XFX's RMA hall of shame

[Elixer]

People are pretty gross...

http://xfxforce.com/en-us/support/rma-hall-of-shame

In the warranty servicing industry, there are 2 separate but equally important groups. The manufacturers that create a product and those who manage to break those products. These are their stories.

 

[pcslookout]

Wow just wow!

 

[fleshconsumed]

Eh, in my experience XFX is generally decent about warranty replacement. However, I'm still annoyed they tried to blame my 500W power supply the one and only time I tried to RMA my R9 290. The card was beyond borked to the point where I couldn't even install graphics drivers and if I put it in a different computer that already had AMD video drivers installed I'd get black or flickering screen. XFX tried their damnest to convince me that 500W was not enough to drive a single 290. BS at its finest. I really wish the myth of needing gobs of power would go away.

 

[Despoiler]

Eh, in my experience XFX is generally decent about warranty replacement. However, I'm still annoyed they tried to blame my 500W power supply the one and only time I tried to RMA my R9 290. The card was beyond borked to the point where I couldn't even install graphics drivers and if I put it in a different computer that already had AMD video drivers installed I'd get black or flickering screen. XFX tried their damnest to convince me that 500W was not enough to drive a single 290. BS at its finest. I really wish the myth of needing gobs of power would go away.

Add yourself to the hall of shame for not following minimum requirements. They have the right to deny you an RMA based on that.

 

[Dave2150]

Add yourself to the hall of shame for not following minimum requirements. They have the right to deny you an RMA based on that.

+1, in this day and age it would be nice to assume people can actually read the minimum requirements.......

 

[fleshconsumed]

Add yourself to the hall of shame for not following minimum requirements. They have the right to deny you an RMA based on that.

^ And here we have our first follower of the myth of 1KW power supply cult.

Here, educate yourself.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7481/the-amd-radeon-r9-290-review/15

R9 290 total system power consumption under full load is under 400W. That is the power consumption of an entire system that includes overclocked IvyBridge-E, not just videocard. Plus, this 400W is power out of the wall, and the power supplies are rated by the power delivered, once you include the power efficiency of the power supply, let's say 90% efficient, the whole system is drawing only 360 watts out of 500 available. A quality 500W power supply is plenty.

 

[Dave2150]

^ And here we have our first follower of the myth of 1KW power supply cult.

Here, educate yourself.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7481/the-amd-radeon-r9-290-review/15

R9 290 total system power consumption under full load is under 400W. That is the power consumption of an entire system that includes overclocked IvyBridge-E, not just videocard. Plus, this 400W is power out of the wall, and the power supplies are rated by the power delivered, once you include the power efficiency of the power supply, let's say 90% efficient, the whole system is drawing only 360 watts out of 500 available. A quality 500W power supply is plenty.

You don't understand, do you?

We are not denying that a 290X can be run on a 500W PSU. If it's a good quality one, then it's entirely possible. Also worth noting that some will use a 290X at a1080P peasant resolution at 60z, whereas others will run 1440P 144Hz, which obviously bumps the card's power needs through the roof.

The same 500W PSU might be ok for 1080P 60hz (60 FPS capped), while it might not be enough for 1080P 144Hz etc etc.

Even disregarding all of the above, if they advertise on the box that their product needs a 600W, or 700W, then they deserve the right to refuse your RMA if you only have a 500W PSU. Learn to read next time.

 

[Face2Face]

Sad to say, I've seen worse, but this is still pretty bad. The 12 HD 7900 cards in a box was pretty funny though.
I still have a HD 4890 that I'm letting a friend borrow. I told him, if it dies then he needs to give it back, as it has a lifetime warranty.

 

[b-mac]

So folks are telling me I need a 750W power supply like Sapphire states on their Nitro Fury box? Despite the fact that an overclocked i7-6700k and the Fury consume 450W or less during a FurMark run? Pretty stilly argument to take in my opinion. Any SINGLE card can run just fine on a quality 550W PSU like the EVGA I have.

 

[Creig]

So folks are telling me I need a 750W power supply like Sapphire states on their Nitro Fury box? Despite the fact that an overclocked i7-6700k and the Fury consume 450W or less during a FurMark run? Pretty stilly argument to take in my opinion. Any SINGLE card can run just fine on a quality 550W PSU like the EVGA I have.

The reason XFX put that 750W power supply requirement on your box is because not all power supplies are "quality". I'm guessing that XFX calculated the output of inexpensive power supplies and found that a 750W version was required. They're just (rightfully) covering themselves from people who cheap out on their power supply.

 

[JimKiler]

So folks are telling me I need a 750W power supply like Sapphire states on their Nitro Fury box? Despite the fact that an overclocked i7-6700k and the Fury consume 450W or less during a FurMark run? Pretty stilly argument to take in my opinion. Any SINGLE card can run just fine on a quality 550W PSU like the EVGA I have.

That does seem excessive. I don't know that I even look at the PSU requirements when buying video cards but i never buy anything over $200 so I probably okay. I have a Enermax 720w PSU now but want to upgrade to a Seasonic Prime Titanium 650 watt very soon. I had no idea going from 1080p at 60Hz to 1440 at 144Hz was a big difference, i just assumed if the video card said get a 600 watt PSU i would not need to worry about it.

 

[fleshconsumed]

You don't understand, do you?

We are not denying that a 290X can be run on a 500W PSU. If it's a good quality one, then it's entirely possible. Also worth noting that some will use a 290X at a1080P peasant resolution at 60z, whereas others will run 1440P 144Hz, which obviously bumps the card's power needs through the roof.

The same 500W PSU might be ok for 1080P 60hz (60 FPS capped), while it might not be enough for 1080P 144Hz etc etc.

Even disregarding all of the above, if they advertise on the box that their product needs a 600W, or 700W, then they deserve the right to refuse your RMA if you only have a 500W PSU. Learn to read next time.

Sigh... Talk about not understanding.

Unless you're capping your FPS at 60Hz using FRTC or RTSS there is zero impact on the power draw whether you're running 60Hz or 144Hz monitor. The card will draw as many frames per second as it can thus stressing it to the max. Running the card at 1440p also won't result in more power draw either because the card won't be able to render as many frames per second at 1440p compared to 1080p, it might draw 90 frames per second at 1080p, but at 1440p it'll only be able to render 60. There is zero impact on the power draw.

Furthermore, all the power tests, including the one from Anandtech I linked, are typically done using furmark which is the absolute possible worst case scenario for power draw. Most of the games won't stress the card as much as furmark.

Please stop spreading misinformation and perpetuating the power supply myths.

 

[nurturedhate]

How the hell do you get roaches inside a video card!

 

[Mopetar]

The listed minimums are high to account for variance in the cards themselves, people who are going to overclock and draw above the usual amount by a fair degree, and power supplies being potentially unreliable (some generic ones are maybe only good for 50% of their advertised value).

If you've got a high-end power supply, you probably don't need up to that amount, but not everyone buys high quality components or some try to scrimp on the power supply so they can spend more on the other stuff.

 

[DisarmedDespot]

Yeah, my total system load with a 390 never got past 370 watts under load. The 750 watt listing is so people who buy super cheap over-rated PSUs don't have their systems explode.

 

[Headfoot]

Sure it will run on less than the stated power requirements. But RMA and warranty is a game. You have to play by the rules. The rules are "you have to run within our specs to get the benefit of the warranty." So if you want to ensure your warranty will stick, then follow the specs. You can run it below, just know you are running the risk that they deny your claim based on that.

 

[AtenRa]

Add yourself to the hall of shame for not following minimum requirements. They have the right to deny you an RMA based on that.

Only if the card was working ok on a bigger PSU, if the card was broken even if used with a 700-800W PSU then they had no reason not to RMA the card.

 

[Despoiler]

^ And here we have our first follower of the myth of 1KW power supply cult.

Here, educate yourself.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7481/the-amd-radeon-r9-290-review/15

R9 290 total system power consumption under full load is under 400W. That is the power consumption of an entire system that includes overclocked IvyBridge-E, not just videocard. Plus, this 400W is power out of the wall, and the power supplies are rated by the power delivered, once you include the power efficiency of the power supply, let's say 90% efficient, the whole system is drawing only 360 watts out of 500 available. A quality 500W power supply is plenty.

Go get light on someone else. Your argument is pure strawman. <hangs fleshconsumed's picture in the hall of shame>

 

[Rifter]

Go get light on someone else. Your argument is pure strawman. <hangs fleshconsumed's picture in the hall of shame>

No he is using actual FACTS for his argument, XFX requiring a PSU 50% larger in capacity than what is really needed is shady at best and dishonest at worst. Looks like a easy out they designed to get out of RMA'ing their defective cards.

 

[EXCellR8]

Ugh, that 295 rad is disgusting! Why is it brown and not gray... WTH??

 

[Rifter]

Ugh, that 295 rad is disgusting! Why is it brown and not gray... WTH??

1 word "SMOKERS"

 

[master_shake_]

lol @ 12 7900 series in a box with circuitry knocked off.

how much is bubble wrap these days?

 

[psolord]

1 word "SMOKERS"

True that.

I have quit smoking since December 2005. Apart from the obvious benefits, my room is like 300% cleaner with no effort.

Actually I have moved to a new room of the house in 2011 and it is still today looking brand new.

For the on topic of the discussion, I clean my PCs twice a year thoroughly, with a leaf blower and a soft cleaning brush. Another two times a year with the vacuum cleaner, so I can spare myself the hassle of taking them out in the yard again. Does a decent job too. But the do need their proper leaf blowing twice a year lol.

So, ever since I quit smoking, I have noticed a huge improvement of the internals of the systems. Dust is a lot less dense now. Seems tar smoke makes dust molecules more binded together.

 

[thilanliyan]

IIRC I've RMAd 3 cards with XFX and I've not had any issue with them. Only thing that sucks is that I'm in Canada and shipping to their California repair center is not cheap.