Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

Clinton

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS Mavericks 10.9.4, 16GB Crucial RAM, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

Hi everyone,

p/s: We bought a 13-inch late 2013 MBP with Retina and guess what... It comes with defective WIFI card thus making surfing or downloads very very slow! After doing some research, many 13-inch late 2013 MBP with Retina are facing the same issue. Even after replacing the WIFI card, it is still slow!!! Read more here... Late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13'' Wifi Issues

All users, instead of just making your voices heard in this forum, please help by adding value to your complains by lodging a feedback with Apple so that some real action can be taken.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

So my advice to all potential buyers, please do some research before buying new Apple products (I know, this sounds so stupid). Long gone are the days where Apple produces reliable laptops...

best wishes,

JK

Well, if I have to enumerate all my problems with this machine ... Bigger are

1. Dead optical drive

2. Fried gpu

3. Sata 3 port actually only sata 2 capable ( understand that actually put a sata 3 don't run in sata 2 but simply randomly crash.)

...

Atheryl,

1. It's quite simple to install a new optical drive - they can be had through OWC along with videos showing how to replace.

2. You're GPU probably isn't 'fried' - it can likely be BGA reballed and repaired.

3. Not sure what you're talking about here, but main bay SATA cables can be purchased.

And you can get all of that for under the price that Apple would charge you for a new logic board.

Clinton

I don't know if I should laugh or be scared.

1. I know how to change, it's not the point ... The optical drive I never used in my all life died, as a lot of Mac users.

2. Thanks for details, same result. Has to pay to replace.

3. Try to plug a sata 3 hard drive on your motherboard and try install any os

Here we go again; another out-of-focus snap from the family photo album. I hope you are not as approximate with your electronic work as you are with your photography.

Shut up and wait for a free repair from Apple, will never happen anyway.

Atheryl

I was just offering options... if you don't use your optical drive then you don't need to have it repaired, and yes, you do have to pay to have your GPU reballed. SATA III cables work just fine on my machine... never had a problem with using HDDs or SSDs.

Sorry if I offended you because of my answer. It was only made to suggest that you do have options for your machine.

Clinton

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS Mavericks 10.9.4, 16GB Crucial RAM, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

@clintonfrombirmingham

I have to apologize I'm quite irritated by some post here try to just make Apple looks like a company have nothing wrong in their laptop conception.

Anyway, about the sata, it's not the cable, it's the chipset. If you search over the web you can find numerous machine made in early 2011 have a deficient chipset. This chipset is Sata3 compliant but cause crash/corruption at this speed. For example that's why the MacbookPro as always been sell with a Sata2 Hard drive even if at this time it's was already possible to find Sata3 (I can't find the report anymore state that the intel chipset have defect, but I will definitely try)

So far, you can do the test if you have a early 2011, plug a Sata3 in place of the optical drive or the main hard drive (But so far the problem is also on the optical drive). I did fix the problem by finding a Sata 2 drive (And let me tell you, that's kind of a journey in 2014 haha)

wyattroa wrote:

 

WEll, i sent mine into apple for fixed.  They replaced the logic board, screen, keyboard, hard drive and optical drive.  well, it has only been 10 days since getting it back and had the same failure last night.  Screen went nuts, line all over, and had to hold down the power button to shut it off.  When i tried to restart it the screen was in almost a rainbow effect on it and you could see the pixels.  It then went to the white screen while trying to load and never got past that.  I could close the computer and the little apple logo would stay lit up, i would open the computer back up and still white screen, it never turned off.

 

have another appointment with the apple store tonight.  They honestly should start reimbursing me for gas money.

robert

It's a tale I've heard so often with their repairs.  The quality of the so called refurbished logic boards, their failure rates after a 'repair' are what I've been told at a much higher rate than the other models in the range. All 'off the record' of course.

I can throw bad thermal paste, rough heatsink surfaces into the mix too. An EFI bios which ramps the fans up after the chips get too hot for this particular chassis. A 45 watt (hottest running of all) Intel CPU + AMD GPU combo that can't cope with dissipating the heat quick enough in this chassis. The subsequent combo of chips in this MBP chassis - 2012 15 with the much cooler Intel Ivy Bridge CPU/ Nvidia GPU can cope, 25%-40 less heat CPU and 40% on the GPU. They mostly only fail aided by poor paste or blockages in the fans.

Though I have a limited number of samples the chances of your MBP breaking down if you get it reballed is significantly less than going to the current roulette style 'program' while Apple do nothing hoping it will go away.

That's why I would prefer to send my reballing invoice into Apple to be reimbursed than have a so called 'repair program' with the quality of the repaired offered well below what I expect from Apple.

Atheryl wrote:

 

@clintonfrombirmingham

 

I have to apologize I'm quite irritated by some post here try to just make Apple looks like a company have nothing wrong in their laptop conception.

 

Anyway, about the sata, it's not the cable, it's the chipset. If you search over the web you can find numerous machine made in early 2011 have a deficient chipset. This chipset is Sata3 compliant but cause crash/corruption at this speed. For example that's why the MacbookPro as always been sell with a Sata2 Hard drive even if at this time it's was already possible to find Sata3 (I can't find the report anymore state that the intel chipset have defect, but I will definitely try)

 

So far, you can do the test if you have a early 2011, plug a Sata3 in place of the optical drive or the main hard drive (But so far the problem is also on the optical drive). I did fix the problem by finding a Sata 2 drive (And let me tell you, that's kind of a journey in 2014 haha)

On a 2011 MBP the main drive bay has a Sata3 connection and the optical bay has a Sata2 connection. This is not an error, optical drives are very slow and don't need a fast connection.

Atheryl,

First I've heard of a bad chipset in 2011 models. My machine originally came with a 500MG Toshiba but I slapped a SSD in it in less than a month. So this happens with all 6Gbps drives? If you were still under AppleCare, I would advise taking the machine back if for this reason alone.

While putting a SATA II drive in may 'fix' the problem, I would get it into the Apple Store ASAP anyway. That's a defect that's easily testable and a new logic board should fix the problem.

Clinton

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS Mavericks 10.9.4, 16GB Crucial RAM, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

@Csound1

Could you find me any other model of motherboard from any manufacturer in the world who have instability issue (Crash/Freeze/Corruption) by running a device implement a newer interface and retro compatible ?

When you plug your Sata3 Drive, the macbook pro set the link speed at 6gbps, you can try on your and check the system details. So if the port wasn't able why would it set it up as it could ? Is that normal to crash/freeze/corrupt data ? and is that normal to just make your users unable to use their laptop anymore just because you don't follow the compliance of hardware ?

Anyway, I would be totally fine if my Sata3 ran at Sata2 speed because the motherboard is simply Sata2 compliant but it's just .... unusable.

@clintonfrombirmingham

You run a late 2011 the issue was already fixed. I assume that they will jsut give me the same motherboard ... also it take 2 weeks to "wait" so ... I preferred to go with a Sata2 (SSD) which is already matching my expectations but well ... you are right, I should have bring it back

Modifying your Mac to a non standard configuration was your choice, what do you expect to happen now?

Are you serious ? Don't follow any rules of standard industry is a reason ? Please tell me you are kidding. If the slowness of the optical drive was true, could you explain me why they did fix the issue ? Why they don't just block the setup of the port to sata2 ? Because it's simply a faulty chipset. I will find the report about it no worries.

But it's kinda crazy to have so few good sense, can you just stop trying to explain everything this way ? Have a firmware trying to run at a speed he can't handle is just a BUG, a BUG !