Nvidia mobile issue is not as bad

Nvidia mobile issue is not as bad

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9296&Itemid=1

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So far there are no recalls

We spent some time to figure out what is actually going on with Nvidia's notebook chip issue. We were told by multiple sources that the issue has been simply blown out of proportion and that the situation is definitely much better than most of the people believe.

We were told by industry sources that so far neither Dell or HP have recalled a single notebook using Nvidia GPUs. You might be aware that mostly notebooks with Geforce 7 and Geforce 8 mobile chips are affected, and so far there are no reports that Geforce 9 mobile series are having the same issue. The issue is related to a mobile chip packaging and obviously, someone used a wrong combination of materials that is leading to this issue.

Dell and HP have announced preventative software updates and extended warranty programs for affected models, but they and other OEMs haven't issued full widespread GPU recalls. Dell and HP are probably the most affected, simply as they are selling much more SKUs compared to anyone else. This should indicate that the mobile GPU problem is not a widespread epidemic.

We will keep our eyes open, but so far there has not been any big recalls of notebooks with Nvidia’s GPU and this is a significant detail that was not properly communicated with the market; but this is up to OEMs, as Nvidia has to keep its mouth shut due to the contracts it has with big OEMs.

We were also told that the issue affects a small number of notebooks and it occurs mostly in some notebooks where the GPU and the rest of the machine is pushed to its limits, and even then it doesn’t happen every time. There will be more about this issue as it really caught our attention.

Compared to Sony's recent recall of 440,000 VAIO notebooks, the Nvidia issue really doesn't seem to be a significant one, as it has not forced a single vendor to recall a single unit.

 

Recalls are definitely not a measure of the scope or scale of something while it is in progress. It is not a good measure even after the fact. Take for example the Xbox 360 RROD fiasco. So far, there have been 0 recalls, but the failure rates are estimated as high as 18%.

A company will only issue a recall if forced by a government or as a last result. By the time there is a recall, then it means that all hell has broken loose.

Sony can afford the recall of their TZ notebooks because Sony is a multi-electronic company, with laptops being only a small facet of their enterprise. For a company like nVidia whose main product is graphics chips, it's much harder to issue a recall due to the financial burden that it carries. According to previous sources like Engadget, a full-scale recall will more than bankrupt nVidia.

 

Of course, this does not mean that there is no problem

Dell and HP's solution is only a haphazard one at best; it does nothing to reverse the damage done to GPUs well on their way to failing. If your GPU is already damaged by excessive heat and you apply the new BIOS fixes; the GPU may still fail. The fact that it may fail should be reason enough for manufacturers to issue a recall, since the BIOS update really doesn't fix the issue. The flaw is still present in Nvidia's mainstream GPU models and nothing short of a recall can definitively fix the problem; notebook manufacturers and Nvidia haven't done this, so it is safe to say that they have failed the consumer.

It is of course unclear whether this fix actually prevents failure at all - I suppose we will see in the near future if the BIOS fixes merely delay GPU failure.

Sorry, how does this translate into a less widespread problem? The fact that this problem affects several of Dell and HP's mainstream models manufactured within a certain time frame makes it probable that the problem is widespread. While there are no official numbers, I think that the combination of the world's largest laptop makers plus the large number of laptops they produced during Nvidia's problem is a good recipe for an epidemic.

 

+1, I personally thought that article was quite amateur as it only cared if products were recalled. It is quite obvious why they have not recalled the systems and that is because Nvidia does not have the funds to do so, they only set aside funds for repairs.

It is something we call "covering up"

 

^ My suspicions exactly; Nvidia is saving its own *** because it can't afford the cost of a recall. Ultimately this is a business decision that will hurt consumer's trust in Nvidia - as it should. I certainly will avoid them in the future.

 

Eh I can't really avoid them due to ATi's constant delays with their high-end cards. But I certainly won't be purchasing from them in the future if there is something comparable also out.

 

With this "GPU issue", it is not like affected laptops burst up in flames..These laptops will just stop working, much like usual "broken laptop". That means, there's no need for them to recall - unfortunately.

 

^ Manufacturers always recall when safety is on the line; when the consumers' safety is known to be at risk b/c of defective or improperly designed products, it only makes good business and legal sense to do a recall. The potential legal backlash of someone being hurt/killed by such a product is just not worth it.

Manufacturers don't do recalls to be responsible, they do it because they fear their own financial well-being. Nvidia is just this sort of company.