So are all MBP owners with the 8600m GT cards screwed?

[charlieroberts]

Dead early 2008 MBP, machine didn't start at all, no warranty. Genius couldn't run the diagnosis, couldn't say what was wrong. Genius offered me a $310 flat rate repair, I accepted.
A few days later, the machine returns. Repair report says they replaced the logic board due to a faulty Nvidia GPU, and the cost was $0.

Your experience may vary, there's also a small chance that you actually have a different problem.

Well here's the whole story. I'm sure I had the Nvidia Issue, I got the 310 flat repair done hoping they did the same thing that you say happened to you, no such luck, but what the hell, I was happy to have it working again. Then went on vacations, at the 80 day mark, so when it started malfunctioning I could not take it into service. So when I took it to the genius Bar I was a little pissed that they would not extend the 90 days warranty, nor acknowledge the nvidia issue. And I was not about to spend another 310$!!! ridiculous...

So I baked the logic board, really doubted it would work... But it did! Its amazing!!! from now on I'm baking everything that malfunctions!

So I encourage every one to try it as a last resort!

 

[AnonMac50]

So I baked the logic board, really doubted it would work... But it did! Its amazing!!! from now on I'm baking everything that malfunctions!

So I encourage every one to try it as a last resort!

Reading that was hilarious, but on a serious note, I wouldn't try baking hard drives, I'd freeze them instead…

Seriously, I've tried it when the drive in my Early 2008 decided to stop working.

 

[PUTALE]

man, i think I my system is also having the dreadful issue. My Santa Roase (3.1) macbook pro just shows pcie lane x1 as oppose to x16. The system is sitll usable. Should I take to the apple store and have them look it over? Is this a sign that the gpu is failing already?

Would they replace it as it's so old?

 

[RestUnknown]

I have not read the entire thread (too much pages...). But I have a quick question.

I've had this failure about 2,5 years ago. At that time the laptop was 1,5 years old, so they replaced it for free. But can this problem occur again, or are the new ones they installed free of this failure?

How long is the average lifespan of these laptops? As you can tell, it's currently 4 years old and it has to keep going for at least 8 months. It still runs smoothly, no problems what so ever.

Thanks!

 

[thundersteele]

How long is the average lifespan of these laptops? As you can tell, it's currently 4 years old and it has to keep going for at least 8 months. It still runs smoothly, no problems what so ever.

Just hope for the best. I think most of the affected models don't fail, ever. The GPUs do have an above average failure rate, but that still doesn't mean that all of them will fail in the next few years.

 

[MBP13]

I'm facing quite a few issues with the GeForce 320M card in my 13" MBP..

 

[TakezoKensei]

Hey, maybe someone can help me. Just came back from the apple store. The genius gave me the "if i can't run the diagnostic, I can't authenticate the nvidia issue"
Anyone who has been through the same have any advice as to what I should tell them? I know some of you have gotten around this same issue so maybe there is still hope?

Do the warm up trick to get the computer to post then take it to the Apple store so they can run the test. Make sure the employee waits long enough to run the test. When the machine boots up off the usb drive, the screen displays a weird green/black grid pattern for a few minutes then it will reboot to the test screen.

 

[Ledgem]

man, i think I my system is also having the dreadful issue. My Santa Roase (3.1) macbook pro just shows pcie lane x1 as oppose to x16. The system is sitll usable. Should I take to the apple store and have them look it over? Is this a sign that the gpu is failing already?

Would they replace it as it's so old?

Have you experienced any graphical glitches? My understanding is that Apple extended the repair coverage to four years for everyone, regardless of whether you had Applecare or not, but your system might already be beyond that. It's worth a try to take it to the Apple store, but nobody can say for certain whether they'd replace it for you. Don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed, I suppose.

I have not read the entire thread (too much pages...). But I have a quick question.

I've had this failure about 2,5 years ago. At that time the laptop was 1,5 years old, so they replaced it for free. But can this problem occur again, or are the new ones they installed free of this failure?

How long is the average lifespan of these laptops? As you can tell, it's currently 4 years old and it has to keep going for at least 8 months. It still runs smoothly, no problems what so ever.

Thanks!

The problem can occur again, and many people have experienced the issue multiple times. Supposedly nVidia corrected the design flaw in the GPUs, but apparently not... the entire architecture of the 8600M seems to have an issue.

I'm not really sure what the average lifespan is. My father had a PowerBook that functioned for seven years or so; the only reason it was retired was because the backlight on the screen went out. I was personally hoping to get at least five years out of the Macbook Pros, but the GPU issue with this line has me worried that I won't reach it. I feel lucky as it is that I've gone for close to four years and haven't experienced any problems with the GPU.

I'm facing quite a few issues with the GeForce 320M card in my 13" MBP..

This thread relates to owners of Macbook Pros with the nVidia 8600M GT, which suffered from a manufacturing flaw (according to nVidia; a design flaw to everyone else) that causes them to burn out and fail earlier than would be expected. I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues, but as far as I'm aware, the 320M did not suffer from such a problem.

 

[PUTALE]

So far no graphical glitches that I can tell. Though I tested with Cinebench 11.5 to see the OpenGL performance and it gave me like 1~2 points, which I think is low for the gpu.

I will definitely take it ot them to see if they can fix it. It's just perfect that it failed after almost 4 years, maybe Apple has tested and know that for people who use the syste lightly will fail around 4 years.

 

[sejones]

Replaced beyond warranty extension

Just wanted to note that I just had the video go out on my 2007 MBP.

It was confirmed to be the NVidia issue, warrantied, and fixed, even though it was past the 4 year extended warranty by about 4 months.

This was through a 3rd party Apple authorized service location, not an Apple Store.

 

[kaioshade]

Just wanted to note that I just had the video go out on my 2007 MBP.

It was confirmed to be the NVidia issue, warrantied, and fixed, even though it was past the 4 year extended warranty by about 4 months.

This was through a 3rd party Apple authorized service location, not an Apple Store.

Apple is doing them outside of the 4 year on a conditional basis. I have had about 50/50 success doing them out of warranty. We have to get them approved for service if they're out, sometimes they say yes "one time exception" or just tell us no there is nothing they can do, its all down to the rep you get.

 

[Bearxor]

Just had another one replaced. System wasn't past 4 years yet. Was told there was no chance of them extending repairs past 4 years.

 

[EmlynDewar]

My one is still going strong after being lobbed in the oven at end of last year.
It's seen far more use since this issue, including the odd game.

Did the trick nicely, will be using this until it's completely toasted and not working.
Longer I can drag it out, the more likely there is to have been an update on new Macbook Pro specs.

 

[Quad 2.5 G5 =)]

So...I went into look at the System Profiler...and saw this. Is it the beginning of the end for mine? Original card, over 4 years of nearly problem-free service, says it was built in the beginning of January 2008.

 

[thundersteele]

So...I went into look at the System Profiler...and saw this. Is it the beginning of the end for mine? Original card, over 4 years of nearly problem-free service, says it was built in the beginning of January 2008.

I think the purchase date is relevant for the extended warranty, not the day it was built.

Anyways, I'm not yet convinced that all GPUs are affected in a way that makes them break within the first 5-6 years of use.

If the machine is critical for your work, you should have a backup plan.

 

[Ledgem]

So...I went into look at the System Profiler...and saw this. Is it the beginning of the end for mine? Original card, over 4 years of nearly problem-free service, says it was built in the beginning of January 2008.

I don't see what the problem is, unless you have an external monitor hooked up to your system?

Otherwise, I'm with thundersteele. The chip has a design flaw and a higher failure rate than normal, but people are getting by with no issues. (For what it's worth, I haven't had any problems, despite heavy and frequent usage. Hopefully it'll go for another year or two like this.)

 

[Signal-11]

My third 8600M GT went bad within 45 days of replacement.

These are bad chips, period. Maybe if you do very little with your computer, bt if you run intensive graphics applications, they WILL go bad.

 

[Quad 2.5 G5 =)]

I think the purchase date is relevant for the extended warranty, not the day it was built.

Anyways, I'm not yet convinced that all GPUs are affected in a way that makes them break within the first 5-6 years of use.

If the machine is critical for your work, you should have a backup plan.

I've already got another machine I use also, so if/when this goes, I have that also.

I don't see what the problem is, unless you have an external monitor hooked up to your system?

Otherwise, I'm with thundersteele. The chip has a design flaw and a higher failure rate than normal, but people are getting by with no issues. (For what it's worth, I haven't had any problems, despite heavy and frequent usage. Hopefully it'll go for another year or two like this.)

The PCIe link is only 8x, not the full 16x it used to be.

My third 8600M GT went bad within 45 days of replacement.

These are bad chips, period. Maybe if you do very little with your computer, bt if you run intensive graphics applications, they WILL go bad.

I've not done the heaviest work, but it's mostly skyping, web browsing, and listening to music, day in and day out...as well as nights. The days of constant Handbrake encoding are pretty much over for this machine.

 

[Signal-11]

So...I went into look at the System Profiler...and saw this. Is it the beginning of the end for mine? Original card, over 4 years of nearly problem-free service, says it was built in the beginning of January 2008.

Sorry, I missed this.

Yes, the PCIe lane width reduction is one of the first signs of failure. That lane width will eventually go down to 0, at which point your screen will blank. When mine did that, I was able to remote in and take screenshots of the gfx card not showing up, period.

Even if you take it in to an Apple store now, it will fail the Nvidia test.

Provided you are within the 4 year date-of-purchase window, you'll get a MLB replacement.

In my opinion/experience, these chips are pretty much ALL bad.

Like I've mentioned in previous posts, my first chip failed in about 3 years. Second one in about 2.5 months, next one under 1.5 months. I figure I can pretty much induce failure in any 8600M GT. Just a bunch of high heat/cooling cycles from high graphics loads through games and whatnot under Bootcamp/Windows/Parallels.

 

[Ledgem]

The PCIe link is only 8x, not the full 16x it used to be.

Yes, the PCIe lane width reduction is one of the first signs of failure. That lane width will eventually go down to 0, at which point your screen will blank. When mine did that, I was able to remote in and take screenshots of the gfx card not showing up, period.

Even if you take it in to an Apple store now, it will fail the Nvidia test.

Provided you are within the 4 year date-of-purchase window, you'll get a MLB replacement.

Hmm, I didn't know about this. So, if my system profiler reports the PCIe lane width as being x1, does that mean that my card is on the verge of failure? For what it's worth, I haven't experienced any issues while encoding videos, doing normal system operations, or playing games.

 

[thundersteele]

Hmm, I didn't know about this. So, if my system profiler reports the PCIe lane width as being x1, does that mean that my card is on the verge of failure? For what it's worth, I haven't experienced any issues while encoding videos, doing normal system operations, or playing games.

You can run the hardware test (or let an Apple store do it). On my machine the test picked up the defect (but it worked for another 1/2 year before failing).

If you're still within the 4 years, bring it to an Apple store as fast as possible.

 

[bdinger]

Just wanted to chime in that this is definitely not a Mac-only problem. Two similar vintage laptops I've had experience with, the Lenovo ThinkPad T61p and the Dell Latitude D620 & D630 series with nvidia GPU's both had the same issue. My 620 was so bad that by the three year mark (I only had to suffer with it for 1.75) I'd had four motherboards, and three full system replacements. They still died basically every two months like clockwork.

Also the T61p ran into the same problem, and I've seen multiples going through multiple motherboards. Later models lucked out and are rock solid, but the early models with the similar-to-8600m GPU are crap.

I don't know if this will work for this vintage of MBP, but my techs have had excellent luck extending lifespans on both the D620/D630 and T61 series by replacing the thermal grease used on the GPU with a higher end grease like arctic silver.

Oh and feel lucky, Apple at least acknowledges the problem and warranties it. You are SOL with Dell or Lenovo.

 

[Quad 2.5 G5 =)]

You can run the hardware test (or let an Apple store do it). On my machine the test picked up the defect (but it worked for another 1/2 year before failing).

If you're still within the 4 years, bring it to an Apple store as fast as possible.

Took it to the store, they ran the test...and then it showed up as fine. Go figure. Not to mention it's outside the four years. :/

 

[Ledgem]

Just putting it out there in case this is useful to someone else:

Reboots and shut downs weren't altering the system report that I was running with a PCIe lane width of x1. I did a SMC reset (unplug power supply, remove battery, hold down power button for 5 seconds - although I held it for 10 just to be sure), and it seems that the lane width is now being reported as x8. I can't say that I noticed any change in system performance in going from x1 to x8 (not that I had any issues to begin with, nor am I doing graphics-heavy things like gaming)... either way, it's a bit of a relief to think that I still have some more time. It also saved me a trip to the Apple store - this is probably one of the first things they would have tried, and then I would have felt like an idiot for not having done it myself.

I was really hoping to get at least five years out of this system. If it can't last that long, hopefully it'll at least last until the next MBP line refresh (which I'm hoping will have Retina displays - that'd be nice...).

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Not to mention it's outside the four years. :/

Is that what they told you? Did they say that even if something were to go wrong, then you'd have to pay for the repairs?

Edit on 2/14: well, crumbs - I checked just now and my PCIe lane width is being reported as x1 again. Between my initial post and this edit I had the computer sleep twice and did one reboot. I guess I'll be making an appointment with the Apple store after all...

 

[Flood123]

Well here's the whole story. I'm sure I had the Nvidia Issue, I got the 310 flat repair done hoping they did the same thing that you say happened to you, no such luck, but what the hell, I was happy to have it working again. Then went on vacations, at the 80 day mark, so when it started malfunctioning I could not take it into service. So when I took it to the genius Bar I was a little pissed that they would not extend the 90 days warranty, nor acknowledge the nvidia issue. And I was not about to spend another 310$!!! ridiculous...

So I baked the logic board, really doubted it would work... But it did! Its amazing!!! from now on I'm baking everything that malfunctions!

So I encourage every one to try it as a last resort!

Please explain this process. Thank you !