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

[therealseebs]

My 2007 MBP just blew up. 47 days of AppleCare left. A friend ran it into the Apple Store for me (it's a 60 mile drive). They plugged in a special FireWire drive labeled "GPU test", it flashed the screen a bit and said "FAILED", they told him to come back in a week for the same mac with a new logic board.

No clue whether that actually corrects the problem or merely resets the timer. Still, if he doesn't play WoW on it a lot, it should make it a couple more years. (He's acquiring it from me, since it's an upgrade from his old and dysfunctional G4.)

 

[hajime]

I asked the genius if it's the same logic board being replaced as I didn't want to have to deal with this later down the line, he assured me it's a new revision of the logic board because the part number is different. Can anybody verify this? I can't find it anywhere on the internet.

I do not know about your case. In my case, the lady told me the board has been revised when I took the MBP to the service center about 2 months ago. When I took it back home, several other problems appeared immediately. Didn't they tested everything before handing it back to the customer? I asked two other guys in the service center if the new logic board I got has the same defective GPU in it, they refused to answer.

 

[MikhailT]

I do not know about your case. In my case, the lady told me the board has been revised when I took the MBP to the service center about 2 months ago. When I took it back home, several other problems appeared immediately. Didn't they tested everything before handing it back to the customer? I asked two other guys in the service center if the new logic board I got has the same defective GPU in it, they refused to answer.

They refuse to answer because there's no replacement for it. They are just installing the same crap and hope that it doesn't crap out before the warranty ends.

 

[CherryJello]

Reading this thread is terrifying

I have an early 2008 Macbook Pro with the GeForce 8600M GT, and I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the failure of the GeForce a known fact and it's just a matter of time before mine craps out?

2. I've already had the left I/O board replaced, my battery no longer holds a charge since upgrading to Snow Leopard and I have 4 or 5 stuck pixels on the screen. If the 8600M GT goes, should I expect a replacement?

3. I was thinking about upgrading to 4 GB ram soon, but if the computer is doomed, should I spend the money?

I bought the computer in August of 2008 and never got Apple Care, which is why I haven't taken it in for the battery or screen. I'm hoping I can get some honest answers here, because I might just have to tap into some life savings and buy the new model....

 

[MikhailT]

Reading this thread is terrifying

I have an early 2008 Macbook Pro with the GeForce 8600M GT, and I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the failure of the GeForce a known fact and it's just a matter of time before mine craps out?

2. I've already had the left I/O board replaced, my battery no longer holds a charge since upgrading to Snow Leopard and I have 4 or 5 stuck pixels on the screen. If the 8600M GT goes, should I expect a replacement?

3. I was thinking about upgrading to 4 GB ram soon, but if the computer is doomed, should I spend the money?

I bought the computer in August of 2008 and never got Apple Care, which is why I haven't taken it in for the battery or screen. I'm hoping I can get some honest answers here, because I might just have to tap into some life savings and buy the new model....

1) Yes, a known fact. Apple even told the customers with those GeForce 8600gt failures that they'll extend the AppleCare warranty for three years since the purchase (note for the GPU failures only, not just any issues non related to GPU).

2) No, you need three major system failures (not user replaceable parts such as battery, ram, hd don't count) before they consider replacing it.

3) Not every single card will fail. Some will work forever. It's just random. 4GB DDR2 isn't going to be that expensive. You can buy it and just sell it when your macbook finally dies.

Honestly, just upgrade the RAM. Wait it out if you can, if you get the GPU failure, than you can take it in and possible you could get a brand new MBP or they'll fix all the problems at once for free. Apple don't usually just fix the GPU, they'll do everything at once. It's just cheaper and faster for them to do this instead of just doing one part and than you coming back later with a different problem.

 

[segaton]

They refuse to answer because there's no replacement for it. They are just installing the same crap and hope that it doesn't crap out before the warranty ends.

not cool man. I might just sell it at a small loss and wait to see if the newer ones have the same issue.

 

[grahamnp]

Does anyone know what the approximate failure rate is?

 

[therealseebs]

So far as anyone knows, only the 8600M laptops have that problem. I believe.

 

[MikhailT]

not cool man. I might just sell it at a small loss and wait to see if the newer ones have the same issue.

nVidia learned from their last lesson. They won't pull another mistake like that. I am sure they're increased their QA process on the soldering. Otherwise they'll bankrupt themselves if they pull off another mistake like this. I believe nVidia lost more than $250M just cuz this 8600gt crap.


8600gt was two generations ago, the last generation didn't have this issues and I doubt the new current line will have it.

Does anyone know what the approximate failure rate is?

It's bad enough that almost all laptop manufacturers had to offer warranty extension on the GPUs and nVidia taking more than $250M loss in a quarter. I figure it's much more than 30%.

 

[dexterousdeven]

Just chiming in with my story: I have a 2007 SR MBP, 2.2ghz 128 8600. Bought it in September of 2007, and had my original video card give out around April-May 2009, can't remember exactly what date. Got it replaced, but around October 2009 I had this issue where my laptop would randomly shut off on me and wouldn't turn on for a while, and when it did the fans would be on full speed and the battery charge would go from 100% to 0%. I couldn't afford to leave it at the Apple store, so they just gave me a new power adapter and that seemed to fixed the problem, but around March I started to get artifacts and graphical glitches. My optical drive also wouldn't read discs, so I took it into the Apple store. They replaced my superdrive and my logic board. Because this was my second logic board repair due to graphical card related issues, and the replacement card was the same "revision2" one that I got the first time, I asked the Apple employee how they could be certain this one wouldn't fail as well. He avoided my question and just said that it was a revision so it shouldn't have that problem..My applecare is up this september, so I called Applecare phone support to see if I was eligible for a replacement. The replacement logic board only lasted about 1 year, and I really don't want this current one to go out a year later after my warranty is up...The Applecare CS people told me that because I had just gotten it replaced, they would not replace it but if I needed another repair in the future before my warranty was over they would give me a replacement. Hopefully something will break before then so I can finally get a reliable graphics card, but if not is there anything I can do/say to influence Applecare CS? I'm a college student, and I really can't afford to spend 1000+ for a new logic board or 2000+ for a new macbook pro..

 

[Fry-man22]

So far as anyone knows, only the 8600M laptops have that problem. I believe.

I think the other fellow was asking what % of the 8600M GT fail.

It was 3/3 for me. The deal is if it gets hot/cold/hot/cold it's going to fail - my second one lasted a month. If you guys want them to fail just use the hell out of them and they will die.

By hot and cold I don't mean I put it in the freezer, just normal use...

 

[dexterousdeven]

I think the other fellow was asking what % of the 8600M GT fail.

It was 3/3 for me. The deal is if it gets hot/cold/hot/cold it's going to fail - my second one lasted a month. If you guys want them to fail just use the hell out of them and they will die.

By hot and cold I don't mean I put it in the freezer, just normal use...

By this do you mean hot/cold/hot/cold consecutively?

 

[Eddyisgreat]

I think the other fellow was asking what % of the 8600M GT fail.

It was 3/3 for me. The deal is if it gets hot/cold/hot/cold it's going to fail - my second one lasted a month. If you guys want them to fail just use the hell out of them and they will die.

By hot and cold I don't mean I put it in the freezer, just normal use...

Care to elaborate?

My GPU went out once with what I considered normal usage. But these days I use it at home, take it outside (cool down period), then bring it back inside and turn it on (and the gpu gets pretty hot).

Did you use any type of process to speed up failures? Inquiring minds want to know These days i'm trying to look for problems, not so much to get a replacement, but I need to be more proactive since i'm using my machine for more and more these days. That includes TechTool Deluxe/5 and Apple hardware tests daily

 

[religionisalie]

Well, just had my THIRD 2007 2.2ghz MBP die on me. <1% chance they're gonna replace the logic board free of charge since I don't have AppleCare on it. It's a sad day to be a mac owner indeed. Now I'm even afraid to buy a new MBP, I've lost all faith in nVidia.

 

[Maccleduff]

Sorry to hear that, very unfortunate. Your mac lasted a lot longer than most people's, but eventually they all seem to give out. You are three months inside of the period for free repairs on the gpu. Let's hope you get a free replacement. Post back whatever happens to keep everyone else abreast of the situation.

Got my mac back from repair yesterday. Had Applecare so it didn't cost me anything. They had replaced the logic board, and it seems to be running OK, although I don't know how long this will last. I wonder what Apple will do when the 8600GT cards start failing after the 3 years is up.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Well, just had my THIRD 2007 2.2ghz MBP die on me. <1% chance they're gonna replace the logic board free of charge since I don't have AppleCare on it. It's a sad day to be a mac owner indeed. Now I'm even afraid to buy a new MBP, I've lost all faith in nVidia.

All hope is not lost my friend. The first nvidia Macbook Pros were released in May 2007, right? I expect Apple to come out and address the issue in the following weeks since this is the first round of people who are beyond the three year mark. I doubt they would kick them to the curb only because repairs are done on Nvidia's dime, but it'll be interesting to see a response.

This is from the KB article:

Apple will continue to evaluate the repair data and will provide further repair extensions as needed.

 

[set of dorks]

mine just died yesterday, anyone know if apple are willing to do out of warenty repairs? i got my 2.2 santa rossa when they first came out, so i dont hold out much hope?

 

[religionisalie]

All hope is not lost my friend. The first nvidia Macbook Pros were released in May 2007, right? I expect Apple to come out and address the issue in the following weeks since this is the first round of people who are beyond the three year mark. I doubt they would kick them to the curb only because repairs are done on Nvidia's dime, but it'll be interesting to see a response.

This is from the KB article:

Just got my MBP diagnostics back at an AARC, as I suspected the GPU is gone so the entire logic board needs replacing. The technician advised me to call Apple to see if they'll repair it for free, the thing is though, the last time I had the logic board replaced Apple agreed to cover the cost of the logic board while I paid for the labour to install it. The manager at the time told me that any more repairs on this particular MBP will now come out of MY pocket, they're relinquishing any further responsibility. At the time I was just relived to have the computer repaired that I didn't bother to escalate the situation any further.

The last time I had my MBP's logic board replaced I was transferred from one manager to another, with each new manager higher up in the corporate ladder then the next. In total probably around 2-3 days of calling Apple and having them call me back. I'm guessing the call I'm about to make to Apple now will be 10x worse. Either way, I'll post the results. Though, I think I'm pretty much screwed.

 

[Capt Crunch]

I got this computer for my wife and I've had the logicboard replaced twice now. Her screen is starting to act up again so I took it in a 3rd time. They couldn't reproduce the fault, so they wiggled some connectors and sent me on my way. It's still happening. What recourse do I have since I don't have applecare? It's bogus that Apple puts out faulty components like this, I planned to keep the computer for a good 5+ years, I can't afford to get another one right now.

 

[MikhailT]

Just got my MBP diagnostics back at an AARC, as I suspected the GPU is gone so the entire logic board needs replacing. The technician advised me to call Apple to see if they'll repair it for free, the thing is though, the last time I had the logic board replaced Apple agreed to cover the cost of the logic board while I paid for the labour to install it. The manager at the time told me that any more repairs on this particular MBP will now come out of MY pocket, they're relinquishing any further responsibility. At the time I was just relived to have the computer repaired that I didn't bother to escalate the situation any further.

The last time I had my MBP's logic board replaced I was transferred from one manager to another, with each new manager higher up in the corporate ladder then the next. In total probably around 2-3 days of calling Apple and having them call me back. I'm guessing the call I'm about to make to Apple now will be 10x worse. Either way, I'll post the results. Though, I think I'm pretty much screwed.

Apple posted the warranty information online, all you have to do is refer to them when talking to the AppleCare about it.

I got this computer for my wife and I've had the logicboard replaced twice now. Her screen is starting to act up again so I took it in a 3rd time. They couldn't reproduce the fault, so they wiggled some connectors and sent me on my way. It's still happening. What recourse do I have since I don't have applecare? It's bogus that Apple puts out faulty components like this, I planned to keep the computer for a good 5+ years, I can't afford to get another one right now.

Apple didn't design the faulty components and almost nobody knew it was going to be defective until everybody started to see the failures at once. Every laptops containing those chips had it failed. My sister's Dell had two of it and already replaced it twice.

Your only recourse is continue to cal Apple and have it repaired or ask for a replacement.

 

[Skpd]

Went in this morning because mine finally started to act up. After booting the computer the tech saw horizontal lines on the boot up screen.

Now it is getting repaired along with the superdrive and keyboard. Really wish they would have just replaced it so I dont have to deal with it again later on!

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

+1 GPU Failure

Well I didn't think it would happen to me, but my '07 MBP SR 2.2 crapped out this morning. After backing up some files, I shut down the computer and when I powered it back up... no display. Took it in to Apple and it failed their tests. They'll be replacing the logic board, hopefully with the Ver/Rev2.

Anyone know how to check if they installed the second version or revision of the logic board?

This all comes on the heel's of my AppleCare warrenty running out... which will be good through November of this year. What will happen if it fails again outside the warrenty period.

 

[MikhailT]

Let's get one thing clear for everybody. Do not set your expectations high for revision two board, a LOT of people who got the revision 2 has gotten the same failure. It does not fix the problem, it has the same defective 8600gt chips. Revision 2 does not help at all.

 

[hallaisen]

I have a 2008 MBP with the 8600M GT card, and its working ok so far. However, I am wondering if I am out of luck when it fails, as I have previously replaced the original HD with a flash HD myself? I mean, does this void the extended warranty on the graphics card?

 

[MikhailT]

I have a 2008 MBP with the 8600M GT card, and its working ok so far. However, I am wondering if I am out of luck when it fails, as I have previously replaced the original HD with a flash HD myself? I mean, does this void the extended warranty on the graphics card?

Technically yes, since it's not a user-replaceable field part and they can reject you just on that. All you have to do is replace the flash hd back with the original HD. You didn't throw it out right?

I have SSD in my MBP and replaced it with original HD every time I took it back, no problems.

I have seen some reports of people getting their SSD replaced with HD due to Apple thinking it's the cause of the issue and they replaced it with an original HD. So, I strongly suggest you replace it back to the original HD before taking it back.