Great! My work MacBook Pro is an Early 2011 MBP with the AMD graphics in it. Hopefully mine keeps working fine. I really never stress it graphically and from what I see most of the time it uses the Intel 3000 graphics. My work is getting so damn cheap I know they won't get me a new one even though I require a Mac for work (Apple IT Administrator in a 2 school districts). They didn't even want to purchase AppleCare for it.
This exact thing happened to my early 2011 mbp 15", this past June. Got so bad that it became unresponsive. Took it into the Apple store and had to get the logic board replaced. Didn't have applecare, so it cost me 600 bucks
This is a big concern to me. I have an early 2011 17" MBP, and I have about 60 days left on Apple Care.
I think the documentation of failures should indicate a systematic, rather than random, failure which Apple needs to take care, even after the warranty period has expired.
It is especially important given the 17" is no longer being manufactured. There is no reasonable option for me and those similarly situated.
Three rapid-fire logic board replacements (two of those were in the big-guns repair facility in Tennessee) and also replaced RAM didn't solve it for my 2011 17" MBP ... As soon as I plugged in the freshly repaired MBP to the Apple Thunderbolt Display, disaster would strike. Both screens would freeze, striate, alternate colors, ramp up the cooling fans, and force a hard restart (while dumping a few hundred megabytes of trash blocks onto the hard drive).
The final solution (for me) was to accompany a logic board replacement with a new LCD (had to wait 3 weeks for it to be built I guess) as well as a new aluminum frame/casing for the whole laptop. Seriously -- I'm guessing there was some perfect storm of crappy thunderbolt connection, bungled LCD controller, who knows. Finally fixed after two months of hell.
No word from the Genius Bar? Or do they simply hand out a new one, just like iPhones?
I had the exact same issue with my 2009 MBP 15" i7 only it was an NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M in my case. I tried the genius route and got fobbed off so I called Apple support on the phone. It was still under extended warranty and the Apple support tech agreed to replace the logic board after I sent him the results of some hardware tests from a test utility he emailed me. The MBP is still going strong I am happy to say.
And there's the proof that support issues get differently handled from Genius to Genius. Good to hear the Support Desk did what they did. Should do so, when under warranty. Don't understand actually why the Genius didn't do the same.
I am having this very problem right now and AGAIN! They have already replaced my logic board twice (the first replacement they ordered had a bad GPU and they had to order a second). Now I am starting to get issues again. What I found out the first time is to take screenshots of it in action. When you do this, it really helps the guys at the genius bar since it is a problem not always easily reproduced. It has caused all kinds of weird failures in programs that are typically stable but are graphics intensive because the GPU is just (for lack of a better term) quitting. Apple has a real problem here. I am hoping to persuade them to replace the system the next time since this would be my fourth logic board (counting the original and another replacement). Thanks for drawing attention to this!
Annecdotally: my friend has been through FOUR of these! All for GPU issues I think, but with slightly varied symptoms. Thankfully she has AppleCare. (Or maybe Apple would have covered her anyway for this known issue? They certainly should.)
Annecdotally: my friend has been through FOUR of these! All for GPU issues I think, but with slightly varied symptoms. Thankfully she has AppleCare. (Or maybe Apple would have covered her anyway for this known issue? They certainly should.)
At that point I don't want my machine to continually be replaced with the same faulty components. At that point I'd expect Apple to give me the next newest unit of a comparable performance and capacity. Refurbished would be fine. If they didn't I'd then address it with the Better Business Bureau to see where that goes.
It's expected that some products will have faults but when you get the same problem over and over for a given model of a product I simply don't want that product anymore, especially when the product cost a couple thousand dollars and is typically used 8 or more hours a day.
Spent $3k on my first ever Mac computer and in less than 2 years, I have a useless P.O.S. sitting on the shelf and Apple will do nothing about it.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
Spent $3k on my first ever Mac computer and in less than 2 years, I have a useless P.O.S. sitting on the shelf and Apple will do nothing about it.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
My machine is suffering from this problem. We don't want replacement (faulty) logic boards, we want a totally fixed laptop or replacement unit with equivalent specs. Am very disappointed that this "state of the art" machine is failing. We need Apple to take responsibility for a top of the line product that is proving to be a lemon.
Add my MacBook to the afflicted - 15" early MBP, 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, AMD 6750 chip, AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB. Started about two weeks ago and has been steadily getting worse. Thanks for publicizing this Apple Insider. It seems many people are writing to Apple and they don't consider it a problem yet. We need publications to help get the word out. Apple, please listen, this is not an isolated issue!
I had this exact same problem happen to my Early 2011 (15") MacBook Pro about 6 months ago, was fixed under AppleCare warranty.
Interestingly enough I had exactly the same problem with my Mid 2007 (15") MacBook Pro which had an Nvidia 8600m GT graphics card... that one was fixed under AppleCare warranty twice.
I have an early 2011 15" MBP and had a problem with the GPU a few months back. It happened only when I would boot into Windows. The screen would start flickering and then suddenly go blank and then re-appear with a message box saying there was a problem with the graphics card and it is now OK.
However, after a week or so, it just crashed and the screen was exactly like how it is on the article's screenshot, in both OS X and Windows.
I got the entire motherboard replaced as it was under warranty.
Looks like there was a defective batch that year. Hope most of the owners had opted for the extended warranty.
I had my logic board changed a while back just before 90 days of my applecare validity. I have seen that new logic boards last less than the original ones ~4-6 months which is just after the 90 day period apple is giving for their repairs. I am terribly dissapointed by apple customer care and the way they are treating hardware problems. I would be very glad if apple would grant me at least 1 year of warranty but I think that is a long shot because apple failed in the past to assume responsibility for their faulty hardware.
I, too had the 'bad' GPU problem and my MacBook Pro simply became unusable. Luckily I have AppleCare so my logic board was replaced gratis. Still, I've only 9 days with this 'new' logic board and many of the users on the ASC have reported having to go through 2-3 logic boards: even without a true 'fix'. So I'm keeping my eye on the board: I have AppleCare until April of 2015, so Apple has over a year, for me, to make certain that they come up with a genuine fix.
Spent $3k on my first ever Mac computer and in less than 2 years, I have a useless P.O.S. sitting on the shelf and Apple will do nothing about it.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
*yawn*
It's like these trolls don't even try to be believable anymore.
Comments
I would take into an Apple Store posthaste.
Three rapid-fire logic board replacements (two of those were in the big-guns repair facility in Tennessee) and also replaced RAM didn't solve it for my 2011 17" MBP ... As soon as I plugged in the freshly repaired MBP to the Apple Thunderbolt Display, disaster would strike. Both screens would freeze, striate, alternate colors, ramp up the cooling fans, and force a hard restart (while dumping a few hundred megabytes of trash blocks onto the hard drive).
The final solution (for me) was to accompany a logic board replacement with a new LCD (had to wait 3 weeks for it to be built I guess) as well as a new aluminum frame/casing for the whole laptop. Seriously -- I'm guessing there was some perfect storm of crappy thunderbolt connection, bungled LCD controller, who knows. Finally fixed after two months of hell.
I had the exact same issue with my 2009 MBP 15" i7 only it was an NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M in my case. I tried the genius route and got fobbed off so I called Apple support on the phone. It was still under extended warranty and the Apple support tech agreed to replace the logic board after I sent him the results of some hardware tests from a test utility he emailed me. The MBP is still going strong I am happy to say.
And there's the proof that support issues get differently handled from Genius to Genius. Good to hear the Support Desk did what they did. Should do so, when under warranty. Don't understand actually why the Genius didn't do the same.
At that point I don't want my machine to continually be replaced with the same faulty components. At that point I'd expect Apple to give me the next newest unit of a comparable performance and capacity. Refurbished would be fine. If they didn't I'd then address it with the Better Business Bureau to see where that goes.
It's expected that some products will have faults but when you get the same problem over and over for a given model of a product I simply don't want that product anymore, especially when the product cost a couple thousand dollars and is typically used 8 or more hours a day.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
Nice FUD. No one cares.
My machine is suffering from this problem. We don't want replacement (faulty) logic boards, we want a totally fixed laptop or replacement unit with equivalent specs. Am very disappointed that this "state of the art" machine is failing. We need Apple to take responsibility for a top of the line product that is proving to be a lemon.
Well, OK, not so funny.
I had this exact same problem happen to my Early 2011 (15") MacBook Pro about 6 months ago, was fixed under AppleCare warranty.
Interestingly enough I had exactly the same problem with my Mid 2007 (15") MacBook Pro which had an Nvidia 8600m GT graphics card... that one was fixed under AppleCare warranty twice.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377
I have an early 2011 15" MBP and had a problem with the GPU a few months back. It happened only when I would boot into Windows. The screen would start flickering and then suddenly go blank and then re-appear with a message box saying there was a problem with the graphics card and it is now OK.
However, after a week or so, it just crashed and the screen was exactly like how it is on the article's screenshot, in both OS X and Windows.
I got the entire motherboard replaced as it was under warranty.
Looks like there was a defective batch that year. Hope most of the owners had opted for the extended warranty.
clintond
Spent $3k on my first ever Mac computer and in less than 2 years, I have a useless P.O.S. sitting on the shelf and Apple will do nothing about it.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again. $3,000 is no joke. I also have an HP laptop that was less than half the price and has more power. I will be switching to Android phone for the first time after many years of having an iPhone.
They should do the right thing because we really got screwed.
*yawn*
It's like these trolls don't even try to be believable anymore.