I live in Tennessee however the techs I speak with are located all over the US given they are in different time zones than I am, all with the same old song and dance. I still get the same old song and dance from the call center “there is no such issue and I am the only person with such problem”. I am only a few months away from my Apple Care expiring so this is beginning to make me really pissy as at one time Apple did care however that was many moons ago. I asked him to enlighten me as to what she had to say and he got very pissy and refused to tell me. I said well that is a lie given this is a business I have roll over lines so there is never a busy signal, answering service yes busy signal no. As I was talking to the tech to set up a repair for my 4th logic board I mentioned that and he said she sent him a email updating him stating she tried to call me but my phone was busy. They are all liars and I have proof of that because I spoke to customer service and she said she was going to call me in two hours and two weeks later I never heard from her. Of course all I hear is this is the first time they ever seen/heard of such an issue. 3 logic boards since Sept 2013 going on 4th and they ALL pass Apple’s hardware test. I have been without my main machine 15″ early 2011 Macbook Pro since Sept 2013, but the machine was broke on arrival and Apple refused to replace it so I have had to work around the issues until September of this year when the machine no longer would work. I have had 3 and awaiting for the box to get my 4th one. They are being replaced with the same new or refurbished logic board that was in the original machine. If they are rated this high – I would guess someone was rubberstamping these ratings – lusted like Moody’s in 2006+ for housing loans.Īpple should fix ever affected computer… well every early 2011 MBPro – and if LB/Graphics replacment boards do not fix it – they should offer a next best quality referb (late 2011 to rMBPro and beyond). Many laptop GPUs are VRAM are rated for 105C because of the lack of cooling. I wonder if this is a “too much thermal paste” issue or maybe over rated components. then Photoshop got dicey and then well – it was replaced twice, but then finally died again – out of warranty. My G5 DC was running the X1900 and my card melted twice – well not so much as melted, but it did work great to heat the house – as it worked great to pull in the winter air, but when the hot weather came – the card could not longer handle WoW. Nothing is “trivial, automatic or bullet proof” though many may try to get you to believe this. I’ve had issues with ATI/AMD, yet I know there can be issues with any component. How about you? Have you experienced any GPU issues with your early-2011 MacBook Pro? Please let us know in the comments section below. I have a early-2011 MacBook Pro equipped with a Radeon 6490M, and have so far not experienced any of the issues mentioned above. However, users whose computers are equipped with Radeon 6490M, 6750M, and 6970M GPUs are also experiencing the problem.Īpple has not yet addressed the issue, and many users report the only repair option given to users without AppleCare coverage is a pricey $500 logic board replacement. These attempts have been met with only modest success.Īpple Support Communities forum user “saramwrap” has compiled data showing that the majority of affected machines are early-2011 MacBook pros equipped with the AMD Radeon 6750M GPU. Rebooting is reportedly not a remedy, and some users are attempting to remedy the problem by forcing the MacBook Pro to use only the integrated chips. Reports of the issue first cropped up in February, but have become more frequent over the past month.Īpple introduced an automatic graphics switching system back in 2010, which automatically decides which graphics chip to use, the integrated chip, or the discrete chip, depending on the graphics task the user is working on.Īffected machines display discoloration, banding, and image distortion as the most common symptoms, however, users also report that their computers suddenly freeze without any graphical warning signs. The problem, as highlighted by multiple threads on Apple’s Support Communities forum, first presents itself as a graphical glitch - or, in more serious cases, complete system lockup - when an affected MacBook Pro switches from the integrated Intel graphics chip to the discrete AMD graphics processing unit, or GPU.
In some cases, the component completely fails, requiring an expensive replacement of the logic board. Owners of early 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros are reporting issues with the AMD GPUs in their computers.