Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I replaced overheated discrete graphics chip in my macbook pro a few months ago and few days ago after the update to os x maverics i got the same issue - the chip is overheated and broken again. It is a bit expensive to replace the chip every few months.

Is there a way to underclock and /or undervolt it to reduce heating?

ps. unfortunately I work with external monitor, so i can't just delete appropriate kext's.

I updated to Mavericks one week ago and now I have the same problems. I'm really ****** off!

It's NOT a driver OS version issue. Many people are having the issue from 10.6.x to 10.9.

It's NOT an over heating issue.

The fix is a logic board repair. Just got mine back from depot this afternoon - so far so good. Temps are 2 deg C cooler than before.

Hi,

We all have the same problem, definitely there is no solution to the defective discrete GPU, it is a bad design and replacing it is just a short time solution as experienced by many MBP owners here.  May I kindly remind everyone that before they do anything on their unit, please go to any Apple Store genius and have their MBP documented but not necessarily paying for the replacement.  Ask them to get your serial number and forward to Apple.

I spoke to a tech in Apple and told me that they don't always believe in forums as anyone who register can add something on this discussion.  I guess he's partly right so I think we need to reach Apple any way we can; even those without Apple Stores nearby.  We can submit our serial numbers so that Apple can verify this and get the real extent of this problem.  If they have the real numbers of affected units, they will defineitely take notice.  It doesn't matter if this forum will extend to 1,000 pages but all they can see are discussions of what the MBP owners are doing to make it work.

Please, submit your serial numbers to Apple, any way you can, and I believe (hope) that Apple will (still) do the right thing.  Whatever it is. And they should.

I just replaced my logic board under my AppleCare in July. The issue just came back with a vengeance this month.

You would think that the replacement logic boards would be free of this issue.

Sorry to say @nudoru, but all evidence points toward it being an heat issue.

I used to assemble PC desktops in the early 2000's and we played around with a lot of components, overclocked our processors etc. So I have a little bit of experience with heat issues and computers and this thing looks pretty much like one. Heat issues are very hard at times to reproduce, cause a constant strain of just a little bit too much heat as the components can bear, is a wear and tear. We don't talk about overheating our processors...its more the soldering or other 3rd row components that might get affected that in the end boil up to a critical tipping point where the system stops operating.

Sure you can't say for certain.

Your "conclusion" about getting the MPB replaced is true and wrong at the same time. The problem will come back. For some people it will come back sooner for some later. But I bet with you that you will run into similar problems not too long ago.

And where we send the serial number?

Ey Apple you are hier?

Here the number of defective computer you sold me.

C02GF18KDRJN

Thanks for caring not only for sales but also for users.

I am in the same situation a most of you. I have had my second logic board replacement in less than a month. I had originally paid 500 euros (I live in Germany) which adds up to around 700 dollars for a logic board replacement. What really annoys me is that I think the technical service from Apple is basically refurbishing my previous logic board as I got the same ethernet card MAC address. Which means that they are charging me the price of a new component and giving me the old one with who knows what crappy workaround.

Despite the fact that I have ran out of the guarantee period, in Europe we have a 90 day repair guarantee, which means that I can go over this process as many times as needed. However what I dont get is how is it possible that my graphics card has lasted for over two years without a problem and suddenly it seems to be uncapable of working for longer than a day or two. Maybe it is because Apple technical services are not replacing the logic board (for what I paid) and are just putting some "tape and glue" to try to have the device hold for the 90 days the are forced to have the thing working.

After my experience, my recommendation is that you dont try to fix the thing (paying 700 dollars for a repair that is only guaranteed for 3 months does not make any sense). If you really like Apple computers (which I did until now), then get a new one. Otherwise, search for a different brand that delivers better quality and longer lifetime.

Obviously not. I have two theories in this sense: either the replacement boards are used ones that already had issues or the newer firmware updates are causing problems on the graphics card. What seems to be clear is that something thas has worked perfectly for two years suddenly doesnt work for weeks if not days.

Ridiculous. I guess Apple is not interested anymore in the laptop business and they seem to put all quality focus on iPhones and iPads... Will Linux take over? I have already spotted a very nice dell model: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd.

But I must say that I have always liked Apple, I have always liked Mac OS and if I switch to another provider, it wont be an easy decision.

I've just joined the club as well, guys. Early 2011 MacBook Pro 15"? Check. 6750M? Check. It is, without a doubt, a heat issue, and honestly, I can't say I'm that surprised. My girlfriend's 13" MBP had its logic board replaced earlier this month. In fact, I don't know of very many people who haven't had a major hardware problem with a 2010-2011 MacBook Pro, and this points to something I've said for a long time to anyone who'd listen. The design, while beautiful, is incredibly flawed as it doesn't have any real method of solving its heat dissipation problem.

Apple claims to have designed to handle the heat, but these components are under stress while the user does anything from watching YouTube to playing a game. This will never work for any extended period of time. It puts too much stress on the components until, as someone before me said, it reaches a critical tipping point. This entire issue and others such as the 2011 iMac issue point towards heat being a major issue. This also explains why people are claiming to have encountered this problem several times even with replacement Logic Boards. The components still have to endure the heat, and it's only a matter of time before they go out as well. Mix a chip with issues with a ton of heat all in minimal space, and you'll find that happening almost every time.

Is there an easy way to disable the damaged GPU

AMD Radeon HD 6490M

Because at the moment not every time the mbp opens and if it does i can only work it with the workaround of gfsCardSttus 2.3. Please advice i dont want to screw it further i need to work immediately since i am a freelancer developer and cannot afford doing anything else at the moment. The only thing that i have learned from my experience with apple products is that i am not going to pay again so many money for a product from them that is going to fail so fast and only for a ridiculus little PCIe card issue that they should replace it for all damage logic board that have diagnose with such problems. I am really disappointed at the moment. Good luck to all of us sorting this issue.

Hello, I'm very impressed with it, I have a Mbp 15 "early 2011 and although I have not found this bug I'm afraid that at any time a team tank costs remain useless. Captions something I hope Apple.

I had the same problem (blue screen) after an update of snow leopard on my mbp early 2011 2.2 i7, in november 2011.

Going back to the original installation without updates the problem disappeared.

Apple changed my OS with Lion and i haven't had any problem up to date.

To clearify, agree it is probably caused by heat cyling in the first place, once it happens heat doesn't trigger the issue in normal operation. So i don't think using smfancontrol would help much when mine was glitching and freezing when it was cold - or just turned on.

To others, if you're at your wits end with this - write Tim Cook a letter. I did and had a nice chat with a corporate exec relations person. If it comes back, you bet I saved her email I told her all about this thread and that after a fix, I was concerned about it returning.

I believe that consistent thermal cycling and the dramatic change in temperatures for the GPU with dynamic switching decreases the life of the GPU overall. These chips are not meant to have temperature swings in the way these MacBook Pro models do. That's why they were able to target the issue in a software update in 2011 when this issue popped up for the first time with this batch. They minimized the amount of cases that the discrete GPU was being activated for, but applications like Chrome with no real need for consistent usage of the discrete GPU still turn it off and on, mostly on, like a kid with a light switch. That sort of usage with a steady stream of temperature fluctuations on any chip will wear it down.