Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

2011 early macbook pro report in...same problem. Now have been running with gfxCard to use integrate graphic card only...Disappointed

As i was explained, leaded solder composition can flex some when get heated. The compound of unleaded does`nt in same grade, thats why Apples unleaded solder burst (or maybe i should say crack). Sorry for bad english knowledge!

Technician also told me that Apples manufacturers tried to add some warious compund in solder to get same effect (too flex when heated) as leaded solder.

My personal guess is Apples manufacturer used some in 2011 that`s not good at all, this is probably why my at first reheated soldering (owen baking or heatgun) worked for a while (until the bad solder cracked again). And probably why it now still works after re-soldering to leaded one. Of course, im not sure! But it seems this way when i use my common sense!

I`m using photoshop, watch HD-movies and still running (after re-soldering chip) since several weeks without any hick-up. Anyway i maybe soon will leave this thread behind, im in dying need of a newer retina and probably will be selling my MBP 2011 (has got biten after bying an iPad4). Keep on posting until that, if something changes!

As i was explained, leaded solder composition can flex some when get heated. The compound of unleaded does`nt in same grade, thats why Apples unleaded solder burst (or maybe i should say crack).

If that was the case then other chips like the CPU or the Thunderbolt controller would face the exact same problem because they're all using unleaded solder now (and are also running very warm, the CPU even more so and more often than the GPU). The only problem with unleaded solder is that is has a much more narrow temperature band that needs to be hit precisely while reflowing while the one of leaded solder is a bit wider and thus easier to hit. Another problem is that usually all (or a majority) of components are reflown in a single processing step, so the temperature band and the heating/cooling gradient of all components need to be aligned.

However these are all manufacturing challenges and none of that would only affect Apple if it was a general problem, however as far as we know at the moment this really only affects Apple...

Just want to add my early 2011 mbp to the list.

Problem started 2 days ago exact blue and black verticle lines everyone is reporting wont boot.

Occasionally boots after pram reset, but crashes soon after whenever anything slightly intensive is run.

Have a 'genius' bar appointment on Monday.

Expecting the same fobbing off as everyone else.

£400 logic board repair to happen with probably the problem resuming soon after.

Not happy apple, sort it out.

Just called Apple Support here in Brazil. After pointing out several times the thousands of people encountering the same issue as I have, and saying that it seems like a design (or manufacturing) flaw. I was told to:

1) Pay for the estimated R$ 1600 to replace the logic board

2) Wait for some sort of recall "if I believe it's going to hapen"

The guy that spoke to me also said that no one here in Brazil reported such problems (I simply couldn't believe that).

It's my first Apple product ever. And it's been the most disppointing computing experience I ever had.

Sometimes I just can't figure ou how this company achived such a highly regarded status, when I get responses like that from a (blasé) support service.

Tomorrow im going to the genius bar for replacement of logic board. Apple in Sweden kindly fix it for free so im glad for it.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/apple-in-the-enterprise/internet-reports-sugges t-possible-2011-macbook-pro-graphics-issue/

Another dead MacBook Pro 2011 here too. Mine just went black while using it and then on restart the Apple logo was green and striped and from then on the machine was not able to boot to the desktop.

This laptop was bought as a replacement for an earlier pre unibody 2.66GHz Core2Duo machine that had exactly the same thing happen, it had graphics issues and then died completely. This particular model was part of a recall program by Apple and yet when I took it to (various) Apple service centers they refused to fix it under the program as it did not boot enough to even run their test!

I purchased Applecare for the replacement but currently I am having issues trying to get the repair covered again...

What this shows is that this problem has been around for some time and yet it is not being dealt with appropriately. Built in obsolescence is not appreciated!

hey, I'm having the same problema and I'm from Brazil. I have talked with apple some days ago... check my post on page 273. Where did you find this 1600,00 brl fix?

[]s

"My personal guess is Apples manufacturer used some in 2011 that`s not good at all,"

If that was true, how did Apple prevail in its lawsuit against the graphics device vendor?

Another  late 2011 MacBook Pro user here.

2.2Ghz i7.

4GB Ram

500GB HDD

ATI Radeon 6750M/512mb.

I bought my machine used off a buddy about a year ago who wanted something smaller for the field. I tried to get Applecare but was told that I was 15 days outside the year and that I was ineligible. 

The machine was solid for about 6 months, but after 6 months I found pink lines on the white portion of the screen.  There were occasional freezes and crashes when using the discrete GPU.  This escalated slowly over the period of the last 5 months. The last month has been utter ****.  Constant crashes and freezes to the point where I had to get Grfxstatus to set it to use only the Intel GPU.

Picture gallery of the symptoms:

http://imgur.com/a/qcvFi

Occasionally when it boots it boots using the AMD GPU and then crashes on startup, it’s taken up to a couple of hours resetting the PRAM and SMC to trick it into booting using the Integrated GPU.  It’s hella frustrated.  I googled 2011 MBP GPU Failure and got directed to this thread to see many others having the same issue.   It’s very disappointing to see Apple isn’t doing anything about these.  It’s obvious there is an issue with these machines, a simple Google img search shows the exact same issues that I’m having with my machine.

I just got back from my Genius appointment about an hour ago and was told that it was going to cost $610 CDN to get the system fixed.  And that they couldn’t help me with any coverage because I was denied for Applecare. I asked where I could escalate the issue and she to talk to AppleCare over the phone, so I guess I get to start yelling at someone.

A $2300 laptop should not fail after 2 years.  If I wanted a laptop that was going to fail I’d buy a PC.  I’ve been a Mac user for nearly 20 years and I have two PowerMac G4 Towers that are still running on mostly original parts after over a decade. 

There is absolutely no excuse for the amount of silence from Apple on this matter.  The Genius was careful to note that “I’ve heard the rumors but I’ve never seen one” when I told her about this thread, and all the recent articles.

I guess I get to call Apple tomorrow and will ultimately be very likely disappointed by the outcome. I believe Apple believes their machines to be disposable.  Had they given me a grace period for purchasing Applecare it’s very likely this repair would be entirely covered, but because I missed out by 15 days I’m out over 2 grand. 

It’s disgusting. Maybe I will buy a PC next time just so im not so disappointed when it fails epically.  What a waste of money.

Same problem here.

MacBook Pro Early 2011 with the AMD 6490m.

I hope for an Apple exchange-repair program!

I have the same problem with my Macbook Pro 15" early 2011 with high-res aniglare screen. I swapped the dvd drive with a hard drive and the orginal hard drive with an SSD. I intended to use it for a long time. It failed after two years. Paid about $700 when convert to USD to replace the logic board. Then the problem was still not widely known. It failed immediately and got replaced again under 3 month warranty. After around 6 months, the GPU dies again.

The replacement logic board does not solved the root cause. Do not waste money on it. The replacement board has shorter warranty and probably will have much shorter lifespan than your first board.

My temporary fix: I moved all the AMD extensions to a backup directory. It still did not reboot. After reinstalling maverick and moving all AMD extensions in back up directory, it can reboot again. My OSX installation originally came from Tiger and upgraded again and again to maverick, that might be why it required a maverick reinstallation for the fix to work.

What do you guys replace your failed macbook with? I have trouble justifying spending money on macbook pro retina when we have no confirmation if the problem is fixed in current macbook pro.

I have the same problem with my Macbook Pro 15" early 2011 with high-res aniglare screen. I swapped the dvd drive with a hard drive and the orginal hard drive with an SSD. I intended to use it for a long time. It failed after two years. Paid about $700 when convert to USD to replace the logic board. Then the problem was still not widely known. It failed immediately and got replaced again under 3 month warranty. After around 6 months, the GPU dies again.

Write your case to the CEO of Apple, usually they're much more willing to help even outside of the ridiculous 90 days warranty in case of repeated failures.

So, a little advice for everyone on this thread: the more people that actually come forward to apple with this problem, the closer we get to a warranty repair program. Apple now know about my issues, but it's not been officially 'recognised' yet.

:)