'07-'08 MacBook Pros included in Nvidia class-action settlement

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
A newly announced settlement in a class-action lawsuit against graphics maker Nvidia has entitled owners of a number of notebook computers, including two of Apple's MacBook Pro models, to repairs or monetary compensation.



Case No. 08-cv-04312-JW relates to Nvidia chips found in some Dell, HP and Apple notebooks sold between 2005 and 2010. For Mac owners, the suit relates to two notebooks: 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models sold between May 2007 and September 2008.



Owners of an affected Mac system could experience distorted or scrambled video on the screen, or the display may not work when the notebook is turned on. Some Dell and HP systems also reportedly have additional issues, such as random characters, lines or garbled images appearing on the screen.



Details of the settlement have been sent out in an e-mail that some incorrectly suspected is a phony spam advertising message. However, a representative from Nvidia confirmed to AppleInsider Wednesday that the content of the e-mail is legitimate.



The class-action lawsuit known as "The Nvidia GPU Litigation" was heard in a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. Judge James Ware gave preliminary approval of the settlement on Aug. 30.



The lawsuit alleges that graphics processing units and media and communications processors supplied by Nvidia affected the performance of some notebook computers.



"NVIDIA denies all allegations of wrongdoing and has asserted many defenses," a notice issued by the U.S. District Court reads. "The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing." Apple, HP and Dell are not parties to the lawsuit.



Members of the class action have three potential options in the proposed settlement:

1. Owners of Apple and Dell machines may receive replacement of the Nvidia GPU or MCP.

2. Those who have an affected HP notebook may receive a replacement notebook computer similar in kind and value.

3. Nvidia will fund $2 million for reimbursement, which will be used to pay for repairs related to problems with the chips.

The e-mail instructs users who may be a part of the class action to register their e-mail address at nvidiasettlement.com. It states that the claim period will begin before Dec. 20, 2010.



The full list of machines and purchase date ranges is included below:

Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch) May 2007 ? September 2008

Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch) May 2007 ? September 2008

Dell Inspiron 1420 May 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Inspiron 9400/E1705 March 2006 ? February 28, 2010

Dell Latitude D620 December 2005 ? November 30, 2008

Dell Latitude D630 February 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Latitude D630c February 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Latitude D820 November 2005 ? March 31, 2008

Dell Latitude D830 March 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Precision M2300 August 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Precision M4300 March 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Precision M6300 December 2007 ? March 31, 2009

Dell Precision M65 November 2005 ? January 31, 2008

Dell Vostro 1700 March 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Vostro Notebook 1310 December 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Vostro Notebook 1400 May 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Vostro Notebook 1510 December 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell Vostro Notebook 1710 January 2008 ? July 31, 2008

Dell XPS M1210 March 2006 ? November 30, 2008

Dell XPS M1330 March 2007 ? September 30, 2008

Dell XPS M1530 September 2007 ? January 31, 2009

Dell XPS M1710 March 2006 ? February 28, 2010

Dell XPS M1730 November 2007 ? January 31, 2009

Dell XPS1710 March 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Compaq Presario v30xx March 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v31xx March 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v32xx March 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v33xx March 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v34xx March 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v60xx May 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v61xx May 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v62xx May 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v63xx May 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario v64xx May 2006 ? October 31, 2008

HP Compaq Presario F500 October 2006 ? September 30, 2008

HP Pavilion dv20xx March 2006 ? December 31, 2008

HP Pavilion dv21xx March 2006 ? December 31, 2008

HP Pavilion dv22xx March 2006 ? December 31, 2008

HP Pavilion dv23xx March 2006 ? December 31, 2008

HP Pavilion dv24xx March 2006 ? December 31, 2008

HP Pavilion dv60xx May 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Pavilion dv61xx May 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Pavilion dv62xx May 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Pavilion dv63xx May 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Pavilion dv64xx May 2006 ? April 30, 2009

HP Pavilion dv90xx May 2006 ? November 30, 2008

HP Pavilion dv92xx May 2006 ? November 30, 2008

HP Pavilion dv93xx May 2006 ? November 30, 2008

HP Pavilion dv94xx May 2006 ? November 30, 2008

HP Pavilion tx1xxx March 2007 ? May 31, 2008
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    This story neglects to mention that your machine will only qualify if it has been previously repaired.
  • Reply 2 of 22
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,853member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    This story neglects to mention that your machine will only qualify if it has been previously repaired.



    No...

    Quote:

    Depending on which model you have and whether you paid for repairs, the settlement provides for: (1) a replacement of the NVIDIA chip inside your notebook computer; (2) for a replacement HP notebook computer with one similar in kind and value if you bought a subject HP notebook computer; and (3) for reimbursement of either the entire amount that you spent to have the notebook computer repaired due to a previous failure of the NVIDIA graphics chip or a portion of that amount, depending on the number of people who submit valid claims for reimbursement.



    Nvidia will repair any of the listed models that are exhibiting the problems, or refund you if you paid for a repair yourself.



    How about the thousands of 8XXX cards that were purchased separately (i.e. for Mac Pros and PCs), which are also dying about now? My 2007/8 Nvidia 8800GT from Apple is dead, showing the exact same problems like garbled graphics, causing the computer to lock up. It's the same problem that the laptops are getting.
  • Reply 3 of 22
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    This Apple support article from June 2010 explains it:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377



    My MBP was repaired (motherboard replaced) this summer for free under this Apple program, even though my AppleCare warranty had expired.
  • Reply 4 of 22
    Is this worldwide or just the US?
  • Reply 5 of 22
    So I had the issue and Apple fixed it. No issues since. I was under warranty at the time. What are my options?
  • Reply 6 of 22
    Had my MBP repaired by Apple 2 weeks ago for this. Inconvenient to be MBPless for a couple of days.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    I had a MBP from 2007 that exhibited these issues and had the graphics chip replaced by Apple. Since it was acknowledged as a problem at the time, I did not pay anything despite being out of warranty. I thought this issue was settled already before.



    What I was hoping for was a settlement affecting the Late 2008 MBPs, which I purchased in Nov 2008. My Late 2008 Unibody MBP (5,1) exhibits the same issues with the 9600M GT under heavy load as my older MBP. To date I have not been able to confirm that this is a problem that Apple will service as an acknowledged problem. It sounds like this might not be a settlement that affects the unibodies that are experiencing the same issue.



    Granted I don't know for sure that the problem is the same, but certainly there are graphics problems that can be replicated.
  • Reply 8 of 22
    NVidia acknowledged this problem over a year ago. Got my secondhand MBP fixed for free at Apple June 2009.



    I had been working on my MBP, closed the lid and when I got to work the screen wouldn't light up. Lost my MBP for 2 weeks on that repair.
  • Reply 9 of 22
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    So I had the issue and Apple fixed it. No issues since. I was under warranty at the time. What are my options?





    Just what sort of options were you looking for? Apple paid for the repair so why do you think you have any sort of claim?
  • Reply 10 of 22
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,136member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    So I had the issue and Apple fixed it. No issues since. I was under warranty at the time. What are my options?



    What options are you hoping for? You MBP was fixed to your satisfaction as you posted.



    Are you looking to milk this somehow and get money or a new laptop for a problem you don't have??
  • Reply 11 of 22
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elijahg View Post


    No...





    Nvidia will repair any of the listed models that are exhibiting the problems, or refund you if you paid for a repair yourself.



    How about the thousands of 8XXX cards that were purchased separately (i.e. for Mac Pros and PCs), which are also dying about now? My 2007/8 Nvidia 8800GT from Apple is dead, showing the exact same problems like garbled graphics, causing the computer to lock up. It's the same problem that the laptops are getting.



    Sorry, you'll have to file your own class action lawsuit. Too bad, so sad.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    I had 2 15" MacBook Pros of that vintage.



    The first had a full video failure after 18 months. It was repaired under AppleCare, but I waited 5 weeks and bought another rather than wait or rent. I sold it immediately after the repair.



    The second (replacement) MBP had a similar video failure, again, after 18 months. Sent it out for an AppleCare repair. Bought a unibody 15" MBP. Sold the repaired unit immediately.



    I love the unibody i7 MBP!
  • Reply 13 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    What options are you hoping for? You MBP was fixed to your satisfaction as you posted.



    Are you looking to milk this somehow and get money or a new laptop for a problem you don't have??



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Just what sort of options were you looking for? Apple paid for the repair so why do you think you have any sort of claim?



    Sure why not. Any money is welcome in this day and age.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,136member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    Sure why not. Any money is welcome in this day and age.



    Well... your blunt honesty is admirable.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    $13,000,000 in legal fees

    $2,000,000 spread across the class members.
  • Reply 16 of 22
    Is it possible to be proactive and somehow get this fixed sooner than later if it's going to happen no matter what? Or do we need to wait for the videocard to die first? I've been running an early '08 MBP since January '09 and things have been fine so far...
  • Reply 17 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anthonycroberts View Post


    $13,000,000 in legal fees

    $2,000,000 spread across the class members.



    Point taken...whenever you need the services of an attorney...you are already screwed! When will businesses learn, be out ahead of problems. And there will always be some problems. Let's all make a collective effort to take lawyers out of the mix as much as we can! Otherwise, one day, we will all be lawyers or insurance salesman contributing nothing to society!



    Best!
  • Reply 18 of 22
    I have yet to figure out how to tell what year/date model my MacBook pro is... How do you find out? Is there a setting or info screen somewhere on the computer? Everything I see relies on knowing what purchase date or date model your MBP is, yet I can't remember when I bought it so how do I know?
  • Reply 19 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elijahg View Post


    No...





    Nvidia will repair any of the listed models that are exhibiting the problems, or refund you if you paid for a repair yourself.



    How about the thousands of 8XXX cards that were purchased separately (i.e. for Mac Pros and PCs), which are also dying about now? My 2007/8 Nvidia 8800GT from Apple is dead, showing the exact same problems like garbled graphics, causing the computer to lock up. It's the same problem that the laptops are getting.



    I had the EXACT same thing happen to my 8800GT with a little over a year of moderate use. That's just not right for something that cost over $300.



    I guess the jokes on me though, huh?
  • Reply 20 of 22
    My graphics card died this Spring, but I had an extended warranty although this would have been covered even if I didn't. I think what it did was put me in the front of the line, the Apple certified repair place told me it would be two weeks for the replacement because so many orders were in for this fix. I reminded them that I had paid almost $400 for my extended care, next thing I know they called me and said it would be ready in a couple of days instead of a couple of weeks.



    My MBP works fantastically so they took care of the issue like they usually do.
Sign In or Register to comment.