Inquiry about MacBook Pro 15" GPU performance in 2011
Inquiry about MacBook Pro 15" GPU performance in 2011
Hello everyone, I recently turned off my AMD graphics card on my MacBook Pro 15" from 2011 because it was beginning to show signs of age. It usually worked perfectly for over seven years, but sometimes it started to exhibit failure symptoms—something common in 2011 models. To prevent it from breaking down completely, I disabled the GPU and lost access to the terminal since the system would boot from the dGPU first. I followed a guide I found: https://gist.github.com/cdleon/d1eff7246...cec40445b0. After that, with MacOS Catalina released, I switched from High Sierra to a more modern OS that supports dark mode. The update went smoothly, and Catalina is now fully functional in my machine. There are minor quirks like light mode displaying strange dark-gray tones and no transparency, but that’s nothing serious (dark mode works just fine). Once I enabled Macs Fan Control, the GPU temperature hovered around 40–50°C. I wondered whether it was still active under Catalina or if it was just measuring the CPU’s heat sink. I checked the kext list using `kextstat | grep AMD...` and saw that the AMD driver for the dGPU wasn’t present—only High Sierra had it. This confirmed the GPU was idle. I also installed gfxCardStatus to confirm the graphics card was showing as Intel. My MacBook specs are: 15" model, 2011 2.2GHz Intel i7 (2675QM), 16GB DDR3 RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6750M (512MB), 240GB SSD, upgraded anti-glare screen with higher resolution. I’m stable and not overheating overall, but if the GPU is still running and heating up unnecessarily, I’d like tips to improve cooling or extend battery life.
Can you start a MacOS installation? If yes, download and execute this dGPU disabler: http://dosdude1.com/apps/MacBook Pro dGPU Disabler.zip. You may need to turn off SIP before installing: -Activate Recovery Mode at startup (command+R), launch Terminal and type: csrutil disable If you don’t reach MacOS or Recovery Mode then -Insert a bootable OSX drive -Press Option during startup, place the mouse over the installer icon. -Click the MacOS installer while holding Command + S until it boots as Single User -Once everything loads in a DOS-like window run: nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00 reboot Then return and disable SIP booting, then install the dusdude app. Make sure you never reset PRAV/SMC or your laptop will fail and you’ll have to repeat everything.
I can start up and function properly on Mac OS Catalina. The nvram line mentioned in the guide I referenced earlier is still there, and I assume the GPU remains off but I’ll test the dGPU disabler file. It’s puzzling why the temperature looks elevated for a device that’s idle or disabled—unless it shares the same heatsink as the CPU.