PSA: Don't buy Gigabyte GPUs!

[SickBeast]

I just wanted to create a thread out of my recent disgust for Gigabyte. I bought a 7970 card and it's completely voltage locked at the hardware level. Not even a BIOS flash can fix it. They were really sneaky about it as well. Revision 1.0 of the card was unlocked, then out of nowhere they locked the cards down with revision 2.0.

I will never buy a Gigabyte product again.

MSI is bar none the best GPU manufacturer at this point. There is no question.

 

[rsutoratosu]

Seems they been posting about this since 11/2012
http://www.overclock.net/t/1323565/how-to-unlock-gigabyte-hd-7970-oc-voltage

 

[Soulkeeper]

I too am dissapointed with my gigabyte 7870 when it comes to the voltage locks.
I understand they did it to reduce costs (and fried RMAs), but i'd happily pay an extra $20+ for full voltage controll
I tried a voltage mod on mine awhile back, but it didn't work.
One thing that bothers me is the locks aren't just for raising, they also apply to lowering, and some "unlocked" versions only allow changing based on bios table ranges (ie: can only raise/lower voltages when certain mclk/gclk conditions are met). Also the fan controll was locked on my gigabyte.

I did some reading around after discovering mine was locked, seems most manufacturers are doing the same. Some sapphire and msi models being the exception I believe.

My cheap diamond 7850 allowed me to change voltages between 1.13-1.19v
It also had fan control, although the rpm reading was always wrong.

I'd love to see a sticky thread with a detailed listing of known unlocked versions.
Also things get further complicated when special proprietary software is needed, or certain "hacks" ...
AMD has the ADL SDK which is designed for changing settings such as voltage, apparently many board makers are using their own closed software instead of supporting this exclusively. This locks you into the software that whatever maker ships, or sitting/waiting for some other software to reverse engineer their nonsense.

I can't help but think that things will only get worse going forward as they implement more complex power/boost features.

 

[SickBeast]

Do you guys know if Gigabyte will do anything if I complain? Do they even have unlocked cards that they could send me if I RMA?

 

[blackened23]

Their RMA resolution process won't help there - best bet is to return to the point of sale. Vote with your wallet. You know, i've heard of coil whine issues with various Gigabyte GTX 700 cards as well, although i'm not sure if that is a wide issue or just a few unlucky users. Definitely will make me think twice before considering GB....

 

[Jaydip]

Seems like NV's green light is becoming popular with IHVs.

 

[SickBeast]

If my PCB is black I will be fine. I will know in a few days. Is your PCB black, blackened?

 

[Tweak155]

I can see how this would cause you not to buy a brand due to personal preference, but to set this as an expectation is a little ridiculous. If you want a particular feature, see if the card has it first. If you can't tell then don't buy it.

 

[blackened23]

If my PCB is black I will be fine. I will know in a few days. Is your PCB black, blackened?

That's racist.^_^

 

[SickBeast]

I can see how this would cause you not to buy a brand due to personal preference, but to set this as an expectation is a little ridiculous. If you want a particular feature, see if the card has it first. If you can't tell then don't buy it.

I read reviews of the card and they overvolted it just fine. Now I will have mine in a few days and there is a very good chance that it's completely locked down. What am I supposed to do? Email Gigabyte and ask if they're about to volt lock their cards?

You make it sound as though it's my fault when it's 100% Gigabyte's BS.

 

[blackened23]

If you bought it from newegg or amazon just refuse it for a refund - if you're 100% sure of the voltage lock. (and if that matters to you, I assume it does)

Gigabyte's RMA personnel barely speak english and probably won't comprehend what you're speaking about if you mention voltage lock, lol

 

[thilanliyan]

Not sure how up to date you stay with GPUs but different revisions are released that are voltage locked...it's always been this way. You have to do a bit of research to find out which ones are unlocked. For example when I bought my 7950s, I stayed away from the Gigabyte cards because from my research I knew they were volt locked. The MSI and HIS ones were fine. Buyer beware IMO.

 

[Mushkins]

I read reviews of the card and they overvolted it just fine. Now I will have mine in a few days and there is a very good chance that it's completely locked down. What am I supposed to do? Email Gigabyte and ask if they're about to volt lock their cards?

You make it sound as though it's my fault when it's 100% Gigabyte's BS.

Don't open it and send it back for a refund like any other unwanted product?

This really isn't Gigabytes fault at all. They didn't sell you a card with "special edition voltage unlocked for extreme overclocking!!!" plastered in big gold letters on the back. Unlocked voltage is not officially a feature on these cards, if that's specifically what you're buying the card for, buy one where it *is* an advertised feature.

 

[KompuKare]

I think that even worse than the voltage lock up is the voltage lock down.

The Gigabyte WF3 7950 I've seen are totally locked to 1.25V at 3D speeds (900/1000 with boost) with the most recent BIOS's even though most of them would probably run fine at 1.05V or less which would save a fair bit of heat and noise.

Also, Gigabyte also cheapened out on monitoring and other controls. No VRM temperatures, no GDDR voltage output and so on. So in general hardware info on them looks rather sparse.

Since in the case of the 7950 (and possibly also the 7970) the original reviews were based on earlier revisions and it looks like they only cheapened their BoM with PCB v2+, this very much does look like classic bait and switch. Pity as I've been a long time buyer of Gigabyte motherboards and this kind of behaviour means I might look elsewhere next time.

Having said that, WF3 7950 can be forced to run the old F43 BIOS which locks voltage to 1.09V AFAIK but there were some reports of HDMI output or similar not working when using the old PCB v1 BIOSs

 

[SickBeast]

Don't open it and send it back for a refund like any other unwanted product?

This really isn't Gigabytes fault at all. They didn't sell you a card with "special edition voltage unlocked for extreme overclocking!!!" plastered in big gold letters on the back. Unlocked voltage is not officially a feature on these cards, if that's specifically what you're buying the card for, buy one where it *is* an advertised feature.

I have a right mind to report you to the mods for your flamebait. Seriously get a life. This is not my fault at all and is a classic bait and switch as others have said.

 

[smakme7757]

If it wasn't marketed as a voltage unlocked card then I doubt you can return a used product unless the store has a special policy for certain scenarios. If you haven't opened the box send it back.

I definitely understand your disappointment, but I don't see any reason why Gigabyte would intentionally hide something like this. The enthusiast community is pretty tight knit, so there has to be another explanation than them just trying to be dodgy.

I've had a bumpy ride with all manufacturers, however all my current systems use MSI parts purely because they have been making exceptional products the last few years.

 

[SickBeast]

I bought the card used so I can't take it back.

I was planning to keep it at or near stock voltage anyways so it's not the end of the world, but as the card got older I did want to overvolt it and I was curious to see how a 1.4v 1300mhz+ 7970 compared to a GTX 780 as I heard it came within 20%.

Oh well. My card will run cooler and will use less power. I don't need a 1300mhz 7970 at 1080p anyhow.

 

[borderdeal]

I just got a 7970GHz edition from Amazon warehouse. I plan to run it stock since it is already running at 1.1 GHz or maybe try 1.2 but not more so I do not think I will need it to be voltage unlocked. I new this when I bought it from the reviews. But for $255 I could not complain at all. It is a used one but should have the remaining of the 3 year warranty since Gigabyte uses serial#s for the RMAs. So I decided to give it a try. If it stinks the I can always return it to Amazon.

 

[thilanliyan]

This is not my fault at all and is a classic bait and switch as others have said.

How is this not your fault "at all"? You definitely bear some of the responsibility. It's your responsibility to check if what you're buying is exactly what you want (applies to pretty much anything). If unlocked voltage was a major criteria for you, you should have done some research.

 

[SunnyD]

If it wasn't marketed as a voltage unlocked card then I doubt you can return a used product unless the store has a special policy for certain scenarios. If you haven't opened the box send it back.

I definitely understand your disappointment, but I don't see any reason why Gigabyte would intentionally hide something like this. The enthusiast community is pretty tight knit, so there has to be another explanation than them just trying to be dodgy.

I've had a bumpy ride with all manufacturers, however all my current systems use MSI parts purely because they have been making exceptional products the last few years.

Obligatory

Warning issued for thread crapping.
-- stahlhart

 

[blackened23]

I have a right mind to report you to the mods for your flamebait. Seriously get a life. This is not my fault at all and is a classic bait and switch as others have said.

I think his main point, which wasn't out of line at all IMO, was that GB doesn't advertise it as having voltage control. No bait and switch involved - They advertise the clockspeed / boost only so it really isn't their fault. It's just something you have to research on your own I guess, which isn't ideal.

 

[smackababy]

I have a right mind to report you to the mods for your flamebait. Seriously get a life. This is not my fault at all and is a classic bait and switch as others have said.

I am not sure you understand what bait and switch means. GB never, as far as I know, claimed these cards had the voltage unlocked. They did not lure you into believing the card would have a feature and then not have it or remove it. In fact, they could have always meant to have the voltage locked and it not bring locked in previous versions was a bug they fixed.

 

[jacktesterson]

My Gigabyte Windforce 6850 is voltage locked too - Still own it in another PC not in sig.

This is not uncommon - Asus 7970 was voltage blocked too - You had to by the Top Edition to not be.

Just as an example.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Msi looks like one of the better amd card manufactures now,had a 7850 from msi and it was unlocked voltage.

Heard to many stories about locked voltage to even consider a gigabyte card,then again i try to the best of my abilities to not buy a card based on how well it can overclock and base it more on stock performance for my selection of games and if it can overclock then gravy.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Does this apply to Gigabyte's higher end cards too, like their 7970 or Windforce 3 770/780?