NVIDIA reaches settlement in class action suit affecting Apple, Dell, HP laptops

NVIDIA reaches settlement in class action suit affecting Apple, Dell, HP laptops -- Engadget

The website for the class action suit is: The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page . Hopefully everyone will be able to get their slice of the pie, including me .

 

OK, I am now extremely pissed off.

I have an HP dv2500t, and it had one of the faulty nVidia GPUs -- the 8400 GS. I contacted HP when they issued an extended warranty, and they gave me the runaround, as the dv2500 was not listed on the affected models, even though it quite clearly is (it used the same damn graphics card as the other models!), just search Google to see. My laptop died just after the warranty expired, so I didn't get a replacement, then HP claimed it wasn't affected by the nVidia GPU issue.

Now these lawyers are doing the same damn thing. Other HP laptops (even earlier in the dv2000 series!) that have the exact same GPU and were made within the exact same time frame as my laptop are listed, but not the dv2500t. This is a crock of absolute garbage. How do I contact these lawyers to get my laptop fixed? It's been broken for freaking two years now and I got tired of hassling with HP.

What on God's green earth do I have to do to get my laptop fixed?! Where is an e-mail for these lawyers? Their Web site has no e-mail contact link.

 

I'm guessing once the final hearing on Dec 20th happens you'll be able to. I'm assuming by then they'll have contact info up on their site.

 

my tx1000 also has been a victim of a faulty NVIDIA chip. the wireless kept disappearing and i had to send it for a repair 3 times already. unfortunately for me, the product number of my laptop is NOT listed among those that this website claim to have been affected! what nonsense...

 

Ok I'm with Ayepecks! My dv9500 with the 8600m gs was already replaced under warranty once. My warranty expires next month and it isn't on the list either.

 

My laptop has an 8400M GS that I bought in August of 2007 but yet isn't listed. Wondering what's going on with that. Are those models listed only from customers who called and complained? It obviously has the same graphics card so I don't see the problem here.

 

Wow, that really sucks... I have a tx2000 which is IDENTICAL to the tx1000 series except for the active digitizer instead of passive, and I have exactly the symptoms listed (screen doesn't turn on when I turn on the computer). Checked the tx1xxx list just in case, my product number didn't show up. But it's really bizarre that you've got the tx1000 and still your product number doesn't show up in the list...

I think tx2000 series owners should raise a stink about it, as well as anyone else who has laptops with the same affected chipsets but not on the settlement list, until we get some retribution. From a technical standpoint, they should have just listed chipset numbers instead of laptop product numbers, but that would allow many more people to file claims, which is obviously not what they wanted.

Stupidly perhaps, as you can see in my sig I got another HP... and honestly, I really love this computer but I bought it pretty much knowing that if something were to go wrong, HP is going to be completely useless about it. But at least it's got an ATI chip which I trust not to fail more than nVidia.

In the end... nVidia deserves what they got with this settlement and much, much more. At least partial justice is being done, I guess.

 

The suit should be for the chip, not just specific models. If you can prove that you A) have an effected gpu/chipset and B) it suffers from the problems associated with it, you have a right to part of the settlement. I assume once money gets to the right places you'll be able to call and plead your case.

 

I very seriously doubt that. The lawsuit is specifically mentioning these models of laptops, which means that's all the lawsuit will cover. By the time this is actually accepted on December 20, it will be too late if you want to get a laptop with a faulty card that's not listed fixed.

If you Google the dv2500, it was one of the main laptops that had issues with the graphics card. HP previously screwed me over, and now this lawsuit is as well. I bought my laptop in 2007, which is right in line with all the other laptops listed in the court case, so there's no way it wasn't effected since it crapped out because of the exact same graphics card issue.

I want to complain and I want to complain now. This is just a law firm trying to get a company to pay their $13,000,000 fee and screwing the people they're supposed to be representing over.

 

Thanks OP!

I bet this Nvidia issue was the main reason why HP was at the top of Squaretrades reliability issues survey back in 2009.

Ayepecks, check out hplies.com if you haven't already. May find more useful information for your case.

 

I'm not going to bet against you.

Name one HP Pavilion dv2xxx, dv6xxx or dv9xxx series laptop that had dedicated graphics but no nvidia? Even the integrated was often GF6150 or similar, as well as nvidia chipset along the dedicated gpu. Recipe for destruction.

 

are there any notebooks covered in this class action that weren't "repaired" by hp anyway? They don't seem to have recognized any of the dvx5xx and on series notebooks that had the same problems

 

I dont know how they can repair the laptops with 7400 and 7600 cards and not the ones with the 8400 and 8600. I have a dv9700(8600 gs) and a dv6700(8400 gs), both have heat issues, the dv9700 has been repaired, and we have changed the mb, as far as the dv6700 I have made a number of mods to keep it cool. This makes me think "why not buy a broken dv9400t from ebay and get a replacement?" anyone have any ideas? LETS MAKE THEM PAY

 

You have to have proof of purchase of the new model, from a store or HP.

 

Honestly, I'm more mad at the law firm who took this class action lawsuit than anything. They're getting paid $13,000,000, yet they can't do a decent job of research to find out that nVidia lied about the extent of the cards which were effected, so now a ton of us with faulty machines are left out in the cold.

 

So if I got it second hand, they wont pay? That's a bummer. So I can just wait to see if they add the dvx7xx line.

 

Every single one 7xxx and 8xxx -series GPU and nForce chipset of the same era. All of them, including desktop models. Everything that came out of the factory at the time was affected, since they were manufactured with the same process.

 

Exactly, that's my point. Which is why I'm so unbelievably pissed off my laptop is not listed. I'm going to call them (well, the hotline or whatever it is) next week about it, I'll let you know what they say.

 

I have received the email, I do not know how?

But My Laptop is the list. It got repaired once by HP after an year of purchase. Started same trouble again after an year. Now HP asked for 450 bucks for repair. Even though I have another computer, my children still hangs on to that laptop, which will boot if we are lucky on that day.

Shall I hope something good?

 

Errrrrrrr...I just got the notice in the mail about the lawsuit and I'm bummed. I can't participate in the suit because I tossed my dv6000 in the trash a few months ago after battling with HP for 2 years over it and getting nowhere. The suit says you have to return the computer to HP to be compensated. I also have a Vostro 1400 with the bad chip, it has been repaired once but is working fine right now.

 

no notification yet, I have a tx1000 gd617av that was my sisters and the product number is not on the list, but it was fixed by her friend, but then lost wifi, then wifi was working again, but now its completely dead after working after the first reflow. I guess I am out of luck? calling the number on that site was no help...

 

My tx1000 too is not covered.

What a shame. This suit barely includes any models.

 

The important word here is "SETTLEMENT"...The company pays 13000000,which is peanuts compared to what it would cost to replace or reimburse the consumers,the Law firm gets its 13000000 in fees and the consumer gets the shaft.Nvidia and the law firm agreed on some very carefully selected models so that they have to replace almost none while in the eyes of the public it seems that there is a huge replacement program going on."Settlement" between the Law firm and Nvidia.Get it???

 

This sucks.. My old laptop was affected too (thats why I'm getting a new one) but it's Asus so apparently I won't be getting anything :S

 

It's a bunch of baloney. The lawyers will get the majority of the settlement then the rest will be devied up with consumers which is essentially nothing. You still have to fight tooth and nails to get your gear repaired but then HP will say it wasn't the GPU after all! Thousands of people already threw away their laptops, what happens then? It's like the class action suit against a major cellular carrier. Settled for millions but the consumer only got minute credits (mine was 36 minutes)!

 

Worse case, sell it here. Or, buy a mobo for it. Only $100. I know-principal. They should fix it.

 

Interesting; so the Pavilion dv60xx, dv61xx, dv62xx, dv63xx, and dv64xx are all affected, but the dv65xx are not? Is that correct?

I ask because I have a dv6500 series laptop with a Geforce 8400 GS. I've had it for 3.25 or so years now, and it is still going strong; did whatever was wrong with the GPUs just not affect my model?

 

The affected GPUs were random. Even nVidia didn't know in which batch was manufactured and then distributed. They should cover all laptop/desktop models that had this particular chip and not by specific model numbers. I already replaced my tx1000z motherboard once and again it died. I'm not about to shell out for another!

 

You are just lucky, I have a dv6700 with the same card and I haven't had close to that luck

 

I really hope someway there are other models added. It's ridiculous that some models are missing even though they carry a 8400M GS.

 

Sorry to hear that. I hope that they will expand the suit to cover all affected models. I am very thankful though that I have been as lucky as I have. I completed law school using this laptop and it would have been frustrating if it had had this kind of problem during that time.

 

Where do you think the lawyers got the list of affected systems? You suppose they determined it on their own? They bought one of every machine off e-bay and cracked open the case? No, the manufacturer told them what systems could be affected. ...so ya can't really fault the lawyers. Ha ha, this must be the 1st time I ever defended a lawyer in my life.

 

I just got the post card for my sister's laptop, and rechecked the site, it looks like all tx1000s are covered now

 

yes, they are included now! here: The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Affected Models

 

If the lawyers are representing a group of people in a class action lawsuit, then yes, I fully expect them to find out that information on their own in addition to utilizing the information given to them by manufacturers.

 

Still no DV65xx included.

 

What about us Canadians???? Damnit stupid tx1000

 

I have a dv9500t with the 8600M GS and the GPU is bad. What are my options my part number isn't listed on the law suit web site? HP said I have to pay $400 to get it fixed!

Did anyone get HP to fix their laptop for free due to this issue?

 

Most of the 8 series nvidia cards are re-badged 7 series cards so all of the 8 series should also be replaced. And beenone you can try the heat fix, it worked for my dv9500t

 

I got a older dv6500t as well but so far, no problems. I got that one running on power saver mode which under-volts the processor I believe. I never game on it. Mainly my wife uses it for internet, Skype and you tube. Its got the 12 cell battery which lifts it up on the back. And when she uses it in bed I always remind her to keep those intakes/vents clear so it can breath. Why I worry about that,, cause I know its got faulty solder like the rest of the nvidia crap from that era.

 

I got dv6500z with 8400GS. My laptop started doing occational shutdowns. This looks like the faulty gpu issue(heat). I am not into gaming. Not sure why i bought this with dedicated GPU. May be, they are giving HDMI port only with dedicated gpu that time. Any idea, if we can contact lawyers and see if they can work on dv6500z as well.

 

Yea no point to call the lawyers, they dont give a rats*** as long as they get their money, bad thing is they already have.

 

I have a 6500T and that model only came with hdmi with the dedicated 8400 gpu. So that was the reason I bought it as well. I too had some random crashes. Not sure why but I did a clean install of vista premium using a Vista Anytime upgrade DVD. Then I called MS to authenticate my license. My wife uses that machine but so far, after 2 weeks she has not had to reboot that machine as much as once.. I should have put a clean install on that from the get go. HP really corrupted the 6500t with all their junk. But I'm thinking your machine may need a clean install at this point as well.

As for them adding additional models to the suit at this point; well all I can say is you and are are doomed if such a failure were to occur. I am positive that the time to add claims to the class action suite has come and passed. These civil suits always have time restraints. But I agree, every 84xx processor at the time should have automatically been added on the claim.

I would say that your system may have a bit more chance of gpu failure being you got the amd processor which probably is running hotter then the intel processor. Try running it in powersaver mode.. that will probably under volt the processor to reduce overall heat on your machine. I have been running mine in powersaver mode and that along with a 12 cell battery to lift it up on the back (better ventilation) and doing a fresh install seems to have it running better then ever.

 

Hey Vanko, I wonder if they had gone to the new solder when they made the dv6700t with the 84xx GPU? At any rate, I suggest strongly to go into power saver mode and get the 12 cell to lift the back on your system as well.. just to be careful. Unfortunately, i would not recommend gaming on any system with a 84xx which is a shame. But gaming just gets things too hot and will fire the 8400 to 70 Celsius in no time.. and that is where failures start occurring at those temps. The few times that I gamed with my 6500t I saw GPU temps in that area. And that is not what I want to do considering the defective solder that was used on my GPU.

One other thing that I noticed was the last driver for the 8400 from nvidia's site as well as HP's site would make the fan run really loud for a while after booting up and would run really hard even after sleep which was really annoying. Being I run in powersaver mode I thought that was over kill and I used the older driver which keep the temps down but would not have that annoying fan "FULL ON" for several minutes after sleep. I have always felt nvidia did that intentionally to try to keep their gpu cooler. I have never heard of a graphics driver affecting the fan like that. Usually the bios updates will control fan management.

 

HP made that BIOS change to let fans run continuous and get through the warranty period. I am using laptop with belkin cooler. You are right about my CPU contributing to heat as well. My laptop shuts down automatically when i play plants vs zombies game connecting to TV for some time. It is actually that bad.

 

Just received notice yesterday that they have expanded the suit to include other models of laptops that were not on the original list. You have to check the website for updates.

 

Is there any Canadian version of this claim?

 

I have an HP dv9035nr p/n RG343UA#ABA with the Nvidia 7600 and it's been replaces 4 different times by HP. Day one I install World of Warcraft and it crashes due to heat. I was raiding and I had to play with my laptop in the fridge! I spent hundred of dollars on laptop cooling pads and always had issues (the last one was a machined aluminum NZXT for $100). It has always been a huge undergoing to get help from them.

Now I randomly see this lawsuit when I was going to list it for parts and feel some bit of hope. This is quickly dashed when my model isn't one of the listed. What can I do? At this point I'm willing to fly down. from Washington state. to make a court appearance. Are they adding additional models or do I have to wait for the next law suite? I'm glad I kept my receipts and return paperwork from HP.

 

If your model number is not listed I'd suggest emailing or phoning the head attorney. I found his contact information on the law firms website that is handling the case. I just emailed him and plan on calling Monday.

Jeff S. Westerman
Partner
[email protected]
Los Angeles
T: 213.617.1200
F: 213.617.1975

 

Did so about the DV65xx models. Hopefully they add them, ridiculous that they aren't on the affected models. Can't even use the HDMI to tv for much because my laptop just shuts down, even playing games is a chore.