Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

It's very strange nobody said anything about the new OS "Mavericks". I did a reball to my MBP and it crashed again after 3 weeks !

Few persons said they have replaced the main board few times and all of them crashed in a very short period of time.

This means the new OS is overheating the GPUs.

I had a similar problem with an iPhone 4s... When iOS 7 was released, it burned it's modem..I paid to be fixed but this happend again after the next update. Check this thread : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3425746?start=600&tstart=0

I think Apple doesn't have too many customers so they are trying to force the old members to buy their new products.

I paid $2000 for my MBP and more than $1000 on apps & music. It's a marketing strategy to force the people to use their machines just to have access to their already boght apps.

If someone will have the chance to reball the GPU, install LION. I'm more than 90% sure they are using this strategy because it happend to me on 2 devices.

I can confirm that my problems only began after using an even newer OS release (if you get the hint), which uses the GPU even more.

Sorry guys, not as easy to remove or Disable the discrete GPU, this would require more than remove the GPU, also cut the whole PCIe Bus and Patch the Video Signal Path

valentin-marian wrote:

 

It's very strange nobody said anything about the new OS "Mavericks". I did a reball to my MBP and it crashed again after 3 weeks !

Few persons said they have replaced the main board few times and all of them crashed in a very short period of time.

This means the new OS is overheating the GPUs.

It's no secret that modern operating systems and software (desktop and mobile are relying more on the GPU. Not only for the visual aspects but for processing as well. For example Nvidia CUDA or OpenCL (which is used on Mac OS since Snow Leopard), are technologies to leverage processing power on the GPU.

Ok, but this OS should have been tested before was released for all MODELS.

Same like iOS7 which is not compatible with iPhone 3G, MAVERICKS shouldn't be COMPATIBLE with MBP EARLY 2011!!

Same problem here :/

Macbook pro early 2011 15 inch unibodody.

I've replaced the HDD with a new SSD, and boosted the ram to 16gb.

It's been working perfectly, untill for about a year ago. (2013)

Whenever I used it with an external screen (iMac 27 late 2009) via mini-displayport.

I got these weird graphic twiches. It would happen around 20-30% of the time.

Untill yesterday.

Now I cannot use an external monitor, and my graphics are slowly detairing each time I use the Mbp

I would say that this is an clear example of planed obsolescence in product design to increase cyclical consumtion.

+ Superdrive stopped working after Mavericks update :/

valentin-marian wrote:

 

Ok, but this OS should have been tested before was released for all MODELS.

 

Same like iOS7 which is not compatible with iPhone 3G, MAVERICKS shouldn't be COMPATIBLE with MBP EARLY 2011!!

Well in theory it should, it has more than enough processing power... if the GPU didn't fail.

You're losing sight of the fact that this is a design flaw on the 2011 MBP, and nothing to do with software.

I don't even run Mac OS (never have) I don't play games or edit video either. In fact nothing I do is heavy on the CPU or GPU. But mne failed just like everyone else's did...

Next year we may well be talking about the 2012 MBP's failing...

I completely agree with you. I don't know what made you think otherwise.

Evil8Beezle wrote:

 

Wrong, lead free solder is not superiour. Yes it is stronger, but that raises its own issues due to brittleness.

Please do some research on the internet before posting opinions that are not backed up by materials science! 

In the case of resoldering a new AMD GPU onto a 2/3 year old logic board it makes absolute sense to use leaded.  For starters lower soldering temperatures of 185C instead of 30C more or plus on a circuit board that's had plenty of hot and cold since manufacture.  I know from my contacts who are Apple engineers a lot of the resoldered depot boards get cracks in the PCB because of too much heat around the surface of the board and fail again.

Not one single leaded solder replacement GPU I have recommended to send to bga-repairs in the UK has gone faulty so far and when mine does go I will send to him for what I believe is the best option for our MBP's.

And I would like to be remimbursed for fixing it properly please Apple :-|

GavMackem wrote:

 

Evil8Beezle wrote:

 

Wrong, lead free solder is not superiour. Yes it is stronger, but that raises its own issues due to brittleness.

Please do some research on the internet before posting opinions that are not backed up by materials science! 

In the case of resoldering a new AMD GPU onto a 2/3 year old logic board it makes absolute sense to use leaded.  For starters lower soldering temperatures of 185C instead of 30C more or plus on a circuit board that's had plenty of hot and cold since manufacture.  I know from my contacts who are Apple engineers a lot of the resoldered depot boards get cracks in the PCB because of too much heat around the surface of the board and fail again.

 

Not one single leaded solder replacement GPU I have recommended to send to bga-repairs in the UK has gone faulty so far and when mine does go I will send to him for what I believe is the best option for our MBP's.

 

And I would like to be remimbursed for fixing it properly please Apple :-|

Agreed!

Evil8Beezle wrote:

 

GavMackem wrote:

 

Evil8Beezle wrote:

 

Wrong, lead free solder is not superiour. Yes it is stronger, but that raises its own issues due to brittleness.

Please do some research on the internet before posting opinions that are not backed up by materials science! 

In the case of resoldering a new AMD GPU onto a 2/3 year old logic board it makes absolute sense to use leaded.  For starters lower soldering temperatures of 185C instead of 30C more or plus on a circuit board that's had plenty of hot and cold since manufacture.  I know from my contacts who are Apple engineers a lot of the resoldered depot boards get cracks in the PCB because of too much heat around the surface of the board and fail again.

 

Not one single leaded solder replacement GPU I have recommended to send to bga-repairs in the UK has gone faulty so far and when mine does go I will send to him for what I believe is the best option for our MBP's.

 

And I would like to be remimbursed for fixing it properly please Apple :-|

 

Agreed!

And I will be sending my invoice from bga-repairs in a polite email to Tim Cook. About the same in USD for a depot repair, though with much better and far less thermal compound in AS ceramique 2 than the recommended massive amount splodge of Shin-Etsu they normally slop on.  Polished heatsink plate too to drop the temps from idle 8-10c lower!

Anyone know if these 2011´s macbook pro could be sold in second handmarket, and by how much?

alvarof wrote:

 

Anyone know if these 2011´s macbook pro could be sold in second handmarket, and by how much?

Why not look on ebay to find that answer?

And if you are going to sell one (which you know is screwed), are you happy to do that to someone??? (Assuming you are not going to tell them upfront...)