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Unibody MBP—Graphics Problem—Successfully Resolved?

C

clubvulgar

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2008
26
0
I, like many others, am experiencing graphics problems (line down screen, freezes, black screen, blocky/garbled streaming) on my new Unibody MBP—with both the 9400 and the 9600gt.

There is plenty of discussion on what (and who) is at fault for the problem. And even temporary solutions (I'm using smcFanControl to minimize the problems).

But my question is, is there anyone who has successfully resolved the problem?

Did you take it to Apple Care? What did they replace (logic board, graphics card, both)?

Thanks!
 
clubvulgar said:
I, like many others, am experiencing graphics problems (line down screen, freezes, black screen, blocky/garbled streaming) on my new Unibody MBP—with both the 9400 and the 9600gt.

There is plenty of discussion on what (and who) is at fault for the problem. And even temporary solutions (I'm using smcFanControl to minimize the problems).

But my question is, is there anyone who has successfully resolved the problem?

Did you take it to Apple Care? What did they replace (logic board, graphics card, both)?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The graphics cards are both soldered to the logic board so if you had the graphics cards replaced you would get a new logic board too and vice versa :)
 
I have a "power line" in the middle of my screen that appears and disappears quickly sometimes. Not sure what the cause of the problem is. Is this what you are referring to? Also, I was watching a video on youtube and my whole screen turned black and had multi colored lines at the top. This was all within 20 minutes of starting my machine up. Is this a bad graphics card or what?
 
Could you post here the revision of your GPU? You can get this info from the GPU-Z utility in Windows.

You can download the program from:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

I have a GPU in my Unibody MBP from C1 revision and so far I'm not experiencing any problems. Maybe some older revisions are suffering from this problem.
 
glmonte said:
Could you post here the revision of your GPU? You can get this info from the GPU-Z utility in Windows.

You can download the program from:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

I have a GPU in my Unibody MBP from C1 revision and so far I'm not experiencing any problems. Maybe some older revisions are suffering from this problem.
Click to expand...

I don't have windows installed, also I just got my comp about 2 weeks ago.
 
Its not a graphics card problem if its happening with both cards, its a problem with your logic board (motherboard) and/or connection to the LCD screen. Take it to your apple store and they'll replace the laptop for you if its less than 14 days old, if its more than 14 days they will replace the logic board for you, which is a pretty major operation but wont take too long, you wont loose any data so dont worry. You want to do it now while your laptop still has warranty (1 year) or it will cost you $600.
 
anyone else with a similar problem to me? Best I can describe it is it looks like a power line across the middle of the screen when looking at video or pictures. Only happens occasionally and happens for about a second then goes away. Recently was watching a YouTube video and the screen just turned black with scrambled pixels at the top and I had to restart. Should I take to Apple or just monitor the problem for now? This is my 3rd Unibody.
 
Do you have iStat installed on OSX?

What are the CPU/GPU temperatures while idle/gaming?

My 2.53GHz CPU is about 40C while doing common tasks like using Safari, doing some lite programming etc.

I'm mainly using the 9400, and it is about 35C while idle.

In Windows I don't know the CPU temperatures, but the 9600 is 65C while idle.
 
glmonte said:
Do you have iStat installed on OSX?

What are the CPU/GPU temperatures while idle/gaming?

My 2.53GHz CPU is about 40C while doing common tasks like using Safari, doing some lite programming etc.

I'm mainly using the 9400, and it is about 35C while idle.

In Windows I don't know the CPU temperatures, but the 9600 is 65C while idle.
Click to expand...

Not sure about temps but this happens while doing light work and often within first 20 minutes of start up.
 
running cool

glmonte your system runs comparably cool compared to mine and many others around here. I am between 55-65c under normal operations and get as high as 98c under heavy use (ie: gaming). This is all with the 9600gt. Typically I run in the high 40s to low 50s under normal operating with the 9400, but have not gamed on it bc all my stuff is in windows.
 
Played Crysis for more than 2 hours and the highest GPU temperature GPU-Z reported was 79C.

Unfortunately I don't know how to measure CPU temperatures in Windows...
 
TheSVD said:
Am i the only guy without these problems?
Seriously, is there ANYONE else on these forums with a unibody MBP that doesnt haven any gfx problems whatsoever?
Click to expand...
I haven't had any graphics problems, and I've had it since a week after launch.

Temps stay reasonable. I played a lot of COD5 pretty much every day for 2 weeks in November and temps didn't go over 80c on the 9600m, and the 9400 stays cool in OSX.
 
TheSVD said:
Am i the only guy without these problems?
Seriously, is there ANYONE else on these forums with a unibody MBP that doesnt haven any gfx problems whatsoever?
Click to expand...
I haven't had any graphics problems, and I've had it since a week after launch.

Temps stay reasonable. I played a lot of COD5 pretty much every day for 2 weeks in November and temps didn't go over 80c on the 9600m, and the 9400 stays cool in OSX.

edit: my biggest complaint is that the hinge squeaks a bit when I close the MBP.

edit: crap, I somehow double posted making the previous edit. Sorry.
 
anyone have any problems similar to mine? I cant replicate it so should I be concerned and take to the apple store or just monitor it?
 
being the thread starter, i obviously have the problem.

it's not messing up any of my daily tasks, but it does get annoying when i stream or watch movies.

i will he taking it to the apple store, hopefully to get the logic board replaced (since it happens with both cards, the 9400 and the 9600gt).

i'll keep everyone posted on what they replace, how long it takes, and what the results are!
 
clubvulgar said:
being the thread starter, i obviously have the problem.

it's not messing up any of my daily tasks, but it does get annoying when i stream or watch movies.

i will he taking it to the apple store, hopefully to get the logic board replaced (since it happens with both cards, the 9400 and the 9600gt).

i'll keep everyone posted on what they replace, how long it takes, and what the results are!
Click to expand...

Is what I described similar to your problem?
 
bigdb11 said:
Have you figured out anything that makes it happen? Also, is it like mine which is random?
Click to expand...

Ok, most recent problem(s):

Red or turquoise power line down the entire screen, roughly in the middle. It happens on both the 9400 and the 9600gt, and remains when I switch between them (thru Energy Saver pane, with logout).

I have tried to Screen Grab, to see if the lines shows up in the image. When try this, the computer makes the clicking noise (like the shutter of a camera). Afterwards, the screen freezes except for the ability to move the mouse (but unable to click, select, or engage the screen in any way). Only solution, hard reboot.

I have sucessfully Screen Grabbed twice, both of which did not show a line down the screen.


The source of the power line in the first place does seem arbitrary. But it does happen more frequently after playing video (dvd or streaming). It's up right now as I type.
 
clubvulgar said:
Ok, most recent problem(s):

Red or turquoise power line down the entire screen, roughly in the middle. It happens on both the 9400 and the 9600gt, and remains when I switch between them (thru Energy Saver pane, with logout).

I have tried to Screen Grab, to see if the lines shows up in the image. When try this, the computer makes the clicking noise (like the shutter of a camera). Afterwards, the screen freezes except for the ability to move the mouse (but unable to click, select, or engage the screen in any way). Only solution, hard reboot.

I have sucessfully Screen Grabbed twice, both of which did not show a line down the screen.


The source of the power line in the first place does seem arbitrary. But it does happen more frequently after playing video (dvd or streaming). It's up right now as I type.
Click to expand...

Since I experienced the black screen I have not been seeing the power line and the black screen hasn't happened again. I also switched back and forth between the 9400 and 9600. Currently, I am on the 9600 and have tried to make the power line appear again and the screen turn black again but I cant. For now, I'm going to monitor the situation and see what happens. I'm going to purchase the apple care before the year is up that way in case there is a problem with the graphics card, I'm covered. I have a feeling this is more a software/driver issue otherwise the card would have given out by now or keep displaying a black screen or power line every time i stream video or look at pictures.

Let me know what happens with yours or if you take it in to apple and what they say. I'll keep on the lookout for this happening with mine. Also, if you notice anything that makes it happen every time let me know so I can try it.
 
They have now changed the motherboard twice in my unibody macbook pro.
The random freeze persist. :mad:
 
If the power line is a brightly coloured single pixed line down the screen, I think its the LCD panel. They replaced mine in December because of a different issue, and the new one had these lines towards the left hand side.

If you move the screen up and down you might be able to see it come and go - its to do with the connection to the panel, and needs a new LCD panel.
 
duklaprague said:
If the power line is a brightly coloured single pixed line down the screen, I think its the LCD panel. They replaced mine in December because of a different issue, and the new one had these lines towards the left hand side.

If you move the screen up and down you might be able to see it come and go - its to do with the connection to the panel, and needs a new LCD panel.
Click to expand...

Mine is a horizontal line that only seems to appear randomly. Not sure if its the LCD or vid card.
 
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