is Gigabyte lying to me?

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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
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Hey guys/gals:

bought a Gigabyte card about 10 months ago..suddenly one day it decided to not work. I went through the proper channels, mailed them the card, and was recently told that they were shipping it back as unrepairable. I'll enclose the pic. Now, the only thing i ever did near the card was blow off the dust with some canned air. It may or may not have been vertical at the time, but is it possible they're trying to snow me, or is this something I possibly did, or, could this have been done in transit?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishwedding/6413572051/in/photostream
 
Puppies04

Puppies04

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2011
5,909
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76
So all they said was "that they were shipping it back as unrepairable" nothing else?
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
That's fried and no, compressed air will not do that. I think one of two things happened. One, you actually fried it and weren't being honest. Or two, your RMA was mixed up with another.

For the record: I had a Motherboard actually light on fire before. It ended up looking something like your video card there. EVGA replaced it no questions asked. EVGA doesn't have very good resale value because for their warranty you have to register, but they take care of you.
 
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lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
6,893
14
81
By the looks of it I'm guessing the only thing you didn't do was use a can of compressed air. Are you a smoker by any chance. A long time ago I sold a 9800 pro to somebody and the card did nearly the same thing after being sooted up with gummy tar infested dust.
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
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0
Puppies04 said:
So all they said was "that they were shipping it back as unrepairable" nothing else?
Click to expand...
...heres the quote, cut and pasted from the email:

Due to physical damage, the warranty on this gigabyte product is voided and
the item is being returned as is.
The PCB and components oxidized.
Due to this physical damage, repairs to the product can not be made to correct the problem.
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
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lavaheadache said:
By the looks of it I'm guessing the only thing you didn't do was use a can of compressed air. Are you a smoker by any chance. A long time ago I sold a 9800 pro to somebody and the card did nearly the same thing after being sooted up with gummy tar infested dust.
Click to expand...


Im not a smoker, but my wife is..*sigh*
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
0
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cmdrdredd said:
That's fried and no, compressed air will not do that. I think one of two things happened. One, you actually fried it and weren't being honest. Or two, your RMA was mixed up with another.

For the record: I had a Motherboard actually light on fire before. It ended up looking something like your video card there. EVGA replaced it no questions asked. EVGA doesn't have very good resale value because for their warranty you have to register, but they take care of you.
Click to expand...


I appreciate that your trying all angles here, but Im an honest person who had this damn card for 9 months to replace my ghetto Galaxy 8400 GS that the fan died and was out of warranty. C'est la vie....ill keep that in mind as i have an XFX board in mind for an xmas gift.
 
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thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
12,039
2,251
126
Fishlove said:
I appreciate that your trying all angles here, but Im an honest person who had this damn card for 9 months to replace my ghetto Galaxy 8400 GS that the fan died and was out of warranty. C'est la vie....ill keep that in mind as i have an XFX board in mind for an xmas gift.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how that happened, but most manufacturers will refuse repairs with that kind of damage.
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
0
0
ok, i just received the card back. Is there anything i can do to clean the oxidation off? just asking...and yes, im prepared to get a new board.
 
notty22

notty22

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2010
3,375
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Something or some substance shorted across components, melting them. From those pictures.
 
SolMiester

SolMiester

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2004
5,330
17
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Canned air comes out very cold and if too close to an object condensate and could very well have stuffed the card if powered on...however, I would of though Gigabyte would replace under warranty if they cant prove it was done by you.....
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
0
0
SolMiester said:
Canned air comes out very cold and if too close to an object condensate and could very well have stuffed the card if powered on...however, I would of though Gigabyte would replace under warranty if they cant prove it was done by you.....
Click to expand...

you would think...9 months of use...Im either calling them or never buying their stuff again. And I'll be sure to tell them so.
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
0
0
well, they wont budge:

Dear customer,

We sorry, but the picture does indicate oxidization on the PCB and components. Once the card has oxidization it cannot be repaired and the warranty is voided due to the damage.

Thank you

end of the line for my Gigabyte purchases...
 
jackofalltrades

jackofalltrades

Senior member
Feb 25, 2007
399
0
76
For there to be oxidation there would need to be moisture, oxidation will in the end short out the board, fried would be the proper term. This is neglect not an acceptable reason for them to replace it. If this happened because of repeated dustoffs with a powered board, I bet you have learned a lesson. If it didn't leave that way you can't prove it because you didn't take before pictures. Lesson to be learned here take pictures and don't send off stuff fried due to neglect, either way a lesson learned. I doubt any card builder would have honored this damage, they are not in the market to cover that kind of abuse.
 
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FrankSchwab

Senior member
Nov 8, 2002
218
0
0
In my not-so-professional opinion...

The card is probably unrepairable. That portion of the card has gotten very hot, and likely damaged multiple components as well as likely damaging the copper traces in/on the board. So, to that extent, they're probably correct - it can't be repaired.

However, if the reason the board got so hot was a failure of a component on the board, and that failure rendered the board unrepairable, the board should be replaced. Think of it in terms of a car - "Yep, the stock fuel line on your 8-month old car failed and sprayed fuel all over the engine compartment which then caught fire. But, due to the damage caused by the heat, we feel that the car is unrepairable. So sorry, we'll drop it off at your house this evening". I don't think so.

I'd try one more time - "I feel that a failure of a component on the card caused the damage, and the card should be replaced under your warrantee". If they still deny it, I'd be pissed enough to spend the couple of hours to figure out how to file a claim in small claims court, and have them served. It might cost a couple hundred bucks, but it would likely get their attention.

Note that small claims isn't a panacea - you don't have to have a lawyer, but the representative that they send (if they choose to fight it) will most certainly be one.

/frank
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
Oxidation is commonly known as "fire". When it happens to iron it leaves behind what is commonly known as "rust" (iron-oxide). When it happens to organics they are converted into water and carbon dioxide.
However that is clearly oxidized plastic not oxidized iron. As such I would not blame water, I would blame fire.

What IS that yellow booger with hairs in it stuck to the board? was it there when you sent it?

Your wife also should not smoke around electronics. Electronics clearly warn about that.

However, if the reason the board got so hot was a failure of a component on the board, and that failure rendered the board unrepairable, the board should be replaced. Think of it in terms of a car - "Yep, the stock fuel line on your 8-month old car failed and sprayed fuel all over the engine compartment which then caught fire. But, due to the damage caused by the heat, we feel that the car is unrepairable. So sorry, we'll drop it off at your house this evening". I don't think so.
Click to expand...
That is an important distinction, yes. I have seen cards smolder like his has when they failed spontaneously. The question then is, did it oxidize (whether by water action, combustion, or electrical fire we do not know) because of its own component failure or did it oxidize because of something you exposed it to. I don't see anything in the area that would do that
 
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Fishlove

Member
Jan 4, 2011
33
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0
"What IS that yellow booger with hairs in it stuck to the board? was it there when you sent it?"..


here's the thing..i didnt even notice it on the card when i took it out and or sent it. and to be honest, its such a small area that if it werent for the arrow pointing to it, I wouldn't have even known where the "oxidation" was.
 
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