Apple, HP, Dell laptop owners sue Nvidia
updated 11:40 pm EDT, Mon May 11, 2009
Nvidia sued over graphics
Five owners of Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard laptops have combined their lawsuits against Nvidia in an attempt to make the company replace allegedly flawed processors, according to court documents. The five plaintiffs filed an amended complaint last week in San Francisco federal court that accused Nvidia of violating the consumer-protection laws. According to one plaintiff Todd Feinstein of Louisiana, after purchasing his MacBook in April 2008, the computer ran hot, periodically shut-down without warning and displayed only grey or black at times.
In July of 2008 Nvidia admitted to the problem, claiming some older chipsets that had shipped in “significant quantities” of notebooks were flawed. After arguing that its chip suppliers, the laptop markers and consumers were to blame, Nvidia eventually told the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would take a $196 million charge to pay for replacing the graphics processors.
Although Apple, Dell and HP also tried to find a solution, Apple by promising to repair any defective MacBook Pro for two years after the purchase date and Dell and HP released an update (designed by Nvidia) to increase fan speed to prevent chip failures, the plaintiffs still claim that this is an improper “remedy” for the problem. The five plaintiffs also believe that the faulty processor can lead to further problems such as degraded battery life, slower system performance, and increased noise. In addition, the fix only ensures that the computer will not fail during the OEM’s express warranty period, leaving the longer-term effects to reveal themselves after the warranty.
Currently the lawsuit requests the case be granted class-action status, which could involve millions of laptop computer owners and result in Nvidia having to replace the faulty chips and pay unspecified damages.
via Computerworld
What?
05/12, 09:17am reply
The 'fix' only guarantees that it will work during the warranty period? Well, duh! Any fix will only guarantee it will work through the warranty period. That's what a warranty period is.
And isn't it the computer manufacturers job to replace the flawed parts? You know Apple won't let anyone touch their computers but their people.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
re: What?
05/12, 09:51am reply
Sounds like Apple is the only one who actually agreed to fix the defective laptops, and for a year beyond the warranty period. You might want to take issue with Dell and HP.
ff11
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Joined: Apr 2004
ff1 1
05/12, 10:06am reply
"for a year beyond the warranty period"? You don't think most people buy apple care?
luckyday
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Joined: Apr 2008
about time...
05/12, 11:14am reply
nVidia knowingly shipped and the manufacturers knowingly installed "weak" hardware components. They rolled the dice... and they lost. Now they should have to pay!
Feathers
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Joined: Oct 1999
More to it than that...
05/12, 11:27am (1 reply) reply
Although there were certainly heat-related issues concerning NVIDIA's chip used in 2008 MacBook Pro, there were other issues that have yet to be properly addressed. Horizontal sparkly flashes when driving external 30" displays and (what appear to be) graphics processor hangs that last up to a minute. The hangs were addressed with a firmware update (they reduced in severity) in the 2008 MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, in the 2009 MacBook Pro, the "sparklies" are still there and the hangs are back in full force. NVIDIA was probably a poor choice of chip for Apple's flagship products.
AlenShapiro
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Joined: Apr 2000
Luckyday
05/12, 11:58am reply
Most people? I never have and never intend to. I believe extended warranties are rarely worth it for the consumer, that's precisely why vendors and manufacturers offer them, because they make money.
ff11
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Joined: Apr 2004
Extended warranty
05/12, 12:56pm reply
I wouldn't waste money on extended warranties in general, but considering the exorbitant cost to fix a broken Apple computer, esp. a laptop or imac, you're silly not to.
My 'useless' applecare saved my hide on my iBook (twice, as it wasn't covered by the extended warranty plan, even though it did the same thing), my G5 tower (died 2.75 years into ownership, had to take it back twice for them to get it to work). And with Apple, their quality seems to certainly be slipping from the good ol' days.
If you were on a PC, most parts are commodity and can be swapped out, included mobo. On a Mac, good luck.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
re: extended warranty
05/12, 01:37pm reply
meh. The stadnard warranty is good for a year. Most problems reveal themselves earlier than that. I use a credit card that doubles the warranty to 2 years at no cost to me. I never said it was useless, but for me, the 3rd year coverage is not worth the cost.
BTW, most PC laptop motherboards are just as proprietary as Mac laptop motherboards.
ff11
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Joined: Apr 2004