from Nvidia's website. Remember, their own stockholders have a class action lawsuit against them for hiding this problem for months before finally disclosing it. This is going to be the best possible spin they can get away with as their aim is to reassure anyone buying a computer that the Nvidia name is safe.
The conclusion would be that they are no longer manufacturing any more faulty gpus. But where the cut-off was for inclusion in Apple's MBPs is still unanswered. My guess is that only the post Oct 14 release Glassbook pro which does not have the 8600s is safe. I read somewhere about Nvidia renaming their gpus (including the 8600s) which only adds to the confusion. Apple is the one to ask, but wanted to see what Nvidia themselves had to say.
The first quote is the more current answer on the heat problem although it is dated 8/29. I could not find any update on their website- someone else should give it a try because it might be there but I'm out of time.
"NVIDIA has identified a potential weakness in the die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebook systems. Certain notebook configurations with GPUs and MCPs manufactured with a certain die/packaging material set are failing in the field at higher than normal rates. NVIDIA has initiated discussions with its supply chain regarding this material set issue and is working closely with notebook manufacturers to resolve the issue.
1) The issue is limited to a few notebook chips only; we have not seen and don't expect to see this issue on any NVIDIA based desktops
2) Only a very small percentage of the notebook chips that have shipped are potentially affected and the problem depends on a combination of environmental conditions, configuration and usage model
3) We continue to work closely with our partners and have taken the necessary steps to ensure that all NVIDIA chips currently in production do not exhibit the problem
As a result, it is very unlikely that your NVIDA based notebook product is affected. As always, the primary support contact for any issues you may be experiencing is your notebook computer provider."
Then it has a link to this older statement:
"Nvidia Provides Second Quarter Fiscal 2009 Business Update
Company Lowers Financial Outlook for Second Quarter and Plans to Take One-Time Charge for Certain Notebook Field Failures
For further information, contact:
Michael Hara Calisa Cole
Investor Relations Corporate Communications
NVIDIA Corporation NVIDIA Corporation
(408) 486-2511 (408) 486-6263
mhara@nvidia.com ccole@nvidia.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CLARA, CAJULY 2, 2008NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the world leader in visual computing technologies, today provided a business update for its second quarter ending July 27, 2008.
Second quarter revenue and gross margin are expected to be lower than guidance provided during its first quarter financial conference call held May 8, 2008. Total revenue is now estimated to be from $875 million to $950 million. The estimated decrease in revenue and gross margin is due to several reasons: end-market weakness around the world, the delayed ramp of a next generation MCP, and price adjustments of our GPU products to respond to competitive products.
Separately, NVIDIA plans to take a one-time charge from $150 million to $200 million against cost of revenue for the second quarter to cover anticipated warranty, repair, return, replacement and other costs and expenses, arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebook systems. Certain notebook configurations with GPUs and MCPs manufactured with a certain die/packaging material set are failing in the field at higher than normal rates. To date, abnormal failure rates with systems other than certain notebook systems have not been seen. NVIDIA has initiated discussions with its supply chain regarding this material set issue and the Company will also seek to access insurance coverage for this matter.
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.
