October 10, 2008
Apple says some MacBook Pro Nvidia chips are flaky
Posted Oct. 10, ’08, 8:37 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Troubleshooting
Ruh roh. If you’ve been noticing issues with your MacBook Pro when it comes to graphics performance, don’t worry—it’s not your eyes. Something else—something far more sinister—is at work here. It seems that some of the Nvidia graphics chips in certain MacBook Pros are defective. Straight from the horse’s mouth (if that horse is Mr. Ed, anyway):
Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
Cupertino also takes the opportunity to take a dig at their supplier, pointing out that Nvidia had acknowledged higher failure rates back in July, but had assured Apple that the batches provided to it were unaffected. Whoops.
Affected models were manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008, including 17” 2.4GHz MacBook Pros, 15” 2.4/2.2GHz models, and the early 2008 model. If you’ve got one of these models and are experiencing distorted or scrambled video, no video, or hair loss (from pulling out your hair because of no video), then you may be affected. Give ‘em a ring.
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Honestly, this short warranty extension is the Apple behavior that bothers me the most. Someone who bought in May 2007 can only hope their video dies before May 2009, because even if it doesn't it will shortly thereafter.