When Apple released its MacBook Pro laptop, reviewers called it an evolutionary improvement and touted its new GeForce 8600 GT mobile graphics processor, made by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia. Now some models may have faulty chips.

After months of speculation that the MacBook Pro included failing Nvidia chips, Apple finally said Thursday that three MacBook Pro models manufactured amidst May 2007 and September 2008, including the 15-inch, 17-inch and Early 2008, may have faulty chips.

But Apple said it was not at fault in a note posted on its MacBook Pro Web site. The company said Nvidia told Apple that Mac computers with the graphics processors were not affected.

It was not until its own study that Apple determined some MacBook Pro computers with the GeForce processors were affected.

“Our analysis shows that a failure in an Apple MacBook Pro notebook is remote,” Nvidia spokesperson Derek Perez said in an e-mail. “However, Apple, like other OEMs, decides

on their own how to handle their warranty and repair programs, based upon their own quality standards. Regardless, we stand by our products, thus the reason why we set aside such a large reserve, and we have and will continue to work closely with Apple and their customers.”

Extended Warranty

MacBook Pro users, according to Apple, need to check their systems for distorted or scrambled video or the absence of video when the computer is running.

“If the Nvidia graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has folded, or fails within two years of the original term of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even whether your MacBook Pro is out of warranty,” Apple said.

Owners of affected MacBook Pros are asked to bring them to an Apple retail store or Apple authorized service provider. Customers who already paid for repairs to the MacBook Pro as a…

Original post by dhiram