Dell Releases NVIDIA Patch

Owners of some quirky Dell Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, Vostro and XPS models should be relieved to learn that a patch has been announced that fixes most of the problems associated with a rogue NVIDIA graphics adaptor chip. These include lines on the screen, multiple images and random characters and they can appear when the graphics processor unit (GPU) overheats. The BIOS patch optimises the fan’s temperature regulation of the GPU. The problem, which is caused by a packaging fault on the chip should solve the problem for most users but if the chip fails then NVIDIA has set aside up to $200 million to cover warranty claims. There’s a list of affected models, and link to the download on the Dell2Direct website.

Nvidia Due to Implement on-the-fly GPU Switching

Nvidia have announced that the MCP78S chipset will give the user the possibility to switch between GPU cores. The new chipset incorporates a GeForce 8-class DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0 graphics engine, but also has the capability of controlling a PCI Express 2.0 graphics card connected via the chipset’s 16 PCIe 2.0 lanes.

This is not a title of novelty, since this feature is widely supported by most of the integrated chipsets, but the chipset also supports HybridSLI, giving the user complete control over the two GPUs. Should the system need hardcore graphic performance, the user may enable the graphics card, while on average computing the system graphics is hosted on the lower-power integrated GPU. This feature really comes in handy since, unlike the previous versions, GPU switching does not need a computer reboot. Read More »