Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple says some MacBook Pros affected by faulty Nvidia chips

iShater said:
At some point you do trust your suppliers when they inform you of issues in their systems. Would you make an announcement recalling/extending product warranty without confirmation? Its business. Sux.
Click to expand...

I agree. Nvidia said that the chip issue wouldn't affect the Macbooks. Apple decided they would test that for themselves and have released their findings along with news that they would cover the issue, even if you're not in warranty.

Did I read a different article then you guys did, or am I just feeling less cyincal at the moment?
 
My IMAC does this same thing and Apple wouldnt admit it was there fault

I have a ATI 1600 video card in my intel Imac from 2006 doing this exact thing...what about me?!! My screen freezes, my computer will be on but i only get a black screen, I have distorted video.....where the hell is my fix?! Its not just on mac pros Apple!
 
Only 2 years?

First they put out an update that increases fan rpm to keep the bad gpu chips cool, then they announce that they'll increase the warranty by 2 years (which does me no absolutely no good since I have had Applecare from day 1).
Why am I not impressed by Apple's actions? I'm sure they know which bad chip went into each laptop (due to Apples state of the art manufacturing plants).
Post a list of known bad sn's and replace the video card. Or use Apple update to query the sn and notify each machine.
Be proactive and send the bill to Nvidia.
 
Ugh, I told AppleCare that my Early 2008 15" MBP (2.4) was having graphics distortion, among a litany of other issues, and they refused to replace the logic board (and consequently the graphics chip) because they couldn’t reproduce the issue. Thanks a lot, Apple.

Fortunately, it has been weeks since I’ve had any kind of issue, and I can’t really afford to play the waiting game with AppleCare, because I need this computer for school… so… whatever, I guess. :(
 
how about this: i bring my mbp in now, before the graphics card dies, and trade it in for whatever new mbp apple lauches next week, and we'll call it even-
 
jfreak623 said:
I have a ATI 1600 video card in my intel Imac from 2006 doing this exact thing...what about me?!! My screen freezes, my computer will be on but i only get a black screen, I have distorted video.....where the hell is my fix?! Its not just on mac pros Apple!
Click to expand...

These symptoms are simply those of a dying GPU. Sometimes GPUs die despite not having an inherent design defect in their packaging. That's just the way it goes. I'm sorry for you, but s*** happens. Welcome to computers. Sometimes even a well designed part from a good company fails.
 
dam0dred said:
Sometimes I get this weird tint to my screen - like a silvery, sort of teal color. It happens sometimes when I switch users, and I have to restart to get rid of it.

Should I go in for repairs, or is that not related to this?
Click to expand...

Does it look like this? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8872768346183623622&hl=en . If so, you are definitely affected by it. I would take it in and have it checked out. I took a video of it in case I couldn't reproduce it.

They replaced by logic board and the problem went away. It happened about a year after I got the laptop so I got apple care as well in case something else goes wrong.
 
This has been a well know hardware bug on Apple campus for over a year. F*ck apple for pretending it didn't exists. It does it all 8 MacBook Pros I purchased, and does this on everyone I know who has a new MacBook Pro.

One way to tell is in the finder, open a window that has video thumbnail previews, if the window continually loses focus as you load each thumbnail you have the bug.
 
About bloody time. Not that it really matters since I don't have any GPU issues. *knocks on wood*
 
I've got a SR MBP...haven't had any issues with it (can't say the same for my PB...2 logic board replacements and a faulty hard drive).

I know the KB article says to bring it in if there are signs, but should I be safe and just bring it in?
 
Braz0s said:
First they put out an update that increases fan rpm to keep the bad gpu chips cool, then they announce that they'll increase the warranty by 2 years (which does me no absolutely no good since I have had Applecare from day 1).
Click to expand...

They only increased the warranty by 1 year actually...though this doesn't affect you really because you had AppleCare. People w/ AppleCare should make a stink and get the extra year as well. 2 years for non-AC and 4 years for AC.
 
MowingDevil said:
They only increased the warranty by 1 year actually...though this doesn't affect you really because you had AppleCare. People w/ AppleCare should make a stink and get the extra year as well. 2 years for non-AC and 4 years for AC.
Click to expand...

Good point, I always felt I was being extorted into buying AC (which I did on the 365th day) because of this looming problem. So far my wife hasn't noticed a problem with her SR based 2.2 MBP but we felt compelled to buy AC just in case.

Cheers,
 
I give kudos to Apple for finally addressing it and trying to take care of it.

Is there any way to know if a MBP is affected other than the symptoms listed? My June 2007 2.2 15" MBP seems to be perfect and not have the issue, but then again it is usually on all the time, rarely shut down, etc, and I heard the problem only comes up through many hot/cold cycles or something?

What should I do? If my MBP has a chance of dying in the next 6 months I'd like to get this addressed sooner than later.

What should I do?

Oh and I guess I will also ask what another poster asked. How are they repairing this exactly? By just putting in the same part(s) that may even be faulty themselves? That's a little worrisome...
 
Coincidence that Apple acknowledged this now when they are about to release new notebooks next week? No...

It is alarming that the chips are faulty even today, in September. Can we conclude that the 9xxx series must be faulty as well then, since nVidia or Apple, whoever, was unable to ship non faulty chips up to today...
 
Ugh how many MBPs did apple sell between those dates? Im betting a huge amount as its a hugely popular laptop. Lets just hope the number of affected people is as small as possible. Still 2 years is no good if your spending $2000 on a laptop as you shouldn't be expected to replace it that often. And how many business hours will be lost by people shipping them back to apple and waiting for them to be repaired... :(
 
This also could affect regular white MB? And if yes, how check if have the faulty chip?
 
All I care about is when they do the repair, are they replacing the chip with one that doesn't have the fault or not?

Be aware I don't mean a different GPU, just an updated 8600 GT that doesn't have the fault.

If not, then I will demand a new laptop instead. Absolutely no point in doing the repair if the replacement is just going to have the same problem. Currently I'm not having trouble, so it isn't a problem for me yet. I have however had weird graphical related distortions and crashes in the past related to elevated temperatures and GPU stress.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back