DEAR ALL,

SINCE ITS GOING TO BE PC FAIR JUST AROUND THE CORNER, I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL OF THE POTENTIAL BUYER OUT THERE..

PLEASE STAY AWAY OR DONT BUY ANY NOTEBOOK/LAPTOP THAT HAVE NVIDIA 8400M & 8600M SERIES, BECAUSE THESE CHIPSET WILL GONNA FAIL IN A YEAR TIME (MOSTLY AROUND 1.5 YRS PERIOD) - WELL..IT DEPENDS ON YOUR USAGE & MAINTENANCE AS WELL....


I'M A VICTIM OF NVIDIA 8400M GS USER TOO... IM USING A HP 2550EN WHICH HAVE A HGIH SPECIFICATION DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.. BOUGHT AT 0CT 2007 (RM 5700)... AND JUST 1 YRS & 4 MONTH, THE LAPPY DIED DUE TO THE OVERHEAT PROBLEM, MAINLY & CONFIRMEDLY CAUSED BY THE CULPRIT NVIDIA 8400M GS CARD.... SENT TO HP SERVICE CENTRE...BUT THEY DONT WANNA REPAIR FOR ME FOC DUE TO WARRANTY OVER, EVENTOUGH THEY AGREE THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT.... THEY CHARGE ME RM2K+ FOR CHANGING A NEW MOBO (WITH THE SAME CHIPSET)..WTF....I TOLD THEM IF WITH THE SAME CHIPSET, THE SAME PROBLEM WILL STILL OCCUR IN NEAR FUTURE...GUESS WHAT THEY SAY?? "THEN YOU HAVE TO BUY ADDITIONAL @ EXTENDED 3 YRS WARRANTY IF YOU SCARE THIS PROBLEM WILL COME BACK"

DONT BELIEVE, TRY ASK ANY OF YOUR FREN WHO BOUGHT ANY LAPTOP BRAND THAT USES THE NVIDIA 8400 & 8600, OR ASK THOSE TECHNICIAN AT LOWYAT, OR EASIEST...GOOGLE ALL ONLINE COMPUTER RELATED FORUMS.... IM JUST ANOTHER DISSAPOINTED VICTIM THAT LOSE 5.7K IN A YEAR+ TIME....

CHECK THIS OUT..

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/messag...scending&page=1
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...277&lc=en&cc=us
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/messag...message.id=5834

CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT THAT I FOUND THE USER HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS ME.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2o_CaSqKvE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO-ItTP6DX8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrcrrgLaMqI


THIS QUOTE IS FROM WIKIPEDIA - REGARDING NVIDIA 8000 SERIES :

"On May 10, 2007, NVIDIA announced the availability of their GeForce 8 notebook GPUs through select OEMs. So far the lineup consists of the 8400M, 8600M, 8700M and 8800M series chips.[36] It has been announced by nVidia that some of their graphics chips have a higher than expected rate of failure due to overheating when used in particular notebook configurations. Some major laptop manufacturers are making adjustments to fan setting and firmware updates to help delay the occurrence of any potential GPU failure. In late July, Dell released a set of BIOS updates that made the laptop fans spin more frequently[37]. As of mid-August, nVidia is yet to give further details publicly, though it has been heavily rumored that all or most of the 8400 and 8600 cards have this issue."

FOR THOSE WHO ARE ALSO THE VICTIM OF THIS & WAS NOT COMPENSATE A FREE REPAIR BY COMPANY :HP,DELLS, ASUS...ETC.... LET JUST VOICE OUT YOUR DISSATISFACTION AND TO ALERT OTHER POTENTIAL BUYER OUT THERE TO STAY AWAY FROM LAPTOP THAT USES THESE CHIPSET....HOPE THIS WILL ABLE TO PRESSURE THOSE RETAILERS & MANUFACTURER, SO THAT, WE WILL HAVE OUR FAULTY UNIT TO BE "RECALL BACK" WITH FOC....

Hmm...something this big, I am sure HP will do a recall to save their reputation.

If such things really is happening, then perhaps those who already bought the laptop with such nvidia chipset should consider buying extended warranty.

There are a lot of HP user (and other brand too) out there still holding their grudge over this issue.

Anyway, the era of 8400/8600 has past already. Only those not familiar with laptop tech will still buy a laptop with 8400/8600 as graphic.

my sister owned a Dell inspiron 15 which got 8400M GS, bought in 2007, now also running well, a friend of mine got a 8600M Asus, also no problem so far

been using my HP Dv6500t from july 2007 till now

never seem to encounter any heat issue,running well till now

but i still buy the extended warranty for other purpose

I think it is down to how you use and take care of your laptop. I was using 8400gs on my Dell Inspiron and the mobo and GC died after 6 month, lucky i was stil in the warranty period so Dell fixed the problem for me. I game alot on that machine and without cooler summore, so i think that is the factor that caused the GC to died off. Anyway, 8600 and 8400 series is knda outdated these days,with ATI starting to have more option in laptop, and nvidia with its 9 series, the 8series should be forgotten

haha....i understand ....i used to be in your situation before, says few months back....when someone told me that my laptop gonna face this problem... well...i told him the same thing as what you've said...."so far no problem...i don't play games..i only use for office works, internet surfing, music & dvd purpose...not so 3D intensive usage...so...my laptop should be able to tahan wan"....and after 2 months time.....i'm here grumbling and feeling disappointed.......anyway...for those who had bought the laptop that using this chips, u MAYBE can delay this problem with:-

1) use your laptop in an A/C room
2) use very good laptop cooler
3) update bios (bios update will force the fan run 100% eventough low load...however this will sacrifice your battery lasting duration)
4) try put smth underneath the laptop (dont block the ventilation holes) to create a gap for better ventilation
5) u suggest urself... haha

If I don't game, will it have the same issue?

haha......i found a posting by someone regarding this same issue in the lowyat forum as well.......

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/982643

I'm aware of this issue as well, everytime i play games without aircon, i can feel the heat on my palm and my room will become hotter than usual. Mine lappy's warranty gonna expired soon, may i know where can i extend the warranty? and how much does it cost? oh ya, i'm using HP DV3000.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/03/faulty-nvidia-c.html

That is why, when you buy laptop, please include budget to extend warranty to 3 years minimum. Better if can extend to 5 years.

You cannot replace notebook parts by yourself, like a own-built desktop PC box. Here are some expensive replacement cost for notebooks:
- Mobo
- LCD
- Case + hinges
- Battery
- Power adapter

victim here... 8600M GS, juz sent to service center 2 days ago, third time after using for abt 1.5yr...

it doesn't matter where u use the laptop, air con or not.. the main problem with the GPU (G84M and G86M, ie 8400M G/GS/GT, 8600 GS/GT and 8700M GT) is that the solderin material will fail if the card experience rapid change in temperature...

so the only way to prevent the problem from happening, besides not using the laptop, is to keep the card either cold or hot for a long time (read: doesn't matter if u game or overclock or whatever)

ways i ve tried include using Folding@Home GPU client (to keep the card in Performance 3D mode at all times, 7xC to 8xC, depending on the work), disabling Powermizer (so that the clock will stay in only 1 clock speed), using cooler, but that doesn't seem to be a permanent soution...

the only way, as TS suggested, is to to replace the GPU with, perhaps GeForce 9M... but no, the OEMs are not going to do that cuz that will mean lots of extra expenses (especially in times like this)... a recall of the GPU??? Nvidia already said they will not do that, reason being that it will bring down the whole company should they do that...

that's why Nvidia offered to compensate the OEMs for the spoilt GPU that they ve changed (less reason for OEMs to change to a new GPU), and that's y we'll still keep getting G8xM GPU in the future... however, Nvidia has the G84M using the old (which has no problem at all) material instead...

also, i am not sure abt the others, but BenQ S41 users have managed to argue with BenQ to waive the fee for replacing the mobo, which is RM1.5k iirc...

so in the mean time, good luck...

This post has been edited by astria: Apr 1 2009, 04:04 PM

Dont have to type the whole thing in caps.

Another victim of dead 8600GT here.

The replacement model is still running fine even after 1 year plus.

Dont forget that 9500GS is actually 8600GT.nVidia just rebadge it.

This post has been edited by Cheesenium: Apr 1 2009, 04:10 PM

damm same case as my fren , changed his mobo 4 times lolz , in the end bought a desktop , fyi : his laptop was 1yr and 4 weeks old

HP have problem with the ventilation.

I am still using Dell Vostro 1400 that comes with Nvidia 8400M GS GPU. I bought the laptop in January 2008. So, now it is one year and 3 months since the date of purchase.

Luckily, I haven't encountered any issue with the GPU because I use the stock driver and never overclock it. And recently, I replace it with the mobile driver provided by Nvidia website in the late 2008. Let's wait and see what happens next

This post has been edited by eclectice: Apr 1 2009, 04:27 PM

8600M GS (benq S41) victim here also. Damn time bomb. Repaired twice , broke down twice WTF WTF WTF. im not gonna get nvidia GC anymore!

I disagreed if said 100% NVIDIA 8400M got issue. is still depend on the OEM manufacture to determine the final outcome.
but all NVIDIA 8xxx series user still better confirm check the brand company website like hp, dell, etc... for any latest announcement . that's why NVIDIA denied and did not launch recall program 100%ly. like sony battery fire issue...
so no point to advise to 100% stay away from NVIDIA 8400M system, plus try dun use all CAPS post....

Sorry to hear tat,
I got rid of my lappy as soon as i got it repaired a year ago.
the 8600M gs gpu failed in just bout a year. Needless to say, i pissed as hell!
Lucky me, a technician fren helped me to replace just the gpu, and NOT the mobo.
never bother anything with nvidia since. Looking forward to AMD/ATI platform from now on.

This post has been edited by babyrabies: Apr 1 2009, 05:50 PM

My Inspiron's 8400GS died on me last November (6 months old laptop) but luckily Dell's warranty take care of it. I didn't play game on, just watching movies, online and torrent.
But I pity on those whose laptop died right after their warranty ended. Most company won't repair your laptop (even it's due to the faulty GC) for free once your warranty has ended.
Like the saying "Once bitten, Twice shy", I think most of us will avoid NVidia's GC in laptop for a while though.