2008 Macbook Pro Logic board bust. Need some advice :)

[anisatam]

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Hey guys,
So my 2008 17in Macbook Pro started to flicker and the video started to scrammble all over the place and died.
Booked an appointment with Apple Genius Bar, they ran some tests and said the logic board needs replacing & would cost me £400. Ouch.
I thought it would be the known macbook pro nvidia graphics card issue which apple is repairing free of cost, but apprantly not from what the test says

So my question to all you people out there is, how do i pay less & get my laptop up and running. I really dont want to spend that much money on a 3 and half year old laptop, and only get a 90days warranty on the repairs from apple.

What would you guys do?
Any company that would do it for less or even DIY it buying stuff from ebay or elaewhere.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Ani

 

[Mojo1]

I would do more to try and get Apple to fix the logic board for free. It just seems suspicious that your video symptoms are not related to the defective GPU. I have read more than a few posts where the "Genius" bar folks and Apple Store diagnosis was incorrect.

Contact Apple directly and have them elevate your problem to a hgiher level if you don't get what you want with the first person.

 

[anisatam]

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My exact thought, because it defntly looked like a graphics card issue.
I searched for macbook pro nvidia graphics card problem on google and this image was one of them

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/706/macproyq.jpg/

And its exactly how my computer screen looked.

So what do you mean by contacting Apple directly?? Is it via email or something or going back to genius bar again and try convincing them??

 

[intelssd]

Ya pull that picture up and take a pic of it with your phone so it looks like you took the pic with your phone.. you you did see it when yours crapped out. Take it back and say i really think its a video card problem i took this pic when it went crazy on me. Print off some documentation showing apple is replacing boards with that issue and present that to them at the same time. It has to be the same issue if your having the same issue.. they are probably just playing dumb to shave off 50% of the people that submit too easily. Get it fixed for free or sell the unit busted on ebay and use those funds towards a newer Mac. That sucka is kinda old anyhow i like excuses to buy new hardware haha

 

[Mojo1]

I assume that there is an Apple tech support number for England. That is what I would call. You can try the Apple Store again and be more persistent (arm yourself with pictorial evidence of the symptoms plus information garnered from online sources). Let them know that you are aware of the NVIDIA issue and what its symptoms are.

But I think that you are more likely to obtain the desired result by getting in touch with Apple.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

99% of the time when Apple says that it is just the GPU. Or the GPU + a surrounding IC. We could do this for under $200, but the problem is, it is likely going to happen again in the future, and it is a 4 year old machine. We encourage people to go to the Apple store armed with a few printout sheets. Some from Apple's own website and some from a few independent sources that recognize this is an issue covered under recall.

Try to get your free repair, don't give up so quickly!!

 

[anisatam]

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Thats great to know guys, I think I will go back to Apple & be more persistent & with all the papers and stuff. I will update with wat they do or say.

Cheers for all the replies.

 

[Takashi]

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Thats great to know guys, I think I will go back to Apple & be more persistent & with all the papers and stuff. I will update with wat they do or say.

Cheers for all the replies.

See if you can get a free repair. If not, I would just gut the HD from your old mac and get a new one.