8 ms·

2011 MacBook Pros Crash Under Load

206 points by GeneralMaximus 16y ago

Geee 16y ago
They could try downclocking for temp fix.
- Stormbringer 16y ago
  Sounds like its graphics, not cpu
  - wmf 16y ago
    Exactly; downclock the graphics.
    - celalo 16y ago
      so down-clocking means, losing a bit of its power?
sipefree 16y ago
They're STILL replacing the old Macbook Pros with the dodgy Nvidia graphics cards from years ago, for free. I wouldn't be too worried about this.
- patrickod 16y ago
  What particular model of MacBook Pro are you referring to? Those with Nvidia GeForce 9400M ?
  - derefr 16y ago
    The early-2008 models, with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT. http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377 http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377
    - Tyrant505 16y ago
      Mine is still rockin, same vid card... best machine I've ever bought! (first mac)
      - gtani 16y ago
        Mine works, doesn't exactly rock, more like generates huge amounts of heat. This after a Powerbook g4 that needed 4 or 5 logic board transplants, and a plastic macBook (core 2 duo) that was dog slow.
    - watmough 16y ago
      Mine is still rocking too. I was just stress-testing it with, ahem, Warcraft...
- kxs 16y ago
  Officially? (Edit: Obviously they do now, just checked the Apple link) My Macbook Pro "died" just 1 month out of warranty and I was lucky that I'd purchased my mac from a reseller who replaced it in goodwill, others weren't so lucky. They didn't acknowledge it officially, although NVIDIA did. IIRC they replaced it with the same faulty board (august/september '08).
modoc 16y ago
I had the same issue. Instantly cured it by disabling the "Automatic graphics switching" option. Hopefully there will be a better fix forthcoming, but for now it's pretty easy to solve. Even with that headache, this is by far the best laptop I've ever owned. Amazingly fast.
- IanField90 16y ago
  I guess that this doesn't occur on the 13" models then?
  - riffraff 16y ago
    it would seem so even looking at the linked thread, at least I did not notice anyone reporting isues with the 13" models
  - Queue29 16y ago
    I can vouch for my 13" model. It's rock solid, but when the fan does kick in, it sounds like a turbine spinning up. No freezes though, as this is almost definitely the fault of the ATI drivers (which the 13" model doesn't have).
- swah 16y ago
  About the speed: how can these laptops be getting twice the speed, twice the graphics performance, etc ? Didn't the previous model already had the i5 and i7?
  - joelhaasnoot 16y ago
    They did have i5 and i7, but Sandy Bridge versions is new as well as Thunderbolt
    - beedogs 16y ago
      Yes, but nothing uses Thunderbolt.
derefr 16y ago
Is this just the new MBPs (the ones with Thunderbolt) or does it also apply to the batches of the previous model that shipped in early 2011?
- CornishPasty 16y ago
  I think the ones shipped early this year are referred to as 2010 models.
sycren 16y ago
Im having the exact same problem though with a 2007 mbp though so it could be a software update that I installed
l0nwlf 16y ago
Mine is 2009 model and I have yet to face this issue. Although my Optical drive died this January and it throws out DVDs when inserted but that is the only problem I have faced so far. EDIT: Was just stating that 2009 MBPs have no such issues IMHO.
- joelhaasnoot 16y ago
  Seems like all the reports are on the _2011_ version, with isolated incidents on the 2010 version. 2009 is mentioned nowhere.
  - azim 16y ago
    My Fall 2009 model overheats and locks up and crashes when playing games like Starcraft 2 or Left 4 Dead 2. That's not to say every notebook from 2009 had cooling problems, but some certainly do.
    - watmough 16y ago
      Why don't you return it? This would be an intolerable problem for me. I don't expect to see any kind of lockups or grey-screen, ever. It just shouldn't be part of owning any computer, especially a mac.
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
uptown 16y ago
Somewhat off-topic, but I trust the judgement of those here. I'm in the market to buy one of these. I was wondering whether current owners feel the extra 2MB of L3 cache justifies the price-bump of the 2.3GHz processor.
- zdw 16y ago
  Depends on whether the code you're running will use the extra cache. In some HPC and gaming circumstances, people write in assembler to make sure a code loop or the data structure being worked on fits totally within the L1 or L2 cache of the processor, which can provide a huge performance improvement. But, for standard use without such specialized workloads, $250 a minor clockspeed and cache improvement doesn't make much sense. You'd probably get a much bigger boost from adding a SSD or going up to 8GB of RAM in the machine. I'd buy these aftermarket - RAM especially is a good deal as you can get 8GB of DDR3-1333 for less than $90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148345 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148...
  - reitzensteinm 16y ago
    Definitely second getting an SSD instead. It's the single biggest upgrade you can do to a PC today, especially for laptops. If you can live with 128gb of storage, a RealSSD C300, the current performance king (although check Anandtech for updates, this is changing all the time) is $264 from Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148... This thing will do 30,000 4k writes a second, which is orders of magnitude more than a 2.5" mechanical.
    - dvdhsu 16y ago
      I would actually give the SandForce drives a try. They have better garbage collection. TRIM is coming in Snow Leopard, but it is always nice to have good garbage collection on the hardware. SandForce wins right now in $/gb, and 4K writes. It loses in anything that is limited by the SATA2 bus, such as sequential transfers.
ramanujam 16y ago
I had the 13" 2010 version and got bumped up for the free exchange since i was in the one month window and got the new 2011 version. I noticed that when i started Parallels and opened my second windows VM instance everything came to a stand still and i had to restart. I also saw someone in the Apple discussion threads mentioning a similar issue while running Vmware fusion. I will try the 'Automatic graphics switching' and hopefully it gets better, else back to the Apple store!
- lamnk 16y ago
  Huh? Since when can the 13" model switch graphic cards ?
- Pheter 16y ago
  Could you provide more information regarding the free exchange please? I bought a 13" macbook within (I think) a month of them releasing the new models.
parasubvert 16y ago
My 2010 17" model will get corrupted graphics and eventual a full kernel panic due to issues with automatic graphics switching that are usually triggered by Safari+Flash. Uninstalling Flash, turning off automatic graphics switching, or just using Google Chrome for Flash sites fixed that. My first-gen 2006 Macbook Pro used to crash under heat/load as well, which was suspected due to misapplication of thermal paste. I sent it into Applecare a couple of years later and they took care of it (even replacing my scuffed up shell).
- TechNewb 16y ago
  Chrome was causing my 6-core mac pro w/ Nvidia Quadro 4000 to have kernel panics a while back, but it seems to be working fine now.
jason_slack 16y ago
I have a 13-inch 2011 MBP, i7 Model with 8gb of RAM. I am running 3 simultaneous video encodes that takes 3 Apple Keynotes and encodes to .mp4, .3gp and .ogv from a terminal + Playing 3 other Keynotes in Quicktime + Random music in iTunes + Playing The Social network all at the same time for the last 35 minutes and I am running fine. Can I run any test for anyone to help out?
davidedicillo 16y ago
I already replaced this model once. Got the replacement and and had 1 freeze so far but none after I switch to discrete only
ZipCordManiac 16y ago
You used to be able to trust Apple for manufacturing quality. I now build my own for any work machines and only keep an iMac around for casual browsing/music/video. How the hell did this slip past basic TESTING ? This isn't the first manufacturing blunder that has been swept under the table with Apple, and it won't be the last. If you put down over $1000 for a computer, it should work.
- rtaycher 16y ago
  Obligatory a mac is a pc comment.
maqr 16y ago
Same issue here. Just got a MBP a few days ago, and I've had this happen twice while compiling in Xcode. It's not your average crash though. It's not a kernel panic. iTunes streams keep playing, so I know the wifi card is still working fine. It wouldn't surprise me if it's an ATI issue.
larrycatinspace 16y ago
I just got my 2011 15" - opened it up to put a new SSD in it and found that the heatsink/fan combo off to the back corner was missing all the screws that would have secured it. I bet this doesn't help. I have yet to run into any issues but haven't done anything to stressful with it. Anyone else with issues going to pop theirs open?
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206 points by GeneralMaximus 16y ago

Geee 16y ago

They could try downclocking for temp fix.

Stormbringer 16y ago
Sounds like its graphics, not cpu
- wmf 16y ago
  Exactly; downclock the graphics.
  - celalo 16y ago
    so down-clocking means, losing a bit of its power?

sipefree 16y ago

They're STILL replacing the old Macbook Pros with the dodgy Nvidia graphics cards from years ago, for free. I wouldn't be too worried about this.

patrickod 16y ago
What particular model of MacBook Pro are you referring to? Those with Nvidia GeForce 9400M ?
- derefr 16y ago
  The early-2008 models, with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT. http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377 http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377
  - Tyrant505 16y ago
    Mine is still rockin, same vid card... best machine I've ever bought! (first mac)
    - gtani 16y ago
      Mine works, doesn't exactly rock, more like generates huge amounts of heat. This after a Powerbook g4 that needed 4 or 5 logic board transplants, and a plastic macBook (core 2 duo) that was dog slow.
  - watmough 16y ago
    Mine is still rocking too. I was just stress-testing it with, ahem, Warcraft...
kxs 16y ago
Officially? (Edit: Obviously they do now, just checked the Apple link) My Macbook Pro "died" just 1 month out of warranty and I was lucky that I'd purchased my mac from a reseller who replaced it in goodwill, others weren't so lucky. They didn't acknowledge it officially, although NVIDIA did. IIRC they replaced it with the same faulty board (august/september '08).

modoc 16y ago

I had the same issue. Instantly cured it by disabling the "Automatic graphics switching" option. Hopefully there will be a better fix forthcoming, but for now it's pretty easy to solve. Even with that headache, this is by far the best laptop I've ever owned. Amazingly fast.

IanField90 16y ago
I guess that this doesn't occur on the 13" models then?
- riffraff 16y ago
  it would seem so even looking at the linked thread, at least I did not notice anyone reporting isues with the 13" models
- Queue29 16y ago
  I can vouch for my 13" model. It's rock solid, but when the fan does kick in, it sounds like a turbine spinning up. No freezes though, as this is almost definitely the fault of the ATI drivers (which the 13" model doesn't have).
swah 16y ago
About the speed: how can these laptops be getting twice the speed, twice the graphics performance, etc ? Didn't the previous model already had the i5 and i7?
- joelhaasnoot 16y ago
  They did have i5 and i7, but Sandy Bridge versions is new as well as Thunderbolt
  - beedogs 16y ago
    Yes, but nothing uses Thunderbolt.

derefr 16y ago

Is this just the new MBPs (the ones with Thunderbolt) or does it also apply to the batches of the previous model that shipped in early 2011?

CornishPasty 16y ago
I think the ones shipped early this year are referred to as 2010 models.

sycren 16y ago

Im having the exact same problem though with a 2007 mbp though so it could be a software update that I installed

l0nwlf 16y ago

Mine is 2009 model and I have yet to face this issue. Although my Optical drive died this January and it throws out DVDs when inserted but that is the only problem I have faced so far. EDIT: Was just stating that 2009 MBPs have no such issues IMHO.

joelhaasnoot 16y ago
Seems like all the reports are on the _2011_ version, with isolated incidents on the 2010 version. 2009 is mentioned nowhere.
- azim 16y ago
  My Fall 2009 model overheats and locks up and crashes when playing games like Starcraft 2 or Left 4 Dead 2. That's not to say every notebook from 2009 had cooling problems, but some certainly do.
  - watmough 16y ago
    Why don't you return it? This would be an intolerable problem for me. I don't expect to see any kind of lockups or grey-screen, ever. It just shouldn't be part of owning any computer, especially a mac.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]

uptown 16y ago

Somewhat off-topic, but I trust the judgement of those here. I'm in the market to buy one of these. I was wondering whether current owners feel the extra 2MB of L3 cache justifies the price-bump of the 2.3GHz processor.

zdw 16y ago
Depends on whether the code you're running will use the extra cache. In some HPC and gaming circumstances, people write in assembler to make sure a code loop or the data structure being worked on fits totally within the L1 or L2 cache of the processor, which can provide a huge performance improvement. But, for standard use without such specialized workloads, $250 a minor clockspeed and cache improvement doesn't make much sense. You'd probably get a much bigger boost from adding a SSD or going up to 8GB of RAM in the machine. I'd buy these aftermarket - RAM especially is a good deal as you can get 8GB of DDR3-1333 for less than $90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148345 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148...
- reitzensteinm 16y ago
  Definitely second getting an SSD instead. It's the single biggest upgrade you can do to a PC today, especially for laptops. If you can live with 128gb of storage, a RealSSD C300, the current performance king (although check Anandtech for updates, this is changing all the time) is $264 from Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148... This thing will do 30,000 4k writes a second, which is orders of magnitude more than a 2.5" mechanical.
  - dvdhsu 16y ago
    I would actually give the SandForce drives a try. They have better garbage collection. TRIM is coming in Snow Leopard, but it is always nice to have good garbage collection on the hardware. SandForce wins right now in $/gb, and 4K writes. It loses in anything that is limited by the SATA2 bus, such as sequential transfers.

ramanujam 16y ago

I had the 13" 2010 version and got bumped up for the free exchange since i was in the one month window and got the new 2011 version. I noticed that when i started Parallels and opened my second windows VM instance everything came to a stand still and i had to restart. I also saw someone in the Apple discussion threads mentioning a similar issue while running Vmware fusion. I will try the 'Automatic graphics switching' and hopefully it gets better, else back to the Apple store!

lamnk 16y ago
Huh? Since when can the 13" model switch graphic cards ?
Pheter 16y ago
Could you provide more information regarding the free exchange please? I bought a 13" macbook within (I think) a month of them releasing the new models.

parasubvert 16y ago

My 2010 17" model will get corrupted graphics and eventual a full kernel panic due to issues with automatic graphics switching that are usually triggered by Safari+Flash. Uninstalling Flash, turning off automatic graphics switching, or just using Google Chrome for Flash sites fixed that. My first-gen 2006 Macbook Pro used to crash under heat/load as well, which was suspected due to misapplication of thermal paste. I sent it into Applecare a couple of years later and they took care of it (even replacing my scuffed up shell).

TechNewb 16y ago
Chrome was causing my 6-core mac pro w/ Nvidia Quadro 4000 to have kernel panics a while back, but it seems to be working fine now.

jason_slack 16y ago

I have a 13-inch 2011 MBP, i7 Model with 8gb of RAM. I am running 3 simultaneous video encodes that takes 3 Apple Keynotes and encodes to .mp4, .3gp and .ogv from a terminal + Playing 3 other Keynotes in Quicktime + Random music in iTunes + Playing The Social network all at the same time for the last 35 minutes and I am running fine. Can I run any test for anyone to help out?

davidedicillo 16y ago

I already replaced this model once. Got the replacement and and had 1 freeze so far but none after I switch to discrete only

ZipCordManiac 16y ago

You used to be able to trust Apple for manufacturing quality. I now build my own for any work machines and only keep an iMac around for casual browsing/music/video. How the hell did this slip past basic TESTING ? This isn't the first manufacturing blunder that has been swept under the table with Apple, and it won't be the last. If you put down over $1000 for a computer, it should work.

rtaycher 16y ago
Obligatory a mac is a pc comment.

maqr 16y ago

Same issue here. Just got a MBP a few days ago, and I've had this happen twice while compiling in Xcode. It's not your average crash though. It's not a kernel panic. iTunes streams keep playing, so I know the wifi card is still working fine. It wouldn't surprise me if it's an ATI issue.

larrycatinspace 16y ago

I just got my 2011 15" - opened it up to put a new SSD in it and found that the heatsink/fan combo off to the back corner was missing all the screws that would have secured it. I bet this doesn't help. I have yet to run into any issues but haven't done anything to stressful with it. Anyone else with issues going to pop theirs open?

111111 16y ago

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111111 16y ago