djderricke
Earlier this month, sites like Ars Technica and ZDNet blogged about NVIDIA’s statement regarding a potential issue with some of NVIDIA's Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) used in notebooks. According to NVIDIA, these affected GPUs are experiencing higher than expected failure rates causing video problems. Though this issue is not unique to Dell, some of these affected GPUs are used in certain Dell laptops. That's why I wanted to take a few minutes here to explain the issue and to let customers know what to do next.
The issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms during early stages of failure that include:
* Multiple images
* Random characters on the screen
* Lines on the screen
* No video
Dell recommends that you flash your system BIOS (see links in the table below). Each of these BIOS updates listed in the table below modifies the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations. Note: if you are already experiencing video-related issues like the bullet points above, updating the BIOS will not correct them. Dell will provide support for customers who have experienced GPU failure according to the terms of the system warranty.
These BIOS updates will help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues. New systems are being shipped with the updated BIOS revisions. Here's the list of the latest BIOS versions. Click on the links below to download them.
Dell Product Name
Link to the article with the table
BIOS will be available before the end of July
If you need help flashing your system BIOS or experience any of the video-related issues listed above, please contact Dell Technical Support. Our teams are committed to working with affected customers to resolve issues on a case-by-case basis.
The issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms during early stages of failure that include:
* Multiple images
* Random characters on the screen
* Lines on the screen
* No video
Dell recommends that you flash your system BIOS (see links in the table below). Each of these BIOS updates listed in the table below modifies the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations. Note: if you are already experiencing video-related issues like the bullet points above, updating the BIOS will not correct them. Dell will provide support for customers who have experienced GPU failure according to the terms of the system warranty.
These BIOS updates will help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues. New systems are being shipped with the updated BIOS revisions. Here's the list of the latest BIOS versions. Click on the links below to download them.
Dell Product Name
Link to the article with the table
BIOS will be available before the end of July
If you need help flashing your system BIOS or experience any of the video-related issues listed above, please contact Dell Technical Support. Our teams are committed to working with affected customers to resolve issues on a case-by-case basis.
Posted Sat 26 Jul 08 @ 8:12 am
jimspinnin
Dell and nVidia can both go to hell in my opinion. Admit that you sold and made components that are junk, but just increase fan speed to fix it? I hope they both go out of business.
Posted Sat 26 Jul 08 @ 12:35 pm
CanSpoilU
I used a laptop with an NVIDIA 1500m Quadro for over a year. Had occasional hiccups.
I switched to a laptop with an ATI FireGL 5200. This GPU is not nearly as fast as the 1500M. But man it works so much better with VDJ. Ive already done 12 gigs in a row with not a single issue.
Whenever I recommend a PC/laptop to a friend to use for VDJ, i'll always say get one with an ATI card.
I switched to a laptop with an ATI FireGL 5200. This GPU is not nearly as fast as the 1500M. But man it works so much better with VDJ. Ive already done 12 gigs in a row with not a single issue.
Whenever I recommend a PC/laptop to a friend to use for VDJ, i'll always say get one with an ATI card.
Posted Sun 27 Jul 08 @ 12:56 am
uuuhhhh let's not ferget 2 say .... thanks derricke
Posted Sun 27 Jul 08 @ 9:58 am
djderricke
You're welcome. :-)
Posted Sun 27 Jul 08 @ 3:37 pm