Hp + early nvidia graphic cards

meionm · Nov 29, 2009

I have a notebook and I am trying to fix again. Basically, HP dv2890 which was bought in may 2008 and now out of warranty.

I replaced motherboard like twice and I am going for third time. Every time, the graphic card failed. Computer works but has no signal going to lcd or vga output.

I thought hp did poor job with design because many hot components are on top of each other making them even hotter without adequate cooling.

On the other hand, 3 failures of graphic card make me think that nvidia graphic cards are at fault.

I am just looking for some ideas and opinions.

Tserrof · Dec 1, 2009

I feel your pain. I had an M1330 with the same 8400M GS graphics chip that your dv2890 has. I had 4 failures in a 1 year time span. Vowed to never buy an nvidia product since then.

Truth is this GPU failure with your 8400 will never be fixed - even if they keep replacing your board. There are mods out there to improve the cooling of the GPU which would extend the lifespan but ultimately it will still die on you after some months.

If you bought the laptop in may of 2008 then it is likely still under warranty. All major OEM laptops that have been affected by this issue have their warranties extended by at least an extra year concerning this particular issue. here are the details. your notebook seems to qualify and about midway down the page it specifies that affected notebooks get 24 months of warranty and not the standard 12.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...7&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1842189&lang=en#

SuperMiguel · Dec 1, 2009

this is happening with alllot of system, half of dell systems have this issue... No wonder why new systems are comming with ATI cards

freeagent · Dec 1, 2009

SuperMiguel said:
this is happening with alllot of system, half of dell systems have this issue... No wonder why new systems are comming with ATI cards

Actually, this was a known problem, well over a year ago.

neonblingbling · Dec 1, 2009

Tserrof said:
I feel your pain. I had an M1330 with the same 8400M GS graphics chip that your dv2890 has. I had 4 failures in a 1 year time span. Vowed to never buy an nvidia product since then.

Truth is this GPU failure with your 8400 will never be fixed - even if they keep replacing your board. There are mods out there to improve the cooling of the GPU which would extend the lifespan but ultimately it will still die on you after some months.

Well gee, I hope this isn't true. I have a Sony SZ650 with a 8400M GS that I use all the time with an external monitor. The laptop is now 2.5 years old and I haven't had any troubles...

Theocnoob · Dec 1, 2009

Tserrof · Dec 1, 2009

Well gee, I hope this isn't true. I have a Sony SZ650 with a 8400M GS that I use all the time with an external monitor. The laptop is now 2.5 years old and I haven't had any troubles...

as you can see there are many of us that envy how well your chip has done

meionm · Dec 2, 2009

Tserrof said:
I feel your pain. I had an M1330 with the same 8400M GS graphics chip that your dv2890 has. I had 4 failures in a 1 year time span. Vowed to never buy an nvidia product since then.

Truth is this GPU failure with your 8400 will never be fixed - even if they keep replacing your board. There are mods out there to improve the cooling of the GPU which would extend the lifespan but ultimately it will still die on you after some months.

If you bought the laptop in may of 2008 then it is likely still under warranty. All major OEM laptops that have been affected by this issue have their warranties extended by at least an extra year concerning this particular issue. here are the details. your notebook seems to qualify and about midway down the page it specifies that affected notebooks get 24 months of warranty and not the standard 12.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...7&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1842189&lang=en#

Yeah, I know. The notebook is out of warranty already and it is running 8400gs. It is really annoying problem to fix.

I never buy notebooks with optional graphic card. I always been happy with intel's intergrated graphic cards.

neonblingbling said:
Well gee, I hope this isn't true. I have a Sony SZ650 with a 8400M GS that I use all the time with an external monitor. The laptop is now 2.5 years old and I haven't had any troubles...

My relative's notebook broke after 3 years but it was hp.

meionm · Dec 7, 2009

Well, today I performed my first reflow on this notebook and got it back to work. Yayay, it works for know, knock on wood.

@md0Cer · Dec 11, 2009

meionm said:
Well, today I performed my first reflow on this notebook and got it back to work. Yayay, it works for know, knock on wood.

Curious, what is a "reflow?"

As for this issue, add me to the list. A few nights ago my motherboard bit the dust on my 8400GS equipped HP Pavillion DV6500t and coincidentally a friend's computer with the same chipset also failed within the last week.

I'm trying to decide if it is worth it to replace the motherboard for 150ish dollars which will inevitibly fail again sometime, or just part out the laptop to recoop as much $$ as possible and upgrade to something like the Dell Studio XPS 16.

Anyone else out of warranty and experiencing similar failures?

Bobnova · Dec 11, 2009

Try the oven trick, then sell it before it fails again.

vgta88 · Dec 14, 2009

Bobnova said:
Try the oven trick, then sell it before it fails again.

come on don't do something so shady.

is the motherboard broke or is it the video card?

the oven reflow trick, I don't even want to mention it on youtube. its in our forum. if you do it, do it right. Since this is for our forum members and not for other people I really could care less about, find the thread titled "it works" or "oven trick". its usually a temporary solution. 2 of my old friends might have nvidia's but i don't even care enough since they are a--holes.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=606658

(there's posts all over the place on youtube for nvidia notebook video failure.)

@md0Cer · Jan 6, 2010

Well, I gave the reflow a try in the hopes that I could get it up and running just to get me through finals last semester but no such luck. I decided to go ahead and junk the motherboard and part out the rest of the laptop on Ebay.

Ended up getting a new system,

Dell Studio XPS 1640
16inch 1080P RGBLED backlit display
4g ddr3 1066
2.4GHz Intel C2D p8600 3mb L2 45nm
1gb ATI HD4670
320 Western digital scorpio black 7200
Intel wifilink 5300

Since everyone loves pics, I'll get some eye candy of the old HP's reflow up

Bobnova · Jan 6, 2010

That's unfortunate that the reflow didn't work, but at least the new laptop ought to rumble along pretty nicely.

Xtreme Barton · Jan 6, 2010

from what i got it sounded like a heat issue .. no way to improve cooling ?

neonblingbling · Jan 6, 2010

I can't imagine using 1080p on a 16" screen...

...then again I have a HannsG 28", so...

@md0Cer · Jan 13, 2010

neonblingbling said:
I can't imagine using 1080p on a 16" screen...

...then again I have a HannsG 28", so...

Haha, It's not too bad if you are sitting a foot or two away from the screen. I love it, it does wonders for me as far as being able to have two windows open side by side and not having to scroll around with anything on either one of them.

It does absolute wonders for spreadsheets in MS Excel too. I don't think I can ever go back to 1280X800.

Anyway, here are the pics as promised. Who doesn't like pics? :bday:

Here are the guts of my HP, and in the oven:

Mobo wasn't the only thing I was cooking.

And the new system:

4GHZ_or_bust · Jan 13, 2010

Is that a large metal spoon in a teflon coated frying pan I see? Generally I don't like to use metal utensil in teflon coated pans as metal can easily scratch the coating.

Oh, good picture. That HP laptop looks more complicated than my decade old laptop.

Hp + early nvidia graphic cards

meionm

Member

Tserrof

Member

SuperMiguel

Super User

freeagent

Member

neonblingbling

Member

Theocnoob

Member

Tserrof

Member

meionm

Member

meionm

Member

@md0Cer

Senior Member

Bobnova

Senior Member

vgta88

Member

@md0Cer

Senior Member

Bobnova

Senior Member

Xtreme Barton

Member

neonblingbling

Member

@md0Cer

Senior Member

4GHZ_or_bust

Now 6GHz or Bust!

Similar threads