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Bravo, Apple. You did the right thing re:GeForce 8600M GT

Oh wow! I know they extended the graphics warranty to two years, but increasing it to three years is great. Now I'm not too scared if my Penryn MBP croaks soon. Haven't had any problems yet, but you never know! :D
 
What happens if we already bought Applecare for our Penryn MBPs? Do we get 5 years? :p

Would it be better for me to just get a refund on my Applecare? It's still been less than a year.
 
No, you need to keep Applecare if you want anything else fixed on Apple's expense. The only thing this warranty covers is this particular graphics issue. If you have a battery go bad, optical disk drive or screen die then you'll have to fix it out of your own pocket.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Since the graphics chip is part of the logic board, this means if the 8600M goes, then you need a new logic board.

And since the CPU is not socketed, but rather a part of the logic board, someone(apple or nvidia) are paying the cost of a new gpu, new cpu, and entirely new logic board for the computer.

Is it just me or should there be a little more modularity to the machine?
 
MarkMS said:
No, you need to keep Applecare if you want anything else fixed on Apple's expense. The only thing this warranty covers is this particular graphics issue. If you have a battery go bad, optical disk drive or screen die then you'll have to fix it out of your own pocket.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Thanks for the reply.
 
l.a.rossmann said:
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Since the graphics chip is part of the logic board, this means if the 8600M goes, then you need a new logic board.

And since the CPU is not socketed, but rather a part of the logic board, someone(apple or nvidia) are paying the cost of a new gpu, new cpu, and entirely new logic board for the computer.

Is it just me or should there be a little more modularity to the machine?
Click to expand...

You are in fact right...it is part of the LB, which means to replace it they will be swapping the LB...I'm sure this is at Nvidia's expense and not Apple's, its not Apple's fault that Nvidia didn't make an "up to par" chip.
 
l.a.rossmann said:
Since the graphics chip is part of the logic board, this means if the 8600M goes, then you need a new logic board.
Click to expand...

Yes. Apple did that for me last year. However, the replacement board also has video issues a few times.

Since they are replacing a new LB anyway, it would be nice if Apple allows us the option to "upgrade" to a LB that uses other GPUs (perhaps at a low cost).
 
Niice! I just had my 8600 go out on me about 2 months ago. I took it to the Apple store and they did some weird test using USB cables and what looked like an external drive since there was no video. Anyway, I'm glad to hear they extended it to 3 years. Just an fyi, the receipt showed it would have cost $1,400.
 
I'm sorry, but I'm not going to give Apple any credit here. They SHOULD HAVE done this from the beginning, not this late. I, for one, sold my MBP because I refuse to buy applecare in order to be certain to be covered when the GPU died. Only out of principle. Also, we still don't know if the replacement GPUs are OK, or if they're the same crappy ones....

On the other hand, it's not like me buying a new unibody to replace the old one was a statement to Apple that i won't tolerate the company's behaviour...makes me feel better though, until we find out that it too has a faulty GPU.

Still, great news for those who have been worried. Too bad it took this long for Apple to do the right thing.
 
Apple refurbishes their parts. It's possible that after they swap your board, they take the old board, and solder on a new GPU somewhere, and then use it as a replacement part.
 
PDE said:
I'm sorry, but I'm not going to give Apple any credit here. They SHOULD HAVE done this from the beginning, not this late. I, for one, sold my MBP because I refuse to buy applecare in order to be certain to be covered when the GPU died. Only out of principle. Also, we still don't know if the replacement GPUs are OK, or if they're the same crappy ones....

On the other hand, it's not like me buying a new unibody to replace the old one was a statement to Apple that i won't tolerate the company's behaviour...makes me feel better though, until we find out that it too has a faulty GPU.

Still, great news for those who have been worried. Too bad it took this long for Apple to do the right thing.
Click to expand...

I am not a hug fan of apple's support but this is an industry wide issue, surely not apple specific. nVidia is to blame and I am sure there is a lot of behind the door agreements going on at Dell, Sony, other PC companies and Apple.
 
They have a machine that is precise enough to desolder the bad GPUs and resolder a new one on.

I've handled and replaced enough logic boards to know when one has been "used" and refurbished especially with a bad GPU. You can generally tell it's been used by the discoloration on the board.

Either way this is definitely good news.
 
goMac said:
Apple refurbishes their parts. It's possible that after they swap your board, they take the old board, and solder on a new GPU somewhere, and then use it as a replacement part.
Click to expand...

I imagine that is the only reason it got extended was the refurb depot is full.While I am grateful, my hatred towards APPLE is still here-my keyboard issues never got resolved, my wi-fi either- I am out of warranty and screwed, save this resolve.
 
l.a.rossmann said:
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Since the graphics chip is part of the logic board, this means if the 8600M goes, then you need a new logic board.

And since the CPU is not socketed, but rather a part of the logic board, someone(apple or nvidia) are paying the cost of a new gpu, new cpu, and entirely new logic board for the computer.

Is it just me or should there be a little more modularity to the machine?
Click to expand...
Apple is able to remove the bad GPU from the logic board an fit a new one. Consider yourself corrected.
 
While it's good that they're extending the warranty for this particular defect beyond 2 years, I don't consider this to be the ideal solution, from a consumer's standpoint. People have been denied free logicboard replacements, despite exhibiting the expected symptoms, either because the GPU test didn't indicate a failure for whatever reason and so they were told they needed to pay for a logic board replacement, or their machine showed physical signs of damage, which allowed Apple to say "hey, there's a dent on your machine, so you must have busted it... no free fix for you!".

I'm not saying that Apple should have to fix a machine that's obviously been broken by the user (e.g. water damage), but since this is a known problem, and the symptoms are clear-cut, Apple's policy should be to give the customer the benefit of the doubt, rather than try to weasel out of repairs whenever they can.
 
3rdLittlePiggie said:
You are in fact right...it is part of the LB, which means to replace it they will be swapping the LB...I'm sure this is at Nvidia's expense and not Apple's, its not Apple's fault that Nvidia didn't make an "up to par" chip.
Click to expand...

nvidia only is reimbursing the OSMs like Apple, Dell, HP & Sony for the cost of the actual chip that fails. Integration costs are borne by the OSM. This is probably why the OSMs are trying to replace as few of these as possible.
Even now Sony, does not acknowledge the issue on their laptops with the nvidia 8400.

Apple is doing pretty good compared to others.

Cheers,
 
elmz said:
Niice! I just had my 8600 go out on me about 2 months ago. I took it to the Apple store and they did some weird test using USB cables and what looked like an external drive since there was no video. Anyway, I'm glad to hear they extended it to 3 years. Just an fyi, the receipt showed it would have cost $1,400.
Click to expand...

WOW! You could have bought your laptop again from ebay. Sometimes Apple is impractical.
 
well I guess thats ok to hear, but im on my second logic bored and its been failing since I had it replaced 2 months ago so it was sent in waiting to be repaired again. Whats even funnier is they messed something up last time because my machine overheated the otherday sitting on my counter and melted part of my keyboard and damaged the wifi card and daughter board on the left hand side as none of the ports work and the speaker is very staticy now. If I have to deal with this again I am not sure what ill do but I can say that apple better be returning my machine in better condition than I sent it to them or give me a new machine. I've been without my machine for over a month so far this year and been through 3 batteries since I got the thing. All this has been billed to apple and ill gladly keep doing it if they aren't going to fix these issues and just keep giving us refurbs.
 
JPIndustrie said:
Ok, tell me exactly how your Intel processor-equipped Macbook Pro is 'classic' again? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

"Classic" meaning the design from the old PowerBooks that went into the MacBook Pro until late last year. Helps people differentiate from the unibody MBP when you are talking about an issue.
 
nikhsub1 said:
Apple is able to remove the bad GPU from the logic board an fit a new one. Consider yourself corrected.
Click to expand...

I've had a couple of people told by apple they needed to pay approximately $900 for a new logic board on computers that were run over by a car. The issue wound up being a small IC with its leg slightly not soldered to the board, that worked after a little TLC.

Yet they can remove the GPUs, which is a much more daunting task, without issue.

Silly Apple.
 
goMac said:
Apple refurbishes their parts. It's possible that after they swap your board, they take the old board, and solder on a new GPU somewhere, and then use it as a replacement part.
Click to expand...

I hope that is not the case. When I asked the service provider when the replacement board in my MBP was manufacturered, he said that he did not know. Shouldn't he be able to find that out easily? Also, I cannot find the serial number from About This Mac anymore.
 
I purchased my MacBook Pro 2 years ago this coming September...would it be under this warranty. As I was one of those that the Apple Genius told me last week that I'd have to pay $900 to have a new logic board put in... but probably more due to the dent in the corner of my keyboard from when it got knocked off the table onto the tile floor several months ago.

If this is a known problem I would think that Apple would replace it regardless...what are my options???? I don't have Applecare due to the fact that I purchased it through Fry's Electronics and purchased a 5 year warranty on it...I've been reading a lot of negative feedback on Fry's warranties and the length of time they take for repairs, getting it back after repairs and it not working properly, and them just not honoring the warranties.

If this is a known issue, isn't Apple required to replace it????
 
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