Issues related to dv6500z with TL-60 processor and Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS

Hi,
I got dv6500z laptop with AMD tl-60 processor and GeForce 8400M GS graphic card. I bought this on Dec, 2007. I should have gone with Integrated graphics. I never tried gaming on this notebook. Initially i ran into heat issues. I bought a Belkin notebook cooling pad to manage the heat problem. I never had any issues till now, other than occasional shutdowns. I should have contacted HP/ Bank when the laptop is under warranty / extended warranty with these issues.

I need your help in addressing following issues:-
1. Today my laptop got automatic shutdown for graphic card issue. It is working fine now. Do you think, i might have some issue with graphics card. There are some threads related to this issue. Is it begging of ending of my laptop (prelude). Any precautions i need to take for not to run into this issue in future.

2. No juice left in my laptop battery pack. I have observed that, temps are less when i started working without battery. Looks like battery is contributing to some of the heat. Is there any know issues with battery packs.

Last week, i bought dv6-1353 refurb for very very reasonable price. It came with T6600 processor and 4500MHD integrated graphics. I am still not decided on keeping this new laptop. Is it good idea to keep the new laptop as well considering issues with my old laptop. How much will be the typical lifecycle of HP laptops.

 

Following thread got some information about these failed GPU's.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/465285-nvidia-paid-200-million-gpu-debacle.html
Any one able to get the extended service for GPU's. Looks like, dv6500z is not part of the extended service HP providing. Isn't 8400M GS one off the faulty chip. Any help?

 

Integrated NVIDIA graphics fail too. Everything NVIDIA made for ~3 years had the bad solder problem. You could be experiencing early failure symptoms but right now there's no way to differentiate between that and the usual Windows and/or video driver bugginess. My parents have an early revision dv9000 that's still going strong so failure is not guaranteed, just likely. It helps that I flashed in the updated BIOS that runs the fan 24x7 early on. Yours might have come with that from the factory.

The newer HP notebooks with ATI graphics seem to be reliable. I'm very happy with my new dv7 with Phenom II.

 

Thanks for the feedback. 8400M gs might be a discrete card. My fan keeps on running for most of the time. Looks like, HP decided that way such that they can scrap through warranty period. I even use laptop with Belkin cooling pad most of the time. Battery is almost dead . That heat might have effected its life time. I do not know what criteria HP used to recall these laptops. I played plants vs zombies by connecting to LCD TV for 2 hours. Temps went above 83C for CPU's and GPU. System got one instantaneous shutdown.

Recently got one more dv6_1xxx series laptop. Looks like, it got redesigned bottom. This time went with c2d processor with Integrated graphics. Got it for very reasonable price.

 

The 8400M is discrete, and it's also notorious for being the chip that fails the most often. That's too bad since it's quite a nice chip. I seem to be the only one on this forum whose 8400M hasn't failed yet...

I can't speak for other manufacturers but on HPs the GPU fails due to the absolutely rubbish thermal pad that they use between it and heatsink, since they're too lazy to machine the heatsink so that it fits tight enough to be able to use thermal paste only. Oh and they use ALUMINUM FOIL as thermal interface material for the CPU. Not kidding here.

A reflow plus some proper thermal material (read: a custom aluminum or copper pad and good quality thermal paste) will return the board to full operation for an year or two if done right. I can walk you thru the ghetto way of reflowing the board if you're willing to waste a day of your life messing about with the laptop. I haven't performed it on my laptop since it didn't need it, but i've done it on others' laptops, on some cellphone boards, and even a desktop motherboard with onboard GeForce 7000-something. They all returned to life afterwards.

And yes heat does affect battery life, that's why i keep my battery OUT of the laptop when i don't need it.