Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I've got the MC724LL/A MacBookPro8,1 and recently I've had a fair bit of graphics distortion when waking up the computer from sleep. The actual machine itself seems to be mostly stable, with only the occasional freeze here and there. I seem only have one GPU, Intel HG Graphics 3000. Is anyone aware of this graphics issue extending to my model?

I too have the problem: Sudden freezes, random Blue screens, not able to boot (doing an smc-reset and PRAM reset sometimes help, sometimes booting holding cmd-R and then running both disk repair and repair permissions will do the trick).

Since I have an insurance - even though my MBP late 2011 is nearly 3 years (bought it in March 2012) - I will send it for a repair/replacement.

Come on Apple - we Danes are few, but neverless users of your quite expensive gear -  hoping it to last more than a couple of years.

and wow I managed to write this without my mac freezing

Hi,if u are in shanghai,we can help u solve the problem with reasonable price and fast speed ,willing provide u longer  warranty!  WC:Jack-Mac-fix

Hello same issue here.

I had my logic board changed for free 5 days ago , and after 2 days of use , same issue.

Another week without the computer, another not working Logic Board to be set but till when ?

What is the point of reinstalling logic boards that are proved to be not working ?

Mine seem to came back to life on its own. I came back from work expecting to boot it on Single-User mode and try to move the extensions to force the integrated card.... but I tried to boot it and it worked. I quickly set it to integrated only on GfxCardStatus.

Used it for a little bit and no problems but I guess this is just the calm before the storm and it will die soon.

I was able to backup some of the important files I don't want to miss. I do have a time machine backup but if my computer dies I need to continue my work on my work computer (using linux) and I don't have access to that backup.

I use Netbeans for work and it seems that it triggers the change always.

I've been following this discussion for a while and now want to chime in with my own experience. My Macbook Pro late 2011 17' model (though shipped in early 2012) began to act erratically in April 2014 after I updated to Mavericks. I heard some bad things about the OS update so I postponed it as long as possible. At some point however, my Mac was getting slower and slower and would tell me to please update certain programs (which I tried, to no avail - like I was told to update Java or Flash, installed it rebooted my Mac and then a window would pop up telling me to please update the programs I just had updated... or at least tried to) and so I figured, why not install Mavericks. A week later, I got strange glitches while watching a flash video. Another week later, these glitches would come randomly forcing me to reboot my computer at least five times a day. Yet another week later, my Mac was completely unusable.

Called the hotline and they told me that they weren't aware of any similiar failures, because of course they weren't. They said it was most likely a software error, so I reinstalled OSX or rather tried to because mid installation the whole thing crashed. The second time I called the hotline, I had read accounts of the error in this and many other threads prior and told the Apple people about it. This time they acknowledged that they were aware of MBP 2011 problems but that those issues couldn't be pinpointed to one single cause. They also added "It's like when you buy a car, sometimes you're lucky and it'll last a lifetime and sometimes it'll only last 3 years." To which I replied that firstly, my Macbook didn't even last three years and secondly, when there's a known problem car makers will issue recalls - well beyond warranty.

In any case, I'm pretty fed up with Apples sub-par customer service it's like they are going out of their way to find excuses to not help you. When I wanted to send in my iPhone 5 because of a broken on off switch, they came up with all types of excuses why it couldn't be done (one pressure point is still working, there is a scratch on the bezel etc.). Now my switch is completely gone and I'm desperately trying to get a new Genius bar appointment to have it replaced.

Meanwhile I'm back to my eight years old Windows computer which soldiers along like a champ. Back in the day I paid a premium for it, because I wanted a premium machine and that's what I got. When I bought my MBP I was under the false impression that for a price of about €2000, I would also get a high quality computer that would last very long. I was wrong and my next computer will definitely not bear an Apple logo. At the same time, I advise my friends not to buy Apple either because a) Apple's reliability is a myth, b) the company will milk you dry for things like adapters etc that are included with other computers and c) once you bought their stuff, Apple doesn't give a rat's arse about you. To end this on a positive note, never did I have a better looking paperweight than my MBP .... nor a more expensive one.

Add me to the list of users with this same issue.   Bought a new laptop, i will keep the broken one until I get a settlement from the class action suit.

This started 2 weeks ago on my Late-2011 15" Macbook Pro. Fortunately I'm on AppleCare so hopefully they'll fix it, but just to have a record of what's going on, here's my experience:

Observed problems:

- Severe display corruption when switching to discrete GPU (AMD 6770M). Everything is fine when using integrated graphics (Intel 3000). This switch happens when doing any graphics task (google maps, Matlab, etc...)

     - Usually screen goes black, fans kick on full speed

     - Sometimes screen shoes severe banding, left/right swapping, flickering ... eventually will go black

     - Force shutdown (hold power button) required

- On restart, after initial Apple Logo & spinning wheel, screen goes grey and fans kick on full speed

  - Force shutdown required

  - Several restarts are required before login screen shows up

Diagnostics attempted:

- Virus scan (negative, no viruses/malware/spyware/etc.)

- Disk Utility repair permissions & repair disk

- Startup single-user mode and repair disk (fsck -fy). This always indicates that the hard drive was modified/fixed if the computer was forcibly shutdown after black screen.

- Apple Hardware Test (no issues found even with full test)

Fixes attempted:

- Move the AMD drivers out of /System/Library/Extensions. The black screen freeze no longer occurs, but of course all graphics slow to a crawl.

- Disable Automatic Graphics Switching in Energy Saver Preferences. This often leads to the black screen.

- Use gfxCardStatus to force use of integrated graphics immediately after startup. Sometimes this leads to the black screen. But if the change is made successfully, then everything "works". No more black screen and I can actually get some work done!

  **** This indicates that the discrete AMD GPU is faulty ****

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Add another one to the list. My early 2011 MacBook Pro was fine until I installed Yosemite. The installation process did not go well, and took me several reboots to log into Yosemite. Once started using Yosemite (I plug my laptop to an external monitors), problems started to appear, the computer would freeze, had to hard reboot, taking several iterations of reboots to get into Yosemite again. Took it for repair, I was first told that the battery was the problem and they had to replace it. As it was pointed out here, battery malfunctioning is a side effect of the original problem. Upon returning home, after getting my files from time machine, problems re-ocurred and I took to service again, mentioning the problems listed in this board. They stress tested the system and recommended a logical board replacement, as usual. I did not authorize it, since it was too expensive. I took the system back home and after a couple of tries I managed to re-install Mavericks from time machine backups.

The system is now limping and I can get some work done, but unable to connect my notebook to an external monitor. It seems that Yosemite uses more the GPU than previous OSs, and this problem is more likely to surface or aggravate using Yosemite. I would stay away from Yosemite if you have a machine with this manufacturing issues. Hope this helps anyone in a similar situation.

Same deal here.  I called AppleCare and explained it and now they want me to take into a store.  I use the procedure listed above to get it to work, but once it gets into its mode, it happens all over again.  Will take it to Apple store after Thanksgiving.  Hope they resolve this.

My iMac had a GPU recall.  So that was easy.  This Apple is still not taking responsibility for.

Venga ya Apple...mi paciencia tiene un limite

Another victim here. MacBook Pro, early 2011. Graphic card AMD Radeon HD 6490M. It totally crashed down. I had to take it to repair because I need it to work. It cost me almost 500€. If it's a manufacture fault, as it seems to be, I have the right to get my money back. How much longer do we have to wait? Please, accept the responsibilities and solve the problem!

Same here - Early 2011 MacBook Pro:

2 GHz Intel Core i7

8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB

I've just started experiencing this issue for the second time. I had the logic board replaced a few months ago under AppleCare, but that has of course now expired. I'm having to use gfxCardStatus to force use the integrated graphics card, otherwise the machine will freeze. Last time it was just that, but now I having severe issues just trying to boot.

Very unhappy.

To all the new "victims" here, please do the following things as soon as you can:

1. Call Apple Support and have them send in a report to the higher level enginerring team

2. Submit feedback with the Apple feedback form

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Here's an update of my own.

After a few sad days surviving with gfxcard status, my Macbook Pro finally gave in. I couldn't get past the Apple logo. I had to go out and buy a 2012 Mac Mini server just to be able to continue working. I got it for a good price and installed both my SSD and 16GB RAM so I can at least continue working with the least interruptions.

I didn't want to have to buy another computer, at least not now, but with the current situation I'm in I had no other choice. Rather solemnly, I packed up my Macbook Pro and power adapter into my laptop bag, almost as if I was 'burying' it. That's where it will rest until Apple finally decides to do something about this horrible mess.