The integrated graphics are slower, but consume less power (see “ Improve MacBook Pro Battery Life with gfxCardStatus,” 21 February 2011). Interestingly, previous - back to 2007 - and subsequent MacBook Pro models instead used Nvidia chipsets for the discrete graphics processor.Ī temporary workaround is to force the computer to switch to the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics chip using Cody Krieger’s free gfxCardStatus utility, which also shows you which graphics chip is in use at any given time. YouTube user MrWojzilla has made an example video showing severe artifacts on his early 2011 MacBook Pro.Ĭauses and Solutions - The issue seems to be isolated to the AMD Radeon HD graphics chipsets (the 6490M, 6750M, and 6770M) in these MacBook Pro models.
Left and right halves of the display being swapped.Symptoms reported by owners of both early and late-model 2011 15-inch and 17-inch models of the MacBook Pro include: Three Apple Support Communities forum threads on the issue have over 850,000 views and more than 4,400 replies. Because they lack discrete graphics, the 13-inch MacBook Pro models aren’t affected.
TidBITS reader Andrew Roazen has alerted us to a widespread problem with the discrete graphics processors in 2011 models of the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro that causes graphical glitches and system freezes.
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