Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

D3us wrote:

 

DMC440 wrote:

 

Sounds promising, Coorabin.

They said that the MBP model is notorious for heating up when under load, such as doing my video editing and playing video games, and that while they hoped this repair would be the fix I was looking for it depended greatly on what I was using the computer for. In other words it was likely to happen again if I continued to work that GPU and get the computer really hot.

 

So, not fit for purpose. A serious design shortcoming.  Any disagreement.  Anyone?

I really still don't understand why laptops, be it pc or mac, are sold/bought for video editing (or gaming).

It's asking for trouble.

A laptop/macbook will, even if they seem to have same cpu/gpu/whatever, allways be slower as it are trimmed for mobility components. This means lower power = slower working.

Yet, they still get hotter under load and fail more often then their desktop versions.

 

Had a customer this week looking around for a video editing system.

He was asking around about laptops/macs for it too when shopping.

And was told/advised they are fit for the job.

He prefers to buy from me as I serviced his compurters allready before, but knows I don't like to sell laptops..

Told him nope, I won't sell you a portable, pc or macbook, for video edting.

 

Also showed him this thread... his mind was made up again pretty soon....

Now he will get a pretty high-spec desktop which he can expand further later if needed.

I have clients in your industry here in the UK and to an extent I agree with you - for the occasional heavy video work I do I wouldnt dream of using my late 2011 to do it when I have an 8 core 3.2 Mac Pro 3,1 which though slower single core is faster than my MBP mulitcore it most certainly isnt but more importantly can cope with heavy tasks with aplomb.  I have broadcast clients who grew impatient for the 6th gen Mac Pro used iMacs as a substitute who had very high failure rates due to the high amount of heat build up and if not for Applecare would have gone through 3 or 4 logic boards over the 3 years.  Now they have new Mac Pro cans, it's the iMacs and not the classic Mac Pro Towers that are being delegated light duties now and the old cheesegraters, some six years old like mine are still going strong. For very heavy work the new Mac Pro thermally is really something else, the quietest workstation I have ever (not) heard rendering.

Though back to the semi pro arena which I think a MBP is and should be capable -  like you I believe it's just our particular 2011 generation that suffers from this issue - excessive heat due to much larger CPU and GPU than originally envisaged when this chassis was designed in 2008 and the lead free solder exemption ending. The long term fix I believe of replacing with a new GPU lead soldered, heatsinks polished and optimally thermally pasted does dissipate the heat far more efficiently allowing less build up in and around the logic board where the GPU and CPU sit sorts this problem out.  The 2012 models use far cooler Ivy Bridge CPU and Nvidia GPU which means the design can cope better and the retinas use a far larger, more thermally efficient cooling layout to dissipate all the heat.  I also have clients using older unibody models running snow leopard with FCP7 still going strong too which have only required new thermal paste every 2-3 years or so.

If Apple wont provide what I believe is a permanent fix all I do ask is they reimburse me the cost of getting mine fixed properly, for less cost than a depot repair and far less downtime for me having to go back to Apple again and again with the same flawed boards being offered as a 'solution'!

@D3us

Sorry it just doesn't make sense to me. Following your reasoning a manufacturer shouldn't use a discrete GPU in the first place, and if they happen to use it, you, the user who payed a hefty sum to purchase that "wrong" laptop, shouldn't use the DGPU you paid for, because any single DGPU will produce very high temps.

In a world where a $500 laptop can do pretty much everything a normal user needs to, a $2500 laptop must do 3D rendering, hi res gaming and coffee too.

If your product has a feature (DGPU) which isn't supposed to be fully used, you have to sell your product as defective (the same way pre-unibody Macbook Pros were defective being designed for much cooler CPUs/GPUs). And if you repair a laptop and then advise to stop using it the way it's meant to be used, you should advise your customer that the laptop has only been restored to a partial functionality, and adjust your fee accordingly.

anybody from singapore experiencing the same issue???

I have heard nothing of this issue except for more and more people reporting the same failures with no responses or solutions from apple. I think I am done waiting. What a piece of junk

<Edited By Host>

I have absolutely the same issues described here—the freezes, the grey screen, the blue screen with the stripes.
This all could not be an unhappy coincidence that happens so massively at this short span of time.
I'm really looking forward what will happen with this and I will be thankfull to anyone who shares possible solitions or ideas for what could be the reason for this issue happaning now to so many people.

Yes I'm on my 3rd Logic board. The second one died after 2 weeks. If this one dies I will demand areplacement or go onto their facebook page in Singapore and post every day until something happens. I'm still just om Apple caare but it will be running out soon

Alan

I had this removed because of the petition link but thankfully the message has been emailed to me.

For me the petition is not really what I want - an exchange  program will only offer badly lead free resoldered, some with warped surfaces 'depot refurbished' boards prone to  fail again, the usual massive over application of thermal paste as per  Apple's engineering guidelines (which I believe are wrong for our  particular model) sandwiched between poor uneven surfaces of the  heatsink contact plates of the CPU and GPU.    Not only do Apple's  engineering guidelines regarding the paste and polishing the heatsinks  have to change, but as I seriously doubt that Apple can officially or  even legally offer a lead soldered brand new GPU as a solution so in my case I would prefer simply  being reimbursed the 300 odd bucks it will cost me to in my opinion,  properly fix my 2011 MBP's GPU and heat build up problem.

I am fortunate in the UK we have third party repairers who can do what I deem as the necessary fix for my 2011, if you are based elsewhere I would suggest you look for companies who can offer a similar service in your locality and demand reimbursement at the very least for this service.  I want my MBP to be sent away just the once to be repaired properly and do not have the time, energy or inclination to make multiple appointments with Apple stores, have my MBP away for weeks on end and argue the toss with AppleCare even though after all these dramas and aggravation I could end up with a new retina for my troubles.  I simply want my 17 inch MBP to not get and stay too hot when pushed hard and when my GPU inevitably becomes defective to minimise the prospects of it failing again.

Allibert24 wrote:

 

Yes I'm on my 3rd Logic board. The second one died after 2 weeks. If this one dies I will demand areplacement or go onto their facebook page in Singapore and post every day until something happens. I'm still just om Apple caare but it will be running out soon

 

Alan

Alan

Good news potentially - If yours fails the third time even outside AppleCare it's likely you will be offered a retina as a replacement.

I have  the same issues as described here, split and moved screen, the freezes, the grey screen with the stripes, etc. Rebooting solves the issues sometimes, but I have to reboot often several times. After many years on PCs and Linux this was my first attempt to return to Apple and I hope I don't have to regret this step. In the meantime I did a repair with the disk-utility (found some errors, but I am not sure if this was the cause or a side effect) and I have disabled graphic card switching. Keep my fingers crossed that this can solve the issue. Not sure for heating as the cause, as this sometimes occurs instantly after turning it on in the morning, while on other days I can work a whole day.

@alessiod,

I never said they shouldn't be made or sold.
What I mean is they are more suited for daily use, portability, occasioinal gaming or video editing etc.
Not for heavy intense workloads like hours of video rendering or gaming.

If they are advised/sold for that, they have to be up to that task. Better cooling, better soldering alloy, vapor phase soldered, good and applied well thermal paste or whatever
If they're gonna make em even smaller or thinner, or put more power in the same case, which is a trend, might become even more problematic.

On this one:

alessiodd wrote:

 

And if you repair a laptop and then advise to stop using it the way it's meant to be used, you should advise your customer that the laptop has only been restored to a partial functionality, and adjust your fee accordingly.

I did NOT say/write that !!!

Hello. Does anyone know where I can get my MBP 15 2011's GPU reballed in london ( preferably from a reliable place ) and how much it would cost ?
Thank you

K5

Hi D3us,

as for the last paragraph, I didn't want to imply that you said that, I'm sorry if it seemed so. I have read elsewhere statements as such however, which seemed to me coherent with the rationale of your previous post.

Having said this, I still don't agree. There are many laptops in the market, from netbooks all the way up to mobile workstations with high end pro GPUs. Apple's Macbook Pro is positioned (price and specs wise) if not on the top, in the high end of this range and thus is supposed to fulfill all the needs of a pro who can't or doesn't want to work on a fixed workstation.

Therefore any Macbook Pro that fails doing what you call an intense workload is not a Pro machine and isn't worth the money it costs. That's why is totally fair to ask for a refund if you used your machine the way it was supposed to be used and it failed.

In fact these frequent failures imply that the 2011 Macbook Pro wasn't up to the task it was supposed to accomplish, not that a pro specced and priced machine is better suited for a light use.

Hi alessiodd,

No problem or hard feelings at all. Just wanted to clear that.

I understand my post might let you think that.

Regarding your last post to me, I think basically we do agree?

Also consider that in the end it's not only pros who had their machine toasted: in fact apple's clumsy GPU switching system triggers the DGPU even for silly tasks easily accomplished by the IGPU such as web browsing, video streaming, output to an external monitor etc; the DGPU reaches high temperatures even under such light workloads. Moreover it shares the heatsink with the CPU and the fans are set to privilege silence over cooling. In other words the fault is to be attributed to some very bad thermal design decisions, not to heavy workload.

KSS5

If you want a brand new GPU lead soldered and pasted well I suggest you go a few pages back and you'll find BGA-repairs eBay landing page, select your 2011/AMD model out the listings.  I have had clients 2011's re-balled from other firms in London but for the past 4/5 months I've referred every one onto them to get done. Every one I've examined since has not failed and runs nicely cool on idle which is what I couldn't say for the local re-ballers I've used in the past.