Apple admits Nvidia flaw in MacBook Pro

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 13th October 2008
Comments (8) Stumble
Apple admits Nvidia flaw in MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro units fitted with GeForce 8600M graphics may need a free repair from Apple due to a manufacturing defect in the GPU.

It would appear that Dell isn't the only company looking to help out customers on the wrong end of the faulty Nvidia GPU debaclé, with Apple announcing that it will replace or repair MacBook Pros containing the affected chips.

Despite claims by Nvidia that Mac systems weren't affected by the reports of faulty graphics chips the company made, Apple has decided to play things safe. According to BetaNews, the Cupertino-based company is following Dell's lead and offering an extension to existing warranties and free repairs for systems affected by the manufacturing flaw.

The support document on Apple's website warns that owners of MacBook Pro 15 and 17-inch units featuring Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics chips manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008 may be affected by the issue, which manifests itself as “distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen [or] no video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on.”

Affected customers are advised to take their laptops to their nearest Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider for evaluation. If you've already shelled out on a repair that you're fairly certain is due to the graphics issue, then the good news is that Apple is willing to refund you the cost of the repair if you get in touch.

Have any of our readers encountered issues with their Nvidia-equipped MacBooks that they're currently in the process of getting sorted, or is the problem rarer than these reports would have us believe? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote Firehed 13th October 2008, 09:36
My current MBP hasn't exerted this issue (though this is a replacement for one of the first models, and that had a similar problem; one-off thing though), definitely falls in the range though.
Quote ozstrike 13th October 2008, 12:00
Mine falls in the range, maybe it'll die soon and I can get a new one :p
Quote dragontail 13th October 2008, 12:46
^ Haha, +1
Quote dragontail 13th October 2008, 12:49
BTW out of interest, if your own an older generation MBP and it dies under warranty, would Apple give you a newer generation replacement?
Quote Ninja_182 13th October 2008, 15:59
Im still waiting for the courier to come and get my explosive G4 battery, shame they wont be sending out new MBPs to those with faulty ones then failing to collect them :p

Stealth Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by dragontail
BTW out of interest, if your own an older generation MBP and it dies under warranty, would Apple give you a newer generation replacement?

Probably not, I got my LCD panel replaced under the 'patchy display scheme thingy'. By this time they had increased the resolution of the screens and I still got fitted with the older 1280x845 one.
Quote ozstrike 13th October 2008, 16:22
I dunno how they'd replace the faulty chips though, cause they can't exactly just put a new one in if all of them are supposedly problematic.
Quote Ninja_182 14th October 2008, 14:43
Quote:
Originally Posted by ozstrike
I dunno how they'd replace the faulty chips though, cause they can't exactly just put a new one in if all of them are supposedly problematic.

Probably a direct logic board replacement, just about impossible to remove and replace the problematic chips. As for not knowing which ones are not faulty to put in, they will probably get a batch with nvidia's promise they are okay.
Quote riggs 16th April 2009, 18:56
Major bumpity-bump but what the hell...

I have a MBP, purchased May 2008 which has been top notch so far, but recently has decided to not play nice with my TV anymore. I'm using a DVI -> HDMI cable to hook it up to my Sony Bravia (720p) and it was flawless up until recently. The TV now just states "out of range' no matter which resolution I choose (although the MBP still recognises it as a 'Sony TV'). I'm just using a cheapo cable but I have borrowed my mates £50 QED cable but it makes no difference.
I've also tried the 2nd HDMI port on my TV (which my PS3 is hooked up to) but it still displays the 'out of range' message.

However, it still outputs ok to a standard VGA LCD using the official Apple DVI->VGA adaptor.

My question is, can I self evaluate my machine as I don't really want to make a 4-hour round trip to my nearest Apple store?
Really need to find out whether my machine is affected as the standard warranty runs out on May 24th.
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