Nvidia GPU update from Dell

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx

A new BIOS for the M1530 should be available soon.

update- new BIOS update for the M1530 now available (A09).

 

the new bios is probably gonna crank up the fan 24/7 like the A12 bios for the m1330.

 

It already is if you go to the Dell website: www.dell.co.uk (im from the UK but the same with US)

Just go to the support section and search for BIOS updates

Its revision A09

 

is there a way of knowing what an "abnormal" temp is so i can be selective in installing this new bios or not? if it aint broke i dont want to really fix it...

 

If the plastic melts on your laptop case then your temps are too high But really I would say if your GPU idle temps are above 60 C then I would think that is definitely abnormal.

 

well from what Ive heard anything over 80c fot the GPU is dangerous.. Over 100c then your system should last you upto 6 months...

 

my gpu always idles at 60, and during gaming hits around high 70s.

so i take it instead of replacing laptops they will just make us install this bios and be stuck with crappy gpu units?

be better if they replace the cards but i guess its definetly not cost effective

 

Dell only lists this M1530 BIOS A09 update as "recommended." If it were so important, I would have assumed that it would have been given another designation like "critical" or something similar. In fact, I recall that the A08 BIOS released in March was designated "urgent." Maybe Dell doesn't want to scare customers by reinforcing the perception that the GPU will fail prematurely.

 

too bad they dont release info on what an abnormal idle temp is..... i dont know if i have a defective unit on hand or not. i never had any artifacts or screwed up images during gaming yet so i guess its ok ?

 

I wish Nvidia would do the right thing and identify exactly which of its notebook GPUs have defective packaging. Nvidia's handling of this problem is as bad as Intel's handling of the "Pentium bug" many years ago. I thought that companies learned from Intel's resulting bad PR.

 

Don't hold your breath. They will never come out publicly and identify the defective packaging because it could lead people to assume all "similar" packaging are defective. Competitions in the GPU market is tight. Nvidia is using AMD's late 90s and early 2000s tactics for releasing "new" products. They are running a 2x performance every year with overclocking existing products in between the cycle. Hence, we're seeing how easy it is for consumer to overclock these cards. The "defective packaging" we're seeing is probably just a case of over pushing an older product to do more.

 

Cheeky ****s at Dell. That blog post says that

IANAL, but would strongly suggest that - if your GPU fails and Dell refuse to fix it - you challenge this and seek appropriate advice (in the UK, Citizen's Advice Bureau and Trading Standards may be able to help for free). Under UK law - and in many other states - if goods are not fit for purpose when they are sold, the retailer (Dell, for the systems they've sold direct) is obliged to compensate the purchaser: in other words, you could demand a refund. Given that NVIDIA have acknowledged the problem - and that expensive, 'premium' laptops should last a while - I would think that you would have a strong case.

It sounds like this is NVIDIA's fault - not Dell's - but Dell is still acting badly here. If the GPUs are faulty, Dell should take responsibility for replacing them - or, at a bare minimum, agree to fix any that go in future - and then go after NVIDIA for compensation. As things stand, I suspect that Dell are going to be facing bad publicity if their XPSs start to die in higher numbers, and possibly getting sued if they don't make good any fried GPUs.

 

I was just going to say that they are going to face lawsuits over this one. If they would just say that they are willing to fix any system that goes wrong because of the defect (and they just listed the symptoms), warrenty or no warrenty, then at least we would all know that we are covered and not left hung out to dry. It would be ideal to have to get it fixed but it beats having to face an expensive repair bill only 2 or 3 years after paying a lot of money in the first place. I personally would at least consider suing them if my card failed out of warrenty and they tried to charge me to fix it (which is what it looks like they are going to do).

 

If this is the case then I've got up to five more months before my M1330 will die, since it's ALWAYS between 90 and 105C when I play games, and even in some standard windows scenario it easily reaches 80C and beyond.

Not good at all.

Matthias

 

If Dell are confident that this update will work - great, then they should come out and make very clear they'll fix any GPUs that go afterwards. If they're not confident, they shouldn't leave customers to pick up the pieces.

By the way, I noticed that the word 'sorry' doesn't appear in that Dell blog post...

 

above 60 abnormal? does anyone think that my 8700gt sli idling at 65C-70C is abnormal? just for comparison my CPUs idle at 38C

 

It's perfectly normal under normal usage. If you are gaming it will be higher but the fan speed should increase as the CPU or GPU temperature increases. My fan is always on at a low RPM and the RPM increases when the GPU temperature hits 64 degrees C. This is under my nornal usage.

 

The BIOS update isn't much of a solution to this problem, but at least Dell finally decided to make an announcement about this. Now, when you call Dell, their reps will finally acknowledge that there is a problem. That's a first step to this issue. Next step for Dell would be to extend warranties for free to affected customers and make Nvidia pay for it. Another step would be to replace GPUs which fail with 9 series cards.

 

Totally agree; now it's just a matter of getting Dell to come around.......I'm thinking that's a Mt. Everest type climb.

 

BTW: Nvidia GPU's are specced for 120°C max. Above that, it gets very dangerous (ie your card is completely fried). Around 100°C (with my 8400M GS 104°C) the card downclocks to save its hot butt.

This of course not withstanding that high temps like 80+ aren't harmful for other components or even the motherboard itself!!!

 

>> From http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx