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Dell Issues BIOS Update to Keep Nvidia GeForce Cards From Frying
Posted by John Mahoney at 3:29 AM on July 29, 2008
Even after Nvidia downplayed their original report that GeForce 8400-8700 cards were failing in large numbers due to overheating, Dell has issued a BIOS update for all of its machines running the affected GPUs anyway. The update tweaks the fan settings to "regulate temperature fluctuations" to keep the maybe-faulty-maybe-not chips cooler. So who do we believe here?
Granted, it's not hard for Dell to roll out a BIOS update that bumps cooling fan RPMs, so it makes sense that they would cover their arse in this way. Although more fan means more noise and less battery life, so the update is not without its costs. Either way, Dell is taking the issue seriously, which makes it seem like the the problem is a little more serious than what Nvidia is saying.
The update is for the following systems: Inspiron 1420, Latitude D630, Latitude D630c, Vostro Notebook 1310, Vostro Notebook 1400, Vostro Notebook 1510, Vostro Notebook 1710, XPS M1330, and XPS M1530
[Direct2Dell via Laptoping]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
krishna
Posted September 21, 2008 7:10 AM
i am a bit suspicious.. better fan profiles cannot save anybody from such a situation, its impossible.. common the gpus are literally getting fried.. it calls for better heatsink and thermal substrate design (also better ventilation is required.. which i dont see in any of the dell laptops).. i am pretty much sure that those guys have cut corners by releasing bios versions which substantially underclock the gpu, thus "seemingly" alleviating the consumers.. never again in my life i will be buying a dell product
John
Posted October 11, 2008 6:24 AM
Mine just died a few weeks ago. Dell took a week to replace the motherboard, and failed to mention that this was a known problem. BTW, I changed my BIOS and it didn't help a lick, by then the chip was already damaged. I can tell a noticeable difference in fan noise with the new BIOS, much louder (but its the most quiet notebook I've ever owned).
zed0
Posted 8:19 AM 29/7/08
how about a free upgrade or at least some money back?
zed0
wooties
Posted 7:10 AM 29/7/08
Well, I updated my 1530 Saturday. I can't say I've noticed any fan running longer or increased or decrease in heat. ... So far, whatever was modified seems nominal here.
wooties
michaelportent
Posted 7:07 AM 29/7/08
So get this update... OR just buy an ATI card and bypass the crap altogether.
michaelportent
geowrian
Posted 7:05 AM 29/7/08
If Dell's going to release an update to fix a known issue, according to their own statements, they should tell consumers the drawbacks of the update. I didn't see anything in the update about lower expected lifetime for the fan, or increased battery usage. Dell's in a hard spot and is trying to do something, but at the same time Dell should be transparent. Something along the lines of issuing an email or mailing out to all affected members (since Dell requires this information upon purchase) saying that they may have a defect that may cause a part to die prematurely. They can apply an update to fix the issue, but it lowers the usable batter time, increases noise, and lowers the fan's lifetime expectancy. At least it's giving them an informed choice.
geowrian
dead_red_eyes
Posted 5:32 AM 29/7/08
So basically, the update just has the fans running even faster on the cards so that they don't overheat. Which in turn will give them a much shorter lifespan, and when the fan stops ... KABOOM!
Why not just do a recall Nvidia? Oh yeah, because that's spendy ... and you don't have that kind of money right?
dead_red_eyes
dandaman247
Posted 5:28 AM 29/7/08
@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: One of the most important steps involving any type of computer issue!
dandaman247
trethlyn
Posted 5:24 AM 29/7/08
so.....what about the vostro 1500? Sure would be nice to get an update since I still have 5 months left on my warranty. Yeah, I realize that it'll kill battery life but I use it for school notes and really only need it till May at the most.
trethlyn
Triplet66
Posted 4:49 AM 29/7/08
And how about the Mac Book Pros? They have Nvidia chipset too...Apple Software update soon perhaps, or nvidia graphics card update.
Trip
Triplet66
RogueSpear
Posted 4:48 AM 29/7/08
I purchased around a dozen M1530's for work in the last several months, and a penryn based M1530 for my wife. Applied the BIOS update to the work unit I use and I can't really say that I've noticed much difference in the temperature (according to SpeedFan). My GPU temp still regularly hits 150F.
Definitely not too happy about this situation. Perhaps I'll just be sticking to the default Intel GPU from now on. It's not like anyone ever plays games with these things.
RogueSpear
orphic1
Posted 4:48 AM 29/7/08
@JrezIN: I agree with you
Yeah I was debating on wither or not to upgrade the BIOS on my m1530. I almost think it would be better to let the thing fry and have Dell fix it while its under warranty (and hopefully offer a GPU upgrade) than use this "patch" to possibly delay the problem till right when my warranty expires.
orphic1
themediaguy
Posted 4:46 AM 29/7/08
fuck dell
themediaguy
JChristopher
Posted 4:44 AM 29/7/08
Who to believe? Let me ask you this: Would Dell issue a BIOS update if everything is hunky-dory?
JChristopher
Rand
Posted 4:30 AM 29/7/08
Oh....when I say "get rid of bad parts" I mean identify bad lots of components, identify which boards got built with those bad lots, purge all loose stock of components, purge all manufacturing stock of boards built with those bad components, and purge all boards built with those bad component lots from service stock. Worldwide. Like I said....non-trivial.
Rand
Rand
Posted 4:27 AM 29/7/08
@JrezIN: Having worked in a Dell Sustaining Engineering group, the intent of the new BIOS is most likely to keep the GPU from frying BEFORE they can get rid of all the bad parts so they can exchange boards with ones that have good parts on them. A non-trivial exercise.
Rand
Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!
Posted 4:13 AM 29/7/08
@xev: Make sure to back up yer porn. Cuz, well......it takes a long time to remember where you got it all from and redownload it.
Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!
The Amazing Ant
Posted 4:13 AM 29/7/08
So that's what the update I just downloaded was for, eh? Wonderful. I thought my M1530 was safe...
The Amazing Ant
xev
Posted 4:10 AM 29/7/08
this may sound stupid, but i will let it fry if it has to. I still have around a years warrenty on my m1330. so if something happens, they'll just have to replace it. I'll be happy with a new one.
xev
OGHowie
Posted 4:06 AM 29/7/08
Too late. I already returned my m1530.
OGHowie
MarieMelachony
Posted 4:02 AM 29/7/08
The motherboard on my Dell D630 has already fried but I got it replaced within a day which I guess is nice...
MarieMelachony
iatacs19
Posted 3:57 AM 29/7/08
I doubt they would do a BIOS auto-update, it's a lot of trouble.
iatacs19
JrezIN
Posted 3:48 AM 29/7/08
So, basically they're making the battery life smaller and keeping the cooler working for longer so it won't break until your warrant expires?
Sounds like a good deal...
Now, I hope this won't be like a auto-update (not sure about dell, but HP has that "HP Update" thing that maybe could install things like that too...) and people with their warrant not expired have the chance to not update the laptop until it expires... so, they can actually exchange the defective product.
JrezIN
thomusvoo
Posted 3:38 AM 29/7/08
i had my mother board replaced in my m1330 2 times already because SOMETHING ran too hot *ahem ahem*
its cool tho, dell home service ftw!
thomusvoo
Agent-199
Posted 3:34 AM 29/7/08
Um, yeah, coulda used this update like 2 weeks ago, before NVidia fried my 1330....
Agent-199
nyaz
Posted 3:34 AM 29/7/08
So if your video card fry's take a 50/50 shots at frying your motherboard. Awesome.
nyaz
ahow
Posted 11:26 AM 29/7/08
So I just checked and the latest m1330 update was version A12 which was updated on 7/8/2008. It said it updated thermal controls. Alright, whatever.
ahow
PigVenus
Posted 12:10 AM 30/7/08
This is nothing but an attempt to get people past their warranties. (as some have already stated in so many words)
My recommendation or if I had one of these defective machines....
1) Backup everything ASAP
2) DON'T update the BIOS
3) Loop the most graphics-intensive burn-in test you can find
4) Wait for the thing to fry
5) Get new replacement without the defective parts
Question: Is is possible to replace the defective GPU card (mini-PCI-Express or whatever)? I supposed you probably can't disable the nVidia card as there is on-board Intel video is there?
PigVenus