GPU replacement program announced for 2011 iMacs, Apple to offer refunds for previous service
Remember the 2011 iMac's HDD replacement program? It seems like the machine thought it was time for an encore. Apple recently announced that 27-inch iMacs sold between May 2011 and October 2012 may be eligible for a free repair, citing faulty AMD Radeon HD 6970M GPUs (you can find the official statement after the break). The issue specifically affects machines with 3.1GHz Core-i5 and 3.4GHz Core-i7 processors, and can cause visual distortions, white or blue vertical lines or a solid black display. According to 9to5Mac, Apple is also issuing refunds to customers who paid to have the GPU fixed before the program was announced. Fair enough if you're on a budget, but we won't blame you if you use the issue as an excuse to upgrade.
Apple has determined that some AMD Radeon HD 6970M video cards used in 27-inch iMac computers with 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processors may fail, causing the computer's display to appear distorted, white or blue with vertical lines, or to turn black. iMac computers with affected video cards were sold between May 2011 and October 2012
