Saving the 17-inch Macbook Pro (Part 2) Multi-Displays

The next thing to talk about with regard to the 2011 17' Macbook Pro is that they all have the dreaded GPU problem.

In this, the dedicated AMD GPU wasn't properly installed in most 2011 Macbooks, and as such, has a tendency to overheat and fail.

When this happens, you'll just see a black screen once the system boots up.

If you start it in Single-User mode, the text will be okay.

The solution is to disable the dedicated GPU and just run the unit using the integrated GPU (Yes they have 2 GPUs).

You can find more info about this here:

However, the problem with the solution is that once you do this, you can no longer attach an external monitor as the miniDP port is hardwired into the disabled GPU.

Now for me, this absolutely sucks as I need two monitors when I'm doing heavy coding; one for development and another for testing.

So for this, let's look at some two-monitor solutions for 2011 MacBook Pro's which have a disabled AMD GPU. Now this article is mainly for the 17 inch model, but can also apply to the 13 and 15 inch models as well.

Dosdude MacBook GPU disable

1. J5create USB to HDMI

Note that with a disabled GPU , an external monitor will not work from the MiniDP port. However, a USB to HDMI adapter will work, though it is slow as hell thru the default USB 2.0 ports.

However if you attach a USB 3.0 device through the Express 34 slot or thru the thunderbolt and the attach the USB->HDMI adapter to that, performance is acceptable (but not enough to watch a movie).

This device is still on sale at most places including Amazon.

 

It works fine up to MacOS Catalina (which can be installed using another Dosdude patcher).

However don't use this if you plan to install MacOS 11 or 12 w/OpenCore Patcher ...

2. Fix GPU using external hardware vendor.

By far this is the best solution, though it's also the messiest. It usually will involve you removing the logic board and then sending it someplace, then reinstalling it once they are done fixing the AMD GPU.

I would not recommend doing this unless you really know what you are doing. If you end up messing up the logic board during the uninstall/install process, then you're basically out-of-luck.

However, if you decide to go this route. The MacBook is effectively repaired. The MiniDP will work again. The vendor I used was found on eBay and is listed below.