ring out which NVIDIA GPUs are defective -- it's a lot

So now that HP's joined Dell in releasing information on which laptops have those defective NVIDIA GPUs, we can sort of piece together which chips are faulty -- and just as had been rumored, it looks like basically every Geforce 8600M and 8400M chip is affected. That's not good news for NVIDIA, which has been saying that only "previous-generation" chips were problematic -- unless the chipmaker is planning on updating the hugely popular 8x00 series sometime, say, now, that's not exactly true, now is it? Other affected chips appear to be in the GeForce Go 7000 and 6000 lines, as well as the Quadro NVS 135M and the Quadro FX 360M, but that's just looking at model numbers, and we can't be exactly sure. We'd say that if you've got a machine with any one of these GPUs, it might be wise to call in and see what your laptop maker is going to do -- and it would be smart for NVIDIA to come right out and say exactly how big and how bad this problem really is.

Via Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/31/figuring-out-which-nvidia-gpus-are-defective-its-a-lot/

 

Apparently my 1520 is safe!

 

It doesn't look that way to me. For example, the Vostro 1500 with its 8600M is absent from Dell's list. The current theory is that it's only the GDDR3 cards of those varieties that suffer from this defect.

The update to the 8x00 series is the 9x00 series and most of it is already out (and has been for some time).

 

What exactly is the problem with these GPU's?

 

They're running too hot: http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C4006938808825747A007A1944.html?ref=technology

 

so is 7900 and 7950 defected too? they perform very well though

 

They contain a material which doesn't handle temperatures variations too well. That is, it does not take kindly to constantly being heated from and cooled to room temperature when you turn your laptop on and off so it eventually breaks down.

There are a lot of threads on this subject all over the forums -- look around if you want to know more.

 

My 8600m GT GDDR3 hanging out in my Macbook Pro, feeling hours of high intensity gaming every single day, has yet to crap out on me after a year of heavy use.

Lucky me? Maybe the whole part where the chip is integrated into the motherboard helped.

 

As already mentioned, new BIOS not required for Dell Inspiron 1520s and Vostro 1500s. My card is the A01 revision so I'm guessing I'm safe as well.

 

Just an FYI the 8xxx series are "previous generation chips"

@ StormEffect: Join the club almost 1 year of gaming at over 80 degrees and still going strong!

 

That's because that was taken care of with BIOS update A05 for the Vostro 1500.

 

I wonder what the A06 revision does then, also the fact that the affected Dells mentioned carry GDDR3 cards is significant.

 

I feel like I've just been backstabbed.

 

If the rumor that all revision A2 chips are affected than it is very likely that some Vostro 1500 are affect as well. Perhaps, RedKnee was right, the reason why Dell didn't issue a new bios for the 1500 could well due to the fact that the fan triggering temp is already adjusted through A05. At this point, it is all speculation, only TIME will tell the truth, and even so only those with limited warranty will have to suffer, not the ones Dells are making extra money out of through warranty.

 

This whole thing sucks as I have one of the affected cards (8600M GT) in my 1530, but it just makes me happy that I got the 3 year in home warranty. If it dies before then, so be it, I wait a day or two and someone comes by and replaces it free of charge. If it dies after that, I'd probably be buying another laptop in 3 year's time anyway so I won't lose any sleep over this.

 

Heh - and the funniest part, is Nvidia, the freaking cretins, have you to utter a SINGLE WORD, except for the comment in the SEC filing.

Not to rub salt in an open wound, but you folks should feel totally, and completely betrayed by Nvidia.

'Nuff said - and THAT being said, thank goodness I've been shopping the whole time for a lappie without a GeFarce chip.

I wonder if Dell has early knowledge, and maybe that was the reason the 8600M GT option was pulled from the V1500's a while back?

T