the consumer's obligation to pay certain fees, prorated portions for major repairs, etc.

I'm absolutely certain Apple is responsible for selling me a defective item and worse, not advising me of known potential issues with the product. Considering I've been trying to get roughly a thirteen dollar credit for an unintentional iTunes purchase double billed twenty months ago, I am not anticipating They say I purchased it once for thirteen bucks and they did indeed refund a single download purchase, but a second purchase of the same item, two minutes after the purchase of the first exists in my history and quick addition and subtraction of downloads I've purchased and are on my computer and the exact amount I've deposited via iTunes gift cards clearly shows the thirteen dollar discrepancy.

I won't hold my breath expecting any major company in this country to acknowledge any fault, liability, oversight or just plain, perfectly obvious, glaring stupidity on their part, much less for Apple to own up to this bungled mess. They will protect their perceived reputation at the price of their actual reputation in the name of the hype that sells outrageously expensive, highly profitable phones and tablets to the fashion conscientious, hyper-text messaging, facetiming, media consuming, instagraming culture. They obviously don't need those who purchase these products for serious production use anymore.

I am sad and sick about the whole thing, but my G-5 is still a fully functioning beast of technology that I am proud to own. Incidentally, I pulled my 2006 Compaq Presario out of the box, under the bed the past two years and it still works! This irony is not lost on me.

Enough griping and pontificating here...time to file the official complaint, footnotes, references, technical observations and all.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted their issues here. Even in my bitter disappointment, it's the first time in months I haven't felt vexed and perplexed about the Gremlins in this here thing and that is a great relief.