MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) freeze with Yosemite

Apple's been ping-ponging back and forth between AMD/ATI and NVIDIA for some time, so I doubt there's been some more serious break with NVIDIA (if for no other reason than that such a break would undermine their bargaining leverage with AMD).

GPUs are extremely complicated beasts, and their drivers play a very important role in how they operate. My lab does some work with using GPUs for general purpose computation, and, especially in the early days, it wasn't uncommon to see significant speed-ups (and concomitant changes in power deposition) when a new version of the drivers were installed. On a desktop system, it's no big deal since there's quite a bit more cooling infrastructure, but on a laptop that could be a huge deal. It's hard to prognosticate about potential problems from afar, but it could even be that the current drivers are "better" but make a different performance/heat tradeoff compared to the pre-Yosemite version, and that's spiking the temp a bit and some of us are unfortunate enough to be on the tail of the bell curve with HW that can't handle it. Back when my rMBP was still panicking, half of the time I got a GPU panic message that looked like a failure to set a register (which is a pretty close-to-the-metal failure), and the other half, I got an empty log message, which suggested to me that internal temperature sensor shut down the chip and pulled the rug out from under the system. For me at least, I needed to wait for the machine to be able to boot again after a failure, again consistent again with heat. And the fact that it happens on more than one model doesn't absolve the hardware -- all of the rMBPs have effectively the same cooling strategy (a single heat spreader connecting the CPU and GPU to the two fans). There are several blog posts about the inadequacy of this cooling arrangement, complete with thermal camera images and detailed system tear-downs. The 2011 model was especially bad, because it lacked the desirable thermal properties of Haswell integration, but they are all pretty bad.

I'd be very interested in seeing what temperatures people having the problem are seeing. I'm using a utility called "Hardware Monitor" to keep an eye on it. Of course, just because the symptoms are the same, doesn't mean the disease is the same -- it's entirely possible that some other problem (or collection of problems) is happening to other people.

I don't think, based on my reading of every single post in this thread, that we are yet at the point where we can say a new logic board fixes the problem. At least as many, if not more posts in this thread allude to the same problem occurring even after getting the board replaced.

In other words -- the problem may be a "design flaw" meaning that even "good hardware" malfunctions because it was designed improperly (incorrect thermals?). Or it's just bad software (which I tend to doubt because that would indicate reckless disregard for the consumer experience by Apple).

Now, as to why the problem happens more in Yosemite, maybe it taxes the GPU more? Also Yosemite doesn't seem to recover from hangs (it requires a reboot) whereas previous versions of OS X would automatically recover after a delay of 15 seconds or so.

The other thing that's odd is that sustained use of either graphics card (not switching) seems very reliable. I wonder what "part" is responsible for handling the switching? The graphics cards themselves both seem fine... it's the hardware/software involved in switching that is at fault.

That's the same problem I'm having. I have multiple tabs open in Firefox and it freezes all the time. Have to hold down the power button to shut down, then restart! Very frustrating!

There really isn't a "part" that one can point to that's solely responsible for GPU switching. The GPU multiplexer code runs in the kernel and orchestrates the hand-off between the integrated GPU (which lives on the same die as the CPU) and the discrete GPU (which lives about an inch away on the logic board). The Haswell CPU chips have integrated controllers that implement the bus that talks to the GPU, and AFAIK, when the discrete GPU is running it is able to write directly into the same framebuffer used by the iGPU. There was a similar switching technology from NVIDIA branded "Optimus" that would orchestrate a similar hand-off, but it had the downside of leaving the iGPU powered up (but idle) when the discrete GPU was running. One of the nice things the OS X version of this does is that it powers down the iGPU when the discrete GPU is running, which saves battery and heat. One might venture to speculate that any change that resulted in both GPUs staying on at the same time any longer than needed could lead to failure, since the CPU and GPU share a common head spreader and it can't take the heat when both are running. You might also imagine that switching back and forth a lot between the two could be worse than running one for a while and switching infrequently (because GPU A will still be hot when the switch to GPU B is made, especially if the cooling system is compromised in any way).

One thing that almost no one is reporting on this thread is which version of the CPU they're using (mine is a Core i7 2.6 GHz, which will be as hot as they get).

Another potential wrinkle, for those that report problems coming back after a logic board replacement: I don't know *how* Apple replaces those logic boards. The CPU and GPU (and memory) are all soldered on the board, and the head spreader must be removed to remove the logic board (which ruins the thermal paste, requiring it to be reapplied). They may actually take everything apart, get a new board, and solder everything back, or they may just drop in a new board with new GPU+CPU, or they may drop in a refurbished one, or any combination/variant thereof. It's also unclear how they apply the thermal grease (a technician must do that, but it's unclear how reproducible this process is. If they do a poor job, your new machine would be just as compromised as the old one). It'd be interesting to know what it actually means to "replace the logic board".

20 pages and the thread is still growing. If 10.10.2 does not fix this issue, I think a class action suit may be the only way to shake Apple out of its complacency and come up with a proper solution for rMBP users. I suspect a replacement of the graphics and or main board may be required. Running with graphics switching turned off is a power hog and turning transparency off makes Yosemite look very flat.

Wilson

Got my computer back from the Apple Store

Mid-2012, Yosemite, 750 gb, 16gb RAM, if you read my posts - had all the same problems.

My computer basically was LAYERED inside with Dog Hair - so the COOLING was not working - hence after 2 1/2 years the computer burnt itself up DUE to a POOR design as the airflow vents SHOULD have a FILTER on them so that hair / and other particles should NOT be able to get into the computer - or at least have a way so that we NORMAL people have a way of cleaning out the inside of the computer.

Well - I have Apple Care -

Customer Service was also involved - and she was VERY nice and helpful

Dropped my computer off Christmas Eve - and got my computer back December 30th.

They replaced the Logic Board (which I assume was everything) - and they replaced the Heat Sinks - Per the Work order.

NO CHARGE - but if I did not have Apple Care - then I would have been charged $1200 -

Now - a few days later - after having it back up to where I left off - backed up with Time Machine....

The Computer is RUNNING LIKE New, PLUS the FANS at NO LONGER running constantly, and the computer is running MUCH, MUCH Cooler - the bottom is no longer HOT.

Hopefully this was ALL a HEAT ISSUE -

Also, The Apple Store I go to - I asked CAN I bring my computer for a MONTLY Cleaning - they said YES - I have 2 LARGE Labs - and they SHED everywhere -

I can confirm the same problem on Mavericks with an Early 2013 rMBP 15", so it probably existed for a while, just Yosemite increased the problem.

To me the problem so far only occurs if Safari is running at the same time with some PluginProcess for Flash or Silverlight.

This has been a problem on both my Early-2013 rMBP 15" (i7 2.7GHz) and Late-2013 rMBP 15" (i7 2.6GHz) with both Mavericks and Yosemite. On Yosemite the problem is just more pronounced since 10.10 has more aggressive / more frequent GPU switching policy than 10.9 (also contributing to better battery life). The problem always occurs when switching between the integrated and discrete GPUs. I have so far not seen a rMBP that would not freeze after clicking for a while on Automatic graphics switching in System Preferences -> Energy Saver switching multiple times between the integrated and discrete GPUs. Someone here mentioned it takes 2 or 20 or 200 clicks to hang the system - and I can replicate the same behavior. Anyone here has a rMBP that is immune to this GPU switching kernel panic? Please let us know...

Not really sure whether this is a HW or a SW problem. Seems like a SW one - since the genuine GPU failure I experienced before is similar in symptoms, yet occurs always (the computer would freeze and restart whenever the OSX would try to use the discrete GPU - e.g. when starting iPhoto, Aperture, when displaying a webpage with flash in Safari etc., basically one would never be able to use the failing discrete GPU). The failing GPU was always fixed by Apple by replacing the logic board. This switching intermittent GPU kernel panic was always present even after the logic board replacement though. Forcing to use either the integrated or discrete GPU is a workaround, until Apple finally addresses this issue. Kudos to AppleStore employees always trying to help by offering logic board replacements and raising the potential SW issue with Apple. Hopefully we'll get this fixed soon.

I don't think this is limited to the retinas, but happens with anything where GPU switching happens.

Such a disaster upgrading to Yosemite. I have downgraded twice now hoping that the Updates fixed the related issues including freezing of the system, but nothing has been done to fix the major issues such as WiFi and Freezing yet. Expensive price to pay for a box that uses nice looking rubbishy application. :/

So, mid 2012 MackBook Pro Retina with 16 GB and integrated and discrete GPUs. I had a very stable laptop for a long time and then an upgrade to Yosemite (not sure what version finally brought on the issues) and the same issues prolifically reported here was occurring on my machine. It was becoming a daily occurrence so decided to rebuild from scratch and then import the files I needed and the applications I required. (I quite like starting afresh every now and again anyway!).

One application that used to kill the MacBook (this is what it feels like - I can't really offer proof) more than others was when I was using Adobe Dreamweaver. The Dreamweaver version I had used the discrete GPU and used JAVA. There seemed to always be a crash some point shortly after using this application - although other crashes seemed to come from websites I visited or using iPhoto. Again, both can force the use of discrete GPU's.

Since erasing the drive, installing Yosemite afresh (from boot-up) and adding the file backups and applications as required, the laptop has returned to notable stability. I am NOT saying that the past 5 days of continual intensive use (including GPU switching tasks) is conclusive, but there has been a marked difference for sure from daily freezes and crashes in the fact that they have not happened at all.

Others on this thread have done the same but have not seen such success. This is a very intermittent and strange issue and I need to keep intensively using my MacBook for a while and then start adding my remaining applications (very rarely used or old/retired) periodically to see if something triggers the behaviour.

In the meantime, Ill keep using, make sure I examine and capture issues and report back as soon as instability returns or not.

No crashes since turning off transparency but leaving on graphics switching on my 2012 2.7gHz RMBP. Running complicated filters in Photoshop CC2014 no longer crashes every time. It would be nice to have transparency back but I can live without it.

Wilson

I have transparency on and also Graphic Switching. Lets see how long I last with everything singing and dancing!

So what's the quickest way to reliably trigger the switch-GPU freeze on affected machines?

Has anyone gone to an Apple Store and tried to see if any of the demo machines would freeze?

If one were to try 5-10 display MBPs, how many would freeze right there after trying for 5-10min each?

Basically:

1) Reboot the Mac

2) Make sure nothing is running (therefore, you will be using integrated graphics when graphics switching is turned on)

3) Go to System Preferences -> Energy Saver, and repeatedly click on and off Automatic Graphics Switching between 1 and 200 times