News Nvidia warns of high failure rates

[CardJoe]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/07...ailure-rates/1

Graphics card manufacturer has filed a profits warning with the SEC due to "higher than normal" failure rates of certain previous-generation mobile products.

[liratheal]

I'm kinda glad I didn't opt for a new MBP >.>

As much as I dislike the greenskins, at least they're not trying to shuffle it under the rug and ignore it.

[sotu1]

true, they've been upfront, and as reported their shares took a walloping because of it. i do wish they'd let us know what notebooks are being hit though. high end gpus in notebooks are very pricey for the consumer

[Snak]

Got a 8600M GS in my notebook Fujitsu-siemens Xa2528 and it cannot even run CS without the framerate dropping

i read people using notebook coolers to keep the fps stable so possibly a heat thing going on here so i guess my notebook is one thats defective

[p3n]

Damn, I was looking at a MacBookPro ... i've not ever heard of thermal issues with MBP so I might just risk it - are the problems thermal related or just bad silicon?

[karsithe]

My laptop started powering off the moment I tried to play any games about a week before this announcement was made. Off to return it under warranty today.

[HatriX]

"Our old chips suck." - Quick, grab a Tegra!
I mean, what the hell? They discover these defects right before Tegra-based devices are to come?
I have already made my mind about buying one, but that's certainly an interesting marketing technique.

[liratheal]

Originally Posted by p3n

Damn, I was looking at a MacBookPro ... i've not ever heard of thermal issues with MBP so I might just risk it - are the problems thermal related or just bad silicon?

Bear in mind the MBP fans don't ramp NEARLY often enough, I have to use SMC fan controller to run them at 4k RPM to maintain even 40 degrees. They ramp at a CPU temp of above 60, which is not, excuse the pun, cool.

That said - Mine is quite old now >.>

[TomD22]

Hehe just imagine the fury and endless spew of confused forum posts if they send out a patch that locks the fan on all the time.

"OMG I downloaded Nvidia's update and now my laptop is going crazy and the fan is stuck on and it sounds like a jet HOW DO I RFIX IT!!!111"

[liratheal]

Originally Posted by TomD22

Hehe just imagine the fury and endless spew of confused forum posts if they send out a patch that locks the fan on all the time.

"OMG I downloaded Nvidia's update and now my laptop is going crazy and the fan is stuck on and it sounds like a jet HOW DO I RFIX IT!!!111"

Even worse, the 'forum battles' between users when one reverts the patch and fries his GPU, then blames another forum member

Those actually might get fun to watch..

[wuyanxu]

Originally Posted by TomD22

Hehe just imagine the fury and endless spew of confused forum posts if they send out a patch that locks the fan on all the time.

"OMG I downloaded Nvidia's update and now my laptop is going crazy and the fan is stuck on and it sounds like a jet HOW DO I RFIX IT!!!111"

lol, i can truely imagine that in a Mac forum. OMG, my Mac is going crazy!

well, this is why i think dedicated graphics cards should live and stay in large space (or HTPC) PC, not laptops, laptops are meant to be portable.

[Colt 45 J]

I own four shares of Nvidia.. so here's hoping that they bounce back.

[sleepyhollow]

Interesting does ATI know something Nvidia doesn't. They now have a new upgradable External laptop graphics system
ati.amd.com/technology/xgp/index.html

[Smilodon]

There is a simple fix to this, really:


Make removable, cleanable dust filters for the coolers, and tell the customers that if this isn't cleaned once a monthly they will void their warranty. (Or even better, make a system that prevents the laptop from being turned on before the filter is cleaned.)

I have seen computers melt because of clogged fans. (AMDs thermal shutdown doesn't work very well...) As things are now manufacturers can't really blame the customers, because most models have to be disassembled to be cleaned. The average user won't do this (Or can't, because it will void warranty). On cheaper laptops the disassembly can be very difficult as well.

Problem is that people want compact computers (smaller coolers) with hight performance (more heat). The only solution is more airflow which in the end will clog fans with dust.


/semi rant

[Cupboard]

Originally Posted by News

high failure rates of “previous generation” devices.

Does this not mean the 7-series graphics cards, in which case Macs will not be affected?
Still, ouch for them. It would really suck having a laptop fan stuck on full.

[Gravemind123]

I hope my 8400M GS in my XPS isn't effected by this problem. Although it should be under warranty for long enough. And previous generation is the 8-series now, since 9-series would be current gen I guess.

[Matticus]

Originally Posted by Gravemind123

I hope my 8400M GS in my XPS isn't effected by this problem. Although it should be under warranty for long enough. And previous generation is the 8-series now, since 9-series would be current gen I guess.

I was thinking the same thing (for my pavilion not XPS though)

From the BetaNews link

Some have speculated that the "previous generation" mentioned in NVidia's 8-K report could be a version of the 8600M, which can be found in the Toshiba Satellite X205 Series, the Asus G series, and Apple MacBook Pro. Others have pointed to a recent surge in problems in the GeForce 8400M GS, which is common in select HP Pavilion, Acer Aspire, Dell XPS, Sony Vaio, and Asus U3 and W7 models.

We are doomed, DOOMED I say. I might bring HP up on this and see what they can do, there is no way I am having a laptop which has a graphics chip that is almost guaranteed to fail. Though HP have not released any new (graphics) drivers on their site for my laptop since November 07, so if any driver was supposed to keep the fan spinning longer it would have been here by now, this suggests that maybe they are not having a problem.

[Mister_Tad]

8400GS in my XPS M1330 too, I even asked if they could leave it off favour of the onboard (for the sake of cooling, noise and battery) but that was a no-go :/

[Matticus]

Dell seem to have moved to ATI for its Studio line. I imagine if this turns out to be a real problem for Dell/HP etc we wont see many nvidia mobile GPUs about for a while.

I am going to kick up a fuss with HP though, just so I can get a real idea of how likely my chip is likely to fail. And if there is a real chance I will just get rid of it. I would rather get an intel x3100 and a faster core2duo. This Turion and 8400 makes for burnt legs. I simply cannot have it on bare legs if its on AC power and doing any thing more than just idling.

[lambenttelos]

Originally Posted by p3n

Damn, I was looking at a MacBookPro ... i've not ever heard of thermal issues with MBP so I might just risk it - are the problems thermal related or just bad silicon?

I have a friend with a mac book pro that has already has his nvidia card fail. The laptop would run but he could only terminal in from another computer and he could see that it no longer detected the nvidia card. It also happed to his roommate twice with his mac book pro. The funny thing on his was that the first time it stopped displaying video he let the computer get hot then rebooted and the graphics worked for awhile but then once it had cooled down again it never worked again. The problem definitely sounds like an issue of thermal expansion either within or between components. I would say, and they both agree, don't let it stop you from getting a mac book, just make sure you get the apple care protection and you will be covered.