AMD Overclock Tool Damage NOT Covered By Warranty!

[Rubycon]

I noticed on the box (5970) it reads:

"AMD's product warranty does not cover damages caused by overclocking even when overclocking is enabled via AMD Overdrive or ATi Overdrive software."

I've never heard of this before - I always thought as long as you use THEIR software there is no problem.

The next issue is does the 5970 benefit from bringing cores/memory to 5870 levels? :hmm:

 

[PingviN]

Overclocking is almost never covered by warranty.

Does the HD5970 benefit from OC? Yes, it does.

 

[MarcVenice]

Not sure, but I think XFX' warranty covers oc-ing, I suppose MSI's as well as Asus' does too, considering they bundle their HW with oc-tools, and XFX just has top notch warranty?

 

[soccerballtux]

Of course it wouldn't cover it. Does a motherboard's warranty cover damages to the CPU because the motherboard ("THEIR product") gave the CPU too much voltage?
Is this a bait post?

 

[Rubycon]

Of course it wouldn't cover it. Does a motherboard's warranty cover damages to the CPU because the motherboard ("THEIR product") gave the CPU too much voltage?
Is this a bait post?

Invalid comparison. We're not talking about a motherboard damaging a CPU here. In either case they cannot tell and lots of people that do in fact destroy things will RMA with the "it just stopped working" excuse.

Of course this is not about that. Doing a "see how high it o/c test" with overdrive should not harm a video card permanently nor destroy it. If the power supply is overtaxed and goes up in smoke taking out the video card (very unlikely but plausible) then that is quite different.

I briefly looked over AT's 5970 article from November about the overclocking and voltage control feature. Stock the card puts out lots of heat when stressed but not quite the furnace the 1900XTX was.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

There are no limits in Overdrive (other than how far the slider will go) that will stop a user overclocking a chip to the point of failure, so it's really no different to any other piece of software out there available for overclocking GPUs. If Overdrive could work out dynamically the point where a card may die or get irrevocably damaged, and then automatically throttle overclocks to under that level, then it would be strange if the warranty didn't cover OC'ing with Overdrive. But as it is, it just means that AMD doesn't have their customer service clogged up from idiots using Overdrive and killing their GPUs because the warranty says it's okay.

 

[Rubycon]

There are no limits in Overdrive (other than how far the slider will go) that will stop a user overclocking a chip to the point of failure, so it's really no different to any other piece of software out there available for overclocking GPUs. If Overdrive could work out dynamically the point where a card may die or get irrevocably damaged, and then automatically throttle overclocks to under that level, then it would be strange if the warranty didn't cover OC'ing with Overdrive. But as it is, it just means that AMD doesn't have their customer service clogged up from idiots using Overdrive and killing their GPUs because the warranty says it's okay.

I really have not had much interest in OC'ing GPUs since the 6800 days (2004). I've used the tools just to see how much "cushion" there is between stock and the failure point. Some GPUs can go pretty fast and others reach the turning point frighteningly close to the speed where they shipped.

Also you'd think that a lockup or artifacts in a moderate OC would tell the user to STOP, clock lower or forget the OC altogether, right? Then again some people will drive on a flat tire. :biggrin:

p.s. Welcome to AT!

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

p.s. Welcome to AT!

Thank you. I look forward to posting here more.

Also you'd think that a lockup or artifacts in a moderate OC would tell the user to STOP, clock lower or forget the OC altogether, right? Then again some people will drive on a flat tire.

You'd think so. But if it's conceivable, then it's probable someone's done it already...

I really have not had much interest in OC'ing GPUs since the 6800 days (2004). I've used the tools just to see how much "cushion" there is between stock and the failure point. Some GPUs can go pretty fast and others reach the turning point frighteningly close to the speed where they shipped.

No, I don't see much point in OC'ing GPUs either. It doesn't seem like a very effective way to significantly improve performance. But a lot of people do it simply because they can. Human nature, and all that.

 

[EarthwormJim]

This sort of reminds me of Nissan's warranty on the GTR. If you do too many launch controlled starts, you'll void the warranty. So using a feature that they advertise you to use to achieve great performance (good 0-60 times), you'll void your warranty.

 

[Voo]

I haven't use Overdrive in a long time, but wasn't there a warning the first time you activated it, saying something like "You may damage your card by using this?".

 

[soccerballtux]

There are no limits in Overdrive (other than how far the slider will go) that will stop a user overclocking a chip to the point of failure, so it's really no different to any other piece of software out there available for overclocking GPUs. If Overdrive could work out dynamically the point where a card may die or get irrevocably damaged, and then automatically throttle overclocks to under that level, then it would be strange if the warranty didn't cover OC'ing with Overdrive. But as it is, it just means that AMD doesn't have their customer service clogged up from idiots using Overdrive and killing their GPUs because the warranty says it's okay.

I really have not had much interest in OC'ing GPUs since the 6800 days (2004). I've used the tools just to see how much "cushion" there is between stock and the failure point. Some GPUs can go pretty fast and others reach the turning point frighteningly close to the speed where they shipped.

Also you'd think that a lockup or artifacts in a moderate OC would tell the user to STOP, clock lower or forget the OC altogether, right? Then again some people will drive on a flat tire. :biggrin:

p.s. Welcome to AT!

I'm starting to get that way myself. Unless I get a custom cooler, I just can't push it very high. I had to back my current card's OC all the way back to stock because Mass Effect was causing it to overheat.

 

[blanketyblank]

I'm wondering how they would know if the damage was caused by overclocking in the first place unless you were doing a bios mod. The clocks are all set by software so once you pull the card there is no proof any damage was done by overclocking. All they could possibly tell is possibly heat damage, and it's not like you can even change voltage in the ATI tool.
So I'm thinking that's just lawyer speak for we're covering our asses just in case, and we don't want to officially encourage overclocking despite marketing our product that way. In reality if it's in warranty we'll probably ship you out a refurb since it's cheaper than hiring someone to diagnose exactly what the problem is.

 

[tweakboy]

Wow, I wouldn't think so. I think they should not bundle the AMD OCing software and just have warranty period. Like blakelblank said how do they know how the damage was caused. Maybe the heatsink slipped a little and throttled it to 100 and it died, Or a power outage big storm. anyhow good to note, thx

 

[soccerballtux]

I'm wondering how they would know if the damage was caused by overclocking in the first place unless you were doing a bios mod. The clocks are all set by software so once you pull the card there is no proof any damage was done by overclocking. All they could possibly tell is possibly heat damage, and it's not like you can even change voltage in the ATI tool.
So I'm thinking that's just lawyer speak for we're covering our asses just in case, and we don't want to officially encourage overclocking despite marketing our product that way. In reality if it's in warranty we'll probably ship you out a refurb since it's cheaper than hiring someone to diagnose exactly what the problem is.

It's quite simple to tell the damage-- if it suddenly stops working and they checked it on the way out, and the heatsink is properly mounted and there are no fried components, then it clearly died from heat or overvoltage via fowl play. Narrowing it down to these two (IE it's not other things) is pretty simple.

 

[Rubycon]

It's quite simple to tell the damage-- if it suddenly stops working and they checked it on the way out, and the heatsink is properly mounted and there are no fried components, then it clearly died from heat or overvoltage via fowl play. Narrowing it down to these two (IE it's not other things) is pretty simple.

I think the feathers would be the smoking gun in that case.

 

[KeithTalent]

I think the feathers would be the smoking gun in that case.

LMAO

I have not overclocked a GPU since my 1900XT, but since I just picked up a 5770, I am seriously considering giving it a shot again. :hmm:

KT

 

[cbn]

The next issue is does the 5970 benefit from bringing cores/memory to 5870 levels? :hmm:

I sure hope it does.

I find this product the most interesting in the ATI line-up. Due to power constraints ATI claims to use the "highest bin" Cypress cores in order to bring this card under 300 watts.

But at the same time it only costs 50% more than a single HD5870.

I only wonder what these HD5970s could do with two 8 pin power connectors? If upgraded could this card be an even better value than running two overclocked HD5850s in Crossfire?

 

[MarcVenice]

Thing is, it's pretty damn hard to kill an ATI card with oc-ing. The OCP kicks in before it get's damaged, and it'll throttle when it get's too hot.

And clocks are loaded through software. So if you reboot, the card runs at stock clocks, but when the OS loads, your custom clocks get loaded too.

And a different bios is also quite a give away

And last but not least, oc-ing can make quite a difference. GTX 260 from 576MHz to 725MHz is quite a difference. A 5850 from 725MHz to 950MHz is quite a difference.

Is a 5970 worth the hassle of oc-ing? Kinda doubt it

 

[soccerballtux]

It's quite simple to tell the damage-- if it suddenly stops working and they checked it on the way out, and the heatsink is properly mounted and there are no fried components, then it clearly died from heat or overvoltage via fowl play. Narrowing it down to these two (IE it's not other things) is pretty simple.

I think the feathers would be the smoking gun in that case.

hehe

 

[Elfear]

That does seem strange OP, given the fact that the software is bundled with the card. I thought that using any 3rd-party ocing software would void the warranty (except for XFX, EVGA, and maybe MSI) but if using Overdrive you'd be fine. Overdrive has pretty low limits on the sliders so you'd think ocing would be covered.

As to the 2nd question, I got very noticeable gains going from stock to 1000/1250 on my 5850. If you could get a decent oc out of the 5970, I'll bet you'd see some noticeable improvements if the game was on the verge of playability in the first place.

 

[Zap]

Overclocking is almost never covered by warranty.

Not sure, but I think XFX' warranty covers oc-ing, I suppose MSI's as well as Asus' does too, considering they bundle their HW with oc-tools, and XFX just has top notch warranty?

It's not the same. There are two things:

Overclocking will not void the warranty.

...and...

Killing the card because of overclocking will not void the warranty.

Some companies have the first. None have the second.

 

[digitaldurandal]

It's not the same. There are two things:

Overclocking will not void the warranty.

...and...

Killing the card because of overclocking will not void the warranty.

Some companies have the first. None have the second.

This.

If there is an obvious defect with the card I believe most reputable sellers will complete your RMA. However if there are burn marks on your GPU and everything was mounted fine..

 

[PingviN]

It's not the same. There are two things:

Overclocking will not void the warranty.

...and...

Killing the card because of overclocking will not void the warranty.

Some companies have the first. None have the second.

Basically: if you destroy your card while overclocking, you've voided your warranty.

It's impossible (unless it's physically affected your card) to see if a graphics card has been overclocked. Overclocking does, in most cases, void warranty, but it's difficult for the manufacturers to be able to proof that overclocking killed it.