My BFG GTX280 is breaking down... am I screwed?

[Cheesetogo]

I bought a BFG GTX280 a couple years ago, choosing BFG primarily because of the lifetime warranty. This weekend I started having some problems with the card -- my screen would turn black, or in some cases other colors, and the only way to get out of it was to restart the computer.

I tried installing new graphics drivers, but that didn't help. After that, I went to call BFG tech support, only to find a broken website and a slew of articles discussing the company's closure.

Any suggestions?

 

[s44]

(1) Bake it? (I don't know if this is one of the situations for that.)

(2) Check if your credit card has built-in warranty protection.

 

[superccs]

Good suggestions. Best of luck, it doesn't look like a good situation.

 

[Seero]

I bought a BFG GTX280 a couple years ago, choosing BFG primarily because of the lifetime warranty. This weekend I started having some problems with the card -- my screen would turn black, or in some cases other colors, and the only way to get out of it was to restart the computer.

I tried installing new graphics drivers, but that didn't help. After that, I went to call BFG tech support, only to find a broken website and a slew of articles discussing the company's closure.

Any suggestions?

Dug in this forum a bit. I remember seeing some guy with a similar issue.

 

[Worthington]

Just a shot in the dark, but wasn't another company offering returns/upgrades on BFG cards (PNY maybe)?

 

[Dark Shroud]

I would suggest looking the card over and cleaning it maybe replace the TIM as well. Just to cover all bases before doing something as drastic as baking it.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Hmm, hadn't heard of baking cards before. I might give that a try if I can't get it working properly any other way.

Apparently PNY was giving a 25% of discount to BFG owners, but that's not really that substantial. I was hoping to wait until ATi's new lineup came out before upgrading. If the card ends up being a paper weight, I guess I'll just grab something cheapish and wait a few months.

 

[Puffnstuff]

It's about time that bfg took down their misleading website.

 

[edplayer]

Yes, very misleading:

 

[Leyawiin]

PNY does have 25% trade in for BFG cards. Snag is you have to ship it to them for the approval and then buy a card from their web store. For instance if you buy a standard PNY GTX 460 1GB (which I own and like a lot) its about $172.50 and then shipping. Combined with the shipping to them its probably going to cost $200 total which is decent-ish, but kind of a pain to go through all those hoops. At least they offer a lifetime warranty as well (register on their website within 3 months) and I doubt they'd go the way of BFG - been in business a long time.

Yeah, at this stage of the game I'd either wait to see what ATI is going to do later this month or buy from somewhere that won't be such a hassle.

 

[taltamir]

IIRC BFG said they will still offer warranty services.
worth a try

 

[Leyawiin]

Unfortunately I've read numerous threads the last month or so from people having their RMA cards return with a letter saying "sorry, we're though".

 

[taltamir]

Unfortunately I've read numerous threads the last month or so from people having their RMA cards return with a letter saying "sorry, we're though".

ouch, that is harsh... anyone here can confirm / refute this?

 

[Puffnstuff]

I've seen several people complain of no warranty service in recent months. I wouldn't take a chance with their stuff and buy from a known stable company.

 

[taltamir]

I've seen several people complain of no warranty service in recent months. I wouldn't take a chance with their stuff and buy from a known stable company.

buy? OP already bought the card, his card broke, he wishes he could get it fixed under warranty

 

[OCGuy]

IIRC BFG said they will still offer warranty services.
worth a try

Link?

BFG will just BK, and all warranty holders will be listed debtors....a discharge will null all claims.