Nvidia G84m/G86m faulty chip happen to Vaio??

[6800gt]

I just wonder if anyone has the alleged graphic problem with your vaio series. I got AR51J with 8400m GT early this year. So far it works fine, but not sure it would die shortly :smileysad:. What's the sony's response?

origin story: All Nvidia G84 and G86s are bad
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/nvidia-g84-g86-bad

Channel Vendors Demand Graphics Cards Suppliers to Recall Potentially Faulty Nvidia GeForce Graphics Cards.
Resellers Want to Return Potentially Faulty Nvidia GeForce Graphics Boards to Makers
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20080725123120_Channel_Vendors_Demand_Graphics_Cards_Supp...

[NewYorkCop]

RESULT!!!

Finally; my retailer, Play.com, where I purchased the laptop 3yrs ago are willing to pay for the damages. I had to get a technicians report, cost me £25 but i'll be reimbursed, who claimed the fault was there before i bought the laptop. They said it would need a new motherboard and would cost £275 to repair.

Play didn't respond for over 2weeks, so I got in touch with Jersey Trading Standards who happened to have a contact at Play, the next day I got an email off Play telling me to go ahead with repairs and they'll "issue damages via my account to cover the amount and resolve the matter".

Don't go through Sony, it's a complete waste of time, if anything they made my laptop worse by telling me to try restoring - i then couldnt even use it in safe mode!
My impression is they don't care, it's not their problem, if you want it fixing you have to pay.

Seek advice from Trading Standards and pursue through the retailer (where you bought the laptop). It's the best way!

Good luck everyone!

[DSdesign]

hello i had a sony fz11l abnd it broke few days ago i heard about the chip defect and i had a heat problem which i think eventually caused its death. shortly before it died the graphics went weird and now it loads to the windows screen bit before it goes to users with dotted lines down the screen and not great graphics. it then goes blue screen sating component failure system haulted. do you think it could be this chip that has caused the problem would much apreciate a responce. thank you

[jogger100]

hello i had a sony fz11l abnd it broke few days ago i heard about the chip defect and i had a heat problem which i think eventually caused its death. shortly before it died the graphics went weird and now it loads to the windows screen bit before it goes to users with dotted lines down the screen and not great graphics. it then goes blue screen sating component failure system haulted. do you think it could be this chip that has caused the problem would much apreciate a responce. thank you

Certainly sounds like nvidia chip problem. The overheating problem is another known issue with certain Vaio models due to poor fan design, it easily blocks with dust particularly if used on a soft surface like carpet or bed.

[LePresidente]

Just thought I'd let everyone know, my laptop has been in the sony repair centre for 3 weeks now and I just received a call from Sony Vaio Link offering me a full refund on my VGN-FZ21Z (GBP 1.2k) to not continue with the repair! Having refused the offer at the time as I have a number of important documents on the hard drive, I'm now considering ringing back up and accepting. That way I can buy a decent laptop that doesnt break.

[DSdesign]

Just thought I'd let everyone know, my laptop has been in the sony repair centre for 3 weeks now and I just received a call from Sony Vaio Link offering me a full refund on my VGN-FZ21Z (GBP 1.2k) to not continue with the repair! Having refused the offer at the time as I have a number of important documents on the hard drive, I'm now considering ringing back up and accepting. That way I can buy a decent laptop that doesnt break.

that sounds good mine broke start of last week and i could not function without my laptop so knowing how long repairs would take i went down to sony centre and brought a brand new laptop. may get them to fix it as they have now promised and try to get a bit of money refunded for the new laptop. ya never know!!!

[Ketheriel]

I am aware of this G86 problem. This was actually what triggered me to buy a new laptop, a Vaio, except this time I made sure would buy one with a ATI/AMD card and not anything packing a G86.

I don't believe that Vaio's will have much problems, but anyway, you guys should read the following as nVIDIA clearly knows this situation, it is up to Sony to push nVIDIA back and demand a solution.

My previous laptop was manufactured by a OEM manufacturer called CLEVO, and the thermal performance of heatsinks on CLEVO seems to be crappy (this is an eufemism).

Everyone with a GPU running at high temperatures should actually trigger their warranty.

There's 2 things people need to know at least within Europe:

1. If a part is replace by a NEW one, the warranty starts again for that part.
3. If a malfunction is diagnosed 3 times, and at the end of those 3 times the same problem remains, you are entitled by law to demand a new unit.

Presser your resellers and Sony.

Link from nvidia: http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1215037160521.html

And I quote:

Regarding the notebook field failures, NVIDIA president and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang stated: 
"Although the failure appears related to the combination of the interaction between the chip material set and system design, we have a responsibility to our customers and will take our part in resolving this problem. The GPU has become an increasingly important part of the computing experience and we are seeing more interest by PC OEMs to adopt GPUs in more platforms. Recognizing that the GPU is one of the most complex processors in the system, it is critical that we now work more closely with notebook system designers and our chip foundries to ensure that the GPU and the system are designed collaboratively for the best performance and robustness."

Today's high performance notebooks are highly complex systems with extreme thermal environments. The combination of limited thermal management and frequent power cycling is particularly challenging for complex processors like the GPU.

Huang added, "This has been a challenging experience for us. However, the lessons we've learned will help us build far more robust products in the future, and become a more valuable system design partner to our customers. As for the present, we have switched production to a more robust die/package material set and are working proactively with our OEM partners to develop system management software that will provide better thermal management to the GPU."

For more information about the one-time charge for notebook field failures, please refer to NVIDIA's current report on Form 8-K dated July 2, 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

No conference call will be held in conjunction with this business update. Additional commentary pertaining to the second quarter and the notebook field failures will be available when NVIDIA reports its second quarter financial results on August 12, 2008.

I'm not a law expert, but if nvidia clearly knows about this, then Sony should press them... If Sony has a bad thermal design on their laptops (nvidia sorry arse excuse).

My 2 cents.

[jogger100]

I have just had my FZ21S collected by Sony repair. I am not feeling very confident of a good outcome having read this forum. The only real hope is to keep posting on this and other fora until a critical mass is reached when Sony realize their profits may suffer and then they will genuinely address this problem. Most of us in the past were willing to pay extra for a Sony product because of the good reputation.That can soon change,we must make Sony aware of that.

Update. Just had my Vaio back from Sony, work sheet says motherboard replaced. Working fine again now, still using nvidia G86 m chip it appears. No charge , no quibble. Thank you Sony.

[Sealbhach]

Here's an update on this, Sony collected my Vaio and after about 10 days waiting I received this in my Inbox today:

Dear customer,

Hereby the quote for transport, diagnose and small materials, bottom mesh and hdd rubber. The n-vidia issue will be repaired in warrenty.

Kind regards,

Sony Vaio Repair

The charges are £225.79.

Obviously I wrote back straight away and said this is not acceptable and is not in line with my WRITTEN agreement (see below) which I sent to them again.

So, I'll wait and see what the response is. Like many others, I can't afford to pay anything, I don't have any work at the moment.

Sealbhach.

OK, here's the reply I got from Sony today, it sounds fairly reasonable so I think I'll go for it. Also, here are the pics I sent them of my screen:


http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1527486/nvidiafail1.JPG 

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1527486/nvidiafail2.JPG 


Dear Mr. xxxxxxxx,

Once the issue is the nvidia issue your Vaio will be repaired free of charge.

Please note that the repair time around is 5 working days depending on the part availability and payments.

 

The courier will collect the VAIO from your address.

Please follow these instructions in the presence of the DHL courier. This is required by DHL to ensure the secure nature of the transported product.
 
 
Payment will be involved only if there is no problem found or if the VAIO is physically damaged. In this case should you wish to send back the VAIO unrepaired there is a flat fee aprox 148.14 gbp incl vat.

Please back up your personal data before shipping the Vaio to the repair center as Sony do not take any responsibility for their lose.

All replacement parts became property of Sony.

 

If you provide us with a mobile phone number, then you will receive an SMS once the unit arrives at the repair centre and on the day it ships from the repair centre.

 

Should you accept above repair terms and conditions please reply with the following:

- Name and surname to whom should we address the box

- The collection pickup and delivery address

- Windows login name and password

- BIOS password

- Two best contact numbers

- Email address only if you are able to access it from another computer

 

Regards

John

Sony Vaio Link Team

[vikasnaugraiya]

I purchased my laptop sony vaio VGN FZ21M 2 yr back and 3 month before i faced the graphics problem u can c my privious mail.after lot of discussion and argue with sony .. my end result is super..
Yes my frnd i recieve the money full amount .. and i am happy with sony the way they have deal me in last but not before when i got the problem they was saying that repair is in process..
Might be i can plan to buy sony again .. any body can suggest me which is the good laptop in sony with in range of 1000 euro.

All the best my frnd !!

I just wonder if anyone has the alleged graphic problem with your vaio series. I got AR51J with 8400m GT early this year. So far it works fine, but not sure it would die shortly  :smileysad:. What's the sony's response?

origin story: All Nvidia G84 and G86s are bad
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/nvidia-g84-g86-bad

Channel Vendors Demand Graphics Cards Suppliers to Recall Potentially Faulty Nvidia GeForce Graphics Cards.
Resellers Want to Return Potentially Faulty Nvidia GeForce Graphics Boards to Makers
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20080725123120_Channel_Vendors_Demand_Graphics_Cards_Supp...

[travick]

Hi all,

Looks like I just joined the club of all those with NVIDIA chip set problem. I have a Laptop VGN-NR32S and all the symptoms you mentioned. The only way around the problem is simply disabling NVIDIA on a device manger. I have opened my case a day ago using on-line support and simply asking for the collection of the faulty laptop. I feel robed and expect having farther problems with customer service. I will be nicely surprised if they can fix this computer by the end of this year.

Tom