Late 2007 MBP vs early 2008 MBP

[adamj575]

I am thinking of getting one of these models and am aware of the gpu failure. I do have a couple of questions though. is there anymore liklihood that one model will stand a greater chance of failure over the other model? and if I should be able to verify that one has been repaired did the repair actually fix the issue or is it destined to fail also....thanks...

 

[adamj575]

dang, I see all kinds of comments about the 8600gt m...but no one know the difference about it in these two mac models?

 

[robvas]

Step up to a unibody, or get a 13"

 

[chrfr]

The early 2008 and late 2007 machines really don't differ. The fact that the machine has been repaired doesn't matter, it's likely to fail again. A colleague's lasted about 7 months after repair before it failed again.
It makes no sense at all to buy one of these, regardless of whether it's a 2007 or 2008.

 

[peskaa]

All 8600M cards are prone to fail, due to the solder used in their manufacture, so it doesn't matter which generation you get. Equally, the replacement cards are just as bad, as the problem wasn't fixed until the 9xxx series.

 

[Queen6]

I own an Early 2008 2.4 Penryn MBP and the only problem i have had is the fans failed at around the 3-1/2 year point, however it did spend over two years in the Middle East sucking up dust and it has over 35K hours runtime. This being said i would not recommend, as too many have had issue with GPU failure, and as others have stated repair does not guarantee any long term fix.

My own Early 2008 has served me more than well enough and is now basically retired, i would keep the 07 machine a little longer, save some and buy a MBP that is not afflicted with the Nvidia GPU issue. There is now no longer any support from Apple, if the Logic Board fails you will be on your own, with a large bill...

If anyone has a MBP with the Nvidia issue, the only thing you can do to extend the lifecycle is monitor the temp and keep the GPU as cool as reasonably possible, for this i recommend UltraFan and elevating the MBP

 

[mikes70mustang]

I have a 4,1 MBP. I've had no issues with the GPU and have ran it hard for many years. I would get the early 08 b/c of the fact that the trackpad works with gestures.

 

[Queen6]

I have a 4,1 MBP. I've had no issues with the GPU and have ran it hard for many years. I would get the early 08 b/c of the fact that the trackpad works with gestures.

Be mindful we have both been lucky, i had five Motherboard`s replaced on my corporate Dell for the very same reason Nvidia 8600m GT GPU failure, exactly the same component IT dept eventually ordered me a new machine, as they stopped asking Dell to replace the effected systems as the failure rate of the replacement boards was horrific.

Search the forum for the 8600 GPU thread, you will find many have not been so lucky with similar horror stories like Dell`s. My own MBP 4.1 has never presented any such issue, equally personally i perceive the risk of buying a used 4.1 too high as a Logic Board replacement may be as much as the value of the machine.

 

[adamj575]

Well I was on the fence between these and a 2010 MacBook...this has all but made my decision for me...thanks!