Mac Book Pro with GeForce 8600M GT and distorted display

rayoung112

You said that with the defect in this graphic chip that the external does not work either. My Mac Book Pro external display works fine but the laptop display shows the top 1/4 of the display then color lines the rest od the way down. When I mirror the displays the external display looks fine but the laptop display is still distorted. Is this the graphics card or the laptop display?

John

Thanks for the post!

By verifying that the external display looks fine, you have proven that your GPU is good, and that your screen is bad. If your GPU was bad, it would be incapable of displaying a good image on either the screen or the external. Plus, I just know from seeing a million screens that anytime part of the screen works, it's generally the screen at fault, because the GPU is not really capable of targeting a good image to only part of the screen -- that is pretty much always a physical defect with the screen.

So, assuming your laptop doesn't freeze or show other intermittent signs of the GPU issue, you should be able to replace the screen or entire screen assembly (much easier than doing a screen transplant) and have a working computer again. I would keep it in the back of my mind that these laptops are prone to the GPU issue, so you may end up having that at a later date, but for now it sounds like you're good!

Thanks!

John

rayoung112

John, thanks. That was the exact advice I was looking for. Any recommendations for where to get the replacement screen?

John

I would try to find a whole screen assembly, or better yet a bad laptop with the GPU issue, on eBay, and then transplant the screen assembly. It's a slight risk, but it's probably going to be cheaper to buy a parts machine than to find a 100% certified working screen assembly, which sellers will charge a premium for. I think if you dig around on eBay for a while you can find something reasonably cheap, maybe $50-$80. Just be careful that you buy exactly the same model replacement, because the aluminum Pros have several different variations of cables coming out of the screen assembly (different inverter cables, wireless cables). You might want to follow the iFixit guide and take your current screen assembly out before you go shopping so that you can verify the cables match. Even without the screen assembly attached, you can still use an external display, so it shouldn't disable the laptop.

Thanks, and let me know how it goes!

John