The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    nVidia SEC filing confirming card failures across the board

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by rive0108, Aug 31, 2008.

  1. rive0108

    rive0108 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    30
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    RE: nVidia 8700/8800/9600/9800 cards
    (See attached SEC filing page 24-Product Defect)

    In contrast to Nvidia’s claims that only a limited number of GPUs are affected, sources indicated that "most" recent Nvidia GPUs carry the problem and a chance of failure, pushing the potential damage into stratospheric regions

    It should be noted that nVidia has admitted that [graphics boards] “ are failing in the field at higher than normal rates,” and that “ testing suggests a weak material set of die/package combination ..." [which is used in both desktop and notebook chips, but is less likey to manifest itself in desktops due to obvious reasons]

    " Our products are complex and may contain defects or experience failures due to any number of issues in design, fabrication, packaging, materials and/or use within a system. If any of our products or technologies contains a defect, compatibility issue or other error, we may have to invest additional research and development efforts to find and correct the issue. Such efforts could divert our management’s and engineers’ attention from the development of new products and technologies and could increase our operating costs and reduce our gross margin. In addition, an error or defect in new products or releases or related software drivers after commencement of commercial shipments could result in failure to achieve market acceptance or loss of design wins. Also, we may be required to reimburse customers, including for customers’ costs to repair or replace the products in the field, which could cause our revenue to decline. A product recall or a significant number of product returns could be expensive, damage our reputation and could result in the shifting of business to our competitors. Costs associated with correcting defects, errors, bugs or other issues could be significant and could materially harm our financial results."

    According to the filing, This defect affects all current cards, but has been resolved in the newer ones as of the filing (Aug, 2008). The defect is not fixable. I sugest those with current affected cards contact your OEM/nVidia (if purchased retail), and have your card replaced. The issues may manifest at a later time even if all seems well at this time.

    WHAT TO LOOK FOR FOR IF YOUR CARDS BEGINS FAILING:
    The defective nVidia chips issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. (Fans running on high through the modified BIOS profile offered by numerous OEM's help to prevent weak die failures by preventing temp fluctuations). If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms during early stages of failure that include:

    Multiple images
    Random characters on the screen
    Lines on the screen
    No video
     
    rive0108, Aug 31, 2008
    #1
  2. Althernai

    Althernai Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    919
    Messages:
    2,233
    Likes Received:
    98
    Trophy Points:
    66
    I skimmed the document attached and I don't see them confirming failures across the board. In fact, I don't see anything at all that we didn't already discuss in previous threads. Can you quote the section that suggests the failure is more widespread than was thought?
     
    Althernai, Aug 31, 2008
    #2