I thought you knew the issue was for 15'' MBP. NOT YOUR 13'' MBP. Why are you so worried about using the GPU?
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Anyone has a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") without a problem?
- Thread starter robertparker
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I thought you knew the issue was for 15'' MBP. NOT YOUR 13'' MBP. Why are you so worried about using the GPU?
I just thought there might be something wrong with these 2011 MBP's GPUs or that merely the fact that it's this old.
The problem is with the GPU in the 15" and 17" models.
As for mine (15"), I sold it to my dad last year and it's still going fine.
As for mine (15"), I sold it to my dad last year and it's still going fine.
So far mine has had:
1 HD failure (although my 2008 and 2010 13" models had this too in time)
3 Logicboard GPU failures, 1st: January 2015, 2nd: May/June 2015 and the 3rd: October 2015.
I think the first replacement was a bust, somehow I got very high temperatures and artifacts from the third week onwards but not enough to fail the VST. The second board was a different story, the IO-ports didn't look new and had scuffing to them. The repaircentre explained it was a refurbished board and new ones weren't available. After that I had a third failure and these ports look brand new! Temperatures are lower than before too. In the end: if my macbook lasts another year (or two) I'm happy. The rest of the machine is still going strong and is almost as good as new aside from a few scuffs on the bottom plate and some wear on the palmrest (due to my watchband).
1 HD failure (although my 2008 and 2010 13" models had this too in time)
3 Logicboard GPU failures, 1st: January 2015, 2nd: May/June 2015 and the 3rd: October 2015.
I think the first replacement was a bust, somehow I got very high temperatures and artifacts from the third week onwards but not enough to fail the VST. The second board was a different story, the IO-ports didn't look new and had scuffing to them. The repaircentre explained it was a refurbished board and new ones weren't available. After that I had a third failure and these ports look brand new! Temperatures are lower than before too. In the end: if my macbook lasts another year (or two) I'm happy. The rest of the machine is still going strong and is almost as good as new aside from a few scuffs on the bottom plate and some wear on the palmrest (due to my watchband).
Thanks for the heads up.
I've been seeing that the ones with dGPUs have had problems one way or another, unfortunate.
Iris Pro Graphics perform pretty well nowadays anyway, so I'd be happy with the base 2015 model or even the 2016 refresh whenever that comes out.
But anyway back to the main topic - just got my MBP back from repairs today, feels like this model just deal with heat really poorly. They told me the logic board was completely replaced but it seems to perform exactly the same as before (gets hot quick, for seemingly doing little to nothing). Hope the retinas deal with heat better, given all the extra vents haha.
I have an 15" MBP 8,2 Late 2011 model with 512GB SSD and i7@2.5 GHz. It was a BtO model and so far so good. The only problem I have is when I play a Civ IV mod-mod like History Rewritten or the Buffy for long periods. The display starts to show artifacts and certain elements in the play become black. Apart from this glitch, no problems so far; so fingers crossed 
Had no problems with my 2011 MBP Radeon 6750M model (although it is now saying to service the battery). Most of the time it's connected to my Thunderbolt Display so 95% of the time it's on the AMD GPU, but still going strong.
My father owned the exact same model but his GPU failed about a year and a half ago.
Probably replacing it this year anyway, but it's been very solid for five years. It is just starting to show its age, not it terms of performance, but small things like not being able to use any of the iOS/OS X features from the past few years due to no Bluetooth 4.0, no AC WiFi, no retina screen, superfluous Superdrive etc. Think I'll go to a 13" one this year, it would be nice to have one a bit lighter.
My father owned the exact same model but his GPU failed about a year and a half ago.
Probably replacing it this year anyway, but it's been very solid for five years. It is just starting to show its age, not it terms of performance, but small things like not being able to use any of the iOS/OS X features from the past few years due to no Bluetooth 4.0, no AC WiFi, no retina screen, superfluous Superdrive etc. Think I'll go to a 13" one this year, it would be nice to have one a bit lighter.
- You can upgrade it to Bluetooth 4.0 if you wish and get all the new Handoff, etc. features. The SuperDrive can be exchanged for an extra SSD or hard drive.
Yeah I am aware of that, thanks though. I don't need any extra space as my SSD is only half full so other than just removing the Superdrive there's not much else to do there.
I did consider upgrading the BT card, but never really got round to it. How much are they? I'd consider doing it if it was really cheap, but otherwise seems counterproductive to plough more money into a machine I'll be keeping for another half a year or so. This one should be passed on to someone else soon.
- I got mine for $35 in October '14. They're now $58 from the same seller, it seems.
Definitely a worthwhile upgrade. Also allows one to use other features which require BT 4.0, such as the new Magic Trackpad 2 and some applications.
Local hole in the wall place in Toronto, before the Apple repair program. I was very happy with the service, especially since the fix has lasted this long.
I still have my early 2011 MBP, manufacture date is 2011-10-10 according to coconut Battery. It's got the 15" high res non glare screen with 16GB RAM + SSD and it's connected to a 24" display most of the time.
I was wondering if I should keep or sell it and my decision was to stick with it. If it breaks after the repair program, I'll try to have it fixed by small local repair shop. But I hope it's going to last a little longer!
I love the matte screen, ports, CD-RW (car doesn't have USB) and it's quiet most of the time.
I was wondering if I should keep or sell it and my decision was to stick with it. If it breaks after the repair program, I'll try to have it fixed by small local repair shop. But I hope it's going to last a little longer!
I love the matte screen, ports, CD-RW (car doesn't have USB) and it's quiet most of the time.
The only BT device I use is the Magic Mouse and don't plan on using any other devices - is there any other benfit to me upgrading to this card?
- Continuity features in OS X 10.10+, including Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and AirDrop between iOS and OS X. Several proximity based apps require it (such as MacID). Lots of newer BT devices do, too, but if you aren't planning on getting any that's not really an argument. Marginally lower power consumption if that matters.
Also, it's a fun upgrade to do! But that's about what I can think of right now.
Thanks for that.
Being a tinkerer, "fun to do" carries a good deal of value.
I Google the features you mention and would like to go ahead with the upgrade, but have another question, will the card mentioned in this thread work in my late 2011 17" MBP El Capitan without the need for additional drivers etc. ?
- Hm. I'm finding a bit of conflicting information about whether the card fits in precisely that model. All agree that it fits in the Early 2011 17", but the Late isn't clear. Upload high-res photos of your machine's internals, one overall and one focused on the corner where the optical drive is, and I'll tell you if it fits.
If it does, it will be native in OS X without any drivers as the card will likely have been pulled from a 2012 cMBP.
The eBay site lists compatibility with my model, which is A1297.- Hm. I'm finding a bit of conflicting information about whether the card fits in precisely that model. All agree that it fits in the Early 2011 17", but the Late isn't clear. Upload high-res photos of your machine's internals, one overall and one focused on the corner where the optical drive is, and I'll tell you if it fits.
If it does, it will be native in OS X without any drivers as the card will likely have been pulled from a 2012 cMBP.
I went ahead and ordered this one: http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/7289078482.html?orderId=72573087413584
Looks like it's not plug and play, but will require a kext edit : https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ds-with-el-capitan-is-working.1890715/page-17
- Yes, but Ifixit is ambiguous on the matter. I'd venture the guess that it does fit as most sources seem to think it does. Plus it wouldn't make a lot of sense to just have the one Late '11 model that uses a different form factor from all other machines.
The BT 4.0 LE itself is plug and play. But enabling the Continuity features requires a bit of software tinkering (with an automated tool), since Apple has excluded our models in OS X's compatibility check, so that needs fixing. Here's the documentation on it: https://github.com/sysfloat/Continuity-Activation-Tool
It's rather easy.
Thanks again - bookmarked.
I take it that this will need to be done each time the OSX is updated.
- Correct. But it takes all of three minutes. A bit longer the very first time you do it, as the devices just have to discover each other and the newfound ability of the Mac to use the features. Often takes some signing out of and into iCloud and/or toggling of Bluetooth. Consecutive times after updates should be (and has been in my experience) as simple as just running the tool, though.
2011 MBP 17-inch
My video card just died. Kinda acted sketch a couple of times then one day, just booted to black screen. Git it fixed 3rd party under the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues which expires February 27, 2016.
https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
Service Battery is indicated. Battery works fine, I rarely use it. 103 cycles, but the mAh charge is down 70% 9450 > 5896. But it's working fine otherwise so I'm gong to ignore that for now.
Otherwise. been a solid laptop. Added an SSD, 16GB ram and put a 500GB hard drive in the SuperDrive bay.
Love the 1920x1200. Retina looks great, but 1920x1200 is more "useful" so I'm sticking with this one until she pops for good.
My video card just died. Kinda acted sketch a couple of times then one day, just booted to black screen. Git it fixed 3rd party under the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues which expires February 27, 2016.
https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
Service Battery is indicated. Battery works fine, I rarely use it. 103 cycles, but the mAh charge is down 70% 9450 > 5896. But it's working fine otherwise so I'm gong to ignore that for now.
Otherwise. been a solid laptop. Added an SSD, 16GB ram and put a 500GB hard drive in the SuperDrive bay.
Love the 1920x1200. Retina looks great, but 1920x1200 is more "useful" so I'm sticking with this one until she pops for good.
Installed the BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX and handoff is working great.
This is the cheapest place to buy these cards:http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Orig...-A1286-2011-2012/32397072045.html#60677026420
The boot on power up seems to take a lot longer.
@JTToft thanks for your help.
This is the cheapest place to buy these cards:http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Orig...-A1286-2011-2012/32397072045.html#60677026420
The boot on power up seems to take a lot longer.
@JTToft thanks for your help.
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- Great to hear it! I doubt the longer boot time as anything to do with the upgrade, though.