MacBook – Is the macbook pro dying

gpuhardwaremacbook promemory

I have a Macbook pro 4,1 early 2008.

It's a great machine for surfing while the TV is on, but it's starting to act strange.

Sameple shot 1

enter image description here

These screenshots are both of a google sheet — same one a few minutes apart.

I can see two possibilities:

A: My GPU is dying, and doesn't work in certain modes.

B: I've got a bad memory stick.

How do I diagnose which?

Best Answer

Run Apple Apple Hardware Test.

Apple Hardware Test (AHT) contains a suite of diagnostics that test the hardware of your Mac.

Here is the official support article by Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257

And the relevant instructions, "Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold the D key on your keyboard. Keep holding the D key until you see the Apple Hardware Test icon."