BFG 6800GT OC GPU Fans cracking

[Sikespa]

I have a AGP BFG 6800GT OC that was crashing and during the troubleshooting process found that I had two cracked GPU heatsink fans. One had split apart and the other has a crack forming down it's center. Has anyone else had this issue or know of it?

 

[Ages120]

One of the fans on my bfg6800 gt is defective and making to much noise for me. Since I built my computer to be quiet it really stands out. It is still pushing air, but I know not as much as it needs since my temp are 1-2 degrees C more then before. I just ordered a new heatsink fan combo from kingwin cause I am not gonna send it back unless it's a hardware problem not some crappy fan issue. It's a shame though since the normal one goes really well with my color shceme I have blue leds all over my case power supply and my mouse.

As for being cracked I looked it over but I wasn't really looking for defects mainly which one was making the noise.

 

[Sikespa]

Just got off the phone with the tech rep from BFG and I am RMA'ing it. He stated that this is an issue with these cards. I just hope that the one that they send me has a set of fans made by a different manufacturer than the ones originally made for BFG.

 

[Insidious]

BFG is a bargan basement manufacturer... always have been and probably always will be. Someone had to take VisionTech's place.. BFG is no different. Their claim to fame is that they provide prices so low Best Buy will pay them.

I've said it over and over again (and got flamed for it every time). If you want QUALITY hardware, you have to put up or .... well you know.

Yes they honor their warranty and they cooperate when an RMA is needed.... my point is.... and will remain that you will get better aquainted with the support department when you buy lesser qualilty hardware.

They are less expensive because of the sourcing and manufacturing shortcuts they take and the extra miles they don't walk.

Quality hardware is not identified by 3Dmark scores or biased hype.

-Sid

Edit: I just got 3pages of hits when I did a search requiring the keywords bfg and RMA

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Insidious
BFG is a bargan basement manufacturer... always have been and probably always will be. Someone had to take VisionTech's place.. BFG is no different. Their claim to fame is that they provide prices so low Best Buy will pay them.

I've said it over and over again (and got flamed for it every time). If you want QUALITY hardware, you have to put up or .... well you know.

Yes they honor their warranty and they cooperate when an RMA is needed.... my point is.... and will remain that you will get better aquainted with the support department when you buy lesser qualilty hardware.

They are less expensive because of the sourcing and manufacturing shortcuts they take and the extra miles they don't walk.

Quality hardware is not identified by 3Dmark scores or biased hype.

-Sid

Edit: I just got 3pages of hits when I did a search requiring the keywords bfg and RMA

The funny part is they are continually reccomended as one of the BEST nVidia card makers and for very good reasons. Not only are they the only ones with a lifetime warrenty, but there build quility is near the top of all the other manufactorers. Their cards are constantly rated near the top (except in noise) and are almost always awesome overclockers. Not sure where you are getting your info but mine comes from reviews, friends, and my own personal experience.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, people tend to post about problems, not when their card is working great. BFG has the curse of being one of the best sellers of the nVidia cards so there are more problems strictly due to their being more cards out there.

One last thing... they tend to be among the higher priced nVidia cards because they are one of the most looked for, not the cheapest.

-spike

EDIT** Just did some searching of my own, evga, leadtek and gainward +RMA each returned over 20 threads and in some cases as many as 80+. I bet if you looked under every maker you would find the same thing... big deal

 

[302efi]

Well said :thumbsup:

I thought I was the only one that knew BFG made cheap stuff...

The whole overclocked ( OC ) thing, is junk...I fyou want a QUALITY peice of hardware, look elsewhere.

 

[orangat]

How do you guys define build quality on video cards?

 

[Paktu]

Originally posted by: orangat
How do you guys define build quality on video cards?

Every manufacturer will make some bad cards, but BFG does seem to have a disproportionately large number of problem cards, at least by the looks of this forum. Speaking only from personal experience, eVGA has worked great for me, no hassles. Don't read about to many problems with their cards either.

 

[Sikespa]

I started this topic to inform readers about this issue, but by no means do I think that BFG Technologies is a below average video card manufacturer. They do stand behind their products for it's lifetime, and that says a lot for a computer component manufacturer. Most companies don't care to go over a year on computer components.

For those that think that their products are below average, list the Nvidia Card manufacturers that are better, and let the readers be the judge of your opinion. Like others have stated, you will find problems with them all. The higher the volume of sales the higher the amount of issues you will see, but the percentage to sales might just be lower, but for the average consumer that information would take some homework to determine.

 

[Melchior]

I dont understand what people think but... what IS better than BFG?

 

[hans030390]

leadtek

 

[Insidious]

Gainward
ASUS
Leadtek

I usually stick to one of these 3

-Sid

 

[imported_humey]

Im in UK and never heard BFG till 6800 was new id heard Visiontek and when they sank PNY then Visiontek were suppose to comeback.

IMO BFG aint good, i only use Jap Chaintechs, G-Force2 GTS Ultra, then skipped G3's to a G-Force 4 TI4600 Special edition, then skipped POS 5800/5900/5950's to a G-Force 6800 Ultra 425/1100.(not some false claimed 10% o/c as it aint)

I do read there RMA is great though LOL 🙂

 

[CP5670]

I had a BFG GT card that had an annoying problem where the card's power connector couldn't hold a cable properly and kept crashing as a result, although this doesn't appear to be a common problem. Their tech support is very good and I got it replaced, but their RMA procedure was a bit of a hassle (after I sent it in, nobody there seemed to know what was going on with that card and every guy I talked to told me something different). Their cooler is also a bit inferior to the normal nvidia ones found on most other cards, although I think they have gone back to the standard design now.

There is generally not much difference between the different brands' cards themselves though. I just got the BFG one since it's the first one I found in stock. Would have probably gotten a Leadtek due to the huge heatsink if I had a choice.

 

[Insidious]

Originally posted by: CP5670
.....

There is generally not much difference between the different brands' cards themselves though
.....

/me waves BS flag

HOGWASH


I suspect you have absolutly NO training in hardware design, manufacturing or QA

-Sid

PS: Anyone RMA'd their "lifetime waranteed" Visiontek stuff lately...

 

[Mojo027]

I have a BFG 6800GT. Works well, but I will admit it is a tad loud.
Pretty sure I'm going to pick up an NV Silencer 5 anyways, it's only $30 CDN. The noise is pretty bad out of the Dual LED fan (2 40mm fans) on the stock BFG 6800GT. Especially next year where I'll be at university, and my bed will be very very close to my computer. I'll want to minimize the noise for sure.

 

[CaiNaM]

i've had a couple BFG's now, and they're fine.. my gainwards were decent as well.. had pny and evga and had rma's on both cards (fan froze). I don't particularly like the hsf of the BFG6800GT however, my NVsilencer is much more efficient - and quiet to boot.

as for the visiontek lifetime warranty, afaik BFG is the only company to offer true lifetime warranty. the other company's (visiontek is an example) "lifetime" is the "retail" or "shelf" life of the card; in other words it's life is over when they quit making 'em, and therefore they are no longer covered. not so with BFG.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: Insidious

Originally posted by: CP5670
.....

There is generally not much difference between the different brands' cards themselves though
.....

/me waves BS flag

HOGWASH


I suspect you have absolutly NO training in hardware design, manufacturing or QA

-Sid

PS: Anyone RMA'd their "lifetime waranteed" Visiontek stuff lately...

Calm down, no need to go all ballistic. I was referring to performance. As long as you get a properly working 6800 GT and keep it at stock speeds, it will be pretty much the same speed as any other 6800 GT. Most manufacturers just sell the reference design as it is while a few have a small stock overclock (not enough to really be significant) and/or custom coolers, but that's about it. I think the Asus boards are the only ones with a different board layout. The companies may well differ in QA, manufacturing processes, customer support and other things, but these things won't affect the performance of a working card.

I am not defending BFG though. Actually, that was the first time I had any problems with computer hardware out of the box (maybe I just got lucky before) and although I had received a new card within two weeks, it was a bit frustrating to have every guy I talked to tell me something different about when my card or its replacement would be shipped back (the techs seem to be knowledgable about other things but not about the status of RMAs).