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Quite possibly. Began covering it in Gaming weeks ago.

http://www.maclife.com/forums/post/1572226#p1572226

http://www.maclife.com/forums/post/1573734#p1573734  and following.

Nothing definitive on Macs per se (yet).

Bat wrote:

Nothing definitive on Macs per se (yet).

Maybe there is now.

(Talk about one infinite loop...)

It's spreading- Ten Dell models have defective Nvidia GPUs.

More laptops are getting BIOS 'updates' that mainly keep the fan speed up, not unlikely in an attempt to push vidchip failure into the post-warranty period.

Next on the list of questions is when is NV going to come clean over this? We know there are at least four manufacturers having failures, and the damage control, stonewalling game is being played out to almost masochistic levels. Nvidia has utterly failed damage control 101, and now they are moving into territory where investigations are born. We wonder how deep this rabbit hole is going to go, and how many zeros are on the end?

Desktop OEMs are getting into it too...

Due to Nvidia not clearly explaining the details of the faults reported in its notebook GPUs, some channel vendors have demanded graphics card makers issue a recall for desktop-based discrete graphics cards using the same GPU core, according to sources at graphics card makers.

Nvidia has commented that the faulty notebook GPU problem only exists in a few specific notebook models made by specific clients. The company contended that desktop-based discrete graphics card products are not affected by the issue.

The Rogister's covering it too. Smoke & fire.

ukimalefu wrote:

Intel GMA FTL!

Fixed.

ScifiterX wrote:

Bat wrote:

ukimalefu wrote:

Intel GMA FTW!

Fixed.

Your grunty certainly is.

For action, you mean. Ready for anything.

When you breathe methane, nothing fazes you.

After reading all of this I have a question. I plan on getting new G5 with duel 3.2GHz processors, 8GB of ram, and a Apple Cinema HD Display (30"). I want to also Game on it, what  graphics card should I get?

BTW: cost not a issue.

Last edited by CG5Addict (2008-08-01 4:14 pm)

If it's not obvious, Barefeats' gaming comparison here.

I don't think Cee will ever boot Windows, tho. Relative performance can also change over time due to drivers, tested games, resolutions etc.

Last edited by Bat (2008-08-01 11:52 pm)

Yup- they're all bad.

When this news broke many were curious -- which GPUs were affected and what exactly is the problem?  Well the answer to the latter is relatively simple -- a number of NVIDIA mobile GPUs had extremely poor thermal tolerances thanks to defects.  This leads to early chip death and faulty behaviors, such as artifacting, as chips start to fail.

The answer to the first question -- how many -- is just now becoming clear.  It appears appears that NVIDIA's mobile offerings are much harder hit than initial conservative estimates.  Dell and HP, the two largest computer manufacturers have just released lists of what computers have defective chips.

It turns out virtually all the NVIDIA mobile chips are defective.  NVIDIA tried to brush off the issue stating that the issue was a "previous-generation" problem.  However, it turns out that virtually all 8400M and 8600M chips are defective.  These chips make up the bulk of NVIDIA's higher end graphics offerings.  While NVIDIA started to roll out the first of its 9 series mobile chips, the 8 series represents the flagship line of its mobile offerings.

The low to middle end chips are also virtually all defective.  Among the defective lines are the GeForce Go 7000 and 6000 lines, as well as the Quadro NVS 135M and the Quadro FX 360M.

Bad Quadros? Sheesh.

...

For those with mobile GPUs from other manufacturers, please refer to their respective pages as many of them have posted or will be posting information on the problems.

Dell, HP Lists Reveal Defective NVIDIA Mobile GPUs

Bat wrote:

You could go with the 8800GT option; or the baseline 2600XT, then upgrade to the retail Radeon 3870.

Gaming performance is competitive, quite adequate, and it (the 3870) is apparently a good deal better at Core Image.

Oh, and Apple doesn't use G5s anymore.

For give me, Been out of the Mac game for a little while when me and my wife split and I gave my son my duel 1.8 ghz G5! I'm getting a Mac Pro.

Bat wrote:

I don't think Cee will ever boot Windows, tho.

Your right about that!

O.K. I'm leaning towards the 8800GT. Now, this may sound like a dumb question, but why is the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 cost so much? besides the extra memory.

Yep. Pro cards need drivers that can do things pro apps call for (like line antialiasing) that aren't needed elsewhere, they get app certification and so on. Rendering speed, unlike in gaming, is quite secondary to accuracy. The requirements are quite different tho the chips are the same.

CG5Addict wrote:

O.K. I'm leaning towards the 8800GT. Now, this may sound like a dumb question, but why is the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 cost so much? besides the extra memory.

It's an 8800GTX with firmware that identifies as "Quadro" to the graphics driver, which in turn, uses more accurate rendering algorithms (at the cost of performance).  Since the difference is firmware, some GeForce cards (such as the 8800GTX) can be converted to equivalent Quadro cards with a simple firmware flash.  I don't know the state of Quadro "soft-modding" on the Mac, however.  But it's not something you'd be interested in, anyway.

Last edited by Mr. T (2008-08-10 12:16 pm)