Why are people still buying the Nvidia GPU's on the XPS 1330 and 1530?

Guys, I am perplexed. To my knowledge, neither Dell nor Nvidia have come out to say categorically that the GPU's on the Dell machines that are currently in production or even future production have been fixed. Only that the Bios revision will be on current production units. This is NOT a fix!

So, why are there so many posts about people still buying these laptops? Is it just ignorance of the issue or a belief that Dell will take care of them? I can understand the general public not aware, but these forums are full of information on this issue.

I would like to hear from you guys who are buying these! Why would you risk getting one?

 

because, for some of us, we need the power of the nvidia gpu. and anyways, we have a warranty on it so threre is no problem if it does go bad. nvidia said that this problem only affected a few gpu.

 

Because, for some of us, we don't think the sky is falling everytime there is a problem reported with a laptop. You only see a few reports here of the GPUs failing, several people posting here about their orders, and thousands of people that don't come here at all that have ordered the XPS.

A few out of thousands isn't cause for alarm.

 

Yeah, I'm really not freaking out about my 'defective' 8600 in my G1s. The graphics card hasn't given me any trouble (aside from 2 restarts about a month ago), and I've had my lappy for over a year.

 

lol very good question.
i would say ignorance and "it wont happen to me"
even if you have warranty it stil seem strange to buy a defective product.
as it may fail on you just when you most need it, does dell have a 24/7 immediate repair service ?

or maybe they just think they will save on house heating during the winter

 

y not?

good deal + warranty..... if u can find me a deal of a 13.3" + dedicated graphics + 4-5 lbs under 1300, tell me

 

Because the chances of having a failure are still not that high.

 

im probably gonna order an m1530 on sunday if the new xps's arent announced. im really not worried for the gpu being defective or failing on me, im getting a 4 year warranty/accidental protection/lo jack for less than 1300 w/ a loaded m1530 w/epp. + i have 21 extra days to return the dell if new ones are announced within the next couple of months (since delivery is gonna take liek a month)

+ im not ignorant of the situation. i just know im not gonna get a better deal any where else.

 

What those above have said and that I know I am covered by (UK) law (Sales of Goods Act), that if the product fails due to fault from manufacturing I can get a repair/refund/replacement. It makes it easier to claim these remedies because they have admitted that there is an issue and that others are reporting issues.

 

i guess people posting here are making informed decisions,
however, would the average joe/jane would have known the issue would they buy it ?

i doubt it, just as i doubt you cant get a better deal without buying a possibly defective notebook.

 

Got a deal on mine and couldn't resist. No other company could even come within 75% of the deal I got.

 

if the refreshes are released before september 22, im gonna buy the 15 inch or the 16 inch. ill try to get the best deal, but if i can't ill still buy it

 

Why are you guys still buying (insert name of car model, TV model, Washing machine/fridge model here) don't you know that (insert defect which could happen to 1% or so of the product you have bought here) and yet you still have bought one??

As I have said before, how many 1530's have actually failed worldwide and how many have been bought?

 

why dont you answer your question and enlighten us ?

 

Maybe those of us that have experienced multiple failures of the motherboard/gpu are pessimistic, but those of you that have painted a rosey picture of the situation probably haven't owned your systems past 6 months, have bought into Dell's band aid bios fix as a solution and have just assumed that the failure numbers are that low. Go ahead and take the high road and feel like your system is one of the lucky ones or that your warranty will save you if the time comes, but don't for one second think because it hasn't yet happened, that it won't. If you ever experience the GPU system meltdown, then you lose faith in a notebook real fast, especially when it causes you to curb how you use it in fear of having to go through the hassle and the whole repair experience once again. You choose to have faith in Dell's ethos and that's fine, but after what some of us have experienced, some of us don't.

 

I think most people buying them are unaware of this issue, mainly because there's been no national media coverage of it...yet. Now as far as people on this board (and others) who do know about the problem, well they probably can't believe that it will happen to them and if it does, well that's what the warranty is for, no big deal. I got a good price, end of story. Of course when it does happen to them, their attitude may be a little different than now, like why was I stupid to buy it when I knew about the increased potential for a failure.

I think it's still too early to judge how big this problem really is. In about 6-8 months we should know a lot more...from people on this board who will either be pissed off in their posts or those who will say "I told you that this defective GPU story was BS". Let's hope for all current M1330/1530 owners that its the latter one.

 

Only NVIDIA knows the answer to that question and it certainly hasn't given us much information to go on. I've been happy with my M1530 which I bought in January, but if I had known that NVIDIA set aside several million dollars to deal with defective packaging of the GPU die that's in my system, I would not have bought it. The fact that my system is working OK now doesn't mean the GPU won't fail prematurely due to repeated heating and cooling. While I have a 3 year warranty with Dell, I would prefer not having my system ripped apart to repair a defect that is more likely to occur than the random component failures that a computer may experience. I am assuming this increased likelihood of failure based upon the limited information provided by NVIDIA thus far.

 

I'm in the camp that I won't buy one now (and yes, I am in the market NOW) and have a 1530 with the affected GPU. I will def wait for some new Dell with revised GPU before I jump in, good deal or not. No way in hell would I get one now. Besides, the updates are going to be too good to ignore, backlit keyboards, etc.

The surprise is that there seems to be an assumption that this is not a wide spread defect and since there has not been wide spread media coverage that it doesnt exist or it only affects "1% or so" of units. Where is this info coming from? And do you really believe Nvidia? If you read between the lines from both Dell and Nvidia it appears that this affects ALL GPU's. Thats not the same as a few affected units! Keep in mind, these GPUs have only been active for 1+ years, what will happen 2+ and 3+ years out? What happens after your 4 year warranty? Do you expect Dell/Nvidia to replace it for free? I certainly do! But they have yet to say anything meaningful about the issue!

Some seem to suggest that by getting a 'good deal' now for a system makes the fault less of an issue. Hadnt thought of it like that...

 

I'm in the same boat. Though I've been tempted by the latest coupons. I will be strong!

 

Read this.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3727335&postcount=17

 

Repeatedly posting the same link to the same post, that is almost entirely comprised of conjecture and opinion, in multiple threads does not raise its truth value.

If I had been aware of the issue, I certainly would have asked Dell to swap out the NVIDIA GPU for an integrated Intel one.

 

Its meant to help give people a better understanding of the issue instead of rapidly coming to the conclusion that all Nvidia cards are going to die, Nvidia 8600GT stinks, 8400GS stinks, should definitely avoid them, etc. etc. Whether or not you want to calm down about it is up to you, just as long as you know for your information.

Its not meant to say that it is not an issue or that Nvidia is not at fault, but rather, what the issue is since many are led astray. Like I said in the post, there are many details that Nvidia are leaving out.

All I mean to achieve is for people to understand what the problem is.

It would be nice if people kept complaining to them and hopefully Dell does something about it. I don't assume everyone who reads it will say, yeah, the 8600GT is flawless or, the issue is very minor. As long as you just know in the back of your head, its fine.

 

screw the average joe/jane.

 

@OP..... a similar question would be:

why do people smoke when smoking == bad?

 

Aha... paper wastage I was about to post this..

Anyways, to the OP, as many have said before me here and in so many other threads, you get a laptop with a warranty and not all gpu' are failing and no one is actually having their laptop explode because of the GPU.. plus, many of us need the power of the nVidia GPU.. so there.. its a matter of choice, your preferences, and how much you want to read through and decide for yourself the information out there.. as for me, till now I have had no problems, and I dont know if I will have on in the future.. but then since no one really knows which gpu's are affected, and since people are anyway trying to fix this mess, I think i would enjoy my pc while it lasts, because its an absolute beauty, and if there is a problem in the future, I would be calm and get it fixed in the best way possible..

 

Because... Only one in a thousand or so are bad.
You just hear about the bad ones here.
Mine has been just fine the past 7 months I've had it.

 

Who says One in a thousand? The problem is a manufacturing defect that affects all of them. Its a matter of timing, notebook usage, heat cycles, but eventually you will have a problem.

I guess the comment about "its working fine today" is akin to not worrying about it until something happens. I just don't want a paperweight after my warranty is up. Keeping Dell/Nvidia's feet to the fire keeps our rights in the forefront of what they do. By the number of orders Dell is seeing, and the comments about "hey, i'm getting a sweet deal" I'm wondering if their action on this issue will be non existant? As long as people keep ordering a defect with no demand for reassurance/warranty for the defect, they have nothing to loose!

 

You could ask the same question about Xbox 360's before .. well anyway I have a 3 year warranty

 

http://www.dailytech.com/NVIDIA+Pre...ve+GPUs+Warns+of+Lower+Sales/article12268.htm



1 in 1000 right...

 

So according to that article Nvidia will be repairing or replacing the affected units. So no problem. Seems like people ordering new ones would already get the new cards anyway.

 

sorry no, the fix is 9500m and 9300m if you get those you are in the clear.

 

Well I will take the awesome deal now and let them give me a new card later. Maybe they will give me a 9300m.

 

Good luck with that! Neither Nvidia nor Dell have said what they will do, especially if you are outside of warranty. Keep in mind, replacing the GPU means replacing the motherboard and unless Dell has an upgraded motherboard with a new GPU, you are going to get the same thing! ie, a faulty GPU!!

Its time Dell announced what their exact policy will be in and out of warranty!! Come on Dell stand up and show that you are looking out for your customers!

 

If this is a ventilation problem, then increase ventilation should counteract the defects. I think this is really a wake up call in proper ventilation for your laptops in general, because defect or not your laptop will overheat if you don't properly allow it to ventilate. Even if the material is weaker than it should be, as long as you can cool it properly you should be good to go. Does anyone have a standard temperature reading available, as for new XPS users to follow it as a guideline? I'm still waiting on my new XPS. If nVidia decides to replace it great, if not hopefully the new replacement does come out in time for the warranty to still work. I'm not sure what to expect with the XPS and I haven't seen the forums flooded with XPS problems or any other laptop manufacturers despite all this hype about nVidia.

Maybe once Dell decides to fix the problem itself rather than just the BIOS A09, it'll replace the GPU with a new motherboard of Centrino 2 as a courtesy. Haha. If that actually happens, gg. Seriously though, I'm looking forward to my XPS with the A09. As long as I have a temperature reading to follow (can anyone post those readings with no gaming?) then I should be fine with my limits.

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

They have known about this for a while and said they switched their manufacturing process and they said they will take care of the customers. I got a 5 year warranty and I don't even keep my computer that long so I think I will be alright. Not to mention the bios update. Also the fact that my laptop is just a toy and I use my desktop for anything serious. If it breaks I guess I am stuck with my Nintendo DS or PSP or one of my other laptops for a few days.

 

3 words:

Three Year Warranty.

I really don't care if the gpu fails 20 times in that three year span. It's dell's problem, not mine. I have 24/7 on site support, so it really isn't much a nuissance.

I have no intentions of keeping my M1530 for more then 3 years.

See how I don't have a problem with this defect?

I've also played extensive gaming on my system (it's actually my wife's laptop, I have an M1730). 4 months now, heavy gaming with zero issues.

I think this nvidia defect has everyone paranoid. Based on what I've read, I would be very surprised if the failure rate was higher then 1%.

 

to the ones that are "against" buyin a xps with 8series GPU. i understand yur concern cuz it is YOUR money that u are spending, but most of the comments here are just ASSUMPTIONS. i, myself, own a m1530 and it has exceeded my expectations in pretty much every way.

like someone else already said, "we have a warranty. its dell's problem not ours."
i completely agree with this statement. we bought a (extra) warranty for a reason. if somethin f's up...hey i paid for it to be covered. let someone else deal with it.

remember that, just buyin an XPS system gets u premium XPS tech services. if u have a care or concern, call them up and tell them yur life story. they'll get tired of it after a few mins and transfer u to customer care where u'll get yur issue resolved.

 

NVIDA itself says, "Notebook configurations of these MCP and GPU products are failing in the field at higher than normal rates." That's why it set aside about $200 million.

From what I've read (and it may not be entirely accurate), the problem is in the bonding between the die and the chip package. Different materials can expand and contract at different rates with changes in temp. If this is the problem, I assume that it won't necessarily manifest itself in a few months -- kind of like metal fatigue that takes awhile to result in a failure. I think that the new BIOS is intended not only to reduce peak temps, but to try to minimize temperature fluctuations. Perhaps this will prevent premature failure, but only time will tell.

 

What about the hassle of returning it to manufacturer and such? I'm thinking about the 3 year warranty right now actually and I'm probably gonna do it this winter or wait till next summer before I buy the extra warranty.

You are allowed to extend the warranty anytime you need to right?

 

Yes, as along as you're within a warranty period at the time. As for the OP: the average Joe/Jane, I think, wouldn't really be buying a computer with a dedicated card. Let's face it, mostly gamers are buying these PCs, or people who need the dedicated GPU. Both of which are more than likely to know about it. Either way, how long does the average person keep a laptop? Really? About 3-4 years I'd say. After that, you probably need to upgrade if you needed that GPU in the first place. The warranty would carry you until you got a new one. I'm really mad at nVidia for this though, and don't blame anyone for not wanting those GPUs. I know I'd think twice (if I had the choice), and probably wait for an upgrade for the 9xxxm series.

 

It is, to my mind, silly to say that buying an affected XPS is fine if you take out a 3-4 year warranty. Yes, that insures that, in the event of a failure, you will be able to have it repaired/replaced. But for people who rely on their laptop for business use (i.e. it isn't simply a gaming device), a failure means, potentially, a loss of productivity and/or revenue, even if it only lasts 2 days.

I am relatively happy with my M1330 (although it certainly isn't of the best build quality that I have ever seen), but the onus is on Dell and NVIDIA to ensure that our trust and confidence is not lost. If I do experience a problem, and it is not rectified to my satisfaction, then I will not be buying Dell again.

 

You guys popping up the analogies like smoking, and standard 1% defective rates - you need to stop - that's like not EVEN close, and it REALLY sounds stupid.

Now - I see BOTH sides of the story, because, let's face it: The M1530 is one BAD@SS machine. I think it LOOKS nice, it RUNS really great, and it IS available with the long-term warranties.

Now, on the OTHER side of the coin, I skipped it because no way I'm buying (since some of you like analogies so much) a car which has defective brakes, and no fix in sight, meaning it needs to be repeatedly fixed. I'm out the car, dropping it off, picking it up, waiting, calling to check, etc...

Me, myself, I do NOT want to REPEATEDLY go through the Dell Horror-story service, knowing there will NEVER be a good outcome until it is REPLACED with something that is not destined to fail. I'd rather volunteer for root canals without anesthesia.

Now, that is MY opinion, but I really see no reason to ask why people are buying them.

Answer is simple: Because they want to.

As I said, the machines are nice, look nice, run nice, have nice extras, long-term warranties are included, and to boot, XPS owners even get a special support system, if I'm not mistaken.

Moral of the story: Consumers are a fickle bunch - just because YOU think something is horrible and not to be bought, does not mean everyone does.

To be perfectly honest, if I coulda' gotten a decent price, I think I woulda' jumped too! And it's not over - I might STILL jump if they do some really stupid deal. As others have said, it's covered for 3-4 years, since for me this will be home/you laptop, I can stand for it to be away a week or 2. Although I wouldn't LIKE it, but for what you're getting, heck yes if it's a sweet deal.

/OffSoapBox

I think the naysayers actually NEED to go play touchie-feelie with an XPS and THEN come back and speak. They look nice online, sure, but check one out in person.

T

 

Well, to be blunt, these are not business machines, nor are they marketed as such. The Latitude and Vostro lines are there for that.

Case in point, if you notice, the 8600M GT option has NOT been available on the V1500's for a while now, I would assume owing to Dell being responsible enough to at least try to eliminate THAT failure for (small) business users.

Please keep in mind I am NOT and XPS fanboy - I think they are cool, and I'm of a similar opinion: Had it NOt had the NVidia problem, I would own one right NOW.

T

 

alot of u guys have a common misconception.

if u are still covered under warranty. u can get them to replace the faulty part thru a 3rd party xps-tech. the said xps-tech will come to yur house and replace the part for u.

if u choose to send in yur notebook for a replacement. u get to keep yur current notebook, while the replacement is bein shipped to u. replacements generally come very quickly (i received my replacement in about a week). u put yur original notebook into the box that the replacement came in, place the pre-packaged return label (should be included), call DHL, set up a time/date for them to come pick up yur package. thats it.

 

That's not a misconception, that is just an inconvenience.

 

I don't believe it's fair to suggest that both the 1530 and 1330 have the same problem / incident count because they use separate cooling solutions.

As posted elsewhere, the 1330's GPU cooling solution is poor but the 1530 uses the same form of cooling for both its CPU and GPU.

I have a pic of both cooling solutions (see my sig for the link)...

 

The landing page for Dell UK Laptop Small Business customers shows four options: Vostro, Latitude, Precision and XPS.

 

I know you're from Texas and all (I am, too) but please spell 'yur' as "your/you're" or heck, even "ur." I'm not usually the one to criticize ones spelling, but reading your message was a pain. I've never seen anyone spell it that way, lol.

 

Hahaha, personally I can't stand reading "u" or "ur" or "yur" at all. I usually just skip those posts

 

"one's spelling"