BFG RMA upgrades?

[Wolfshanze]

BFG is a very good company from my experience... I've been using nothing but BFG cards for some time on several differant rigs and have never had a problem.

I was recently upgrading my wife's computer, and when I took-out her video card (an AGP BFG 6600GT), I noticed the fan on the card was cracked and "stuck" (wouldn't move freely). I was like "huh"... well, come to think about it, her video card was reading some high temperatures lately, so I called BFG and sent it back for an RMA (quick and friendly customer service as always).

That got me to thinking...

I recalled a friend of mine once told me he sent BFG an older video card for an RMA, and the one they sent back was actually a faster card (ie: newer model). I don't remember from what to what (maybe a 5600 to a 6600? I don't recall)... but he definately got an upgrade, and it seemed to be because BFG had stopped making his older card.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Sent an old card in for an RMA and got a faster one in return?

I sent BFG my card this week... they just got it, now I'm waiting for my return next week. Not that I either asked for, or expect a faster card, I'll be perfectly happy with a fully-functional 6600GT, but just curious if maybe there might be a slight chance of a friendly "upgrade" from the folks at BFG.

One thing I am pretty sure of... my card will look differant if nothing else... I bought the BFG 6600GT when it first came out... and it underwent a complete design change a couple of months after I purchased it... so I'm sure if I do get another 6600GT from them, it will at least be in the "newer" format.

So has an "ugrade" ever happened to anyone with a BFG RMA?

 

[chizow]

Its not uncommon for any company to replace RMA'd products with relatively faster products in the same retail price range. With graphics cards, the process of making the mid-range cards faster and cheaper while performing as well as higher priced cards from the previous generation lends itself to this practice. I've seen a lot of "upgrades" with RMAs which is certainly a benefit of going with a company with a good warranty policy. I wouldn't always expect an upgrade, but its pretty safe to say you won't get a downgrade.

 

[MDE]

Don't be surprised if you get a 7600GT or similar. It's cheaper for them to clear out inventory on old cards than it is to keep a stockpile laying around.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Don't be surprised if you get a 7600GT or similar.

That would be sweet! Is the 6600GT still stocked in stores, or did they move-on?

 

[Keysplayr]

Happened to me once when I RMA'd a BFG 5900nu. They sent me a 5900Ultra. I was pretty happy at the time.

 

[Sniper82]

Well you could get a upgrade but at the same time they might slap another fan/heatsink on it and run some tests and ship it back out. I had a ramsink fall off a two week old BFG 6600GT back in the day and sent it in and they just sent the same one back to me. Couple weeks later the ramsink fell off again so I said the heck with it and got some thermal tape.

You would have more of a chance if the card itself is/was defective.

 

[IsenMike]

I had a 9800XT that had overheated and was giving weird video artifacts while gaming. Realized that it had a 5 year warranty, so I sent it back to ATI this past fall. They sent me back an X800XT as a replacement. Pretty sweet, except that I ended up with a bit of a power supply issue because of the unexpected upgrade. Not a big deal though; well worth the free upgrade.

 

[vhx]

EVGA and most companies does it as well. Theres always a possiblity if you have a card that has been EOL for a while. But like always, don't get your hopes up.

 

[Pugnate]

A long time ago I sent my 9700Pro and got a 9800XT in return heh.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Well, I got my card back from BFG...

Result?...

I got an "ugrade"... but not what you'd think... I sent in an 'old' BFG 6600GT card (the original run of the BFG 6600GT was simply an NVidia referance design with a BFG sticker on it)... the card I got back was STILL a BFG 6600GT card, it was simply the newer "redesigned" BFG-spec card with custom BFG round heatsink/fan. So, I definately got a NEW card, and it definately wasn't my old card, but I sent-in a 6600GT and got-back a 6600GT... oh well... not like they owed me an upgrade... still, as always, great BFG RMA service... can't complain. Will stick with this great company.

 

[Sniper82]

Yeah most companies won't upgrade your hardware unless they simply don't have any of what you sent in. They have to replace it with something of equal or greater then what you sent in. I sent in a 40gb Maxtor once and got a 80gb back. This was back when 200gb was more then enough storage.

 

[Aikouka]

Aw, I need to RMA my 6800GT to BFG.. let's hope they don't have any 6800GTs left .

 

[Wolfshanze]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Aw, I need to RMA my 6800GT to BFG.. let's hope they don't have any 6800GTs left .

Good luck to you on that... the 6800GT is rarer and out of production longer, so maybe you'll be luckier then me (I have a BFG 6800GT too, but mine is working just fine).

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Aw, I need to RMA my 6800GT to BFG.. let's hope they don't have any 6800GTs left .

My 3 year old 6800GT just went bad a week and a half ago. so keep us posted on what you get and I will do the same. As far as I can tell the 7800GS is the likely replacement because it's the only AGP that would not be a downgrade...

 

[butch84]

I've had to RMA my BFG 6800GT AGP twice.... got back another 6800GT each time.