Motherboard - replacing

Thanks for the URL to the warranty extension notice and for the service manual.  I know about the extended warranty announcement already, but despite my citing this to the tech support agent, she still refused to authorize replacement of the system board.  I posted a comment on Lionel Menchaca's thread regarding the warranty issue, as well as sending him a private email.  If you or anyone else has ideas as to how to convince Dell that the mainboard should be replaced under the extended Nvidia warranty, please let me know.  I would certainly prefer that Dell replace the mainboard and handle the installation themselves!

Thanks,

PG

They should replace the system board, as the warranty has been extended by one year:

http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/08/18/nvidia-gpu-update-dell-to-offer-warranty-enhancement-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx

If for some reason they won't, be VERY careful buying a replacement - at $300-400 a board, you don't want to end up with another board with a defective chip on it.

The service manual is here:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM1330/en/sm/index.htm

Your best bet is not spending the extra money or even really wasting your time. I had Dell come out and repair my xps with an nvidia card and it's already gone bad again. I've heard the problem is it overheats the motherboard and it slowly just kills the video card. The only thing I think you can do is get the integrated intel video card but there are very few of them considering everyone with this laptop and an nvidia card is having this problem. Dell should honestly get killed for this designer flaw because I for one spent more then 2,000 dollars on this computer hoping it to work really well like my inspiron did for about 5 years. I thought I would just let you know though, that once you get the motherboard fixed again that the problem will come back again. I guess it all depends on how long you have your warrenty. Anyway, Just trying to help. Sorry for the sort of bad news. 

Courtney

Courtney-

Thank you for sharing your experiences and well-considered honest opinion.  Your suggestions that the Nvidia problem is a design flaw and not to spend additional money on another Nvidia motherboard both seem quite valid.  The design flaw and slow-cook-of-video-card theory explains why the problems occurred abruptly after 17 months of flawless performance.  Somewhat fortunately for the moment, since my original posting, Dell notified me that they would repair my PC under the Nvidia extended warranty and I am awaiting final instructions to arrange this.  Hopefully the warranty on this repair will be long enough to cover a recurrence of this problem.

Your posting dampened my long-term hopes for my PC a bit, but at least I can be realistic for future options if the PC fails again after the warranty expires.  The design flaw theory is disappointing also because of the M1330's excellent combination of compactness, performance, and ergonomics.  At least I bought this PC used for a commensurate price.

Thanks again for your very informative response.

PG

The warranty on the repair is 90 days or the rest of the remaining warranty (one year beyond the end of your initial warranty for the nVIdia failure).  If you then have to replace a board on your dollar, I'd do so with the Intel-video board, which is fine for reliability. 

From the looks of it, every nVidia chip from the 7800/7900 series on to some yet-undetermined end is less than reliable - I've been recommending those who ask NOT buy anything mobile with nVidia chips until they've proved they fixed the problems - which will take a year or more.  I suspect the common use of ATI video by Dell and others means the OEMs are doing the same.

I am sorry to report that my M1330 has had three replacement nVidia and attached motherboard replacements since Jan, 2008.   The machine is covered until Jan. 2011 by the in-home next-day warranty.  The first incident with the often-described symptoms was in August, 2008.  The new board lasted until May, 2009 when it happened again.  The technician came with and replaced the motherboard with one from a box labeled "refurbished".  The machine would not even turn on.  He came two days later with another "refurbished" board and the same problem occurred.  When he called in to Dell, they gave him a DPS #, but when I called to check on it, Dell claimed that they had no such number.  After much persistence, Dell sent a box for return to the depot.  To make a long story short, the machine has been out of order for almost two weeks and no sign of when it will be repaired except that "it can take 6 to 8 days for depot repairs" from the "dedicated" XPS technical support  .  So much for the next-day warranty, which was not inexpensive.  I am looking for suggestions for recourse.  

I

Every system that has use the 8400 and 8600 mobile chips has had reliability problems - nVidia is in trouble from all sides on this issue.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/10113/nvidia_gets_served_over_gpu_packaging_fiasco/index.html

The warranty on the repair is 90 days or the rest of the remaining warranty (one year beyond the end of your initial warranty for the nVIdia failure).  If you then have to replace a board on your dollar, I'd do so with the Intel-video board, which is fine for reliability.  From the looks of it, every nVidia chip from the 7800/7900 series on to some yet-undetermined end is less than reliable - I've been recommending those who ask NOT buy anything mobile with nVidia chips until they've proved they fixed the problems - which will take a year or more.  I suspect the common use of ATI video by Dell and others means the OEMs are doing the same.

I am sorry to report that my M1330 has had three replacement nVidia and attached motherboard replacements since Jan, 2008.   The machine is covered until Jan. 2011 by the in-home next-day warranty.  The first incident with the often-described symptoms was in August, 2008.  The new board lasted until May, 2009 when it happened again.  The technician came with and replaced the motherboard with one from a box labeled "refurbished".  The machine would not even turn on.  He came two days later with another "refurbished" board and the same problem occurred.  When he called in to Dell, they gave him a DPS #, but when I called to check on it, Dell claimed that they had no such number.  After much persistence, Dell sent a box for return to the depot.  To make a long story short, the machine has been out of order for almost two weeks and no sign of when it will be repaired except that "it can take 6 to 8 days for depot repairs" from the "dedicated" XPS technical support  .  So much for the next-day warranty, which was not inexpensive.  I am looking for suggestions for recourse.

ejn63: Thanks for letting me know about the warranty duration on Dell repairs and your thoughts on Nvidia GPUs.  90 days seems too short for repair warranties, as illustrated by m900's experiences (see his note below this one) with replacing the Nvidia GPU motherboard twice--the motherboard lasted 8 months and the second one lasted 9 months.  Dell should cover their repairs for at least 9 months and preferably 12 months; the latter is the duration of the minimum standard warranty.

m900: Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Nvidia GPU and the need for replacement three times within 16-17 months.  You and other users have really illustrated that the Nvidia GPUs in Dell notebook PCs are unreliable.  A general question for the forum:  Are other manufacturers who use Nvidia GPUs in their notebook PCs experiencing similar failure rates?

I empathize with your frustrations about the multiple repairs/replacements related to the Nvidia GPU and that you were not given in-home next-day service on your current repair, despite paying for it.  Although not exactly the same, my first inquiry for Nvidia extended warranty coverage was refused by a Dell Tech Support agent and I had to contact other people at Dell to help obtain this coverage.  As I mentioned in my note to Courtney, Dell ultimately indicated they would repair the PC.  Do you have a contact person at Dell you could work with to help track your PC and its repair progress at Dell?  I'll think about this some more and let you know if I have other ideas. 

PG

Every system that has use the 8400 and 8600 mobile chips has had reliability problems - nVidia is in trouble from all sides on this issue. http://www.tweaktown.com/news/10113/nvidia_gets_served_over_gpu_packaging_fiasco/index.html

Thanks for letting me know about the general state of Nvidia 8400/8600 mobile GPUs--quite a nasty situation for both Nvidia and the consumers who bought notebook PCs with their GPUs.  I chose my used M1330 with the Nvidia GPU primarily because I wanted to maximize play utility of a combat flight simulator game (IL-2).  Comparing my Nvidia 8400M-equipped M1330 (before the Nvidia GPU seized) with my brother's Intel GPU-equipped M1330, IL-2 plays notably better with the Nvidia GPU.  At this point, I just hope that once Dell replaces the Nvidia GPU mainboard, it'll last for a year or longer before it expires again.

Paradoxguy, thanks for the suggestion.  I called and finally was given a tracking number for the return of the machine, two weeks and one day after the problem was reported to XPS technical service.  This has not been just a problem for Dell, but everyone who used these GPUs as outlined in many reports.  I am not sure how other manufacturers are dealing with the issue, but it looks like I can't trust that the "fixes" from Dell will last very long,  Ideally, they would redesign the offending parts...but we all know that would never happen.

I wish you luck with your machine, I would hope that not all of the M1330s are as unreliable as mine has been.

Every system that has use the 8400 and 8600 mobile chips has had reliability problems - nVidia is in trouble from all sides on this issue. http://www.tweaktown.com/news/10113/nvidia_gets_served_over_gpu_packaging_fiasco/index.html

Paradoxguy, thanks for the suggestion.  I called and finally was given a tracking number for the return of the machine, two weeks and one day after the problem was reported to XPS technical service.  This has not been just a problem for Dell, but everyone who used these GPUs as outlined in many reports.  I am not sure how other manufacturers are dealing with the issue, but it looks like I can't trust that the "fixes" from Dell will last very long,  Ideally, they would redesign the offending parts...but we all know that would never happen. I wish you luck with your machine, I would hope that not all of the M1330s are as unreliable as mine has been.

m900:  Thanks for the update.  I'm glad you are now able to track your PC as it is being repaired.  Based on what ejn63 wrote (see above), the Nvidia GRU design seems to be at fault, not the PC's themselves.  Nvidia stockholders even seem to be blaming the problem for a precipitous drop in stock value (see ejn63's URL posted above).  If the Nvidia GPU design is flawed, then possibly no mobile PC mainboard design will overcome the problem--too bad if this is the case, as I am fond of my M1330 otherwise.  Probably other factors are in play that preclude this, but simplistically I can't help but wonder if Dell and the other companies should have abandoned the flawed Nvidia GPUs when the problems first arose and repaired the affected PC's with non-Nvidia GPU-equipped mainboards.

In the meantime, Dell informed me yesterday that I will be receiving a prepaid shipping box to send my affected M1330 back for repair.  Hopefully, despite the possible design flaw, my repaired M1330 will last for a long while.

Received my M1330, which is functional again.  When it runs, it is very satisfactory.  However, given the unreliability, I am demoting it to non-critical work and have replaced it with a Sony Z series.  It has a low-voltage P processor and a 9300 series Nvidia GPU, which is taking a gamble, but the reason I bring it up is that the difference in heat generated is remarkable.  The Dell is elevated off a smooth top desk, the fan is always running loudly and it still could be used as a small space heater.  The Sony is silent and appears to vent all the heat efficiently from the side vent while the bottom is not even warm to the touch. 

Perhaps when you get your machine back you can devise a better way of keeping it cool and it may last for a long while.  Best wishes.

If you've upgraded either the RAM or CPU, you should remove the upgrades and install the original parts - otherwise, yes, they'll replace the system board.

Received my M1330, which is functional again.  When it runs, it is very satisfactory.  However, given the unreliability, I am demoting it to non-critical work and have replaced it with a Sony Z series.  It has a low-voltage P processor and a 9300 series Nvidia GPU, which is taking a gamble, but the reason I bring it up is that the difference in heat generated is remarkable.  The Dell is elevated off a smooth top desk, the fan is always running loudly and it still could be used as a small space heater.  The Sony is silent and appears to vent all the heat efficiently from the side vent while the bottom is not even warm to the touch.  Perhaps when you get your machine back you can devise a better way of keeping it cool and it may last for a long while.  Best wishes.

m900 (and others):  Could I ask you questions related to the nVidia-related warranty repair of your M1330?  [I don't mean to slight anyone else on this thread--I'd appreciate input from others also.]  As you know from this thread, I have encountered similar problems with my M1330, which has a nVidia GeForce 8400M GS GPU, and Dell arranged a depot return service to have my M1330 repaired under the extended nVidia warranty.  After a long delay due to incorrect information in Dell's database, I finally have the box with which to return the PC to Dell.  As per Dell's recommendations, I plan to remove the hard drive before returning the system.  Since the nVidia GPU is integrated, I expect that the motherboard or mainboard will need to be replaced.  Was your motherboard replaced?  If it was, did you encounter any problems with the other components being changed, such as the CPU and RAM?  Should I even be concerned about this aspect?

Thanks much,

PG