Nvidia Reports Problem with Laptop GPUs

Nvidia has uncovered a problem with some of their older laptop graphics cards that shipped in “significant quantities”, the company said Wednesday, but did not specify which series of its GPUs are affected.

The cause of the problem relates to a packaging material used with some of its chips, as well as the thermal design of some laptops, the company said.

Because of this issue, Nvidia prepared a driver that will cause cooling fans to start spinning sooner, in order to reduce the “thermal stress” on the GPUs. According to an Nvidia representative, the driver has been provided to laptop makers directly.

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[…] Dell has released BIOS updates for select notebooks to help reduce the likelihood of recently revealed Nvidia graphics card issues. […]

My card went out 3 days ago. With as many of these cards failing, Nvidia needs to offer replacements for their faulty products, or at least a hefty discount for a replacement if we send in our faulty worthless cards. There are countless users who’s cards have gone out. Just look at reviews online, everyone is having this problem.

[…] Hewlett-Packard has listed 24 laptop models that are affected by a reported Nvidia graphics card problem. […]

I have had 2 graphics card break and both times it took Dell about a month to get me my card back. Finally the issue seems to be clear. I haven’t played a single game in the past month since I got my laptop back for fear that I will break it again, but since it is under warranty for another 6 months or so, it is probably better to test it now then to wait….. NVIDIA should do something about this or risk losing some of its market share in the future.

I have a dell inspiron E 1705 I bought 14 months ago specifically for gaming ( I travel alot and EQ2 is my game of choice). About 2 months ago I was sent to Kauai, Hi on an extended buis. trip. The houses here rarely have AC. Soon after, dispite elevating the laptop to allow for better circulation, my display began blinking out. After a cursory inspection, i noticed the graphics fan wasn’t spinning. Still waiting for the fan to arrive but after reading this it looks like I may be buying a new graphics cardas well…you are right, Nvidia should replace faulty parts or at least make the new driver available to existing users.

[…] Apple has confirmed that 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video cards are affected by the recently reported GPU problem. […]