XFX Horror Story

[RobsTV]

You were definitely screwed over and taken in by the warranty sales pitch. Thanks for posting this!

All cards are pretty much equal, with many parts made at the same plants. Warranty sells, and many buyers "think" they are getting a better product than the cheaper brands. When you pay a premium for a card because of its warranty, you expect that any warranty issues will be quick and painless. Sort of like paying a lot extra for better insurance instead of sticking with the low cost included insurance. That's what you paid a premium price for. A great warranty would have cross shipped the replacement to you within days of submitting a claim. A bad warranty is what you got. Normal falls in between.

What I have not seen in this thread are any comments about how this shows that lifetime warranties are useless if they don't have replacement product. If they can not correctly get a less than 1 year old product back to customer right away, how to you think they will warranty a 3 year old product?

With the price of new 5850's around $270, asking you to upgrade to one for $130 more is nuts, unless you think your 4890XT is worth less than $140. You already know what kind of warranty service to expect in the future, so adding that premium on again does not make sense.

 

[jinsaotomex4]

What I have not seen in this thread are any comments about how this shows that lifetime warranties are useless if they don't have replacement product. If they can not correctly get a less than 1 year old product back to customer right away, how to you think they will warranty a 3 year old product?

Because 1) the lifetime warranty isn't useless and 2) if you got a popular card chances are they will have it. Hell, I sent a broken 6600GT AGP not too long ago and they sent me a fixed one no problem.

You know what was useless? Sapphire x1950pro. Died 1 month after warranty was up (1 year) due to the crap capacitors in gen 1 cards, overseas support, and they just didn't bother replying e-mails.

 

[RussianSensation]

Honestly, take the 4890 non-overclocked and call it a day. Since you are already not getting what you want from the company, putting $130 towards a 5850 with them will only give you more headaches should that card fail. You will take this as a lesson then not to buy from XFX next time. At the end of the day, there will be almost no difference in absolute overclocking potential between most 4890 cards since it is a function of the cooling on the GPU.

As a point of reference, MSI has a 3-year warranty but charges $45 handling fee and you also have to pay for shipping to MSI to send your VGA card. Compared to this, a stock 4890 from XFX without the $45 fee is a sweet deal!

 

[vhx]

They don't have a replacement for your card in stock currently. Get over it. What do you expect them to do, magically pull one out of their collective asses?

As far as your upgrade costs, just because YOU feel their prices aren't in line doesn't mean their prices aren't. Internally, they have a price sheet. Those are the prices they go by. Resellers get volume discounts, and in turn pass along the savings to you from the actual manufacturer's list price. Dealing directly with XFX, you go by their price sheets, not Newegg's.

Finally, they offered you not one but two solutions of convenience. You declined both, hence you wait. You want a working video card while you wait? Take up their offer on a stock 4890 and get over your minor inconvenience of messing with your WC setup.

In my opinion, XFX has actually gone above and beyond already what most manufacturers would have done or offered to do for you. Consider yourself lucky.

TBH. This.

 

[TheMeanestGuest]

He paid for the warranty. He also paid for a card that is superior to a standard 4890. I honestly don't think it is acceptable at all for XFX to replace his card with anything less powerful, no matter how small the difference.

I do not see a solution satisfactory to both parties that can be presented at this point in time. On one hand, a 5850 might be a bit much to offer as a replacement, but, on the other hand, there is nothing lesser to offer that is appropriate.

Edit: I also do not approve of charging the difference to replace the 4890 XT with a 5850. It is not the OPs problem if XFX does not have any 4890 XTs to offer, they must replace it with something exactly equal or better.

Now, if the HD 5830 were out, I imagine that would be the perfect card to offer as a replacement if no 4890 XTs are available by then.

You could always ask if you could receive a 5830 (that is of course assuming it is precisely equal to or better than a 4890 XT) when they release if there are still no 4890 XTs available.

 

[waffleironhead]

1) accept the stock 4890
2) wait till the 4890 xt comes

you are crying about having to drain your WC system twice.

BOO HOOO

 

[zagood]

Have them ship me a stock 4890 and then 4890XT if it ever arrives.

So you can get a temporary card and wait for the correct part, what's the problem? This would be like the car analogy, but the rental (loaner) car was the same car with manual crank windows.

Take the stock card and bang on them a few times a week to check if the XT is in. They'll quickly tire of you and do something to get you out of their hair.

 

[happy medium]

So you can get a temporary card and wait for the correct part, what's the problem? This would be like the car analogy, but the rental (loaner) car was the same car with manual crank windows.

Take the stock card and bang on them a few times a week to check if the XT is in. They'll quickly tire of you and do something to get you out of their hair.

And if the 4890xt dosent come he's stuck.
Sound like a good way to get a consumer off your back.
He's allready waited more then a month.

 

[E6700]

my XFX 5850 sucks,for some reason it has little white stripes when playing any avi/xvid files but for .mkv is fine. My ex Power color 4850 never had this problem until this card

 

[waffleironhead]

And if the 4890xt dosent come he's stuck.
Sound like a good way to get a consumer off your back.
He's allready waited more then a month.

I see you are into playing the "what if" game. Its a fun game where the outcome is only limited by your imagination. I'd like to imagine the comoany is going to cover their warranty. Thats why they gave him the options they did. If they dont end up sending the XT, then you cross that bridge when you come to it.

 

[smackababy]

He paid for the warranty. He also paid for a card that is superior to a standard 4890. I honestly don't think it is acceptable at all for XFX to replace his card with anything less powerful, no matter how small the difference.

I do not see a solution satisfactory to both parties that can be presented at this point in time. On one hand, a 5850 might be a bit much to offer as a replacement, but, on the other hand, there is nothing lesser to offer that is appropriate.

Edit: I also do not approve of charging the difference to replace the 4890 XT with a 5850. It is not the OPs problem if XFX does not have any 4890 XTs to offer, they must replace it with something exactly equal or better.

Now, if the HD 5830 were out, I imagine that would be the perfect card to offer as a replacement if no 4890 XTs are available by then.

You could always ask if you could receive a 5830 (that is of course assuming it is precisely equal to or better than a 4890 XT) when they release if there are still no 4890 XTs available.

This baffles me. You actually believe the company is obligated to give you something better (and more expensive) because you're original was faulty and they are out of stock of the current card you have? They, as stated by them, only obligated to give you a comparible part. A stock 4890 is comparible to any special 4890s. Unless his game with more memory, factory installed water block, or some other expensive upgrade, a simply factory O/C is nothing to whine about.

 

[happy medium]

I see you are into playing the "what if" game. Its a fun game where the outcome is only limited by your imagination. I'd like to imagine the comoany is going to cover their warranty. Thats why they gave him the options they did. If they dont end up sending the XT, then you cross that bridge when you come to it.

Is there a clause in the warrenty that says " if one is avalable"?
Or we will replace your card with the right card when we feel like it.
Or you may have to wait months to recieve the right card?

If you say lifetime warrenty,you should make sure you can honor it.
Not almost honor it.
Allmost don't count.

 

[smackababy]

Is there a clause in the warrenty that says " if one is avalable"?
Or we will replace your card with the right card when we feel like it.
Or you may have to wait months to recieve the right card?

If you say lifetime warrenty,you should make sure you can honor it.
Not almost honor it.
Allmost don't count.

So, you expect a company to have somebody go and hand make the card just for him? They obviously don't have any in stock. They offered him a loaner that was basically the same but slightly inferior until his was ready. They even offered to upgrade him for the difference. That is much more than a lot of companies do.

 

[shangshang]

You were definitely screwed over and taken in by the warranty sales pitch. Thanks for posting this!

All cards are pretty much equal, with many parts made at the same plants. Warranty sells, and many buyers "think" they are getting a better product than the cheaper brands. When you pay a premium for a card because of its warranty, you expect that any warranty issues will be quick and painless. Sort of like paying a lot extra for better insurance instead of sticking with the low cost included insurance. That's what you paid a premium price for. A great warranty would have cross shipped the replacement to you within days of submitting a claim. A bad warranty is what you got. Normal falls in between.

What I have not seen in this thread are any comments about how this shows that lifetime warranties are useless if they don't have replacement product. If they can not correctly get a less than 1 year old product back to customer right away, how to you think they will warranty a 3 year old product?

With the price of new 5850's around $270, asking you to upgrade to one for $130 more is nuts, unless you think your 4890XT is worth less than $140. You already know what kind of warranty service to expect in the future, so adding that premium on again does not make sense.

Bingo!

User paid for a premium when he bought the card, partly based on the SUPERIOR WARRANTY. It's like buying health insurance, until you have cancer and the insurance company told you that they can't afford your treatment and but will pay for a cheaper alternataive treatment. Then what is the point of buying a superior warranty or health insurance then?

And asking warrant customer to pay to an upgrade??? Sounds like warranty service is another way to draw revenues to me!

So how long should the user wait (and pray) before his item is in stock? 3 months? 6 months? before he'll prolly give up and either accept the inferior part or bit the bullet and pay for the upgraded part???

Where's the principle in all this? This warranty advertisement from XFX should read: "we'll warrant your card if we have it in stock, else we'll downgrade it or give you the option to pay for a faster card".

OP: I'm glad you're bringing this up. Definitely will make me think twice when buying a stuff with "lifetime warranty" mumbo jumbo claim.

 

[shangshang]

So, you expect a company to have somebody go and hand make the card just for him? They obviously don't have any in stock. They offered him a loaner that was basically the same but slightly inferior until his was ready. They even offered to upgrade him for the difference. That is much more than a lot of companies do.

So why doesn't XFX put this in bold letter on a flyer in their product box so customers can see it? How much you wanna bet some of those customers will be returning the card to the store?

You sound like a typical corporate aplologist.

 

[happy medium]

So, you expect a company to have somebody go and hand make the card just for him? They obviously don't have any in stock. They offered him a loaner that was basically the same but slightly inferior until his was ready. They even offered to upgrade him for the difference. That is much more than a lot of companies do.

So the better warrenty he paid for, but he should settle for better then other companies would do?

Don't garunteee a replacement if you can't follow through XFX. Simple isn't it?

 

[happy medium]

Quote..
OP: I'm glad you're bringing this up. Definitely will make me think twice when buying a stuff with "lifetime warranty" mumbo jumbo claim.

I agree,lesson learned. When someone asks me to recommend a card I will take this into consideration.

 

[v8envy]

Could be worse, could be like PNY's "lifetime" warranty, which means the time PNY makes that exact product. It's good to have threads like this to get a feel for how far the company in question will go to make a customer happy but once again while sucky this isn't exactly horror.

FWIW, I've had a great RMA experience with EVGA and a sub-par one with Sapphire. But like all opinions and experiences times change and it's always good to have recent feedback.

 

[smackababy]

I love how I am an apologist to corporations because I think the company is doing its best to give this guy what he deserves. Just because he bought something that was faulty doesn't not obligate him to a most expensive product. Should Toyota upgrade everyones car in the recall? Should they all get cards that cost 56% more than the car they purchased? (XFX values card at around $170 and 5850 at $300) The amount most of you think you're entitled to is outstandingly retarded. I mean, honestly, you think because you didn't read or understand the "Lifetime Warranty" they should be bashed?

If I was this company and I read this guys post, I'd tell him he will get his card when we get another in stock. No loaner, no upgrade option, no refund. They are being nice enough to give him something almost identical, just valued at bit less. If he had a stock 4890 and was getting a 4890 XT, I bet everyone would be praising XFX so much when in reality they are almost the same card.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

The warranty doesn't say they'll replace his card with a new card of the exact same model or a better card if that model is not available. It says they'll replace it with a "comparable" card. COMPARABLE. I've yet to see anyone make a compelling argument as to why a stock 4890 is not "comparable" to a factory OCed 4890. I suspect this is because said argument does not exist, so people resort to frothing at the mouth over corporate bullying instead.

They gave him a solution. He turned it down. Now he gets to wait on the stocking status for the exact model he wants. They aren't going to OC a single card just for him because that's not how manufacturing works. Nor are they going to OC an entire batch of cards just to satisfy one customer when a more cost-effective, warranty-honoring solution exists. The fact he doesn't like these facts does not make them any less true.

You've got 2 solutions OP. Take what they offered you, whichever of the 3 options you think is best, or badger them until they deem you a big enough problem to throw money at. Personally I'd take one of the cards they offered you, or maybe ask if I could get a 5770 for free.

 

[happy medium]

Sounds more like a LIMITED lifetime warrenty to me.

 

[MagickMan]

I have to say, however, I've had amazing success with EVGA. The times I did need some type of service they bent over backwards to help me. Hell, they even cross-shipped without charging me a dime, and I had my new card within 72 hours. That may be the reason I'll keep sticking with Nvidia. Not that ATI sucks, but because EVGA just doesn't use their chips.

 

[shangshang]

smackbaby,

I'm not surprised you brought up Toyota. I was going to use Toyota in my example, but i knew you would bring it up. You have corporate apolotist all over you.

If i were XFX, I would sell 2 versions of everything I sell.
One version is the STOCK version. One version is the "ULTRA" version with tripple lifetime warranty. But I'll charge the Ultra version 3x as much (because of the triple warranty). But when it comes to warranting the Ultra, I'll just give customers the stock version since they are "almost equivalent".

I smell a rat.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

Sounds more like a LIMITED lifetime warrenty to me.

That IS what it is!

From http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/Features/DoubleLifetimeWarranty.aspx :

Double Lifetime Protection*
Nothing tops our warranty. It’s not just a limited lifetime warranty, it’s a transferable lifetime warranty. So, should you sell your XFX 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, GTX-, GTS-, GT-, and GeForce Series or any XFX Radeon HD Series cards, whomever you give it to or sell it to is protected, as well. Better still, it’s the best card on the planet for gamers who push our cards to the limit.

The only thing that makes it special is that its lifetime, and its transferable. All the other card companies' warranties end after 2-3 years, XFX's doesn't.

 

[Daedalus685]

Sounds more like a LIMITED lifetime warrenty to me.

Yes it does... That is probably because it IS a limited warranty... Refer to post #30, and any official documentation from XFX.

Certainly we'd all rather have a free upgrade in a case like this.. but the company is within its rights to hold of until they have stock on a direct replacement.

I'd have taken the 5850 assuming I could get them down to the price difference from a retailer.

I don't imagine they will ever have stock on the xt again though. It is either take the 4890 and wait forever, or try to get a fair deal on the 5850 I'd think.