Defective nVidia GPUs?

[guzhogi]

How do you replace a GPU that's part of the logic board? It's not a card-style mobile graphics card.

they replace the whole motherboard. I had the graphics card go bad on my MBP twice. Not sure if it was related to this or not. Fortunately, got it repaired for free both times, but the last time they fixed it, it came back with the internal speakers not working so it's in the shop again.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Wasn't this a software problem? I had it, and it was patched...

Hence the reason I said it took them YEARS to address it. As I recall, it took them over 2 years to fix the problem. I was just about to place an order for an MBP last November when I was looking at buying a new computer and then I ran into that bug report and changed my mind. I do need my keyboard to function.

I've also seen reports that Apple keyboards require much harder key presses to register which can lead to an unrelated but similar problem. I can verify that the keyboard that came with this PowerMac does indeed require very hard presses compared to most keyboards I've used. I've since purchased a Logitech USB keyboard to replace it. I miss the nifty USB ports (now use a hub), but I don't miss the keys themselves. I suppose that problem is unavoidable until they get a different keyboard on the MBP.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Get the MacBook then. It would be good enough for you.
Just what games do you play? That's the question...
MacBooks seem to have less problems than the MacBook Pros.

Well, let's see. I just bought some games that range from 1-3 years old or so. A Macbook should be capable of playing 3 year old PC game under Boot Camp right? I've got Half Life 2, Test Drive Unlimited, Tiger Woods Golf 2006, Knights of the Old Republic 2, GTR2, Need For Speed Carbon and Pro Street, Madden 2007, NeverWinter Nights 1 & 2. Should I name more? None of these are cutting edge. Will they run on a Macbook with Boot Camp? Is it going to be good enough for me if I want to play some of my games on it? I already know the answer, but my point is the Macbook isn't really 'good enough' for ANYONE that has ANY interest in 3D gaming what-so-ever. It's awful in that regard and there's no reason for it to be THAT bad. They could include an older, lower power card, but they don't/won't as it MIGHT cannibalize their MBP sales. That's the excuse they use for everything. Why sell you something for $1000 when we can sell you something for $2000? Um, maybe because the $1000 PC laptops can play several of those games and the Macbook cannot? Apple needs to stop using 3D graphics as a hedge to force you to buy hardware you otherwise don't need, IMO.

 

[TheReef]

mine was broken 2 days before the warrenty expired (a bit of luck after all). also a 2.2

My PowerBook G4 broke a few days before Applecare would have expired if I had it.
It was such a shame, the whole machine was good except for the video card which can't be replaced without switching out the pricey logic board.
It would be great if Apple offered some extended repair program for this.

 

[quagmire]

This is when running X-Plane. Fans are at 4700 RPM.

 

[Chris F]

CPU temps of 80C under full load are fine, heck I would call it good.

Anything under 100C is within spec, damage will not occur till 120C.

My SR MBP gets up to 98C doing handbrake encodes, right on the thermal envelope. I'm tempted to take it apart and re-apply the thermal grease since that's likely the issue but I don't really want to go there until I see it go over 100C.

If you want to see how hot your CPU will get I suggest either doing a Handbrake H.264 encode or converting something to H.264 in Visual Hub as these activities will max out both cores.

 

[jjahshik32]

ive yet to hear a gpu failure on the 17" mbp and im guessing its due to the bigger and more efficient heat sink in them.

 

[andy721]

laptops

What else is new, Laptops will never be perfect.

 

[thogs_cave]

The sad part is...

Having worked for $BIG_UNIX_COMPUTER_COMPANY in high-end engineering, I can say that often these problems aren't even the fault of the vendor. We had several recalls that were due to chip manufacturers making mistakes, or hard drive manufacturers, etc. We had one chip from a vendor that decided to delaminate internally causing a massive failure on a number of machines - guess who took it on the chin, though?

I'm not trying to exonerate NV, but I do feel for 'em. As a company, they do good work. I used to be bigoted towards ATI, but the NV graphics in both my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro are very good.

 

[gr8bob]

I'm not trying to exonerate NV, but I do feel for 'em. As a company, they do good work. I used to be bigoted towards ATI, but the NV graphics in both my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro are very good.

They could've have done better by providing more specific details or at least, confirming that they'll be releasing a list of affected chips soon rather than releasing statements that keep people hanging on the fence.

I'm on my 2nd logic board (8600M GT) now and it's still crashing and spewing artifacts onto the screen randomly. I did try other suggested options including a clean reinstall and yet it's still the same.

On a side note, I've been having good experiences with ATI displays.. until the Mobility Radeon 9700 Pro in my 3yr old Wintel laptop died a few days ago.. (probably due to my own stupidity of replacing the thermal pad with thick layer of AS5)..

 

[jjahshik32]

So the only real fix is for apple to include an update for the fan to come on early?

 

[noodle654]

So the only real fix is for apple to include an update for the fan to come on early?

Yeah or recall all the MBP and get new chips for the MBP.

 

[VanNess]

It most likely has relevance to this problem

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1419469&tstart=0

Which I think Apple still hasn't addressed

The same issue is happening with the new Nvidia-equipped Aluminum iMacs. The pics the op posted in the Apple forums thread are identical to what happens when you scroll web pages (by dragging the scroll bar) in Safari with an iMac equipped with the 8800 card. (Amongst other interface glitches - such as opening dashboard with the dashboard icon in the dock.) The ATI-based iMacs do not have these problems

It hasn't been resolved to date, in fact, I don't think Apple has made an attempt to address it to date. I don't know if it's a symptom of the unidentified, defective chips Nvidia announced, but here's hoping it's a driver issue and not a crapware issue.

 

[noodle654]

I did a little experimentation.

Top pic: My MBP being on for 30 minutes, idle with nothing open

2nd Pic: My MBP with Safari and Mail opened

3rd Pic: Same as above but in Celsius

4th Pic: Exporting a movie in iMovie that is 1 minute long. Taken 30 seconds after fans kick in

After this, I let the computer sit for 1 hour to cool down (shut down). I then booted into Bootcamp.

With Internet Ex. opened with music: CPU 1- 125*F (52C)
CPU 2- 126*F (53C)
GPU- 132*F (56C)

After playing Brothers in Arms: Earned In Blood (fans still under 4000RPM)

CPU 1- 180*F (82C)
CPU 2- 180*F (82C)
GPU- 185*F (85C)

Now, this was the hottest point and I was playing a very detailed level, fans kicked in a few seconds later.

 

[minik]

Doesn't iMac use notebook GPU as well?

 

[noodle654]

Doesn't iMac use notebook GPU as well?

Yes it does...this is going to be a huge issue.

 

[jjahshik32]

Wow this is like a surprised kick to the crotch just out of nowhere~!

Anyways, now I'm very serious about ebaying my 17" mbp just for the future's sake.

 

[kabunaru]

Doesn't iMac use notebook GPU as well?

The ones with the ATI cards won't probably be affected. It's an Nvidia problem.

 

[wheelhot]

Well, let's see. I just bought some games that range from 1-3 years old or so. A Macbook should be capable of playing 3 year old PC game under Boot Camp right? I've got Half Life 2, Test Drive Unlimited, Tiger Woods Golf 2006, Knights of the Old Republic 2, GTR2, Need For Speed Carbon and Pro Street, Madden 2007, NeverWinter Nights 1 & 2. Should I name more? None of these are cutting edge. Will they run on a Macbook with Boot Camp? Is it going to be good enough for me if I want to play some of my games on it? I already know the answer, but my point is the Macbook isn't really 'good enough' for ANYONE that has ANY interest in 3D gaming what-so-ever. It's awful in that regard and there's no reason for it to be THAT bad. They could include an older, lower power card, but they don't/won't as it MIGHT cannibalize their MBP sales. That's the excuse they use for everything. Why sell you something for $1000 when we can sell you something for $2000? Um, maybe because the $1000 PC laptops can play several of those games and the Macbook cannot? Apple needs to stop using 3D graphics as a hedge to force you to buy hardware you otherwise don't need, IMO.

Hmm, if you play game so much, why own a Mac? Own a Windows Notebook or PC if you want to play that many games, its much cheaper.

Honestly, I don't see the difference between Apple using Nvidia or ATi cards, both companies had issues with their GPU before so I dont see what is the big deal because these companies are ready to fix it and not keep quiet like it never happen.

 

[snahrl]

Wow this is ridiculous.

I just put my order in on a 17" MBP yesterday. I don't do a lot of gaming or video editing, but still....this worries me.

And I don't have very many other options either. I want a MBP and I cannot wait any longer.

This is terrible news. I guess I'll make sure to get AppleCare before my warranty is up...ugh.....

ive yet to hear a gpu failure on the 17" mbp and im guessing its due to the bigger and more efficient heat sink in them.

Please tell me this is true.

 

[andy721]

Hey try this

I did a little experimentation.

Top pic: My MBP being on for 30 minutes, idle with nothing open

2nd Pic: My MBP with Safari and Mail opened

3rd Pic: Same as above but in Celsius

4th Pic: Exporting a movie in iMovie that is 1 minute long. Taken 30 seconds after fans kick in

After this, I let the computer sit for 1 hour to cool down (shut down). I then booted into Bootcamp.

With Internet Ex. opened with music: CPU 1- 125*F (52C)
CPU 2- 126*F (53C)
GPU- 132*F (56C)

After playing Brothers in Arms: Earned In Blood (fans still under 4000RPM)

CPU 1- 180*F (82C)
CPU 2- 180*F (82C)
GPU- 185*F (85C)

Now, this was the hottest point and I was playing a very detailed level, fans kicked in a few seconds later.

This will make your fans a lot cooler, been using it for a week now, no problems.
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html

 

[notatrumpetpro]

Honestly, I can see nothing coming from this. Apple more than likely wont fix or exchange any machine unless there is an issue with the machine. Not that I wouldn't love a system exchange...

 

[milaround]

Eww, don't even joke about stuff like that.

Bring back the ATI cards! ATI always treated the Mac better anyway, and tends to have faster laptop chips. Jobs needs to get over it; the iMac G4 leak was so long ago!

Edit: Wait, that was Time Canada. The ATI leak was even longer ago! Canadians are your friends!

ATI cards for the next MacBook Pros, no more of this Nvidia crap.

Are you people nuts, or just misinformed? Nvidia is one of the best things to happen to the macs. ATI can't even shake a stick at the benchmarks nvidia is putting out recently. Overall performance has increased since dumping the ATI cards. So it seems with this issue, the engineers found that the chips were running hotter than the design specifications of the form factors they're being placed in. ohnoes! They're just going to release an "update" to jack down the speeds so they'll produce less heat. Big deal.

It's not about brand loyalty, it's about cost-benefit. Going back to ATI would not improve anything, and would most likely be detrimental.

 

[Paul Turpin]

My GPU has failed -
My MB pro is off to the shop after the weekend.

It was very warm when it happened the first time.
Now it happens after being on for 10-15 minutes.
The graphics get all funky then the whole thing crashes.
(data is all fine / hard drive is fine)

It's off to the shop on monday. Applecare better come through with a new logic board. The question will be - will the new logic board still have the flawed chips in it????

 

[jjahshik32]

My GPU has failed -
My MB pro is off to the shop after the weekend.

It was very warm when it happened the first time.
Now it happens after being on for 10-15 minutes.
The graphics get all funky then the whole thing crashes.
(data is all fine / hard drive is fine)

It's off to the shop on monday. Applecare better come through with a new logic board. The question will be - will the new logic board still have the flawed chips in it????

Is your mbp a merom 07 model or a penryn 08 model? Also is it a 15" or a 17"??