GTX 590 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:09:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png GTX 590 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 How serious are the nVidia GTX 590 problems? https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/how-serious-are-the-nvidia-gtx-590-problems/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/how-serious-are-the-nvidia-gtx-590-problems/#comments Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:48:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=40219 It has been impossible to ignore over the last week the problems surrounding Nvidia's new dual GPU card, the GTX590. After the high profile video capture of a sample failing on video there have been threads on many of the leading forums from people who have had their brand new £600 investment fail. KitGuru heard …

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It has been impossible to ignore over the last week the problems surrounding Nvidia's new dual GPU card, the GTX590. After the high profile video capture of a sample failing on video there have been threads on many of the leading forums from people who have had their brand new £600 investment fail.

KitGuru heard recently that partners were rushing to get their bioses updated, we had assumed at the time that Nvidia had stepped in to release a new bios which would help ensure that thermal limitations were set firmly in place.

After we published our story, Nvidia took the time to reply to Fudzilla and have said “NVIDIA's reference GTX 590 VBIOS on the production boards has not changed, and we have not provided a new VBIOS to AICs or end users for GTX 590. The original GTX 590 VBIOS that NVIDIA shipped is good for customers to use and we stand fully behind the reliability of the hardware with that VBIOS.

We did hear of one AIC partner who issued a custom VBIOS update specific to their board and we are checking in with them on the details of this.”

KitGuru has actually heard of more than one partner who are making changes to their BIOS configuration, but we need to ask the tough question. Is there actually really anything wrong with the GTX590, or are nVidia being unfairly treated?

Nvidia originally issued this statement : “A few press reports on GTX 590 boards dying were caused by unsafe overvoltaging (as high as 1.2V vs. default voltage of 0.91 to 0.96V), & using older drivers that have less overcurrent protection. Rest assured that GTX 590 operates reliably at default voltages, and our 267.84 launch drivers provide additional levels of protection. See our knowledge base for more info (http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2947)”

We thought that was the end of the problem. The updated driver would cure the issue and we could all move on. As the graphics hardware gets more powerful, the heat rises and greater cooling power is needed. This is logical.

When AMD released their HD6990 they issued a statement that they weren't supporting the higher bios setting. KitGuru published reports on this, and we were the first to get the official statement. This caused a fair amount of flak for them, and when XFX stepped up to say that they would support their end users, we all felt it was a very good move.

This brings us back to the GTX 590. While Nvidia updated the drivers to stop the cards failing, other users were reporting that their GTX590 had died even when running at reference clocks with default voltage. Some have blamed poor VRM design on the failures, but could it be that the card is having to deal with too much heat? Are the bios changes that some partners are making to help with enhanced thermal limiting?

Testing the temperatures of a video card is a difficult task, many publications use simple driver readings, and others can use diodes which can be attached to various positions of the PCB and cooler. They are never totally accurate. It is worth bearing in mind that often software related thermal readings can also be wrong.

One KitGuru reader brought it to our attention that Hardware.fr use a thermograph to accurately measure video card temperatures. Their GTX590 testing showed a reading of almost 112c under load.

image taken from Hardware.fr

I don't think anyone could argue that this is scientific and without repute. The more important question to answer now will be the reliability over the long term. I know when ATI released their dual GPU 4870 X2 a few years ago that the temperatures were often reading over 100c, and while they would never admit it they suffered from their fair share of problems.

If you are buying a GTX 590 today and spending a small fortune, how will this investment hold up in 9 months time, especially if the 112c readings from Hardware.fr are going to be maintained for months while gaming? Obviously getting a straight answer from any PR representative is going to prove difficult, and it is rare in history that any company will admit problems with their hardware. Is the GTX 590 perfectly fine now that the drivers have been updated? Or are there more serious problems with the design and long term reliability?

Kitguru says: Time will tell.

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Confirmation that nVidia slashed the price of GTX590 https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/confirmation-that-nvidia-slashed-the-price-of-gtx590/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/confirmation-that-nvidia-slashed-the-price-of-gtx590/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:46:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=40035 There have been a lot of rumours in the market, saying that nVidia had to reduce the price of the GTX590 prior to the launch. But the question remains, is it true and how much was the drop? In the KitGuru analysis, it was hard to see why nVidia had launched the GTX590 at the …

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There have been a lot of rumours in the market, saying that nVidia had to reduce the price of the GTX590 prior to the launch. But the question remains, is it true and how much was the drop?

In the KitGuru analysis, it was hard to see why nVidia had launched the GTX590 at the price they had, way after the Radeon HD 6990 was in the market. Also surprising was the announcement that the GTX590 is the fastest card on the planet. In the KitGuru Labs, we scored it 11 wins to AMD with 7 to nVidia. If the GTX590 had arrived just before the Radeon HD 6990, then it would definitely have taken the crown – it is faster that the HD 5970.

Oh well. Back to the pricing.

While the price of the GTX590 can be up to £100 more than the faster Radeon HD 6990, the really surprising fact is that it was going to be up to £150 more.

Word from the channel is that a price drop of up to £50 was communicated to stores just before the launch happened. We noticed on stores like Overclockers.co.uk that GTX590's such as the Gigabyte model were being listed for £650 at launch time.

from overclockers.co.uk this morning: this week only? - from £650 to £600

It's surprising stuff.

In the past, nVidia has managed to capture the performance crown with a series of great cards – and we can't recall any of them being surrounded in the kind of controversy that's been attached to the GTX590.

Still, with a little downward movement on pricing, the new BIOS flash and an updated driver, this is still the fastest nVidia card on the market by some distance.

KitGuru says: Thank god they did not run with the higher price. Would have been a bad day for nVidia enthusiasts.

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Updated GTX590 BIOS rushed out to repair reputation https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/updated-gtx590-bios-rushed-out-to-repair-reputation/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/jules/updated-gtx590-bios-rushed-out-to-repair-reputation/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:07:07 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=40037 KitGuru spies have uncovered the reason behind all of the recent commotion at NV headquarters. It seems that the stories being reported by customers on sites like Overclockers.co.uk mean that the “It is an old driver issue” statement might be binned in favour of something more substantial. KitGuru applauds nVidia's move. Ever since SweClockers ran …

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KitGuru spies have uncovered the reason behind all of the recent commotion at NV headquarters. It seems that the stories being reported by customers on sites like Overclockers.co.uk mean that the “It is an old driver issue” statement might be binned in favour of something more substantial. KitGuru applauds nVidia's move.

Ever since SweClockers ran a video of nVidia's GTX590 card exploding in the lab, the world + dog has been waiting to see if this is a one off – or something indicative of a more serious issue. Interesting to see that in the day or two after the explosion, the view count was less than 10,000 – but it is now over 300,000. SweClockers ad sales team must have made an alter to nVidia and be thanking their personal gods that the cameras were switched on at the right moment.

Hard to see in this still, but there are 3 small columns of smoke floating up from the card in the full video. Worth looking at - click the pic to see

At the end of last week, nVidia was telling the UK channel that – 100% – the exploding card issue only affected products that were being over-volted and being used in conjunction with an older driver that was not meant to be used.

In nVidia's own words…

“A few press reports on GTX 590 boards dying were caused by unsafe overvoltaging (as high as 1.2V vs. default voltage of 0.91 to 0.96V), & using older drivers that have less overcurrent protection.  Rest assured that GTX 590 operates reliably at default voltages, and our 267.84 launch drivers provide additional levels of protection. See our knowledge base for more info (http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2947)”

Initially, it was believed that almost no one would be affected. However, the latest stories from customers on Overclockers seems to indicate that the issue could be more widespread than first thought.

Greg Brown shares his pain on Overclockers

The jury is out and – in all honesty – with the speed of development, it may never return.

What do we mean by speed of development?

Well, nVidia's engineering squad have just completed work on a BIOS that is intended to prevent future GTX590 explosions.

We will be watching nVidia to find out when it might be available and will let you know. It would be nice to get a clarification from nVidia about which customers could be affected by the ‘exploding card problem' and whether it is necessary for all customers to update their BIOSes.

nVidia has also said that additional warranty problems relating to exploding GTX590 cards will be dealt with by the manufacturer who shipped you the card, rather than by nVidia itself. So the returns policy should be ‘Back to your local store, as per normal'.

nVidia has yet to make a statement regarding customers who want to return GTX590 cards because they are scared that there are safety issues. It's a little bit of a grey area, so some clarification would be nice.

KitGuru says: Great move by nVidia to hard-code a solution into the BIOS. No one wants to see £600 cards exploding – even if there is an RMA process in place. Prevention is definitely better than cure. We will watch this closely and report back on developments.

Comments below or in the KitGuru forum.

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