MacBook Pro errors due to bad NVIDIA hardware?
updated 01:35 pm EDT, Fri August 8, 2008
NVIDIA fault in MacBooks
Long-standing graphics errors in MacBook Pros may be directly attributable to faulty hardware from NVIDIA, reports say. Although NVIDIA has denied accounts of problems in its G84- and G86-based mobile graphics cards, other sources say they have learned that all cards with the chips -- including the GeForce 8600M GT used in MacBook Pros -- may be prone to failure, likely due to ineffective material causing overheating.
Pro owners have been regularly complaining of systems that continue to function, but display only a blank screen when powered on. Investigation has shown that the computers are misidentifying NVIDIA cards as integrated Intel chips, which may be a sign of hardware failure, possibly forcing MacBooks to revert to secondary graphics.












My MacBook Pro did this
08/08, 02:18pm reply
I had these exact problems (and more) with my 1 year old MacBook Pro.
I've used Apple products for about 15 years and have helped bring a number of individuals to the Mac platform. Of all the Macs I've used and owned, this Macbook Pro has given me the most trouble.
I have already sent it to Apple service twice to replace logic board and hard drive components. Even this week the hard drive failed -AGAIN- and I installed a new one myself (since the warranty ran out in June).
The Macbook Pro's, at least from this time period, seem to have a very high "lemon" percentage. It's a shame to pay $3000 and get lockups, black screens, "jumbled" screens, hard drive failures, etc., etc. for an entire year.
With the new hard drive installation, it seems to be running smoothly. However, it's only been 2 days. ;-)
Smurfman
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2001
happened to me. :(
08/08, 02:22pm reply
My MacBook Pro which I purchased in June of last year died like this. I'm out of warrenty, and neglected to purchase AppleCare, so I took the laptop into The Apple Store, and was told that the logic board needed to be replaced due to a faulty NVIDIA graphics card... cost to me was going to be $317 tax.
Since I bought a replacement when this happened, I opted instead to wait and see if Apple does the right thing. I posted a message on Apple's forums expressing my issues, and had my post deleted by a moderator... :(
I hope Apple steps up here. This is obviously a hardware problem which should be covered by a recall or something like that.
sUNtiGEn
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2002
Seeing this a lot
08/08, 02:36pm reply
We've been seeing overheating video chipsets in other Apple models as well. I think this is part of the result of the market demanding that Macs get less expensive. Unfortunately, it also means they get less reliable.
panjandrum
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2004
Me too
08/08, 02:48pm reply
My MacBook Pro is away at Apple having the logic board replaced as I type this. Luckily (if there is any luck in this situation), it happened just a week and a half before my warranty was set to expire. After reading up on the issue I decided to extend the Apple Care on my MacBook Pro since this will not be the first time the faulty Nvidia GPU goes bad. I'm hoping for an official recall from Nvidia but on the Windows side they've done nothing but suggest that the bios allow the fans to run more often to cool the chip. Failure is inevitable and they are just delaying it.
Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
Not Me
08/08, 03:01pm reply
Purchased my new MB Pro last September (17" Santa Rosa). Been working perfectly ever since. Just thought I'd try to balance things out a bit.
Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
Me three
08/08, 03:04pm reply
My Macbook Pro which I purchased in 2006 died last week. You could hear the fan running and see the light on front, but there was no startup sound and there was just a dark screen. I brought in into my local Apple Store, and they said that the logic board had failed and needed to be replaced.
rtamesis
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Early adopter advantage
08/08, 03:07pm reply
I never thought I'd actually see an advantage to being an early adopter. I have a first-generation MacBook Pro with an ATI X1600 Mobile chipset and haven't had a bit of trouble with the graphics.
TheBum
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2001
What, no zealots...
08/08, 03:25pm reply
... rushing to the defence of Apple? To drag up some recent history, remember that the iBook logic board problem a few years back that Apple actually admitted to (eventually) was a graphics chip issue also and by coincidence, heat related. On that occasion the (ATI) chips mounted using BGA technology were becoming unseated as a consequence of either or both thermal and physical stress. I had an iBook fail four times under Applecare and, like Smurfman, the fifth (hard-disk) failure, out of warranty, I fixed myself. Where are the fanbois now?
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
Re: seeing this a lot
08/08, 03:44pm reply
I think this is part of the result of the market demanding that Macs get less expensive. Unfortunately, it also means they get less reliable.
I'm sorry, my MBP cost $2500, add in $350 for AppleCare (which I feel is a no-brainer for any computer with built-in screen, esp. a laptop, regardless of maker). I'd hate to see what Apple would be charging for 'more reliable' components.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
oh...
08/08, 03:52pm reply
and, like TheBum, I'm apparently a lucky one with a Radeon 1600 card.
And just went to the 'genius' bar to get my battery replaced, since it was defective (despite there being an extended replacement plan or some such nonsense on it, I had to be given a lecture about how battery life diminishes over time and isn't normally covered, but he gave me a 'break' and replaced it anyway).
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001