View this article at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/10/10/apple.on.mbp.video.errors/

Friday, Oct 10, 2008 9:25am

Apple faults NVIDIA in MacB...

NVIDIA's graphics hardware is behind ongoing video problems with the MacBook Pro, Apple now says. A number of owners have been complaining of Pros that are technically continuing to function, but only displaying a blank screen when turned on; probing is said to have discovered that NVIDIA cards were being misreported as integrated Intel chips. Apple now says that this, as well as instances of "distorted or scrambled" video, can be linked to defects in some of NVIDIA's GeForce 8600M GT cards.

Apple in fact lays blame on NVIDIA, noting that while the latter admitted to some hardware failures in July, it told Apple that Macs should be unaffected.

In compensation, Apple says that if an owner's 8600M GT has already failed, or may eventually fail within two years of purchase, the company will repair the system for free, regardless of warranty coverage. Affected Pros are said to have been built between May 2007 and September 2008, and include 2.2 and 2.4GHz versions of the 15-inch system, the 2.4GHz 17-inch model, and any Pro sold in "early" 2008.