thewap
macrumors 6502a
It's a piece of cake to replace the HDD to SSD in the main drive bay and also the optical bay. I imagine that replacing your main HDD to SSD would have lower heat and much faster speed benefits .
Late 2011 Macbook Pro: Logic board failure, 4th time in 6 months.
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It's a piece of cake to replace the HDD to SSD in the main drive bay and also the optical bay. I imagine that replacing your main HDD to SSD would have lower heat and much faster speed benefits .
iamMacPerson
macrumors 68040
The 15" and 17" MacBook Pros (until late 2013) all had two GPUs (Graphic Processing Units). Starting in 2010, the iGPU (integrated) was on the CPU die with Sandy Bridge. With the following model (2011), Apple also changed dGPU (discreet) vendors from nVidia to AMD. Thanks to Apple's lack of proper heat distribution, the AMD chips failed prematurely. The discreet GPU kicks in when a the system requires better GPU performance (GIMP, Photoshop, FCPX, Aperture and other apps of that caliber). Otherwise, for better power savings, it runs on the integrated Intel GPU.
Overall, the two models that are under the REP (Repair Extension Program) are the 2011 MacBook Pro 15 and 17", as well as the first two generations of Retina MacBook Pros from 2012 and early 2013. In late 2013, the lower end model of the 15" MacBook Pro line up dropped the discreet GPU since Apple lowered the price and found the latest generation of GPUs from Intel to be fast enough. The higher end models still have the dGPU and cost about US$500 more.
If they are going to force you to replace the machine, get the base line model 15". Its only 2.2GHz and only has a 256GB SSD with 16GB of RAM, but it has no dGPU. I believe these models will last longer then the dGPU models. Since the EU consumer protection laws are much stricter against companies, they should have to replace the machine with a like model. Since your model does have the dGPU, the might have to give you the dGPU model as replacement. If this is the case, fight for a gift card for the value of a new dGPU model, not for the value of your currently laptop. You will get ripped off here if you do not word it correctly. Then use that gift card to get a different, hopefully better machine.
This is what I would personally fight for. Do not be afraid to ask for a manager, or even better get the Lead Genius, Store Leader and Manager together and plead your case.
Read the laws for the UK line by line. Print and highlight anything that can help your case. I did this when they tried to stiff me 2 years ago with the 2013 without the dGPU for my 2012 with the dGPU. Luckily, California forces them to print all the state laws on the back of the genius bar paperwork so I didn't even have to print it at home, it was on the back of my Genius Bar paperwork.
iamMacPerson
macrumors 68040
Not really. HDDs do put out more heat but they are all the way on the other side of the machine and isn't connected to any heat sink. SSD performance is all about boot up times and file opening speeds, not about the calculations being performed on the GPU or CPU.
Great reply thanks, it will be a great help to me, and other people too who are having this issue as I'm sure this thread will end up on a google search for the logic board issue. I live around the corner from the citizens advice place, I might pop in and see what they can suggest.
iamMacPerson
macrumors 68040
No problem! You should have much stricter rules on consumer rights over there. The US is so lax on our consumer rights laws.
thewap
macrumors 6502a
I understand that SSDs have no impact on frame rate or calculations performed, but they do improve data transfer rate- Installed a legacy SSD in my PPC powerbook, and watching video went from painfully slow to decently viewable.. An HDD struggling to keep up in my mind would cause much more heat than an SSD in the chassi overall.
I understand some of the troubles you guys have had regarding repairs (I have had my fair share of them too, namely Cinema Displays and iMacs), but this thread is horribly one-sided.
Sure, some dGPUs fail, sometimes even enough to warrant the introduction of an extended repair program for affected models. But I have had two MBPs. A 2010 15" MBP with the GT 330m and the late 2013 15" rMBP with the GT 750m.
I have never, ever had a single problem with these notebooks (outside of UI lag of course, but that is another story, one that El cap will resolve, hopefully). Sure, I've only had the rMBP for 18 months or so, but I've absolutely flogged my 2010 MBP; playing games etc. It hasn't missed a beat. And neither has the retina Macbook Pro.
My point is that while some have had troubles with discrete GPUs, many others have not.
TL/DR: Don't buy the iGPU-only model out of fear of hardware failure. Get the more powerful notebook if it fits better with what you want to use it for.
Sure, some dGPUs fail, sometimes even enough to warrant the introduction of an extended repair program for affected models. But I have had two MBPs. A 2010 15" MBP with the GT 330m and the late 2013 15" rMBP with the GT 750m.
I have never, ever had a single problem with these notebooks (outside of UI lag of course, but that is another story, one that El cap will resolve, hopefully). Sure, I've only had the rMBP for 18 months or so, but I've absolutely flogged my 2010 MBP; playing games etc. It hasn't missed a beat. And neither has the retina Macbook Pro.
My point is that while some have had troubles with discrete GPUs, many others have not.
TL/DR: Don't buy the iGPU-only model out of fear of hardware failure. Get the more powerful notebook if it fits better with what you want to use it for.
Sorry, you're right. But to be fair I did start this thread as a personal rant about my laptop situation in particular, and it is well know about the 2011 model specifically. I can't really comment on the other models, because well I really don't know. I'm sure plenty of people have never had issues, because despite all the crap I've gone through, they really are great machines.
Mine though had three long years of university usage, freelance design usable, while also being taken around the globe with me and backwards and forwards on trains, planes and automobiles. It's had its fair share of bumps and knocks, but the issue was always the same issue, fresh logic board or not, and that is ultimately the crux of the 2011 mbp argument, heavy usage, low usage, old or new, they can all fail at a moments notice.
Making the thread today has been quite cathartic for me, and I've learned a few things, so hopefully overall it will be positive for other people who have the same issue.
Queen6
macrumors G4
Neither have I had issue, equally literally 10`s of thousands of owners have, therefore the warning stands, 15" MacBook Pro with dGPU is far more likely to fail in comparison to other Mac portable`s with iGPU. As stated Apple are not extending coverage out of benevolence, they have no other option...
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iamMacPerson
macrumors 68040
No I don't think it really is one sided. I have run into people both online and in-store that have had dGPU problems with their MacBook Pros. Apple knows there is a problem with these types of machines, otherwise why else would there be so many REPs? While you may not have had any problems with the 2 notebooks you have, I have had problems with the three I have owned. All had a dGPU, which was the main point for failure on each no matter the manufacture or model of GPU (ATI 6750m, nVidia 650m, 750m). Again, the amount of people who have had the problem is alarming. Plus, it's not even like I was doing super intensive, not compared to what you do. Was I just unlucky? No, in fact, I think you are the lucky one.
Getting the more powerful laptop might not be the best bet for what the OP needs. What's better, having a slower portable machine that can go with you almost everywhere, or a faster portable machine that constantly needs a visit to the Genius Bar because the GPU has failed?
To each their own. From my experience, the dGPU MacBook Pros should be avoided unless you like dancing with the devil.
Obviously back in 2011 I didn't know what I was getting myself into! To be fair the machine was fine for 3 years, it's only since christmas it has repeatedly failed!
Also, following all the problems i've had with the 2011 model, I've just ordered a new ssd and 2 sticks of 4gb ram for my 2009 macbook pro, It's been running really slow but hopefully, once I get the 2011 one back, this little one can take some of the pressure off it.
sebseb
macrumors 6502
Well in 2011 you could not order it without dGPU. I also ordered the 2010 with dGPU and it lasted almost 5 years.
boomhower
macrumors 68000
I'll never by another one with a dedicated GPU. When my 2011 15" MBP died I replaced with it with a 13" rMBP. Later the repair program came about and now my wife is using the 15" as her first Apple computer to replace a POS Lenovo laptop. (Thinkpads are nice, their consumer stuff is horrible.) Hopefully it last a while on the newish logic board.
All you've proven is that you haven't dealt with the models in the Radeongate recalls. You effetively said "I know it's only the 2011 Toyota that has repeated and verifiable engine failures, but I have a 2010 and a 2013 Toyota and I haven't seen any issues." No one said that every dGPU is faulty. But it certainly appears that every dGPU sold by Apple in a notebook (and I'm suspecting Mac Minis since mine recently died too due to dGPU issues) that year was bound to fail.
You know the really sad part? I think you're totally overreacting to the dGPU issues, and yet the replacement that Apple sent me for my 17" Macbook Pro (the machine listed in my signature) was faulty out of the box. I'm awaiting yet another replacement at this point.
All I'm saying is that there are plenty of MBPs/rMBPs with dGPUs out there that are fine, and haven't failed, and probably won't fail within the computers normal lifespan. This thread is one-sided and is not an accurate representation of the overall MBP user base with dGPUs.
Obviously there are special circumstances (namely the 2008 and 2011 MBPs), but the vast majority of MacBooks with dGPUs are fine.
The main point of my post was that you should not pick the iGPU-only model because you're worried about a potential (however unlikely) dGPU failure sometime in the future. Get the more powerful machine if you need it.
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By that logic you shouldn't even consider the new Mac Pro. That thing pumps out a lot of heat, so it must be more likely to fail...... am I right? One must consider the nature of the failure. Different components fail for different reasons.
And yes, you are wrong. The iGPU is integrated into the CPU. If both the CPU and iGPU are active, more heat is produced in that one central location, particularly when the CPU is under heavy load. But if the dGPU is activated, the iGPU is not and therefore the heat is more evenly spread.
It is true that heat kills electronics (or rather the repeated fluctuations in temperature of the components), but you can't assume that the additional heat produced by dGPUs is responsible for their failure. The dGPUs that failed in the 2008 and 2011 MBPs were defective. Not all dGPUs are defective, try to remember that.
hi guys, I am starting to read this thread since I have a chance to exchange my current cMbp 13" mid 2012 with cMbp 15" early 2011 with extra no cost. Do u guys think I should make this exchange? reading this thread make me aware that a lot of problems happening on MBP 15" 2011. I feel that this exchange is more a downgrade rather than upgrade for me. >.<
here is the details regarding my choice and my background : https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...bp-13-2012-to-mbp-15-2011-help-needed.1892521
here is the details regarding my choice and my background : https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...bp-13-2012-to-mbp-15-2011-help-needed.1892521
You shouldn't, the 15" 2011 is hopelessly outdated without USB 3 and BT 4.0, and when El Capitan comes, the 2011 won't be able to support Metal, while your 2012 would be able to support Metal.
Queen6
macrumors G4
Ive started getting occasional video scrambling on my 2011 macbook pro 13"....... but its not covered by apples extended warranty
Likely it won't be an issue, it`d the 15" with dGPU that can be prone to premature failure
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sim667
macrumors 65816
Well I'm hoping the glitching doesn't get any worse to be honest.....
Queen6
macrumors G4
Run diagnostics, and see what comes up. In general the 13" MBP`s are very solid machines.
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