Dead 2011 MBP - what are my options?

[ogremoustro]

I also got a free repair. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of my problems - the refurbished logic boards kept failing within a few weeks.

You've got a couple of options.
1) Sell it quick.
2) Put up with a potentially unreliable machine for a few months, and keep flinging it back at Apple. If the logic board fails three times Apple should replace it with a new rMBP.

I can't fault the customer service from the local Apple Store. It's just a shame the refurbished logic boards appear to be of poor quality. I'd have been very happy with a permanently fixed 2011 MBP.

Just one last question, what were you doing that made your logic boards fail within a few weeks?

 

[MagicBoy]

Just one last question, what were you doing that made your logic boards fail within a few weeks?

Nothing that I'm aware of.

MS Office, Mail, Web browsing, iTunes and a bit a light VM'ing in Parallels. The only thing that would switch in the dGPU was web plug-ins in Safari ... two of the boards failed doing just that.

 

[ogremoustro]

Nothing that I'm aware of.

MS Office, Mail, Web browsing, iTunes and a bit a light VM'ing in Parallels. The only thing that would switch in the dGPU was web plug-ins in Safari ... two of the boards failed doing just that.

Wow that just sucks.

 

[yjchua95]

Wow that just sucks.

That's because every single Sandy Bridge board with the Radeon GPU in the 2011 MBPs all have the same manufacturing flaw that causes it to fail.

Mine Radeongated 3 days out of Apple Care, but I got a new GPU reballed (with leaded solder) into the logic board. I also had the thermal paste properly applied this time.

It should last for another 3-4 more years, assuming that nothing bad happens to it