Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Some 2011 MacBook Pros Experiencing GPU Glitches, System Crashes
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Got my macbook pro back. They got it Tuesday and called me Fri afternoon to tell me it was back from repairs. $330 total including tax and labor. Ugh. Good thing my company will be footing the bill since I use my macbook for business use.
Overall, it's working well. GPU is at 94F and CPU is 103F doing nothing but surfing. GPU goes to 117F when I started with Photoshop and working (zooming in and panning a large psd).
So far so good. I asked if they used new parts of refurbished and she said she they use both and isn't able to tell. I just hope I dont wind up with the same issue again.
Overall, it's working well. GPU is at 94F and CPU is 103F doing nothing but surfing. GPU goes to 117F when I started with Photoshop and working (zooming in and panning a large psd).
So far so good. I asked if they used new parts of refurbished and she said she they use both and isn't able to tell. I just hope I dont wind up with the same issue again.
I don't think so. I had the DVD player replaced and apple cleaned out all the dust. A few months later the GPU failed on my 2011 MacBook.
In some countries there is either a legislative or common law principle of fitness for purpose. Here in Australia companies were forced to give 2 year warranty on iPhones because telcos offered 2 year plans ergo a phone should last at least 2 years. I haven't heard of anyone pushing this principle for laptops and if so how many years they should last, but I'd like to see someone do it. A laptop should last at least 3 years.
This problem causes from Java SE Runtime 6
My MBP could not turn on twice by this problem.
And I found this problem causes from Java SE Runtime 6.
When we use a Java application on OS X Mavericks at first time,
the dialog says "You need to install Java SE Runtime 6. Will you install?"
But Java SE Runtime 6 has no compatibility to 64bit mode with Mavericks, I guess.
I installed Java SE Runtime 7 in yesterday, this package can download from Oracle Java Site.
http://www.java.com/
After install Java SE Runtime 7, I have no trouble at this time.
If you have trouble with this problem, please try this way.
My MBP could not turn on twice by this problem.
And I found this problem causes from Java SE Runtime 6.
When we use a Java application on OS X Mavericks at first time,
the dialog says "You need to install Java SE Runtime 6. Will you install?"
But Java SE Runtime 6 has no compatibility to 64bit mode with Mavericks, I guess.
I installed Java SE Runtime 7 in yesterday, this package can download from Oracle Java Site.
http://www.java.com/
After install Java SE Runtime 7, I have no trouble at this time.
If you have trouble with this problem, please try this way.
I had my 2011 MBP AMD 6750 die on me a couple months. Cost me $601 to replace the logic board. I'm selling it and getting a used mid 2012 MacBook Pro with the Nvidia 650M gpu.
Unbelievable how Apple dismisses this flaw. I've had a PowerMac and a Mac Pro last me more than 5 years each, my I've bought 4 other Macbooks for family members and all worked without a problem but MY first laptop couldnt even last more than 2 years before completely dying.
Unbelievable how Apple dismisses this flaw. I've had a PowerMac and a Mac Pro last me more than 5 years each, my I've bought 4 other Macbooks for family members and all worked without a problem but MY first laptop couldnt even last more than 2 years before completely dying.
Howdy. I have the same laptop, AppleCare also ends this November and my MacBook Pro had this issue on January 23. Left with Genius Bar on 25th and I'm still waiting for a repair.
This is my second logic board replacement (last May) so I'm hoping it doesn't bork up straight away. Regardless I'll sell it in August and get a new one before AC expires.
I need one for work and really hope I'm not stuck on my phone or iPad mini too much longer.
Insufferable devices for real world applications when you work online.
Some 2011 MacBook Pros Experiencing GPU Glitches, System Crashes
Ugh, I'm definitely sorry to hear that. you already had a board replacement, too? No bueno. No one wants to go through that with their machine.
I've been helping to mitigate the usage of my MBP since at my campus our macs are outfitted with Logic Pro X and Abode CS6, my apps of choice for production, which helps tremendously. I'm able to use the Logic Pro Remote app on my iPad and do production here, save in the cloud, and pull it down when I return home. That, in addition to much of my entertainment consumption's been offloaded to my mini and Roku box, I suppose I may be eeking some life outta mine. In any event, I know my next purchase after an iPhone 6 and maybe a new mini will most likely be an iMac, since I'm see I'm not doing as much mobile production as I thought I would be doing. Hopefully this MBP continues to serve when I get to that point and beyond when I do indeed need mobile production.
Ugh, I'm definitely sorry to hear that. you already had a board replacement, too? No bueno. No one wants to go through that with their machine.
I've been helping to mitigate the usage of my MBP since at my campus our macs are outfitted with Logic Pro X and Abode CS6, my apps of choice for production, which helps tremendously. I'm able to use the Logic Pro Remote app on my iPad and do production here, save in the cloud, and pull it down when I return home. That, in addition to much of my entertainment consumption's been offloaded to my mini and Roku box, I suppose I may be eeking some life outta mine. In any event, I know my next purchase after an iPhone 6 and maybe a new mini will most likely be an iMac, since I'm see I'm not doing as much mobile production as I thought I would be doing. Hopefully this MBP continues to serve when I get to that point and beyond when I do indeed need mobile production.
How hot is too hot?
Early 2011 Macbook Pro 17"
I had this exact problem. Fortunately, I was under Apple Care.
The Apple Genius Bar replaced my Logic Board and battery.
However, it still gets really hot and I have to use smcFanControl to try to mitigate it. But it's still hot!
My fans are at 5500 rpms and the temperature is around 180ºF, 83ºC. Is that too hot? What do I do?
Early 2011 Macbook Pro 17"
I had this exact problem. Fortunately, I was under Apple Care.
The Apple Genius Bar replaced my Logic Board and battery.
However, it still gets really hot and I have to use smcFanControl to try to mitigate it. But it's still hot!
My fans are at 5500 rpms and the temperature is around 180ºF, 83ºC. Is that too hot? What do I do?
Those of you that have had apple replace the laptop which model would they replace it with, the Intel Iris Pro Graphics only or the Iris Pro with dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5 memory.
I have an Early '11 2.2GHz with the Radeon HD 6750M 1GB GDDR5. Its my understanding that they would have to swap out like for like or better, is the Iris pro that much better than the 6750 for them to not give the model with a NVIDIA GT 750m.
I have an Early '11 2.2GHz with the Radeon HD 6750M 1GB GDDR5. Its my understanding that they would have to swap out like for like or better, is the Iris pro that much better than the 6750 for them to not give the model with a NVIDIA GT 750m.
and of course i own one that has these issues. and these issues have been going on for awhile now. and no real fix from apple. lucky me 
Some 2011 MacBook Pros Experiencing GPU Glitches, System Crashes
Hi Guys, I joined the happy club of screwed macs this afternoon.
It is a mbpro 8,2 Early 2011 15'' MC721LL/A (with maverics).
It happened for the first time while I was launching Photoshop, the screen suddenly turned black. I forced the shut down and rebooted.
After the computer is powered on I can see the normal gray screen with the apple logo in the center. As soon as the wheel starts spinning the screen turns blue, and there's nothing else I can do.
Tried to boot from usb, but I get the same result.
The computer looks just dead.... and it sounds quite annoying that after an expensive repair it could even run into the same issue again
Hi Guys, I joined the happy club of screwed macs this afternoon.
It is a mbpro 8,2 Early 2011 15'' MC721LL/A (with maverics).
It happened for the first time while I was launching Photoshop, the screen suddenly turned black. I forced the shut down and rebooted.
After the computer is powered on I can see the normal gray screen with the apple logo in the center. As soon as the wheel starts spinning the screen turns blue, and there's nothing else I can do.
Tried to boot from usb, but I get the same result.
The computer looks just dead.... and it sounds quite annoying that after an expensive repair it could even run into the same issue again
Last edited:
Guys we all have to put pressure on Apple to resolve this problem. We've invested too much money for a faulty product.
Please sign and circulate this petition.
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitio...pt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition
With enough people rattling the cage we are bound to get some action.
Please sign and circulate this petition.
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitio...pt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition
With enough people rattling the cage we are bound to get some action.
Some 2011 MacBook Pros Experiencing GPU Glitches, System Crashes
Mine is out of warranty, I must say I'd be happy to pay Apple for a durable/permanent fix, but I really want to be sure it is a permanent one and not a waste of (a lot of) money!
Did they give you any technical explanation about the issue you suffered?
Mine is out of warranty, I must say I'd be happy to pay Apple for a durable/permanent fix, but I really want to be sure it is a permanent one and not a waste of (a lot of) money!
Did they give you any technical explanation about the issue you suffered?
Not really. "Searched for errors. Needs a new logic board.", the log says. Then they performed various tests on it after, and seemed happy enough to return it to me.
This is so weird that thousands of users are having the exact same problem within weeks of each other.
My early-2011 MBP died last night. I was working in AutoCAD with several larger raster images loaded, the screen went glitchy and locked up. Will not reboot now EXCEPT in Windows Safe Mode.. which I'm guessing uses the integrated video card. All I get is a grey screen when I try to boot into either OS.. F this.
My early-2011 MBP died last night. I was working in AutoCAD with several larger raster images loaded, the screen went glitchy and locked up. Will not reboot now EXCEPT in Windows Safe Mode.. which I'm guessing uses the integrated video card. All I get is a grey screen when I try to boot into either OS.. F this.
we bought 6 2011 MBP at work, 4 failed
the failure happened after a year of use - Apple Italy refused to make the repair under warranty "as it's not a known issue" and "your business bought them so you only get 1 year warranty" - I did get the impression that if my MBPs were private then they would have helped.
The repair cost about 500 euro each (431 +VAT), and involved replacing the entire motherboard. Apple had to order specifically the motherboards, so they will be aware as a company - how many MBP mobos are being re-ordered and whether this is statistically more significant than other previous MBP lines.
My understanding of the fault is that in the 2011 MBP the Quad-core intel i7 and the discrete AMD Radeon HD 6750M/1GB GPU share a small heatsink, which can over time damage the GPU. Is it due to the focus of the heat issues on a single heat disposal element?
Note that from my experience - around 75% of 2011 MBP will fail!
full details of a couple of my failed MBP's here :
#1 MACBOOK PRO (15-INCH, EARLY 2011) Serial: C02FX50xxx CPU: Quad Core i7 2.2GHz HDD 750GB 8GB RAM
Diagnosi Problema: video intermittente GPU stressato
Questo MBP Serial C02FX50xxx e stato analizzato da Apple e richiede un nuovo Logic Board 2.2GHz 661-5852
#2 MACBOOK PRO (15-INCH, EARLY 2011) Serial C02GC2xxx CPU: Quad Core i7 2.2GHz HDD 500GB 8GB RAM
Diagnosi Problema 1: CPU stressato, ventilatore a 200% quando CPU supera 10% di attività
Diagnosi Problema 2: Batteria dura poco
I have to say that since the repair my primary MBP has worked fine, but then I treat it much more carefully and don't hardly use the discrete video card,
#2 Above "was repaired" but still has 200% fan when the CPU activity goes above 10%, one of the other failed MBPs is working with a new mobo and the 4th is still struggling with occasional intermittent video.
for home use, instead of an MBP, I bought cool-running Core-i3 Mac mini - as I can't see that mini having heat issues when just outside of warranty! I bought my daughter an enterprise class Lenovo Core-i3 for her college instead of a MacBook Pro. It hasn't melted yet!
I lost some trust in Apple over this design quality error and and over the mis-direction of the company concerning the denial of the fault. Four out of six is not a single data point - it's a whole quality graph of failure.
the failure happened after a year of use - Apple Italy refused to make the repair under warranty "as it's not a known issue" and "your business bought them so you only get 1 year warranty" - I did get the impression that if my MBPs were private then they would have helped.
The repair cost about 500 euro each (431 +VAT), and involved replacing the entire motherboard. Apple had to order specifically the motherboards, so they will be aware as a company - how many MBP mobos are being re-ordered and whether this is statistically more significant than other previous MBP lines.
My understanding of the fault is that in the 2011 MBP the Quad-core intel i7 and the discrete AMD Radeon HD 6750M/1GB GPU share a small heatsink, which can over time damage the GPU. Is it due to the focus of the heat issues on a single heat disposal element?
Note that from my experience - around 75% of 2011 MBP will fail!
full details of a couple of my failed MBP's here :
#1 MACBOOK PRO (15-INCH, EARLY 2011) Serial: C02FX50xxx CPU: Quad Core i7 2.2GHz HDD 750GB 8GB RAM
Diagnosi Problema: video intermittente GPU stressato
Questo MBP Serial C02FX50xxx e stato analizzato da Apple e richiede un nuovo Logic Board 2.2GHz 661-5852
#2 MACBOOK PRO (15-INCH, EARLY 2011) Serial C02GC2xxx CPU: Quad Core i7 2.2GHz HDD 500GB 8GB RAM
Diagnosi Problema 1: CPU stressato, ventilatore a 200% quando CPU supera 10% di attività
Diagnosi Problema 2: Batteria dura poco
I have to say that since the repair my primary MBP has worked fine, but then I treat it much more carefully and don't hardly use the discrete video card,
#2 Above "was repaired" but still has 200% fan when the CPU activity goes above 10%, one of the other failed MBPs is working with a new mobo and the 4th is still struggling with occasional intermittent video.
for home use, instead of an MBP, I bought cool-running Core-i3 Mac mini - as I can't see that mini having heat issues when just outside of warranty! I bought my daughter an enterprise class Lenovo Core-i3 for her college instead of a MacBook Pro. It hasn't melted yet!
I lost some trust in Apple over this design quality error and and over the mis-direction of the company concerning the denial of the fault. Four out of six is not a single data point - it's a whole quality graph of failure.
Did you go to a physical apple store?? In case, which one? (I guess you're Italian, right? I am Italian too and I'd like to know where you brought your broken mbpro).
I got the same issue, and I'm still considering all the different repair options (first in the list is a good reball even if that would mean shipping my laptop to the UK).
I believe I had the same issue, but got the motherboard replaced under AppleCare. Interestingly, they burn the serial number from the defective board into the new one, right there at the Apple Store, so that there are no issues with having a discontinuity in those.
Hi Caru, Yes, I got my first MBP diagnosis at the 'real' Apple Store in Carosello, I-20061 Carugate Milano. They didn't have stock of the new 2,2GHz mobo, but did a free complete full diagnosis and quote. (If you've paid IVA on your MBP then I think they could be helpful enough to make a free repair) I've found the Carosello store to be very fair and transparent, solving many problems for me over the years. They have previously done 500 euro level repairs free-of-charge for me, even outside of warranty - when you can make a nice presentation of the facts to the genius and explain how you contribute & proselytise for the Apple eco-system.
In the end, because my business had a contract with Elmec.it , my MBPs were repaired there. The price was exactly the same as the Apple quotation, Elmec even had to make an online remote connection of my MBP to Apple servers - at the end of the repair - as part of the quality control procedure - perhaps the serial number install as Dominik mentioned.
Elmec themselves probably wrongly diagnosed one of the faulty 2011 MBPs, I'd strongly suggest instead getting the official quote from the physical AppleStore, wherever possible. Elmec allegedly thought the faulty GPU symptoms were caused by a swelling battery - that was a 231 repair - but never actually helped!
No, I'm not (yet) Italian, just a happy guest for the last decade in your great country!
Thanks cyclotron,
Since I live in Rome I think I'll try one of the apple stores around this area, Milan is definitely too far
I don't expect much, but at least I want them to diagnose the problem and record it. I think it is the only way to possibly have one day this issue acknowledged by Apple.
I'll put my best effort to be constructive and willing to find a good solution. I'll let you know how it goes.
P.s. Does your nick name have anything to do with your job? I'm asking just because I do work with cyclotrons