The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi, I'm new to this forum and have a quick question since it seems to be related to my problems.
I bought this laptop last year and within two months of using it, it froze at the Windows startup screen roughly 50% of the time. When this didn't happen, the laptop would auto-shutdown after a few minutes of use and couldn't be restarted for awhile; even if it wasn't hot near the vents, the fans were running like crazy. Of course, the Vaio is a replacement to an HP laptop that had the nVidia defect, but due to poor timing on my part, I couldn't get a refund and it went nowhere.
Fearing the overheating was because of the nVidia defect, I took it to the Sony shop for a repair. They assured me it was a faulty motherboard that couldn't regulate the heat and replaced it.

Now a year later, my laptop is beginning to show black spots in the casing and the wireless sometimes dies when in use, forcing a restart. With Sony's insistence on downloading a BIOS update to turn up the fans 24/7 (oddly reminiscent of HP's solution to the problem), I'm scared that this is the same nightmare all over again and the GPU/motherboard will completely fry in a few months. Scans on Google don't show anything related to the 310M chips overheating, so I just want to check here to see if anyone is experiencing the same problems and whether or not it has to do with the defect.

Thanks in advance.

Hello masta518 and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing with your laptop.

Whilst the Nvidia GPU in your laptop may not be one of the defective GPU's, this does not mean that the underlying BGA grid is not defective.

The trouble is, the solder balls that are being used to bond the GPU's to the mainboard are of the lead-free variety.

What does this mean? you may ask.

Well, for some time now manufacturers have had to become ROHS compliant. ROHS stands for Reduction Of Harmful Substances. What this basically means is that Cadmium, Mercury and Lead (amongst others) have had to be removed from the manufacturing process.

The removal of the lead from the solder is what is causing all the problems in products such as the Xbox, Playstation, HP 6735S and others.


The trouble is, the new formula solder cannot withstand the same conditions as its predecessor and so the BGA grid breaks down causing overheating, loss of wireless followed closely by the complete failure of the GPU.

What temperature is your laptop reaching?

Who did you purchase from and what method of payment did you use? (Cash/Debit Card, Credit Card)?

Please let me know and I will advise further.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Hi, thank you for your prompt reply.
The picture attached shows the two states of my GPU, the left being under stress from running a video game and the right under normal operating conditions (idle with an internet browser open). Now that I've run this test, it doesn't seem like the temperature is too high since it's normal for a GPU to be around 50°C-90°C from what I recall.

From what you said regarding the BGA though, how does a defect in the grid cause it to overheat? Are you saying that it simply can't withstand normal operating temperatures? Why would this affect the outer casing by causing deformities and blackspots?

Thank you for your help.

Hello Masta518,

The problem the with lead free solder means that the constant switch on/switch off/heat up/cool down cycles cause fractures in the solder balls in the BGA grid.

90c is way too high and whilst it can be difficult at this stage to pinpoint exactly whether it is the BGA grid or the GPU itself that is causing the overheating it matters not as in either case this would constitute as being an inherent/manufacturing defect.

The overheating could also case the distortions in the case that you are experiencing and I have seen this many times in laptops I have inspected.

I hope the above helps.

Any questions please let me know.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
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What is the Nvidia Defect?
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Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Ok, I think I understand what's going on now.

I bought this laptop from a Futureshop (I live in Canada), so I realize that you might not be able to help me, but should I take it back to them and say they sold me a defective product with the temperatures as proof? The warranty expired in February, and the Sony Maintenance shop already replaced my motherboard claiming the old one to be a 'lemon'. Because of the replacement and the expiration date, Sony is refusing to talk to me, so I'm not sure what options I have.

Thanks again.

Hello Masta,



The warranty is not long expired so time is of the essence and I would act now. I would go to the shop to tell them that you believe that your laptop is inherently defective, though I will bet that they will say that high temperatures does not prove an inherent defect.

You have had two mainboard repairs now which is unreasonable. You will also need to check what legal options are available to you in your country.

Fingers crossed for you that you can reach some form of a resolution.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
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What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

I have one more question: I haven't updated my BIOS to turn on the fans yet. I found it made little difference with my HP laptop, would doing this harm my chances at a repair/refund in any way?

Thank you for your help so far, I'm going to talk to my retailer and Sony over the next few days to hopefully reach some sort of agreement.

Hello Masta,

The fact that you didn't update the BIOS will in no way affect your claim so I wouldn't let that bother you.

Besides, most owners didn't even realise that a BIOS update was available and those that did didn't realise the reason why the update was necessary.

I would put that right out of your mind as it really doesn't matter.

Good luck for when you contact them and fingers crossed for you.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.