Discussion Buyer beware. AMD.com sold Radeon VII only come with 1 year warranty + highly restrictive

[Markfw]

People being careless at the time of purchase doesn't mean they don't care. You being overly generous on terms with some friend when selling a PC doesn't mean you don't care whether you eventually get paid or not.

For the sake of this discussion we should generally agree that cards sold with 1 year warranties are not worth buying and should be advised against on this forum.

One very important thing to consider. When ALL of the cards by everyone else are OOS, but AMD has them, even if a person knows, they might buy one becuase AMD has them, and they are not worried about it breaking in 3 years. Actually I would be one of those people.

 

[n0x1ous]

Hit or miss with early failure. I've been buying gpu's for 15 years and never had to RMA a thing until last year. Both of my FE 2080ti's from launch were defective (one space invaders, the other a bad fan and nvidia support was great with advanced overnight RMA's) and just got my Radeon VII direct from AMD yesterday and pending further testing I may have a lemon on my hands.... driver install's then says using microsoft basic display adapter because radeon drivers wont start. Error 43 in device manager. Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems..

 

[Thrashard]

This is horrible, I remember when 5 years used to be an option. The original news is confusing and thought you could only get the VII directly from AMD.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Personally I think you bought the rumor instead of the card. It's just an opinion (no facts other than we both know from the webs), so we'll have to wait a while and decide who gets to feast on some crow

I can only go off of the details from the teardowns on these cards. They're expensive and built like tanks (power delivery-wise). AMD probably isn't making much money per card, if anything. If that means I'm buying into a rumour then so be it. To me it seems plausible. I'm quite happy to have the card though. Unless AMD develops a space invader problem of their own, I don't think I'll regret it.

Just dont buy directly from AMD if you dont like the guaranty they offer for their products.

Good luck getting one then.

I've been buying graphics cards since 1999 and have never had a card fail within the first year from ATI, AMD, or Nvidia. This thread is a bunch of.... "enter your comment here"!

Ditto. The only card I ever had die on me was a used one, and that was after I removed the stock cooling shroud and popped off a capacitor (oops).

 

[railven]

Woof, this thread. Tone: I wouldn't just shoot the messenger here. Until my card died, I honestly was that simpleton "warranty? BAH!" As my card died and I panicked wondering if Zotac would cover it since I removed the stock cooler to throw on my EKWB whatever they call them now block, I faintly remembered removing one of those "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers. But then I remembered those aren't legally enforceable in the States. Which lead me down the rabbit hole of "is it still covered?"

Basically, I don't know. I found a few posts (some from Zotac's own staff) posting, yes they'll cover the warranty long as you return it OEM and they can validate it wasn't user error, or whatever.

TLR; I don't think I ever looked at warranties before, mostly because I never modified my cards. I always just assumed they came with a 3+ year warranty (what use to be norm.) Someone mentioned mining causing changes, I can understand that.

On Topic: 1 year warranty on a video card just seems weak. I'm sure AMD will change this with enough pressure, but overall when AIBs are offering 2 years base with 1+2 if you register (found this out for Zotac so register your cards folks), but it's non-transferable.

End of it, I think for NV I might just stick to EVGA. Their warranties seems the most user-friendly.

 

[IEC]

Woof, this thread. Tone: I wouldn't just shoot the messenger here. Until my card died, I honestly was that simpleton "warranty? BAH!" As my card died and I panicked wondering if Zotac would cover it since I removed the stock cooler to throw on my EKWB whatever they call them now block, I faintly remembered removing one of those "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers. But then I remembered those aren't legally enforceable in the States. Which lead me down the rabbit hole of "is it still covered?"

Basically, I don't know. I found a few posts (some from Zotac's own staff) posting, yes they'll cover the warranty long as you return it OEM and they can validate it wasn't user error, or whatever.

TLR; I don't think I ever looked at warranties before, mostly because I never modified my cards. I always just assumed they came with a 3+ year warranty (what use to be norm.) Someone mentioned mining causing changes, I can understand that.

On Topic: 1 year warranty on a video card just seems weak. I'm sure AMD will change this with enough pressure, but overall when AIBs are offering 2 years base with 1+2 if you register (found this out for Zotac so register your cards folks), but it's non-transferable.

End of it, I think for NV I might just stick to EVGA. Their warranties seems the most user-friendly.

The relevant law for the USA you are looking for is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Per the FTC clarification in 2018, "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers are unenforceable:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pre...panies-it-illegal-condition-warranty-coverage

You can point to this FTC communication if Zotac gives you any fuss.

 

[coercitiv]

I can only go off of the details from the teardowns on these cards. They're expensive and built like tanks (power delivery-wise). AMD probably isn't making much money per card, if anything. If that means I'm buying into a rumour then so be it. To me it seems plausible. I'm quite happy to have the card though. Unless AMD develops a space invader problem of their own, I don't think I'll regret it.

I don't think you'll regret your decision either, and I also think the card is very well built - but I do believe availability will get better instead of worse and more importantly that we should know better than to accept 1 year warranties for products built and intended to last way longer than that.

My washing machine cost $250 and came with a 5 year warranty and more moving parts and reasons to fail than several video cards. You may be a collector, may do this for personal reasons that only partly resonate with others here, but people who buy this card as a simple toy or tool should look for value in their purchase and either wait and buy the 2-3 year models or simply shop for something else.

Or did we learn the worst from RTX and borrowed it's cursed mantra? "When life flashes before your eyes, don't you wish it were rendered on 16GB of HBM?"

 

[DrMrLordX]

Woof, this thread. Tone: I wouldn't just shoot the messenger here. Until my card died, I honestly was that simpleton "warranty? BAH!" As my card died and I panicked wondering if Zotac would cover it since I removed the stock cooler to throw on my EKWB whatever they call them now block, I faintly remembered removing one of those "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers. But then I remembered those aren't legally enforceable in the States. Which lead me down the rabbit hole of "is it still covered?"

RTX is a special case though. I haven't seen a video card launch in recent history so marred with failures. That, combined with NV's non-response, makes one wonder if they're ever going to deal with the issue in an orderly fashion.

End of it, I think for NV I might just stick to EVGA. Their warranties seems the most user-friendly.

Of all the dGPU vendors, I like EVGA the most. And that's coming from a guy who refuses to buy NV hardware. Think about that for a moment.

I don't think you'll regret your decision either, and I also think the card is very well built - but I do believe availability will get better instead of worse and more importantly that we should know better than to accept 1 year warranties for products built and intended to last way longer than that.

I'm still skeptical about availability. Time will tell. Things are not looking good for anyone who wants to buy these cards, though. So it sort of makes the issue of warranty moot.[/QUOTE]

 

[ZGR]

Any Vega FE owners who had to RMA after a year around?

 

[ozzy702]

I didn't check them all, but looking at newegg, most the the Radeon VII's have a 2 year warranty. I only saw one, ASUS had a 3 year, so whats the big deal ? Just had to make AMD look bad ?

It's a piss poor warranty for a $700 graphics card, it has nothing to do with someone trying to make AMD look bad, they don't need any help to look bad with this warranty, let alone their GPU offerings. One year is simply atrocious and two years is pretty piss poor too. With the exception of very niche use, why would anyone purchase one of these cards when they could get a faster, more efficient card from a reputable company like EVGA with a great warranty?

 

[Markfw]

It's a piss poor warranty for a $700 graphics card, it has nothing to do with someone trying to make AMD look bad, they don't need any help to look bad with this warranty, let alone their GPU offerings. One year is simply atrocious and two years is pretty piss poor too. With the exception of very niche use, why would anyone purchase one of these cards when they could get a faster, more efficient card from a reputable company like EVGA with a great warranty?

EVGA does not make AMD cards....ONLY Nvidia

 

[railven]

The relevant law for the USA you are looking for is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Per the FTC clarification in 2018, "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers are unenforceable:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pre...panies-it-illegal-condition-warranty-coverage

You can point to this FTC communication if Zotac gives you any fuss.

Thanks, that's the thing I remember reading. So far Zotac has approved the RMA, though I didn't specify I had it on water. See what they do with it once they get it.

RTX is a special case though. I haven't seen a video card launch in recent history so marred with failures. That, combined with NV's non-response, makes one wonder if they're ever going to deal with the issue in an orderly fashion.

I dunno how they are handling it but my research shows almost all the cards affected had Micron GDDR6. So of course it's speculated it's a bad batch or something. I ran GPU-Z to check what I had and it reported Micron. Once I dismantle it to put it back to OEM I'll take a gander at the chips themselves.

Of all the dGPU vendors, I like EVGA the most. And that's coming from a guy who refuses to buy NV hardware. Think about that for a moment.

Since I went Nvidia for my main rig, I only had a 1080 from them. It had a defect, they cross shipped me a replacement (free outside of the holding charge) and prepackaged everything to return the faulty unit back. Definitely a positive experience. Other time I had to RMA anything with them was the wifes GTX 460. I believe it had a known issue too, they sent us a replacement and didn't ask for the original back. It worked, just not great for gaming, so I slapped it into a web browser PC I put together for my father in law (still working haha).

I would have to say I've only had positive RMA experiences. Hopefully my luck continues, or if I just jinxed myself :/ haha.

 

[ozzy702]

EVGA does not make AMD cards....ONLY Nvidia

Exactly the point. Why waste time on this GPU? Garbage performance, sucks juice, runs hot and LOUD, flaky drivers, and the same price as a much better GPU from a much better vendor, with a much better warranty. There are very niche use cases for the Radeon VII, but for 99% of people they'd be much better off with a used 1080TI or a 2080 or even a 2070 which is fairly close in performance for much less $$$.

 

[Markfw]

Exactly the point. Why waste time on this GPU? Garbage performance, sucks juice, runs hot and LOUD, flaky drivers, and the same price as a much better GPU from a much better vendor, with a much better warranty. There are very niche use cases for the Radeon VII, but for 99% of people they'd be much better off with a used 1080TI or a 2080 or even a 2070 which is fairly close in performance for much less $$$.

So now you are trolling an AMD thread.

Actually, if I had a box to put it in, I might get one. Their DP performance is way better than Nvidia.

 

[n0x1ous]

I dunno how they are handling it but my research shows almost all the cards affected had Micron GDDR6. So of course it's speculated it's a bad batch or something. I ran GPU-Z to check what I had and it reported Micron. Once I dismantle it to put it back to OEM I'll take a gander at the chips themselves.

Both of my defective 2080ti's had Micron for what its worth. Both working replacements have Samsung

 

[Stuka87]

Exactly the point. Why waste time on this GPU? Garbage performance, sucks juice, runs hot and LOUD, flaky drivers, and the same price as a much better GPU from a much better vendor, with a much better warranty. There are very niche use cases for the Radeon VII, but for 99% of people they'd be much better off with a used 1080TI or a 2080 or even a 2070 which is fairly close in performance for much less $$$.

How can you say the performance is garbage, and then turn around say a 2080 or 1080Ti are a better choice, when they both have the same performance in most cases?

And while the Radeon VII may be louder, its not really any hotter. Its reported temps LOOK higher because of how its temps are measured.

Personally, I think the 2080 and Radeon VII are over priced, and neither interest me. But neither card is garbage.

 

[ozzy702]

So now you are trolling an AMD thread.

Actually, if I had a box to put it in, I might get one. Their DP performance is way better than Nvidia.

Not trolling at all. As I said, niche use cases for most people. If it had come out a year or more ago I would have bought as many as I could get my hands on. For gamers it's simply not a good purchase and that's in contrast to the already poor performance of the 2080 at that price point.

 

[Markfw]

Not trolling at all. As I said, niche use cases for most people. If it had come out a year or more ago I would have bought as many as I could get my hands on. For gamers it's simply not a good purchase and that's in contrast to the already poor performance of the 2080 at that price point.

So now, anybody who is not a gamer is a "niche use case", meaning anybody who wants to use it as a good compute card, for like DC, mining, AI or any other compute task.

 

[railven]

So now, anybody who is not a gamer is a "niche use case", meaning anybody who wants to use it as a good compute card, for like DC, mining, AI or any other compute task.

I'd say yeah. It's a niche AMD is clearly aiming to target. Hell, I'd call myself as part of a niche. Probably a bigger niche than the one mentioned, but still a niche.

 

[ozzy702]

So now, anybody who is not a gamer is a "niche use case", meaning anybody who wants to use it as a good compute card, for like DC, mining, AI or any other compute task.

Those are absolutely all niche use cases for a GPU billed as a gaming card when looked at individually in contrast with gaming. It doesn't mean that they aren't viable and important uses for a GPU, just that outside of datacenters, 95% of the use (post mining craze) is gaming. Listen, I mined BTC back in the day and more recently ran a mid sized Ethereum mining farm for a few years, and yes, I'd consider that a very niche use case.

Good on AMD marketing to niche users, they need to sell GPUs and their gaming performance sure isn't a draw at that price point compared to the vastly superior competition.

 

[DrMrLordX]

it has nothing to do with someone trying to make AMD look bad

Sure it isn't. Of course it doesn't actually help anyone either, since all Radeon VII cards are sold out anyway. But look at the bright side! You can get a nice transferable warranty (I think?) if you buy a marked-up XFX Radeon VII on eBay. Assuming you receive all the original proofs of purchase.

their gaming performance sure isn't a draw at that price point compared to the vastly superior competition.

You should know better than to try to start that discussion in a warranty thread.

 

[ozzy702]

Sure it isn't. Of course it doesn't actually help anyone either, since all Radeon VII cards are sold out anyway. But look at the bright side! You can get a nice transferable warranty (I think?) if you buy a marked-up XFX Radeon VII on eBay. Assuming you receive all the original proofs of purchase.
You should know better than to try to start that discussion in a warranty thread.

Heh, true, tangent for sure. The warranty blows for a halo card. There, said my peace.

They do look like they're built like a tank (something that 7970, 290/390 and Vega all have in common) so hopefully it's a non-issue.

 

[coercitiv]

it has nothing to do with someone trying to make AMD look bad

Oh rest assured, the thread was started with the sole intention of making AMD look bad. The sneakiest part was the faux empathy and appeal to consumer rights: some were so "concerned" with the well being of products bought by others that they actively recommended people reach out to AMD to undo this injustice.

There's a clear line to be drawn here between what consumers should expect when buying products in terms of warranty (a.k.a vote with wallet) and what they should demand.

Let's not forget that outside the limits set by laws, warranties are part of the commercial offering. They can be seen as either extra cost or savings, and they're clearly tied to the final price of the product. Asking me to actively reach AMD to convince them they should increase warranty periods is in fact no different than asking me to reach Nvidia to convince them they should lower Founder Edition card prices. In other words, as soon as price is no longer in front and center of the debate, the free market defenders somehow lose their bearings and behave with the entitlement they loathe in others.

1 year warranty for a long service life product is not a convincing offer. Vote with your wallet, or use other means to improve warranty.

 

[Kenmitch]

Silly thread and debate on warranties. Don't buy if you don't like is what I say.

There are many more expensive items that carry just a 1yr warranty to complain about. Look at TV's and major appliances! The norm these days is 1yr on most items.

 

[Thrashard]

Quality parts always always always had quality warranties.

If you buy a cheap Vizio TV from Walmart you will get a 1 year warranty. If you buy a Samsung TV from Best Buy you will get a better extended warranty.