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

My MacBook Pro Story

After reading this entire thread over the last few days and not happy with what I'm reading, made an appointment with the Genius Bar last night. My computer was purchased February 2008 has been the best one I have owned so far. Perfect in every way and other than some jumbled text on Safari I have not encountered any other symptoms. Luckily for me the Genius on duty was one I trust and has been an employee since the store opened 6/8 years ago. He has replaced several things for me from computers to 5 of the first generation iPhones until I finally got one that worked. He knows his stuff and he also understands I know mine and have bought a lot of $$$ from them. My wife and both sons and their wifes all are Apple users and each of us have the iPhone and at least two computers each.. laptop and desk top. He takes the gizmo that I understand was developed for the purpose of checking the defective video card with the bad chips and runs a series of test. Passed all test and showed no defects. Then he opened almost every application on my laptop then opened ten You Tube videos and all running at the same time. Computers finally got as hot as I have ever had it then did the test thing again.... passed. Since today was the last day of my year warranty, I purchased Apple Care and now good for two more years. After all said and done I am happy because for now my laptop is fine and I like it better than the unibody because of the keyboard and track pad. My plan is to keep it maybe another year and sell it before the Apple Care expires, by then the new model will have grown on me and another speed bump or two. Bottom line is the computer works as good as the day I purchased it and with AppleCare I can relax even if it cooks later. Right now I do not want to lay out another $3,000.00 to buy the new top of the line MacBook Pro and for $300.00 they will replace of repair anything except damage from abuse(dropped) or spilled liquid through the keyboard neither up to now have ever happened to me. The last thing I may add is this is the FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER PURCHASED APPLECARE so it is not than I am trying to sell it for them. I would suggest if you have access to an Apple store visit the Genius bar and have your computer checked. Piece of mine PRICELESS !!
 
WHM said:
snip... My plan is to keep it maybe another year and sell it before the Apple Care expires

snip... The last thing I may add is this is the FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER PURCHASED APPLECARE so it is not than I am trying to sell it for them. I would suggest if you have access to an Apple store visit the Genius bar and have your computer checked. Peace of mind is PRICELESS !!
Click to expand...

While Applecare is a good idea considering the situation we are in, I don't like the idea of being forced to buy Applecare because of a potential problem that Apple and nvidia are aware of. The 1 year warranty extension was good, got all of us to 2 years, however, we certainly expect these laptops to last a lot longer than that.

Also, just imagine how many 2 and 3 year old time bombs are going to start appearing "for sale" over the next 6-18 months. I don't imagine the resale value will hold up much if we start seeing more failures as these systems age (more hot / cold cycles and general wear).

Generally not happy with the whole situation. I will probably sell mine and go back to using the x1600 based 2.16 I have in the closet.

Cheers,
 
panzer06 said:
While Applecare is a good idea considering the situation we are in, I don't like the idea of being forced to buy Applecare because of a potential problem that Apple and nvidia are aware of. The 1 year warranty extension was good, got all of us to 2 years, however, we certainly expect these laptops to last a lot longer than that.

Also, just imagine how many 2 and 3 year old time bombs are going to start appearing "for sale" over the next 6-18 months. I don't imagine the resale value will hold up much if we start seeing more failures as these systems age (more hold cold cycles and general wear).

Generally not happy with the whole situation. I will probably sell mine and go back to using the x1600 based 2.16 I have in the closet.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

I do not see it that way... I purchased this laptop to use.. if I get 3 years daily use from it I feel than it severed it's purpose! Electronics can easily malfunction and for $300.00 I can use it without fear of a problem.. I waste more money than than on nothing.
 
WHM said:
I do not see it that way... I purchased this laptop to use.. if I get 3 years daily use from it I feel than it severed it's purpose! Electronics can easily malfunction and for $300.00 I can use it without fear of a problem.. I waste more money than than on nothing.
Click to expand...

By that logic every MBP should come with 3 years of support in order for you to have confidence in your ability to use the unit for "your" 3 year life of the unit because there is the expectation of a failure.

I tell you my two powerbooks lasted over 5 to 6 years each before I sold them.

When I buy a computer, especially, as expensive as a MAC, I certainly expect it to last 3 years without feeling I must buy an extended warranty. The nvidia issue is a serious problem for this particular model of MBP. I am so disappointed by the response from many OEMs (not just Apple). Sony doesn't even acknowledge the problem and still sells systems with 8400s. I will not buy a nvidia GPU based laptop until I see 2-3 years of relatively trouble-free experience on that model.

I respect your opinion, it is shared by many on this forum who eagerly advocate Applecare as a solution. I'm fine with that as long as it's an option or included as part of the purchase, but not if I am forced to buy Applecare to protect myself from the high likelihood (over the life of my system, which has already seen one logic board replacement due to this problem) of a nvidia GPU failure.

Cheers,
 
panzer06 said:
By that logic every MBP should come with 3 years of support in order for you to have confidence in your ability to use the unit for "your" 3 year life of the unit because there is the expectation of a failure.

I tell you my two powerbooks lasted over 5 to 6 years each before I sold them.

When I buy a computer, especially, as expensive as a MAC, I certainly expect it to last 3 years without feeling I must buy an extended warranty. The nvidia issue is a serious problem for this particular model of MBP. I am so disappointed by the response from many OEMs (not just Apple). Sony doesn't even acknowledge the problem and still sells systems with 8400s. I will not buy a nvidia GPU based laptop until I see 2-3 years of relatively trouble-free experience on that model.

I respect your opinion, it is shared by many on this forum who eagerly advocate Applecare as a solution. I'm fine with that as long as it's an option or included as part of the purchase, but not if I am forced to buy Applecare to protect myself from the high likelihood (over the life of my system, which has already seen one logic board replacement due to this problem) of a nvidia GPU failure.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Even with AppleCare, it's still not a full solution. Apple gives you an additional year of support which I think is fair given the lack of support from other manufacturers. The way I see it is, Apple is saying if you're GPU lasts more than 2 years, it's ok, anything that happens after that just counts as a failure and you would need to pay for the repair. I was strongly considering purchasing the Early-2008 model (I like the way it looks than the new unibody, but late-2008 are still nice looking). It just annoys me that Apple is giving a deadline on when the GPU should fail before you're on your own. Knowing it's a faulty part, there should be a much longer extended warranty than 2 years.
 
panzer06 said:
By that logic every MBP should come with 3 years of support in order for you to have confidence in your ability to use the unit for "your" 3 year life of the unit because there is the expectation of a failure.

I tell you my two powerbooks lasted over 5 to 6 years each before I sold them.

When I buy a computer, especially, as expensive as a MAC, I certainly expect it to last 3 years without feeling I must buy an extended warranty. The nvidia issue is a serious problem for this particular model of MBP. I am so disappointed by the response from many OEMs (not just Apple). Sony doesn't even acknowledge the problem and still sells systems with 8400s. I will not buy a nvidia GPU based laptop until I see 2-3 years of relatively trouble-free experience on that model.

I respect your opinion, it is shared by many on this forum who eagerly advocate Applecare as a solution. I'm fine with that as long as it's an option or included as part of the purchase, but not if I am forced to buy Applecare to protect myself from the high likelihood (over the life of my system, which has already seen one logic board replacement due to this problem) of a nvidia GPU failure.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Second that bold, Once bitten twice shy, if they are not offering a good solid solution, I wont take the risk also.
 
i just received my early 2008 refurbished 15" MBP about an hour ago..hopefully i get some good life out of it!
 
I purchased mine in august 08 and i just purchased apple care off ebay ($150). I occansionally play memory hogging games but for the most part, regular activity. I haven't noticed anything off with my laptop. Should i be worried about anything or be on the look for anything in particular?
 
andiwm2003 said:
i have to second that. i would expect a $2500 to shut itself off before you overheat it. covering up the heat vents would be fraud. using it within the specs (apple themselves give a temperatur range) is ok. if apple doesn't want you to use the notebook for extended time under full load at 80F room temp then they should not write in their specs that you can.

in the old days you would run a computer for 48 hrs straight after you bought it. it was the standard burn in test.

with all the worries about nvidea I caved in and bought apple care ($178 at ebay) for mine. i just hope they cover a failed GPU although I replaced the HD and Ram.:eek: and of course I hope i don't dent it because apple uses that certainly to not have to replace the GPU in case it fails and then the 178 bucks for apple care would be lost on top of the 1499 for the MBP. sucks....
Click to expand...

Thats like saying a car should shut off because you decided to run it with out anti-freeze. Or that the car company or warranty should cover engine failure becuase you decide to run it with out oil. And it is comparable, before you say your not taking anything away. Your taking away the airflow which is the computers cooling.
 
It doesn't seem like the 9400/9600GT are that peachy either
 

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Macbook Pro 17" late 2008

Is it true that my new late 2008 17" w/ 2.5 core 2 duo has nothing to worry about? It's not listed on Apple's site for the bad chips.
 
Macbook Pro late 2008

Wonder why Apple has omitted the late 2008 17" 2.5 8600m gt models from the list of effected Macbook pros?
 
oclv5200 said:
Wonder why Apple has omitted the late 2008 17" 2.5 8600m gt models from the list of effected Macbook pros?
Click to expand...

affected..........sorry

affect=verb effect=noun/adj (depending on form and context)

Like Tallest said, after a certain date the chips weren't defective.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Because the 8600M made after a certain date are NOT affected by the failure.

And the post-rest-of-the-line-unibody, pre-17"-unibody 17" MacBook Pro revision has these chips.
Click to expand...

I have an early 2008 15". The serial number indicates that it was made the second week of november(more or less), do you guys think that there's possiblity I won't have troubles with the grahic card?
 
Got my mac back today with a replaced logic board and GPU

will post back if i encounter any problems with the 2nd rev =)

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16 ( I had x8 before i got the replacement if i not wrong, any idea what it means? )
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3175

Details of my new card
 
xiaobaizhu said:
Got my mac back today with a replaced logic board and GPU

will post back if i encounter any problems with the 2nd rev =)

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16 ( I had x8 before i got the replacement if i not wrong, any idea what it means? )
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3175

Details of my new card
Click to expand...

why did you get your gpu/logic board replaced?
 
mikes70mustang said:
Thats like saying a car should shut off because you decided to run it with out anti-freeze. Or that the car company or warranty should cover engine failure becuase you decide to run it with out oil. And it is comparable, before you say your not taking anything away. Your taking away the airflow which is the computers cooling.
Click to expand...

did you even read my post? can you read at all? or do you just try to look smart?:rolleyes:

i have to second that. i would expect a $2500 to shut itself off before you overheat it. covering up the heat vents would be fraud. using it within the specs (apple themselves give a temperatur range) is ok.
Click to expand...
 
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