What to do with the 8600m GT.

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

i have an early penryn MBP and after the release of the new ones i ooked on these forums and found out that recently apple has said that some Macbook Pros are affected by a faulty GPU.

My MBP has this faulty GPU and the extended warranty is not good enough for me, it has no symptoms at the minute but when i bought this laptop i was expecting to be using it for around 5 years.

i cannot afford either applecare or a new MBP in 2 years, it took me a very long time to save up to get this one.

what can i do, i want to go into the apple store near me and basically get a macbook for it (not the new ones) plus the extra cash that i had to pay for this.

i would pay extra to upgrade it to the new MBP one but i have heard that GPU is pretty similar to the one in mine and i really dot trust Nvidia any more so im not keen on that one either.

Im in the UK by the way so if anyone has any past experience please let me know.

Anaxarxes · Oct 15, 2008

?!

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

? Why don't you bring it to an Apple store and let them fix it for free?

eidrunner247 · Oct 15, 2008

Dude... you're willing to take a about a $1k hit on a GPU that *may* go bad. Pony up a couple hundred for applecare... wow...

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

My laptop isn't broken what I'm worries about is that it is going to break. AppleCare isn't cheap and last time I looked it was around 250 pounds.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience in swapping the MBP since the fault has been admitted.

And as for it being repaired the chip they would swap it with would also be faulty. Eventually the replacement would break which is why I would want to swap it with a MacBook but as this isn't my fault I don't want to lose money on it.

tico24 · Oct 15, 2008

MIKE666 said:
And as for it being repaired the chip they would swap it with would also be faulty. Eventually the replacement would break which is why I would want to swap it with a MacBook but as this isn't my fault I don't want to lose money on it.

Eh?
They have found the fault and have fixed it. If they replace the GPU, then the new one would work. I think you're just looking for excuses to buy the new macbook, then just buy it.

As for getting them to swap the MBP for you, it ain't gonna happen. They have said they will REPAIR it, so repair it they will.

puttputt · Oct 15, 2008

Do what Apple says:
"Note: If your MacBook Pro is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not need to contact Apple."

It doesn't get any easier than that. Continue on with life as you did before your heard of this "issue."

eidrunner247 · Oct 15, 2008

MIKE666 said:
My laptop isn't broken what I'm worries about is that it is going to break. AppleCare isn't cheap and last time I looked it was around 250 pounds.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience in swapping the MBP since the fault has been admitted.

And as for it being repaired the chip they would swap it with would also be faulty. Eventually the replacement would break which is why I would want to swap it with a MacBook but as this isn't my fault I don't want to lose money on it.

You're losing money on it if you switch to a macbook now. And wow, applecare is expensive

alphaod · Oct 15, 2008

MIKE666 said:
My laptop isn't broken what I'm worries about is that it is going to break. AppleCare isn't cheap and last time I looked it was around 250 pounds.

If you read the KB:

Apple KB said:
If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

I don't want the new MacBook I meant abou swapping it for the White one and tbh I would much rather have
My MBP than either of the new models. I was just worried about the failure rate as mine is affected as it was made in June 2008. I will get the fault fixed before it develops into anything worse

pianoplayer1 · Oct 15, 2008

I kinda agree with you - I have the penryn too and when everybody says don't worry its not broken... well who knows maybe it will break in a couple months and who wants to be out a computer for a while.

I would go for the new macbook tho

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

exactly people may say now it's not faulty but what happens if in 2 years it breaks and I've got a very expensive paperweight.
I would like my money back as if I had known about that before I bought it, I wouldn't of bought it.
Surely that is not to much to ask I'm not the one to blame here and neither is apple its nvidia fault, but surely apple will be able to get some sort of compensation off nvidia.

nick9191 · Oct 15, 2008

If it goes wrong within the 2 years you get a free repair. If it doesn't go wrong within the 2 years then it likely never will. If it doesn't go wrong within the 2 years and you're still nervous then sell it and replace it with something else.

Phrasikleia · Oct 15, 2008

I'm glad to see this discussion. I started a similar thread here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/581237/

nick9191 said:
If it goes wrong within the 2 years you get a free repair. If it doesn't go wrong within the 2 years then it likely never will.

If it doesn't go wrong in the first two years, it just means you haven't done a lot of cycling between temperature extremes. According to the Inquirer, it's highly unlikely that any of the affected machines will live a long life (a long life being about five years, in my opinion).

If it doesn't go wrong within the 2 years and you're still nervous then sell it and replace it with something else.

Easier said than done. The resale value at that point will be very low if people know it's an affected machine that is out of warranty.

tico24 said:
Eh?
They have found the fault and have fixed it. If they replace the GPU, then the new one would work....They have said they will REPAIR it, so repair it they will.

There's a huge thread on Apple discussions and a Google spreadsheet that suggest repairs aren't successful. Some people are now on their THIRD repair. I guess the only good news is that after the third repair, most people get a new machine.

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

Phrasikleia said:
There's a huge thread on Apple discussions and a Google spreadsheet that suggest repairs aren't successful. Some people are now on their THIRD repair. I guess the only good news is that after the third repair, most people get a new machine.

When you say a new machine do you mean the new MBP without the 8600? because i really dont see the point of a new one with the 8600 itll just break again.

Phrasikleia · Oct 15, 2008

MIKE666 said:
When you say a new machine do you mean the new MBP without the 8600? because i really dont see the point of a new one with the 8600 itll just break again.

Yes, so far it's been a new MBP with the 8600, but it will be interesting to see what Apple does now that there is a totally new model out. One of the posters on that thread did get a new Penryn model when his was a SR generation. So perhaps they will swap the three-strikes offenders for a Late 2008 model. I have no idea, really.

MIKE666 · Oct 15, 2008

Phrasikleia said:
Yes, so far it's been a new MBP with the 8600, but it will be interesting to see what Apple does now that there is a totally new model out. One of the posters on that thread did get a new Penryn model when his was a SR generation. So perhaps they will swap the three-strikes offenders for a Late 2008 model. I have no idea, really.

yeah im really not happy at all about this. i dont know why people are just accepting it and buying applecare, you shouldnt be forced to pay for an extra 2 years warranty because the machine you were buying was faulty.

at the minute i havent got a clue what to do about it im going to check ebay to see how much i could sell for.

Phrasikleia · Oct 15, 2008

I suppose our options are three:

1) Sell now.
At least this way you can tell whoever buys it that it's still under warranty. You'll lose at least $400 in the sale, since new ones are now about $300 off of list price.

2) Sell later.
The longer you wait, the less the machine is worth and the harder it will be to sell.

3) Wait for it to fail.
If it fails within warranty, you'll merely be inconvenienced while it gets repaired. Otherwise, you'll have to pay over $1000 to get it fixed or else write it off and replace it.

I don't like any of these options.

Teej guy · Oct 15, 2008

puttputt said:
Do what Apple says:
"Note: If your MacBook Pro is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not need to contact Apple."

It doesn't get any easier than that. Continue on with life as you did before your heard of this "issue."

The only issue I see with this is that you can experience absolutely no symptoms at all before it fails. Mine didn't do ANY of the artifacting or bull like that. It ran perfectly normally until 8 months after I bought it...boom, black screen.

500 bucks for Applecare in the UK sucks man

Eddyisgreat · Oct 15, 2008

4)Stress it out.
Restart in Bootcamp. Run 3DMark06 or favorite late gen PC game. Place Macbook Pro on soft surface such as pillow or blanket to restrict airflow.
Game.
Place in freezer.
Repeat until you achieve desired outcome.*

* Disclaimer: If you try this you MUST provide HD video footage so the world can laugh.

Phrasikleia · Oct 15, 2008

Eddyisgreat said:
4)Stress it out.
Restart in Bootcamp. Run 3DMark06 or favorite late gen PC game. Place Macbook Pro on soft surface such as pillow or blanket to restrict airflow.
Game.
Place in freezer.
Repeat until you achieve desired outcome.*

* Disclaimer: If you try this you MUST provide HD video footage so the world can laugh.

You laugh, but doing something like that is mighty tempting...

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