Question about defective graphic chips (Nvidia 8600)

So it seems that my Macbook Pro's graphic chip has failed. On boot up, there is artifact line over the Apple logo, the spinning thing appears and when it should proceed to the log in window the picture hangs but the system continues to boot and I guess even function correctly since pressing volume buttons makes noise etc. If I press ALT during boot I get to the boot menu and mouse works and I can see boot sources (I have OS X and Windows installed) but there is artifacts.

Has anyone of you ever faced this kind of problem with defective GPU? I know that Nvidia 8600 fails very often and I know something about defective GPU's in general but does this sound like traditional solder fail or the actual chip having a defect?

 

I think the chip may have a defect, call them up

 

It sounds like the solder failure issue. Apple will fix it for free.

See http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty. THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY NICE OF THEM !!! I didn't know this!

 

Hold on, did you actually read the entire page from Apple? They said customers are covered up to 4 years from date of purchase. The MBP with the 8600GT card came out in 2008. It's already been 4 years since inception. They're not going to cover that repair forever.

 

It is a fact that his MBP graphics processor has failed as per the line just before, so no harm trying.

 

The wording on their Knowledge Base article states that they will fix these things regardless, if it fails OR if it fails within 4 years of the purchase. The wording seems confusing, however, you can get them to fix it per this article, until they change the wording.

" If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within four years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty."

That comma after the bold part makes a big difference in wording.

I've gotten at least two MBPs repaired by Apple with defective 8600 GT cards, and I've got a third that has failed that I'm going to give them a call about this week. Reference this article, make sure you tell them you have troubleshooted (exactly what you did). Be thorough. Apple has been very good at fixing these units with little issue. They even replaced my friend's battery when he sent his defective '08 MBP in along with the logic board.

 

Thanks for helping me with this question.

Would u know if apple is fixing these NVIDIA 8600 defective graphic cards with brand new graphic cards, that is, defect-free materials? The reason i ask is because a certain competitor is fixing their defective graphic Nvidia 8600 cards with refurbished parts and giving 3 months warranty. so far, many of these so-called fixes have failed. This competitor has refused to provide brand new parts.

Pls, again, if u know how Apple is handling their repairs, that would really be helpful. Thank you again.

 

Can't say for 100%, but I'm assuming that they are swapping them with new, non-defective GPUs. Again, I can't be 100% certain. This is just from what I've been seeing on the web and from reports.

 

So officially, they've definitely stopped repairing this for free - Apple wasn't the only one hit with this, as NVIDIA screwed up and sent everyone in the industry bad chips.

However, if you take it to a store and plead your case, you may find that they do it for you anyway.

 

I had this issue with an HP laptop that I bought a few years ago, about 2 months after it was 3 years old (which is what HP extended their warranty to) and they wouldn't repair it (I didn't argue hard, it was a cheap notebook anyway). If you're close to that 4 year limit you might be able to convince them, otherwise you might want to consider shopping for a new system because once those things start to go they tend to go downhill fast.