Late 2011 MBP died, had it secondhand for 4 months from a retailer, story time :/

The 2011 models have a manufacturing defect that effects the AMD GPU. It seems like eventually they all fail.

 

You've got Radeongate - I'm surprised you did not know those models had this before you purchased one.

Do not expect it to work for 6 more years.

 

yes but i think they change the gpu for free

 

My late 2011 MBP's screen got damaged recently. Probably they are reaching the end of the lifespan now.

 

They won't. AMD refused to be a gentleman like NVIDIA and own up to it.

 

Is this really the case? Or are the failures associated to long term intensive graphics application use?

I didn't know about this problem when I bought my MBP used a year ago when it was 2 years old.

I do not use graphs intensive applications and rarely ever hear the cooling fans kick in (only time has been when ripping DVD's to save in digital format).

Am I just as likely to suffer this problem?

 

The problems are not analogous. The nVidia problem was due to manufacturing issues with the chips themselves; see here: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1004378/why-nvidia-chips-defective. From anecdotes read here and elsewhere, the AMD-based 2011 MBPs are not experiencing death of the GPU itself. Rather, the solder that Apple used to secure the GPU to the logic board is itself not up to snuff and overtime will fail to provide a good, solid physical and electrical connection between the GPU and the logic board. The GPU chip itself is physically just dandy, and if you can get somebody who knows what they are doing to remove the AMD GPU from your logic board, clean up all of the old solder, and re-solder the GPU to the logic board using different solder, your MBP should start working again. Keep in mind that this is WAY easier said than done, given the intricate nature of surface-mount electronics and how tightly packed the pins are on the GPU. You would need to find a professional shop that can do this for you, and it likely won't be cheap.

-- Nathan

 

So, if I experienced the problem and decided to buy a replacement logic board from Apple it would still have the same solder issues or it would be a modified logic board?

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Sorry didn't mean that! I mean't would the solder process have been changed on new replacement boards.

 

I took a look on line and the AMD chip is a pretty big BGA. I don't think it would be easy to remove and would probably require re-balling rather than just cleaning and re soldering.

 

Removed.

 

Yes I suspected that would be the case. If it was a leaded vs unleaded solder issue or solder / solder paste compound issue they would have problems changing anything.

It would require a full re qual and probably create havoc with wave solder profiles etc. Too much money to spend if the problem can be successfully ignored!

 

Pretty much. Even when you disable the AMD GPU and force it to use integrated graphics, it'll still fail.

Check out this Facebook group for more info.

 

AppleCare+ on my late 2011 MBP runs out on 12/31. I had the logic board replaced in February because of a GPU problem. I suppose if it screws up again after 12/31, I am out of luck.

 

Yeah, I went through three replacements! 1st one lasted 6mos, 2nd one lasted 1 hour (didn't they test it!?!!!!), 3rd one for 3 months.

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Work with Apple - email Tim Cook and get a case with Exec Relations. Don't assume you're SOL.

 

My first replacement lasted 6 months. The first board lasted 2 1/2 years. I'm now on my 3rd logic board, which Apple kindly replaced free of charge.

 

So even with the GPU disabled the logic board still fails if the GPU starts to detach itself from the PCB? I guess there is a level of integration in the circuit board paths then, probably also the fact that the GPU cannot be switched off for all applications?

I have now switched off the GPU anyway for what good it will do. I am also monitoring CPU temperature. I am not a power user. Doing the usual web surfing, Microsoft Office stuff and playing music in the background I am not stressing the processor. CPU temperature never rose above 65 Centigrade over several hours of use. In addition it's my home PC so is used with much less frequency than my work PC.

The only time I do work the processor hard is when I rip DVD's but my collection is all done now and if I do buy movies it's direct from iTunes.

So let's hope that by keeping the thermal stress cycles as low as possible I get some more life out of this thing!

 

Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I will definitely make my voice heard if need be.

If the boards of this time frame are known to be bad, I don't understand why Apple continues to replace defective boards with the same logic board.

 

Because they haven't got any "fixed" boards and have not admitted there is a problem. To do so, they would have to re-manufacture a supply to fix all the faulty boards. I suspect it would be cheaper to give people a replacement new machine than to do this.

 

Unless AMD owns up to the issue and releases a fix so Apple can make new board with the fixed chips, this is always going to be the issue unfortunately.

Just like iMac G5s with bad capacitors, its not a question of if, its a question of when. My Early 2011 went through 6 Logic Boards in the first year. Most intensive thing I ever did was iMovie.

 

Why? It's not an AMD issue. It's the lead free solder that was used by Apple.

 

Sadly, I have found it to be all too common for many of the respondents on this forum to not read all of the @#$!% posts in the thread before they chime in.

-- Nathan