Rumor: New Nvidia GPUs use Older Solder Bumps to Avoid Failure

from http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/rumor_new_nvidia_gpus_use_older_solder_bumps_avoid_failure

There's been plenty of coverage surrounding Nvidia's admitted "abnormal failure rate" among what remains an unknown number of GPUs, but in case you missed it, here's the Cliff Notes version: Earlier this summer, Nvidia announced it would take a one time hit of $150-$200 million to cover warrany and repair costs associated with a bad batch of mobile GPUs. The chip maker insisted (and still does) that the failures were an isolated incident, but that's come into question. News and rumor site The Inquirer has been particularly vocal in its questioning of how widespread the problem really is, bringing up the possibility that the defective parts could be affecting both mobile and desktop parts, including G92 and G94 based GPUs.

Now that you're caught up, it's TGDaily who's bringing more speculation to the table. Referencing industry sources, the news site claims that Nvidia's future 45nm GPUs that have recently entered the qualification stage are being built with high-lead solder bumps. Earlier speculation pointed to Nvidia having made the switch to eutecic solders in reaction to the GPU failures, and if that's the case, the switch to solder bumps raises more questions than answers as to what's going on, and whether or not the problem has been solved or is ongoing.

Nvidia isn't commenting on the latest news, and it's a pretty safe bet that this won't be the last you'll hear on the matter

 

Thanks for the news; I can't say that I trust Nvidia to keep their word on whether it was an "isolated incident". In the same space of time, my GeForce 7200 failed, and the same symptom can be found on HP's mainstream dv6xxx and dv24xx models. I suspect the problem is more widespread than Nvidia has been willing to admit.

The good part is, the replacement units I've been offered also have ATI cards, so I won't buy their products for some time.

 

It's ok nvidia, I've moved back to ATI anyhow.

 

Check out this link:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254382-33-would-nvidia

It is from the same basic place, but has some pretty good technical information. Assuming that we (consumers) continue to be left in the dark, I can assure you all that my next GPU will either be a low cost built in solution, or an ATI product. I am appalled at the response being taken to this issue. It seems inexcusable that this sort of 'problem' could persist in 3 generations of their product line unchecked. That is just bad business.

I do not like paying for another persons mistake when they don't bother to change their behavior.

 

Thanks for the article.

In my desktop build the only reason I am going ATI is because I have lost my trust in Nvidia.

 

nVIDIA has lost my trust also, along with that of countless other savvy notebook and desktop buyers (present and future).

Even worse, they haven't been forthcoming with any significant information NOR have they taken any sort of initiative to rectify the situation (anything short of a recall OR a long-term warranty is unacceptable)!

In short, not only have they lost my trust....they've also PISSED ME OFF!!! I'd probably order integrated Intel graphics instead of an nVIDIA product, given the choice......as long as ATI has workable alternatives, I'm over nVIDIA!

 

Today morning my Go 7600 and the entire motherboard was gone. I am not even sure whether the replacement motherboard and the GPU will be safe or not.

 

so thr 9xxxM laptop graphics card series is faulty too?

 

Bearing the release of information that says otherwise, yes, you would be at risk also.

 

Ironically it was the first time I had gone Nvidia.... I had been sticking with my classic ATI Raedon 9200 SE 128mb card for 6 years and man that thing stuck around and played/worked hard

 

Too bad all these rumours are greatly exaggerated... don't worry about your GPU.

 

It is hardly exaggerrated; these "rumours" are costing Nvidia hundreds of millions of dollars to make up for using poor materials in their 7th, 8th, and possibly 9th generation of GeForce GPUs. News articles estimate that up to 75 million GPUs are affected; this is based on real-world reports, not on Nvidia's dishonest admission that only their 8400 and 8600 series are defective.

 

My desktop 7600 GT died recently. It's a desktop part that has no confirmed problems at all but after all this news and that thing just having more problems than I ever thought possible I'm not sure I will trust nvidia again.

 

FWIW:
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080905PD206.html
"Currently, we are negotiating with partners to recall products and hope to give consumers a satisfactory resolution."

I think the above is the first case of nvidia actually saying they want a recall. Note though the article is a translation from www.digitimes.com.tw and might not be 100% accurate.

 

I think the above is the first case of nvidia actually saying they want a recall. Note though the article is a translation from www.digitimes.com.tw and might not be 100% accurate.[/QUOTE]


. . . And you would expect the CEO of the company, who reports to shareholders, not customers, to admit that the problem is widespread and worse than they initially realized? That they were actually designing defective products for years up to now and charging a nice premium for them?

Suuuuure I hate being the cynic sometimes, but usually the last source of information I would trust about a business would come from the business itself. Do you know who syntax-brillian is? They made some nice Consumer Reports condoned TVs. Earnings were looking good. Then they went bankrupt . . . to everyone's surprise. Honesty and profit do not currently mix, and it will take a lot more to convince me otherwise. Like, for example, a letter from Dell letting me know that I bought a 'fire hazard', and that they would like to replace the GPU free of charge with a competitors equal product (a nice, new ATI 3450 or something).

 

Same thing happened to my dv9030

 

Ugh, I just finished with this hell dealing with HP. Bought a DV2500t last year, and a week out of warranty, the GPU fails. Call up HP, and they kept telling me it was an accident, therefor not covered by them. I kept repeating, "What the hell are you talking about? How did I accidentally break the graphics card? And why are you saying I broke it?"

So we went around and around with this, with me reading articles over the phone and telling them that it is BS that the laptop generations before and after with the exact same stupid card are covered by their extended warranty, just not mine.

I gave up and talked to AMEX. After 2 weeks of testing, they refunded the purchase price.

From what I see, Dell is being a bit more forthcoming about the whole thing, and I will probably be back ordering one of their machines this weekend.

 

I would highly recommend the Studio 15; I recieved it as a replacement for my previous HP (failed Nvidia GPU), and it runs extremely cool with the C2D and ATI card.