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

[TheHomeRun]

Mine was running until this weekend when it finally kicked the bucket. I did a full overhaul in December 2011 (replacing pretty much everything except the case with stock pieces), but in the past few months the screen started to go, then the right fan went off-kilter and buzzed like a jet landing, then the HD started going (all backed up at least). This past weekend it finally stopped working entirely -- I think the motherboard starting failing and then the HD was no longer recognized.

Sad time, I am still in mourning. To honor the memory of the computer, when is it appropriate to begin looking for another computer? (Feels like this computer is a pet)

The current MBA is so tempting, but the new one is supposed to be released in June…the countdown clock begins...

 

[Graeme43]

Sucks to hear yours died

I hope I have better luck as I still have an iBook 500mhz dual usb that works and until these MBPs those were classed the most unreliable Apple laptop

I was hoping if i keep the fans up and the GPU around 40-50 C it should stay functional for years to come

I got this second hand to replace my old Titanium PowerBook which I love but man it struggles with internet these days and youtube only works with like 320x200 res

The only other macs that I have that died are two iMac G5 iSights.. one logic board and one screen lines made it useless.. hope i can make a good one out the two

 

[l.a.rossmann]

One of the few upsides is that in 2014, if your 8600GT Macbook Pro did die, it can't hurt as bad as it did before they made Android tablets with more processing power than that computer...

 

[Yell0w]

still chugging along. some hang times when I have too many things open at the same time.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[Graeme43]

Still hurts. These machines are still more useful than an Android tablet. Not to mention those of us still using these as primary machines with little budget allocated to upgrading... (hello, fellow students.)

These Macs can still be used as primary machines as long as you don't play the latest games. There is nothing wrong with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo

I upgraded ram to 6GB and got a 1TB SSHD and it flies.

 

[melchior]

These Macs can still be used as primary machines as long as you don't play the latest games. There is nothing wrong with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo

I upgraded ram to 6GB and got a 1TB SSHD and it flies.

you have 6GB of RAM in your early 2008 MBP?

 

[Graeme43]

you have 6GB of RAM in your early 2008 MBP?

Yeah sure, why not?

 

[melchior]

Yeah sure, why not?

Madness! I've had this computer since release and I am sure I checked to make sure I had it maxed. That is 6 years that I could have had an extra 2GB of RAM!

Working with photos, let alone video, is a nightmare. I will upgrade this year!

Had my desktop since 2007, not that it gets turned more than one week a year.

 

[Graeme43]

Madness! I've had this computer since release and I am sure I checked to make sure I had it maxed. That is 6 years that I could have had an extra 2GB of RAM!

Working with photos, let alone video, is a nightmare. I will upgrade this year!

Had my desktop since 2007, not that it gets turned more than one week a year.

It came with 2x1gb and i swapped a 1gb out for a 4gb so ended up with 5gb that worked so I got a 2GB to make it 6

Also this Seagate SSHD 1TB is actually faster than my desktops 7200RPM WD drive

 

[melchior]

It came with 2x1gb and i swapped a 1gb out for a 4gb so ended up with 5gb that worked so I got a 2GB to make it 6

Also this Seagate SSHD 1TB is actually faster than my desktops 7200RPM WD drive

I have samsung 830 SSD. And a spinning disk in the optical bay.

 

[Graeme43]

I have samsung 830 SSD. And a spinning disk in the optical bay.

Even better I have an OCZ 120GB thing in my Mac Pro. Can't beat SSD

 

[themumu]

Mine was running until this weekend when it finally kicked the bucket. I did a full overhaul in December 2011 (replacing pretty much everything except the case with stock pieces), but in the past few months the screen started to go, then the right fan went off-kilter and buzzed like a jet landing, then the HD started going (all backed up at least). This past weekend it finally stopped working entirely -- I think the motherboard starting failing and then the HD was no longer recognized.

Sad time, I am still in mourning. To honor the memory of the computer, when is it appropriate to begin looking for another computer? (Feels like this computer is a pet)

The current MBA is so tempting, but the new one is supposed to be released in June…the countdown clock begins...

The appropriate time is right before the old one kicks the bucket.

The warning signs were there, but you did not act on them. Although you can't turn back time, for anyone else with a "vintage" computer like this, guys, be pragmatic, it's easier to migrate to a new computer when the old one is still functioning, and it's cheaper to upgrade when you can sell the old laptop as working instead of "does not turn on, first $20 takes it".

 

[TheHomeRun]

The appropriate time is right before the old one kicks the bucket.

The warning signs were there, but you did not act on them. Although you can't turn back time, for anyone else with a "vintage" computer like this, guys, be pragmatic, it's easier to migrate to a new computer when the old one is still functioning, and it's cheaper to upgrade when you can sell the old laptop as working instead of "does not turn on, first $20 takes it".

After the first warning sign I did daily backups. No crises, just have a hard time pulling the trigger on a new computer especially when the rumor mill temps us with a retina macbook air.

 

[KenMar]

Try this?

Hi,

If your Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT fails, try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRB_DfTx9CQ

I don't have a mac, I have a Sony VAIO VGN-AR840E with 8600M GT but did the solder ball reflow method in the video for 2 minutes and it's been 2 weeks and laptop is perfect.

What can you loose, you're most probably out of warranty and this method in video is much safer than using a hairdryer or heat gun.

The guy in the video has done it numerous times and mentions 6-7 months between doing his process.

Cheerz

 

[Loops]

5+ years of service and running strong still. I bought my first MacBook Pro June of 2008. I guess I got lucky in owning this one.

Even more unreliable than these are the white Core Duo iMacs.

We got like 20 of them for a computer lab and they all developed vertical dead pixel lines.

Once upon a time Macs were known for their longevity...

 

[yjchua95]

Even more unreliable than these are the white Core Duo iMacs.

We got like 20 of them for a computer lab and they all developed vertical dead pixel lines.

Once upon a time Macs were known for their longevity...

Apple wasn't the only one that used the 8600GT.

Other manufacturers (Dell, Acer, etc) that used the 8600GT also had the same problems and announced a recall. Apple did announce a recall as well.

The recalls were on NVIDIA's dime. So it's NVIDIA's fault, not Apple's.

And by the way, mother of thread resurrection.

 

[Loops]

Apple wasn't the only one that used the 8600GT.

Other manufacturers (Dell, Acer, etc) that used the 8600GT also had the same problems and announced a recall. Apple did announce a recall as well.

The recalls were on NVIDIA's dime. So it's NVIDIA's fault, not Apple's.

And by the way, mother of thread resurrection.

A proper recall was what Apple did not do.

A proper recall would have been the replacement of the defective GPUs with GPUs that don't have the defect. Apple never did that. Instead, it offered a piecemeal approach wherein people could get replacement parts by haggling at the Genius Bar, parts that were new but still defective.

And, no... none of this is Nvidia's fault. Shifting the blame to a parts supplier fails. It's irrelevant to the consumer. The consumer bought the laptop from Apple, not Nvidia. Nvidia's parts are Apple's problem, not consumers'.

As for the white Core Duo iMacs, there was a lawsuit over them.

 

[Graeme43]

Even more unreliable than these are the white Core Duo iMacs.

We got like 20 of them for a computer lab and they all developed vertical dead pixel lines.

Once upon a time Macs were known for their longevity...

Happened to me and I swapped the screen with another one that had hw fault and worked fine



My 8600 still works but I'm scared to use it now

 

[yjchua95]

A proper recall was what Apple did not do.

A proper recall would have been the replacement of the defective GPUs with GPUs that don't have the defect. Apple never did that. Instead, it offered a piecemeal approach wherein people could get replacement parts by haggling at the Genius Bar, parts that were new but still defective.

And, no... none of this is Nvidia's fault. Shifting the blame to a parts supplier fails. It's irrelevant to the consumer. The consumer bought the laptop from Apple, not Nvidia. Nvidia's parts are Apple's problem, not consumers'.

As for the white Core Duo iMacs, there was a lawsuit over them.

NVIDIA is NVIDIA, Apple is Apple.

It's not Apple's fault that NVIDIA's parts broke. Apple did replace with Rev B variants of the 8600GT, which were newly made by NVIDIA to replace the defective Rev A parts. The Rev B variants don't have the defects.

So let's say if my car tyre blew up, you're saying that I should blame BMW instead of blaming Continental? Some logic you've got there.

Continental is a supplier for BMW cars that have just rolled out of the factory. So when my tyre blows, I shouldn't shift blame to the supplier and blame it on BMW itself? Applying your logic, I bought my car from BMW, not Continental, and Continental parts are BMW's problem. How does that even make sense? Sure, it's not my problem, but it's not BMW's problem either.

It's the same story. NVIDIA is a supplier for Apple, and when the GPU fails, I should blame Apple instead of NVIDIA? Huh? What planet do you even live in? The chip's problem is with the manufacturer of the component, not the manufacturer of the finished product.

So if my CPU fails, I should blame Apple instead of blaming Intel? Eh?

Sometimes I just wonder why is it called common sense when it's not so common after all.

 

[Graeme43]

It's not Apple's fault that NVIDIA's parts broke. Apple did replace with Rev B variants of the 8600GT, which were newly made by NVIDIA to replace the defective Rev A parts. The Rev B variants don't have the defects.

Is it possible to tell which mine has? It was previously owned by someone in Germany so I dont know if it had been repaired or not

 

[yjchua95]

Is it possible to tell which mine has? It was previously owned by someone in Germany so I dont know if it had been repaired or not

If you're willing to extract the logic board and identify the chip, yes you could. I'm afraid I don't know what are the exact part numbers, but a quick Google search should yield some results.

 

[chrfr]

Apple did replace with Rev B variants of the 8600GT, which were newly made by NVIDIA to replace the defective Rev A parts. The Rev B variants don't have the defects.

I've dealt with at least 2 of these computers which had GPU failures after the Rev. B boards were installed. I don't believe the newer parts are any better.

 

[dimme]

My MBP is still going strong with the replacement logic board.

 

[Xeridionix]

My wife's 15-inch MacBook Pro (Early 2008) is on its way out.

The first sign of failure was everything just slowed to a crawl. It didn't actually kernel panic or anything like my old Late 2007 did, but when I checked System Information it was showing 1 PCIe lane instead of 16 so I knew there was trouble on the horizon.

I've already reflowed the logic board using the oven method in a last ditch attempt to keep it hobbling along and it has fixed the issues with the graphics card but as we all know that's a temporary fix and it could fail at any time... in addition the thermal sensors in this unit also also act up and cause the system to random sleep and shut down intermittently (with a reason code of -72 in the system logs), so now they are disconnected and it sounds like a small jet engine preparing for take off (at least it'll keep the GPU cool). Thankfully this wasn't a unit that we paid full price for, it was purchased used from someone local so the out of pocket loss isn't overly great as I only paid $375 for it.

I absolutely refuse to buy another notebook with a NVIDIA GPU in it. I've had multiple die on me over the years (a Late 2007 MacBook Pro, a Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, and two Dell XPS units that used the 8600M GT). As much as I'd like to have the extra processing power on a new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and a GeForce 750M GT, NVIDIA have burned me too many times...