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Nvidia Problems Hit HP Desktops
Barence writes "HP has revealed faults with 38 different models in its slimline PC range, sparking speculation that Nvidia's faulty GPU problems have spread beyond laptops. HP's official statement says the problems are 'attributable to the computer's motherboard" and that affected machines 'may not boot or may not display video' — the same kind of terminology used to describe the previous faults with laptop GPUs. Both HP and Nvidia have declined to comment. But in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year, Nvidia admitted 'there can be no assurance that we will not discover defects in other MCP or GPU products.'" Note: the linked story (updated since this submission) says that Yes, the problems are now confirmed to be rooted in the Nvidia GPUs.
I'm sure it is confined only to HP desktops, no desktops from other manufacturers are affected. It was true last time, why not now? *snicker*
...would have thought.
brbut still: information on this fuckup is hard to find, non-concrete statements everywhere. why not have a tool that reads the s/n of the GPU, checks it and warns if your gpu is faulty? i'm owning a dell notebook which, according to dell, is not affected. but nevertheless dell put a bios-update online for my modell which obviously changed something concerning ventilation. being vague is not always the way to go.
For "covering up" the faulty GPUs? Hey, if they signed contracts with the OEMs on these chips leaving the announcements to them, then that's the brakes -- they can't talk about it. What would you expect them to do?
My blog
...The RoHS demonization of lead had the best of intentions and all, but the results are in, and some things just kinda crap out (including, big, expensive and very dangerous things) without it. Thanks EU, but we're gonna have to wrap this avoid-lead-at-all-cost show up right about now...
but you MUST register the video card or mobo or prostitute with them within 2 weeks of purchase otherwise you have the standard warranty coverage. I have a G92 8800GTS/512, and a backup G80 8800GTS/320 which was my warranty replacement for a 7900GT which had a prolonged illness, then a slow death, after two years of use. If the G92 fails, I get whatever is comparable NOW, which would probably be . . . I don't like any of the current crop of GPUs because they use up too many watts for what I want . . . I'd get whatever I got but switch to ATI/AMD. IF the G92 goes tits up. I'd still be using the 7900GT if it was still working. My TOTAL system with the G92 uses 160W at idle (comprising an AMD X2 2.5GHz c.2005, secondary PCI video, X-Fi PCI, 2GB DDR, 4 HDs,,,,), almost the same as it was with the 7900GT. The current crop of GPUs ALONE would use that much power.
It's hardly affected it at all.
ATI Linux drivers are still total crap compared to NVidia's.
I would rather have a funded, supported binary blob that works over a bunch of unsupported unfunded drivers and open specifications any day.
Try to use any modern ATI card in an Linux-based HTPC that has to support HD video, and see how far you get.
I wouldn't call the Xbox 360 GPU failures (which don't seem to have affected any other ATi products) or the nVidia notebook GPU failures (which don't seem to have affected any other nVidia products) "big, expensive, and very dangerous things". Certainly the very specific nature of the problems suggests it has nothing to do with the switch to lead-free processes themselves (which nVidia and ATi themselves are using in other products without issue). I'd welcome other examples of course, as there could be low-profile problems which I've overlooked and show this to be a more general issue. Of course there are many new theoretical failure modes introduced by lead-free components and soldering, I'm just pointing out that from where I stand it's not yet an issue in the real world.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Faith is usually misplaced with companies. Most of them have sucked at one point or another. All you can do is do some research about current products and hope there is no hidden problem brewing.
When I last bought a graphics card it was an NVidia 8600GT because of ATI's still-questionable Linux support at the time (the Open Source driver project was announced but nothing delivered yet). Now I can only hope that card does not die on me.
Based on ATI's improvement in drivers and NVidia's current problems I would get an ATI now. But that is not set in stone either and may be reversed a few years from now.
C - the footgun of programming languages
There is a problem with your math there,you see you forgetting about Y,which is how many customers turn on your company after you burn them and tell all their friends their horror story so they never buy your product either.
Let me give an example: A former teacher USED to go to Walmart all the time. It wasn't far from his home,and since he was a DIY type he often spent 500-$800 a month there. They burnt him on a $40 battery that was less than a week old because he couldn't find his receipt,even though it is a brand only sold at Walmart. Since that was 3 years ago and he hasn't been in since at the minimum $500 they have lost $18000 for the price of a battery. He also has several friends who trust his judgment and are now going to Target like he does. Add in the money they would have spent and you can easily double that.
You see,I learned a little rule a long time ago: Give a customer a good experience and they'll brag on you to three to five of their friends. Treat a customer like shit and they'll go out of their way to tell everyone they know how you suck and should be avoided like the clap. It would cost HP next to nothing to keep some comparable spares in a warehouse and simply change out the HDD when a customer sends in a bad one. Give them even the tiniest of upgrades at the same time and you will have a customer that gushes about your service. Burn that customer and he/she'll make DAMNED sure to let everyone know what a lousy POS company you are. And considering that Dell and Acer is out there happy to take their business that really doesn't sound like a smart move,does it?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
The failing solderbumps were high-lead solder. The solution was to switch to a eutectic solder, which has less lead. So why would RoHS anti-lead policies be to blame?