m1330 with NVIDIA 8400M GS to buy or NOT ?

buying second hand, 2yr warranty left

however person said he had graphics problems and his computer was serviced (motherboard replaced).


I dont want to have it die on me later on, price is good compared to other systems where I live (same price as a new vostro 1310).


bottom line, whats the probability this would happen again ? any chance of a perm fix ? DO i BUY this or NOT ?

 

I wouldn't buy it. < Period.

 

hmm, how much are you buying it for? Whatever it is, I wouldn't buy it, you're better off investing in a new laptop.

 

I wouldn't buy it unless the price was 'really', i mean, really, low, and you got a chance to mess around with it, including stress testing the gpu (3d mark).

Try the Dell outlet or NBR Marketplace for some models that are in working condition...

 

Considering it has warranty left, plus Dell has extended the warranty by 1 year for the GPU, you could consider it.

Just be sure to ask the seller to provide proof of warranty coverage by giving you the service tag# that you can look up on the Dell web-site.

 

Listing the spec and the asking price would make it easier for us to give a better recommendation.

I had my GPU/motherboard replaced a couple of weeks back, but didn’t notice any difference in the temperature (GPU is still running at 65C when idling, which IMO is too high for a notebook GPU). Therefore unless nVidia redesigned their chips with a better thermal spec, I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t fail again.

There is a copper-mod that you can do, not sure whether it is a permanent fix, but it seems to lower the temperature (especially under load), so it should minimize the probability.

 

Copper-mod will invalidate warranty, not a good idea imho. Let them keep coming and replacing, instead. If I were the OP, I wouldn't get 1330 with 8400gs, it's a flawed GPU that everyone knows is prone to failure. It's a design issue, not the temperature...

 

65C isnt a high idle temp for GPU, unless thats the constant temp with the fan on 100% of the time. GPUs will go up to 65~68C then the fan will turn on cooling them back down to ~55C, at which point the fan turns off.

I think the PRICE is the real deciding factor, set up an exact replica of the system on dell's website. Apply any coupons, then see how much it is.

Also you must have the previous owner transfer the warranty over to you using dell's website or other method.

 

Yes it can void your warranty, but if you carefully remove the thermal pad, store it safely and put back before sending it to DELL for a warranty claim, then they wouldn't know. I know going behind DELL like that is shady, and I wouldn’t normally recommend something like that. But DELL and nVidia has left us with no choice.

Let them keep replacing the GPU is a good idea, but what about when the warranty runs out ??

It is a design issue, but has everything to do with the temperature : Dell characterized the problem as "weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations”.
This type of failure doesn’t happen overnight, it takes some time and many cycles to finally give in. Therefore running it cooler and reducing the fluctuation (which is what the copper mod is meant for) can greatly reduce the probability of it failing.

 

Do whatever you want when warranty is out, but OP clearly stated that notebook is still under warranty for 2 years, so it's not advisable to apply copper mod. Don't forget, for XPS, you don't send it out, they come to you, and they might find out, why risk 2 years worth of warranty?

My GPU was running cool (no 3d apps stressing it, external cooling with notebook cooler and AC everywhere I go), and still it failed. I really don't see how temperature rose high enough or even fluctuate that much to kill my 8400gs in these conditions.

Personally, I don't believe any bull Dell/nvidia is feeding us, it's in their interest to cover up the extent of the problem as much as possible lest they want to get hit with a class action lawsuit.

 

I wouldnt buy a m1330 with a 8400m GS. Lots are experiencing issues with it atm, like overheating and downclocking.

The single small fan struggles to cool both CPU/GPU. Not to mention the horrible thermal pad Dell puts in there.

Purchase a m1330 with the integrated x3100. You will be much happier with this setup.