Dell XPS 1530 Video Artifacts

[Appletax]

I have a Dell XPS 1530 here that is having video artifacts.


- The screen is fully lit and bright, which means the inverter board is good

- The artifacts occur immediately, which means bad graphics drivers aren't the problem

- Connected to an external monitor and sometimes I would see video with artifacts and sometimes nothing at all.

- Was able to enter Dell's built in diagnostics 1 time by pressing the FN key with the power button. I ran the tests and everything was fine, but the graphics video RAM test showed artifacts (failed).

- The one time I got it to show anything was when it was connected to the external monitor. It looked similar to this:

http://i56.tinypic.com/29wlboj.jpg



What I see right when the system boots:



Close up:



Can't get the laptop to output to my external anymore:



Pre-boot diagnostics (only worked once):



Diagnostics found no problems (I skipped the RAM tests because I don't think that's the problem):



Another menu of diagnostic options appeared after:


I should have taken a pic of the menu, but didn't
- This is where I ran a test on the GPU and got artifacts for a few of the tests


Dell's support site wouldn't tell me what GPU the system has by using the Service Tag
The diagnostics told me it has a nb8m gs... I'm assuming that's an Nvidia 8xxxm gs.



SOO ->>>> What do you think is the problem? Bad video RAM? (See this)

I found out from Dell that they offered an extended 1 year warranty, but it ended in 2008.

If I need a new mobo, should I get it from Ebay? All I've been finding is refurbished so I might as well buy from a top-seller considering I'd get a much better price (Link)

What are the odds of a refurb mobo ever having the same problems again? Could the Nvidia 8000 series GPU go bad even on one of these mobos?

 

[14049752]

nVidia gpu issue. That's an affected model.

 

[Appletax]

nVidia gpu issue. That's an affected model.

Is it worth replacing the motherboard? Will the problem reoccur?

It'd cost my customer at least $135 - 150 just for a refurbished (used) mobo + $70 for me to install it = $205 - $220.

 

[14049752]

It's the same as the HP GPU issues. The problem has a high chance of reoccurring. I'd just let the customer make the decision, with the knowledge that the system does have that issue.

Additionally, Dell has been telling my customers that they can have the system repaired and that they'll reimburse them as part of the class action lawsuit. I have not confirmed that, but two different customers have said the same thing...so it might be worth looking into.

 

[Appletax]

It's the same as the HP GPU issues. The problem has a high chance of reoccurring. I'd just let the customer make the decision, with the knowledge that the system does have that issue.

Additionally, Dell has been telling my customers that they can have the system repaired and that they'll reimburse them as part of the class action lawsuit. I have not confirmed that, but two different customers have said the same thing...so it might be worth looking into.

Dell told me that they extended the warranty by 1 year (ended 2008), which means the laptop can't be fixed for free by them.

EDIT: They were telling the truth.... see here: NVIDIA GPU Update: NVIDIA Class Action Settlement and Limited Warranty Enhancement