Bumpgate: Difference between revisions
Removed the "Misdiagnosis/Poor Repair of Faults" section; spread its information to more specific consumer response segments. Also added a subsegment under Sony's consumer response that details how consumers performed their own repairs and discovered the cause of the fault. |
Added the "See Also" section, with some links to some of the companies mentioned in the article. |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Underfilled Die.png|alt=The image shows a diagram of a computer processor. On the bottom, there is a green rectangle labeled "substrate". On top of the substrate, there is a black rectangle labeled "chip", which refers to the die. Between the die and the substrate, there are small silver bumps equally spaced apart, encased within a white "filling". The bumps are the solder bumps connecting the die to the substrate, and the white filling is the underfill- meant to strengthen the solder bumps.|thumb|A diagram of a computer processor. When the underfill becomes too soft at any point in the processor's normal operating temperatures, the solder bumps under the die ("chip") can crack, disconnecting the die from the substrate. This leads to the processor failing, and in turn, leads to a critical system failure for the device it's in.]] | [[File:Underfilled Die.png|alt=The image shows a diagram of a computer processor. On the bottom, there is a green rectangle labeled "substrate". On top of the substrate, there is a black rectangle labeled "chip", which refers to the die. Between the die and the substrate, there are small silver bumps equally spaced apart, encased within a white "filling". The bumps are the solder bumps connecting the die to the substrate, and the white filling is the underfill- meant to strengthen the solder bumps.|thumb|A diagram of a computer processor. When the underfill becomes too soft at any point in the processor's normal operating temperatures, the solder bumps under the die ("chip") can crack, disconnecting the die from the substrate. This leads to the processor failing, and in turn, leads to a critical system failure for the device it's in.]] | ||
'''Bumpgate''', also known as '''Nvidiagate''', was a scandal where [[Nvidia]] and ATI Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) were prone to high failure rates due to a design flaw that led to cracked solder bumps under the die.<ref name=":0" /> Despite the "Nvidiagate" name, this defect not only affected many Nvidia GPUs made from approximately 2006 to 2010, but it also affected ATI GPUs from 2006 to 2008. Among retro console enthusiasts, the defect is best known to have been the likely culprit behind the high failure rate of Nvidia GPUs in [[Sony]]'s early PlayStation 3 models<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |first= |date=23 Dec 2022 |title=A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7WTNwAX0c |url-status=live |access-date=2 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> and ATI GPUs in [[Microsoft]]'s early Xbox 360 models.<ref name=":3" /> Individuals interested in other retro computers may know of the defect from certain models of Dell and HP laptops manufactured as early as 2005 and as late as 2010, as well as certain Apple Macbook Pros made from May 2007 to September 2008.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Affected Models |url=http://www.nvidiasettlement.com/affectedmodels.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001080616/http://www.nvidiasettlement.com/affectedmodels.html |archive-date=1 Oct 2010 |access-date=7 Jun 2025 |website=The NVIDIA GPU Litigation}}</ref> | '''Bumpgate''', also known as '''Nvidiagate''', was a scandal where [[Nvidia]] and ATI Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) were prone to high failure rates due to a design flaw that led to cracked solder bumps under the die.<ref name=":0" /> Despite the "Nvidiagate" name, this defect not only affected many Nvidia GPUs made from approximately 2006 to 2010, but it also affected ATI GPUs from 2006 to 2008. Among retro console enthusiasts, the defect is best known to have been the likely culprit behind the high failure rate of Nvidia GPUs in [[Sony]]'s early PlayStation 3 models<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |first= |date=23 Dec 2022 |title=A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7WTNwAX0c |url-status=live |access-date=2 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> and ATI GPUs in [[Microsoft]]'s early Xbox 360 models.<ref name=":3" /> Individuals interested in other retro computers may know of the defect from certain models of Dell and [[HP Inc.|HP-Compaq]] laptops manufactured as early as 2005 and as late as 2010, as well as certain [[Apple]] Macbook Pros made from May 2007 to September 2008.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Affected Models |url=http://www.nvidiasettlement.com/affectedmodels.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001080616/http://www.nvidiasettlement.com/affectedmodels.html |archive-date=1 Oct 2010 |access-date=7 Jun 2025 |website=The NVIDIA GPU Litigation}}</ref> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
| Line 104: | Line 104: | ||
Some consumers who dealt with the "Yellow Light of Death" paid Sony to repair their systems, but others decided to consider it a loss. For consumers whose systems failed after the "Slim" models came out, some of them chose to re-purchase the cheaper, allegedly more reliable Slim models. At the time, it was assumed that these models were not prone to "Yellow Light of Death" (they have since been confirmed completely non-defective), but there was still some uncertainty among the community at the time. However, others gave up on Sony entirely, switching to other platforms- particularly, the Xbox 360. | Some consumers who dealt with the "Yellow Light of Death" paid Sony to repair their systems, but others decided to consider it a loss. For consumers whose systems failed after the "Slim" models came out, some of them chose to re-purchase the cheaper, allegedly more reliable Slim models. At the time, it was assumed that these models were not prone to "Yellow Light of Death" (they have since been confirmed completely non-defective), but there was still some uncertainty among the community at the time. However, others gave up on Sony entirely, switching to other platforms- particularly, the Xbox 360. | ||
==== Consumers perform their own repairs ==== | ====Consumers perform their own repairs==== | ||
As a result of the poor response from Sony, consumers largely took things into their own hands. When the PS3 was still supported, informed consumers were sure to warn prospective buyers that the "backwards compatible" and "phat" models of PS3 were prone to the "Yellow Light of Death", that Sony wouldn't fix it for free, and even if they were willing to send it in for repairs, the system would be reset. In the United Kingdom, there was the BBC Watchdog segment that- while misguided on the cause of the problem- did inform consumers across the UK about the issues, so they knew to avoid these early PS3s and choose a newer Slim model if they wanted a PS3. | As a result of the poor response from Sony, consumers largely took things into their own hands. When the PS3 was still supported, informed consumers were sure to warn prospective buyers that the "backwards compatible" and "phat" models of PS3 were prone to the "Yellow Light of Death", that Sony wouldn't fix it for free, and even if they were willing to send it in for repairs, the system would be reset. In the United Kingdom, there was the BBC Watchdog segment that- while misguided on the cause of the problem- did inform consumers across the UK about the issues, so they knew to avoid these early PS3s and choose a newer Slim model if they wanted a PS3. | ||
| Line 123: | Line 123: | ||
If a product does not last because of a defect, then the company should respect their customer's investment by honoring the warranty- or by recalling the product if the defect is found to be common, as with Bumpgate. Nvidia's SEC report<ref name=":10" /> shows that they appeared to have this intention, and the company informing Dell<ref name=":8" /> and HP<ref name=":7" /> of the defect also seem to demonstrate this. In addition, based on the fact that Bumpgate affected some non-Nvidia processors (such as the Xbox 360's ''ATI'' graphics processor<ref name=":3" />), Nvidia was likely not fully responsible for the underfill defect. In fact, they alleged in the SEC report that it was their packaging company that caused the problem. However, this did not quell consumers' anger at Nvidia, and a class action lawsuit was filed. Unfortunately, the results of that lawsuit and subsequent settlement left consumers still angry and frustrated at the company- especially those who received insufficient compensation, like those who ended up with a budget laptop to replace their high-end laptop.<ref name=":15" /> This only fueled consumer distrust for Nvidia. Although the defect may not have fully been Nvidia's fault, their failure to properly compensate some Class Members when they agreed to settle was unacceptable to many consumers. | If a product does not last because of a defect, then the company should respect their customer's investment by honoring the warranty- or by recalling the product if the defect is found to be common, as with Bumpgate. Nvidia's SEC report<ref name=":10" /> shows that they appeared to have this intention, and the company informing Dell<ref name=":8" /> and HP<ref name=":7" /> of the defect also seem to demonstrate this. In addition, based on the fact that Bumpgate affected some non-Nvidia processors (such as the Xbox 360's ''ATI'' graphics processor<ref name=":3" />), Nvidia was likely not fully responsible for the underfill defect. In fact, they alleged in the SEC report that it was their packaging company that caused the problem. However, this did not quell consumers' anger at Nvidia, and a class action lawsuit was filed. Unfortunately, the results of that lawsuit and subsequent settlement left consumers still angry and frustrated at the company- especially those who received insufficient compensation, like those who ended up with a budget laptop to replace their high-end laptop.<ref name=":15" /> This only fueled consumer distrust for Nvidia. Although the defect may not have fully been Nvidia's fault, their failure to properly compensate some Class Members when they agreed to settle was unacceptable to many consumers. | ||
== See Also: == | |||
* [[Nvidia]] | |||
* [[Microsoft]] | |||
* [[Sony]] | |||
* [[HP Inc.|HP]] | |||
* [[Apple]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||