Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

@teebeau: 8,3 is 17" early '11 MBP

@Degger: yeah, sorry about that! I don't know why I even asked as I checked beforehand. I'm a bit sleepy I guess.

Like many of you guys, I own an early 2011 MBP (15", GPU: HD 6490M, SMC: 1.69f4) which has started to fail in April 2013.
Out of warranty, I've managed to get the logic board replaced for free in an Apple Store, by mentioning the EU latent defect law which covers our purchases for 2 years (more in some EU countries).They replaced the defective board with a refurbished logic board and of course 3 months later, logic board #2 failed.

It's simple.. 1.00V is the default voltage for all GPU chips because they all behave a tiny bit differently to each other. While undervolting might work for some users, that doesnt mean it covers all chips.

For those guys opting for a Reball at a professional company, you should specificaly ask for solder containing lead, to make the whole thing more future proof.

(I have suggested that to a friend of mine who has gone through the process of reballing the GPU on his 2011 MBP and had no issues since.. 3 months and counting).

For those guys opting for a Reball at a professional company, you should specificaly ask for solder containing lead, to make the whole thing more future proof.

(I have suggested that to a friend of mine who has gone through the process of reballing the GPU on his 2011 MBP and had no issues since.. 3 months and counting).

Are you sure that was a reballing procedure (i.e. desoldering the chip, cleaning the solder pads, recreating the solder balls of the chip and soldering back on?). That's a quite invasive and expensive procedure with a high chance of destroying the hardware. Even chip manufacturers only do this in rare cases if they suspect a single chip to have a special fault they cannot reproduce otherwise. Usually it's preferable (cheaper and more reliable) to just remove the chip and replace it with a brand new one.

I'm thinking of buying an Apple TV to use with my MBP early 2011, which of course has the well-known GPU problem. Is it possible to stream video from my MBP to the Apple TV using the iGPU only? I'm asking since I've heard it's impossible to use external displays without running the dedicated GPU.

Thanks!

BartVader wrote:

 

I'm thinking of buying an Apple TV to use with my MBP early 2011, which of course has the well-known GPU problem. Is it possible to stream video from my MBP to the Apple TV using the iGPU only? I'm asking since I've heard it's impossible to use external displays without running the dedicated GPU.

Thanks!

I tried that some days ago and the computer froze. Using the integrated card...

I think the question we gotta ask ourselves is "why do the GPU solder joints crack in the first place?"

Is it because this series of AMD chips is faulty (the same found in the faulty iMacs) or because the tin solder used is so environmentally friendly that it is of much worse quality than the good old lead solder (I think I've read somewhere than lead-free solder is much more prone to crack and fail than lead solder) that is now prohibited from use on new motherboards/electronic products (except for medical appliances)?!

Nowadays, most electronic devices use lead-free solder without being particularly less reliable than their leaded ancestors, which means we could partially rule out this hypothesis.

I'm no expert on the topic, feel free to correct my inaccuracies.

Hi all

Ive noticed yesterday the same problem with my MBP 15 late 2011 (MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011 - MacBookPro8,2 - AMD Radeon HD 6750M )

The mac stuck almost all the time on:

- blue screen with vertical black lines - something similar to this http://imageshack.us/a/img26/9898/screenshot20130201at758.png

- moved screen http://imageshack.us/a/img26/9898/screenshot20130201at758.png

- horizontal distortion - like this http://imageshack.us/a/img145/9898/screenshot20130201at758.png

After some review i found someone noticed that he has different SMC version on his laptop then the version officialy mention on Apple site http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1237

Ive tried to play a little with the SMC updates and instaled first the version 1.69f3 (SMC 1.5) which should be the right one but without success (still stuck almost all the time on blue screen + system report still showed version 1.69f4 (SMC 1.7). Then ive tried to install 1.68f98 (SMC 1.5) and - what is funny - I can somehow work now on AMD card - since last 2 hours only once I saw something like  this http://imageshack.us/a/img26/9898/screenshot20130201at758.png

For more info:

- the gfxCasrd Status v2.3 is switched now to AMD chip only (Discreate only)

- the system report still showing verson 1.69f4 (SMC 1.7).

I will test it more, especially under some "stress" test.

miro_r- Well, I am not an expert on Apple computers but, I don't believe you could simple rollback an SMC update. And even if you do, your machine unfortunately is already showing symptoms o gpu corruption.

Update: mbp ran fine in normal mode for a while after removing amd* and using integrated.

Unfortunately after running some youtube videos, the fan starts going stronger, and it gave me pink stripes again, with a black screen after a while, with non-responsive keyboard (keyboard lights won't dim, CAPS lock not working). Either i was still using discrete somehow, or even integrated will have a limit.

I can't boot to a normal screen now. The pink stripes are persistent. Shutting down has issues, etc...

My version is 1.69f3 for what its worth.

We could list down the service transaction ticket/billing no. or something that comes with every Genius visit, so that Apple can verify with their support side. That is, if they even centralize these incidents, or care. Hopefully it is not something private n confidentiaI. I will try to get mine up here perhaps in two weeks.

p4t0 - yes understand and agree somehow (its possible but not so easy like the way i showed) but like i wrote "and - what is funny" is somehow working !!!! - since last time i mention above nothing was happen on AMD card ! Let see how it will work (or not )

Hi there,

I got the same problems as lots of users before.

My config:

Macbook Pro 15" 2011 (Early)

2.2 Ghz, AMD 6750

Mavericks

This kind of ***** at huge scale because I need my Macbook for professional purposes (beamer presentations...). For now, this Laptop is kind of useless to me, because I cannot use it in everyday work...

I spent 2100 € in 2011 for this machine, now, 2 years later, it's already dead. If Apple doesn't come up with a good (cheap) solution, I'll think about switching to another system.

If I spend over 2000 € - I want QUALITY in exchange!

Amazing how 'common' this defect is, makes me wonder if at *any* time Apple will admit and start a solution program? What do you guys think?

Another update on my issue (early 2011 MBP 15"): it's definatelly the dedicated gfx card on my end; I can pretty much run without issues as long as I keep gfxcardstatus set on INTEGRATED only. But: after a reboot, gfxcardstatus will switch back to 'SWITCH DYNAMICALLY', does anyone know how to keep this setting on INTEGRATED permanently?

I tried removing the AMD* files, but the OS became insanely slow and ugly.

Hey guys, I wanted to let everyone know that I had this issue for about a month and posted on this forum. I had a late 2011 macbook pro with a 6770m graphics card. After being fed up and knowing how much it would cost me to get it fixed I decided to sell it on eBay.

I got $600 for it after taxes, which I know is a far cry from what it cost me originally. I sold it to somone in Vietnam, which seemed a little shady at first but turned out ok.

In any case I wanted to let everyone know that if you are willing to part ways with your macbook eBay is a viable option.

In addition I'll also throw in my own two cents. Laptops will overheat and Macbooks are no exception; having owned many laptops and noticing how hot they get over time I've decided that this would be the last laptop I purchase. I would rather purchase a new Mac Mini (hoping for a refresh in 2014) and getting a tablet to supplement. I know for some this isn't an option, but for others they may want to consider this path.

coffetin- Thank you for the firmware information. It is a good indication that my guesses about this problem are wrong. Lets hope to hear from Apple because this thing will affect more and more people everyday.

miro_r- Good! I hope it don't fail on you again until a solution is found. I really need to learn a lot about macs but, unfortunately if this problem occurs on my computer I will not buy from Apple again.