Acquired MacBook Pro Late 2011 Question

[midnightgalaxy]

Hey,
Recently purchased a Late 2011 15" MacBook Pro for $250. It has really low hours use for how old it is and it looks basically new from the outside.
These have dGPU issues and was wondering what can i do to further prevent the gpu/logic board from failing on me.
Will disabling the dGPU from being used which i saw a thread on here pop up affect daily use?
I am also running the fan speed at a higher stationary rpm, which i do not mind the sound.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

You can try disabling the GPU, it means it will be working on pretty poor intel integrated graphics, and you'll need to disable it whenever you update your OS etc. If you need graphically intensive apps this is probably not the fix you need other than that for that price just run it until it dies would be my advice, if it does you a year its still a bit of a bargain.

 

[treekram]

As mentioned in post #2, stay away from graphic-intensive apps. But also, running a high-resolution external monitor also seems to cause problems for some.

While the dGPU can fail, most believe that the issue is with the solder used and not the dGPU itself. You should become familiar with the common ways that people have used to fix the problem and how long it lasts. There are a lot of posts on this forum about these MBP's. Also, a good place to look is:
https://www.rossmanngroup.com/

I haven't dealt with them but Rossmann does post on these forums and he seems pretty knowledgeable about board-level repairs for Macs.

 

[robvas]

While the dGPU can fail, most believe that the issue is with the solder used and not the dGPU itself. You should become familiar with the common ways that people have used to fix the problem and how long it lasts. There are a lot of posts on this forum about these MBP's. Also, a good place to look is:
https://www.rossmanngroup.com/

I haven't dealt with them but Rossmann does post on these forums and he seems pretty knowledgeable about board-level repairs for Macs.

"The 2011 Macbook Pro GPU issue will never be permanently solved due to lack of good chipsets available. These we do not repair."

 

[treekram]

"The 2011 Macbook Pro GPU issue will never be permanently solved due to lack of good chipsets available. These we do not repair."

If the dGPU itself is the issue, I would agree - it's probably not practically fixable. If it's the solder, I read one post on their website which suggests that reflowing is only a temporary solution. In any case, they would be a good resource for the OP to check out. If Rossmann doesn't do reflow for these MBP's, then that says something about the practicality of that solution.

 

[thewap]

One preventative measure would be to control (elevate fan speed) the fan speed via istats or another fan control app, to run your 2011 cooler than it's default fan speed. In istats I configure a custom setting to run the fans higher at idle.
When running graphic intense apps, I set the fans at medium to high depending on temps.

Periodic cleaning / blowin' out dust of the internals might help as well.

 

[Gravydog316]

GPU's in 2010 & 2011's are all faulty; they require minor soldering, or a new GPU (about $300);
I won a 15" 2010 MBP, which randomly restarts sometimes; Apple recalled the 2011s, but not the 2010s;
Mine really only restarts if I try to watch video (mostly YouTube) set at 1080p & above. Doesn't seem to be a problem when I watch @ 720p & lower.

 

[Fishrrman]

For $250, I would just use the discrete GPU until it fails.

Then, I'd use the "software workaround" to DISABLE it, and afterwards use ONLY the integrated graphics.

I would not connect it to an external monitor, in the hope of postponing the death of the discrete GPU...

 

[AuricBlue]

Hey,
Recently purchased a Late 2011 15" MacBook Pro for $250. It has really low hours use for how old it is and it looks basically new from the outside.
These have dGPU issues and was wondering what can i do to further prevent the gpu/logic board from failing on me.
Will disabling the dGPU from being used which i saw a thread on here pop up affect daily use?
I am also running the fan speed at a higher stationary rpm, which i do not mind the sound.

I had a 2011 MacBook Pro which didn’t have the issue until this year. It could be coincidence, but I believe that it lasted this long because I used a laptop cooler underneath it during use.

For examples, see: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laptop+cooling+pad

 

[Gravydog316]

For $250, I would just use the discrete GPU until it fails.

Then, I'd use the "software workaround" to DISABLE it, and afterwards use ONLY the integrated graphics.

I would not connect it to an external monitor, in the hope of postponing the death of the discrete GPU...

Fix the GPU & sell for a profit.