Q: Mac Pro (late 2013) Graphic Issues

Logged it with Apple Support; they verified and are replacing the graphics card.     Will report how it goes; but the techs said they had seen this before and know how to deal with it.

I've had my mac pro since march 2014 and only started having the lock up issue lately. Maybe since upgrading to Yosemite, although I couldn't say for sure. Makes me think it's a software issue right? I'm running an LG ultra wide display via HDMI.

Ignatef's story of 4 different mac pros doesn't sound good, Looking forward to hearing from you Flur about how the apple techs go.

Makes me think it's a software issue right?

Uh, no.

Often the differences in a new version of Mac OS X bring out defects in Hardware that were already present.

Hi Grant,

Bummer. I wonder if anyone has had success in resolving the problem by getting a replacement machine. Or is it a universal problem for the new Mac Pro?

Beyond the first 14 days, problems like this are treated as a repair problem. They will not likely give you a new machine as a solution beyond day 14.

Despite the fact that many Users are eager to badmouth Apple over their incredibly complex problems, Apple has not acknowledged any Systemic Problems in these Macs, has no recalls in place, and is not about to release any special sauce that solves every problem and makes everyone happy.

You should treat the problems you are encountering as a sample defect -- a problem that occurs in your sample of this System, and ignore the background noise of other people's problems.

Any problem that can be reproduced can be fixed, although it may make you crazy that it takes a while to swap boards out and test again.

Contact Apple and arrange to have your system examined and tested. If not fixed, press to have your problems escalated to Engineering for a solution.

I have not had a black screen problem since I formatted and upgraded to El Capitan. I am running 10.11.3. I'm assuming it was a driver conflict issue between mavericks and el capitan. That is the only thing I can think to explain it. I've tried getting the PC very hot and it still won't turn the screen black like it used to. I will keep testing it but seems like its fixed.

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/06/late-2013-mac-pro-video-issues-repair-progra m/

well ell that was interesting timing as mine is being replaced today!!

they have they just posted in mac rumores that apple is taking in defective graphics card to repair free of charge.......

before you get it replace check your disk speed. Because I had mine replace yesterday and to be disappointed with the Flash drive I have a 256 gig flash drive install on the basic mac pro that comes with it. The first mac pro blew my mine when I had it but disappointed when I saw the flickering on the screen. When I got my replacement I was bummed to see the read and write speeds. here are the black magic test of the first mac pro with blazing amazing write and read speed and the second one with horrible read and write speed, Why apple why you do this, I understand you buy mass production of hardware component but Gee wiz this is a pro machine not a consumer machine.

First mac pro purchase on the apple store online in Spain Jan 15 I received it Jan 20.

This is the mac pro that I had replace and the Flash storage drive with its readings yes the flickering and graphics issue is not happen anymore but what is up with this speed disk differences....

Long, drawn out but supports what you folks are seeing.

I bought my Mac Pro with D700 cards July, 2014.

In December, 2014 I started having weird problems with the system 'stalling' then recovering, sometimes with a modal dialog telling me the graphics subsystem had crashed.

January, 2015 I started having lockups. Just a few but still...

February, 2015 it got MUCH worse and I decided to call Apple Care.

Through all of that, brought in the system. Genius told me they don't accept Apple Care ticket numbers and we have to start from scratch. Also received the claim 'we have never seen or heard of this before'. (this first round with the genius was the worst experience I have ever had from an Apple employee and I reported such. Not an issue of disrespect but the lack of knowledge was evident and I was showing him things instead of him leading the charge)

Blah blah, yap yap go through things, they keep the system for 5 days and zero failures.

I'm frustrated, take it home and got a good week out of it and was happy though wondering if anything was changed. Then..you can guess what started happening again.

Brought it back, lost another 5 days of use, told nothing was the matter.

2 days..and more crashes...

Brought it back, referenced the Apple Care ticket number, and the repair number from previous bouts and was told gotta start over. More blah blah, yap yap, and we need to keep it. (obDisclosure: they blamed my 3rd party RAM as well cause it wasn't Apple branded but it all passed their tests, and original RAM passed the same tests)

6 days later I got a call that they had a GPU finally fail and they were going to replace it. (GPU B in this case). .. more waiting ..

Get the call to come pick it up.

Drive down, they show me 'look, it is all good!' and I take it home. Plug it in, and now every mouse movement or window change and the screen flickers.

Here is where it gets very interesting (by now I am pretty ****** off). I brought it back in immediately (i'm 15m away from the store)

Was told it was probably a problem with my cinema display (I brought it with me on this round) and able to recreate the issue. I asked them to grab a thunderbolt display since they now wanna blame something else. Waited a bit, was beginning to wonder if they were growing it in a garden out back, then the genius shows up with a thunderbolt display, plug it in and bring the system up AND it happens there too!

I am ecstatic! Finally able to recreate things on demand! The general manager comes over to talk with me. I explain what has been happening, she knows my case cause of the multiple times in the store. I think she's trying to pacify me.

And told me they were going to need to keep it again.

I lost it. While I did not raise my voice I did make it clear that I was thoroughly upset. By this time I had lost weeks of my use of a hugely expensive brick.

She disappeared for about 30 minutes then came back, with another employee, and told me that she was going to replace the machine completely with a new machine and had the employee go through the process for ordering one.

You think things got better?

Yep! They did, for a while. All was golden until .. September, 2015 and guess what started happening again?

2 rounds of bringing it in, another replacement of GPU B, and the system has been good since.

While you can find anecdotal items like this thread on the Internet, it was only recently I got to see the problem again in real life when a friend had to bring a Mac Pro in for repair for THE SAME THING and the employee admitted that there seems to be some issues going on with the Mac Pro and GPU issues. In this case they replaced GPU A and all has been good. This was just a couple weeks ago.

I love my trashcan but it has been the most frustrating system I have ever owned from Apple.

Has this screen turning off happened to anyone with a 2015 retina mac book pro?? I'm going to try get my computer extremely hot tonight and see if it turns off but so far it has been stable since I formatted and uppraded.

I don't know but there are a lot of issues with this machine, for me its been similar ordeal but the first mac pro was having amazing flash speed I was very happy with those speed, but when I got my replace mac pro and being that the issue  of the graphics card is ok, the flash drive is another some has very fast speed and some has very slower speed..

Check this out, it sounds promising.

http://9to5mac.com/2016/02/06/apple-mac-pro-repair-program-graphics-video/

So here's my Mac Pro adventure to date.

Unit #1 - I was an early adopter and ordered the new Mac Pro the day it went on sale. The first 6 months or so, the machine performed flawlessly, but soon after that it became erratic and developed intermittent issues. I took it in to my local Apple Store for repair, it stayed in repair for almost 7 days and finally they called me and said they were going to replace it with a new machine. Further discussion revealed that they were able to replicate the issue and that there was like a 22 step process to diagnose the issue and implement a repair and they got half way through and determined it was more cost effective to replace the unit than continue with the process. Upon my return to the store, I received a NEW Mac Pro IN A BOX at the time of pickup. I was very pleased with this outcome.

Unit #2 - The second unit had the same performance as the first. Sadly. Worked GREAT out of the box for another 6  months or so, then started developing the same issues as the first, but this time it was totally intermittent and random. I lived with it for a while and finally took the second machine in for a diagnoses. Apple kept the unit for 5 days, ran all kinds of diagnostics, supposedly maxing out the machines performance and determined that there was nothing wrong with the second unit. Upon my return to the store, my discussion with the Genius eluded to a possible issue with my Apple 27" thunderbolt display. That display was out of warranty by now and I had no intentions dumping more money into repairing it OR a grand on a new one, so I opted on purchasing a Dell 4K for $500. I wiped Unit #2 clean, did a fresh install and connected it to my new Dell 4K. Guess what ........ same issues started to appear almost immediately. I disconnected every device I was using and isolated the unit with only basic software, and again the issue remained. I then contacted Apple Care directly and was routed to their team in Austin. I spent about a month on the phone with an AWESOME Apple Care rep who I worked with to confirm that I did indeed have a hardware issue. The process at that point involved software that I received from Apple engineering and my instructions were to continue using the machine in my daily activities and note the days & times that I noticed the unit acting erratic. I did this for 5 occurrences, noted the day & time and ran their supplied software, then uploaded all the results & associated files generated by their software. 3 days later my AWESOME Apple Care rep contact called back with an update that engineering had confirmed that GPU A was failing and I wasn't crazy. He would then start a dialogue with my local Apple Store for a REPAIR, which I wasn't happy about, but was pleased that the issue was being addressed.

Unit #3 - I dropped off Unit #2 at the Genius Bar, explained the situation and handed them the supplied documentation. Their Genius was confident that they could handle the repair and asked me to correspond with my Apple Care rep with my repair authorization number to make sure each party was aware that repair was in progress. I followed through with everyone's requests, and after about 6 days I received a phone call from my local store informing me that they would not be able to complete the repair and was simply going to replace the unit with a new one. I was completely thrilled at this point. However, once again, I had to listen through a bunch of rhetoric on how THEY could NOT find an issue and perhaps I should double check my cables & software installs as that might be the issue. So, now I'm completely flustered again, after everything I've personally been through, I just keep my mouth shut and I'm grateful I get a new unit. I was told just to show up and everything would be waiting on me.

Conclusion - Upon my return to the store, I received a NEW Mac Pro at the time of pickup. IN A BAG. After I checked in, I was greeted by an Apple employee who confirmed that there was a unit waiting for me and she was going to go get it and I'd be set. When she came back out, she just had the bare unit and power cord, NO BOX.  My first thought was how am I going to transport this safely without a box? I ask the girl who brought it out and the only response I got was .... I can get you a bag. So for the record, I didn't really care about the box, I could have brought it back, but I personally feel it was inappropriate to have a customer leave the store with a $3,500 computer in a plastic bag. And now finding out publicly that it's a failed component issue all along, I feel like a complete idiot. Will my issue return in the new unit? I've waisted my initial investment, my personal and professional time, more money on a new monitor, additional Apple Care and the final straw being the way this was handled at the local level by an Apple employee. This is the last time I will ever spend that much money on an Apple product and I can assure you that my professional industry associates will, at the very least, enjoy my saga.  I do miss Steve.

Right on!

I, also, miss Steve - things just seemed smoother. Less hoops, less broken things out of the box.