Screwed by Sapphire Warranty

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Zim
What if Samsung started shipping chips to Corsair where none of them reached XMS levels? Do you think Corsair would just say "oh well, no more XMS then"? No. Corsair has expectations as to the quality of the chips they buy, and if they got a batch of memory chips where none could reach XMS levels, you can bet that they would be sending at least some of them back.

No. They put the ones that don't reach said (unguaranteed) levels into the value segment and sell them as value chips, just like AMD does with Athlon 64 chips. Samsung has no obligation whatsoever to provide them with chips that overclock to a certain level running out of specification. Corsair decides on their own if they get enough in the speed bin to create a new faster line of memory boards. If they don't, tough crap. They have to order a faster chip and sell it as XMS for a higher price.

 

[PingSpike]

This is the same as me buying a A64 venice, overclocking it to 2.6ghz...destroying it with a screwed up cooling job that was my fault and then b|tching when the rma that AMD sent me that I didn't deserve in the first place would only do 2.4ghz.

If I were you, I'd be content that you managed to get sapphire to give you a card to replace the one you broke for a mere $15.

Regardless, I don't see how persuing a lengthy legal case over a $180 video card is a worthwhile endeavor for most people.

 

[Zim]

OK People, we will have to agree to disagree. I understand all of your points and agree with many of them. I still think it's wrong to replace an item with another of significantly less value, even though that item is still within spec. However, I will probably just grin and bear this and put it down to experience.

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
This is the same as me buying a A64 venice, overclocking it to 2.6ghz...destroying it with a screwed up cooling job that was my fault and then b|tching when the rma that AMD sent me that I didn't deserve in the first place would only do 2.4ghz.

No it is NOT the same! Forget about the reason for the RMA. It's the same as AMD selling you a chip at a premium price as being "great for overclocking - overclocking software provided", and then replacing it under warranty with a redesigned chip that can barely hit stock speeds. I guarantee you, you would not be happy.

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: McArra
Nonsense... I want a 7900GTX just because I'm stupid and smashed my 7800GT throwing it from the everest :S

lol funny, I want that card too because I ACCIDENTALLY throwed my Radeon X800XT PE to the Great Canyon of Colorado woooooo

 

[TecHNooB]

We feel your pain.. but you got no case.

/Thread

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Zim

Originally posted by: PingSpike
This is the same as me buying a A64 venice, overclocking it to 2.6ghz...destroying it with a screwed up cooling job that was my fault and then b|tching when the rma that AMD sent me that I didn't deserve in the first place would only do 2.4ghz.

No it is NOT the same! Forget about the reason for the RMA. It's the same as AMD selling you a chip at a premium price as being "great for overclocking - overclocking software provided", and then replacing it under warranty with a redesigned chip that can barely hit stock speeds. I guarantee you, you would not be happy.

you aren't getting anywhere here

good luck with that lawsuit
:Q

 

[crispy2010]

I thought athlon micro was great. They replaced a 9800 pro for me once, this was after telling me that the card wasnt even saphire!

 

[sodcha0s]

No it is NOT the same! Forget about the reason for the RMA. It's the same as AMD selling you a chip at a premium price as being "great for overclocking - overclocking software provided", and then replacing it under warranty with a redesigned chip that can barely hit stock speeds. I guarantee you, you would not be happy.

Yeah I'd be pissed because I was a dumbass and dropped my computer for sure.....

You have no case. You bought a GTO2. Any implications that it was a great overclocker and such were supplied by users, not Sapphire. I imagine you got in on the deal late, when the price went sky high on these cards because everybody was buying, unlocking and overclocking the crap out of them. This wasn't what was "intended" by Sapphire or ATI, it's what happened because some adventerous users discovered what these cards were capable of. So now since YOU broke your card, and made a warranty claim, you recieved the actual product that was intended for sale in the first place. Sorry pal, you screwed up and there isn't anyone to blame but yourself.

 

[Capt Caveman]

You think you have a legal case b/c they did not replace your video which is no longer under warranty w/ a card that meets the same standard performance. They shouldn't have even given you a card b/c you overclocked, changed the bios and dropped the card. Can you not get that thru your wife's and your own thick skulls? If they didn't replace the card b/c of what I just mentioned, you would probably post that you and your wife were going to sue them?

People like you is why the rest of us have to pay higher prices for everything. Unbelievable. Get a consious.

ps. Forget about the RMA? They should have denied you the RMA, molasses.

 

[Zim]

OK OK OK already! I'll let it be.

Now does anyone know if you can unlock all 16 pipes on the POS card I now have?

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Zim

Originally posted by: PingSpike
This is the same as me buying a A64 venice, overclocking it to 2.6ghz...destroying it with a screwed up cooling job that was my fault and then b|tching when the rma that AMD sent me that I didn't deserve in the first place would only do 2.4ghz.

No it is NOT the same! Forget about the reason for the RMA. It's the same as AMD selling you a chip at a premium price as being "great for overclocking - overclocking software provided", and then replacing it under warranty with a redesigned chip that can barely hit stock speeds. I guarantee you, you would not be happy.

I probably wouldn't...but I'm not happy I have to pay taxes either! But I just don't think you have a case. It didn't say on the original box "garenteed to unlock and overclock to 540/600" it just said gto2. If it performs up to the specs of a gto2 I think you're out of luck.

 

[lein]

Hehe, this is why i <3 evga. RMAed a 6800GT and got a 7800GS in its place =).

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Zim
OK OK OK already! I'll let it be.

Now does anyone know if you can unlock all 16 pipes on the POS card I now have?

I think those cards do unlock, they just don't overclock well because they don't have the external power connector. At least thats what research led me to believe. (I was going to snag one of them awhile back until I did some research.)

 

[Extelleron]

Whether or not a card is "made to be overclocked" or not, it's one of those YMMV cases. Just because one X1800XL OC's to 650/1400, doesnt mean everyone's will. Some of them might only OC to 520/1100 and then die out. I dont see anywhere on Sapphire's website where it guarantees you'll get 16p and 540/600.

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: Zim
OK OK OK already! I'll let it be...

Well, I've chimed in late but by the looks of it I'm the only one who "kinda" agrees with you. If I remove the reason for the RMA, I would be bent that they shipped back a lesser value card. It would be like buying a DFI Expert and they shipped back an SLR-DR...very simular but just not quite the same beast.

I would live with that but it would burn my a$$.......

 

[TanisHalfElven]

man reading this thread makes me loves/pity sapphire even more (since my x800gt is sapphire).
zim dude its too bad for you but seroiusly if your wifes a lawyer wth are you doing buying economy cards. get a 7800gt or a 7900gt. also i'd change the thread name to love sapphire cuz your giving a bad rep to a great company who you should be thankfull to if you weren't so ungratefull.

 

[jdkick]

I can understand why the OP's a little frustrated... he bought a card that had a good reputation for overclocking/performance and the in-warranty replacement is less robust, yet it bears the same model name/part number. Of course we all know there's no gaurentee when it comes to oc'ing, but... the goal of such cards is to satistfy enthusiasts.

The tricky thing is that both the original/replacement cards are "identical" from Sapphire's poing of view despite the core change - pipes, clock speed and memory frequency, memory interface. Question. Do you have the original 3DMark score or benchmarks from the original card @ stock speeds? If so, how do they compare to the new card?

In all honesty, you get what you pay for... anything else is a bonus. My recommendation is to always pay for your baseline requirements, that way you'll never be disappointed. If you choose to unlock/oc from that point then any performance you gain is just an added bonus. At least they honoured the warranty. :\

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: jdkick
I can understand why the OP's a little frustrated... he bought a card that had a good reputation for overclocking/performance and the in-warranty replacement is less robust, yet it bears the same model name/part number. Of course we all know there's no gaurentee when it comes to oc'ing, but... the goal of such cards is to satistfy enthusiasts.

The tricky thing is that both the original/replacement cards are "identical" from Sapphire's poing of view despite the core change - pipes, clock speed and memory frequency, memory interface. Question. Do you have the original 3DMark score or benchmarks from the original card @ stock speeds? If so, how do they compare to the new card?

In all honesty, you get what you pay for... anything else is a bonus. My recommendation is to always pay for your baseline requirements, that way you'll never be disappointed. If you choose to unlock/oc from that point then any performance you gain is just an added bonus. At least they honoured the warranty. :\

Thank you for your empathy - it has been very thin on the ground!

I think I lost a lot of sympathy because I was responsible for damaging the card. However, had the card stopped working for an unknown reason the outcome would be the same. Those of us who bought this card pretty much knew what we were getting: a R480 core and 1.6ns memory. We paid $200+ for a card that we wouldn't normally buy. Do you think Sapphire were oblivious to this? After a warranty issue (for which we must pay!) we end up with a completely different replacement card that is barely worth $150 new. I wonder how many of you guys would just shrug it off with a smile.

BTW, with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable, the original card scored 6600 in 3DMark05. The replacement card with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable scores 5600... 15% slower.

 

[Powermoloch]

using a 3rd party HSF, overclocking, or damaging the card voids the warrranty..u should be lucky that you have a replacement :/

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Zim

Originally posted by: jdkick
I can understand why the OP's a little frustrated... he bought a card that had a good reputation for overclocking/performance and the in-warranty replacement is less robust, yet it bears the same model name/part number. Of course we all know there's no gaurentee when it comes to oc'ing, but... the goal of such cards is to satistfy enthusiasts.

The tricky thing is that both the original/replacement cards are "identical" from Sapphire's poing of view despite the core change - pipes, clock speed and memory frequency, memory interface. Question. Do you have the original 3DMark score or benchmarks from the original card @ stock speeds? If so, how do they compare to the new card?

In all honesty, you get what you pay for... anything else is a bonus. My recommendation is to always pay for your baseline requirements, that way you'll never be disappointed. If you choose to unlock/oc from that point then any performance you gain is just an added bonus. At least they honoured the warranty. :\

Thank you for your empathy - it has been very thin on the ground!

I think I lost a lot of sympathy because I was responsible for damaging the card. However, had the card stopped working for an unknown reason the outcome would be the same. Those of us who bought this card pretty much knew what we were getting: a R480 core and 1.6ns memory. We paid $200+ for a card that we wouldn't normally buy. Do you think Sapphire were oblivious to this? After a warranty issue (for which we must pay!) we end up with a completely different replacement card that is barely worth $150 new. I wonder how many of you guys would just shrug it off with a smile.

BTW, with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable, the original card scored 6600 in 3DMark05. The replacement card with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable scores 5600... 15% slower.

Meh, just sell the card you got back from Sapphire and pony up the $169 for an X850XT from Newegg. I figure you owe Sapphire that much for getting a card that you don't deserve.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Entitlement complex not withstanding, you may have incriminated yourself for fraud

 

[JohnAn2112]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Zim
What if Samsung started shipping chips to Corsair where none of them reached XMS levels? Do you think Corsair would just say "oh well, no more XMS then"? No. Corsair has expectations as to the quality of the chips they buy, and if they got a batch of memory chips where none could reach XMS levels, you can bet that they would be sending at least some of them back.

No. They put the ones that don't reach said (unguaranteed) levels into the value segment and sell them as value chips, just like AMD does with Athlon 64 chips. Samsung has no obligation whatsoever to provide them with chips that overclock to a certain level running out of specification. Corsair decides on their own if they get enough in the speed bin to create a new faster line of memory boards. If they don't, tough crap. They have to order a faster chip and sell it as XMS for a higher price.

Correct. This is what OCZ does as well. Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to overclocking.

Edit: I used to work in Tech Support at OCZ and I had tons of people with the OP's mindset that called in complaining about RMA's.

"My PC3200 Plat Rev 2 that I sent in did 280 FSB. The ones I got back only do 250 FSB."

Waaaaah. :roll:

 

[RobertR1]

Originally posted by: Zim

Originally posted by: jdkick
I can understand why the OP's a little frustrated... he bought a card that had a good reputation for overclocking/performance and the in-warranty replacement is less robust, yet it bears the same model name/part number. Of course we all know there's no gaurentee when it comes to oc'ing, but... the goal of such cards is to satistfy enthusiasts.

The tricky thing is that both the original/replacement cards are "identical" from Sapphire's poing of view despite the core change - pipes, clock speed and memory frequency, memory interface. Question. Do you have the original 3DMark score or benchmarks from the original card @ stock speeds? If so, how do they compare to the new card?

In all honesty, you get what you pay for... anything else is a bonus. My recommendation is to always pay for your baseline requirements, that way you'll never be disappointed. If you choose to unlock/oc from that point then any performance you gain is just an added bonus. At least they honoured the warranty. :\

Thank you for your empathy - it has been very thin on the ground!

I think I lost a lot of sympathy because I was responsible for damaging the card. However, had the card stopped working for an unknown reason the outcome would be the same. Those of us who bought this card pretty much knew what we were getting: a R480 core and 1.6ns memory. We paid $200+ for a card that we wouldn't normally buy. Do you think Sapphire were oblivious to this? After a warranty issue (for which we must pay!) we end up with a completely different replacement card that is barely worth $150 new. I wonder how many of you guys would just shrug it off with a smile.

BTW, with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable, the original card scored 6600 in 3DMark05. The replacement card with all 16 pipes unlocked and oc'd to the max stable scores 5600... 15% slower.

This would be like suing a car manufacturer because one car came with 15% extra HP than advertised while the other car of the same model came with only a 5% HP increase over stock. Your wife should educate you better on the legal matters.

You received a products that met it's specs. No, if/and/buts.

 

[Zim]

FWIW I have considered what you guys have said and dropped any ideas about pushing for a better card. That said, I still don't see it as clear cut as some of the examples you guys are proposing.

The rule of warranty replacement is that you receive a replacement that is equal or better than the original. This did not happen for me. It was not that the replacement item was basically the same but differed within manufacturing tolerances - I received a completely different item that was manufactured with lower priced and less performing components. The fact that it bears the same model name is not relevant. The fact that the card meets the original's basic specifications is not relevant. These cards are sold for overclocking - it's right there on the front of the box "Trixx Overclocking Software Included!". Overclocking ability is as much a feature of these cards as their base specifications. I'll say it again in case you missed it - for my warranty replacement I got a completely different and lesser card than my original. That is against the law.

And it's good night from me.