Sapphire warranty fail

[Rifter]

Issues with card(sapphire 4830):

Built HTPC. wanted to use HDMI, card has HDMI port so no adaptor needed as well as a HDMI audio chip. Figured i was golden other than ATI's less than stellar linux drivers.

So everything went together fine, booted, installed linux(mint 9 64bit) all was just great.

Then since my TV only has 2 HDMI ports and i have a HDPVR and a PS3 i was just going to swap cable from PS3 to HTPC as needed till the PS3 moved into the bedroom in a few months when i get another TV. Well the first time i go to unplug the HTPC's HDMI cable it will not move, not even a millimeter. Its like its welded in there. It went in fine, no extra force needed but i cant for the life of me get it out. Try pulling at slightly differnt angles, wiggling it and nothing, wont even move AT ALL. So being a brute force is always the answer type of guy i keep applying more pressure and then bam cable comes loose, yay, finally. But then i take a closer look at the cable and find out its missing the connector, im looking at BARE CABLES sticking out of the sleeving, connector is still firmly inside the video card and now there is literally no way i can remove it.

So i look up sapphire's warranty and find out it might as well not exsist, they should seriously advertise there cards have no warranty it would just be better that way and then people like me right now would not go postal because we would have known from the begginning we were banana'ed. So sapphire has a 2 year warranty, great i have a few weeks left.

Then i find out to use the warranty i have to ship the card to asia, not only that but i have to pay the return freight as well. And ontop of that the real kicker is i have to pay a company that handles the warranty work for sapphire in canada a "administration fee" as well for literally nothing as the card doesnt even ever go to them, i was to ship it directly to asia so im to pay some campany a administration fee to ask sapphire for a RMA number for me? this is the dumbest thing i have ever herd of. And not only that i asked about the warrany coverage of the new/fixed card and they said its only covered till my original warranty is up, not even a 30 day or DOA coverage. Well since my warranty will be long up before my card gets to asia and back whats to stop them from just looking at it going that sucks and putting it in a box and shipping it back(at my expense) and then when i get it i wont be able to do anyhting because my warranty will be up, i asked the warranty company that and they said that if that did happen i would be screwed and there would be nothing they could do, do you believe this crap?


Now i realize that each company has there own way of handling warranty work but ive been around the business a long time and returned my share of cards, all of which im sure were made in asia. And never once did i have to ship the card overseas, and pay for return shipping, and a administration fee. I have returned cards from BFG, eVGA, XFX, ATI(when they made there own cards), Diamond, even 3dfx. And the most i ever had to do was cover shipping to there USA office, thats it. So this is some huge warranty fail on sapphire's part.

So now that i learned never to buy sapphire no matter how great everyone says they are what should i replace the 4830 with? needs to be cheap(under $40 CDN is possible) and have HDMI out that will carry audio, dont care if card has own audio chip or not my mobo has onboard sound with SPDIF out if needed i can use that. And one with a real HDMI port would be great.


We allow cussing in P&N and OT, not in the tech forums.

Moderator Idontcare

 

[3DVagabond]

That's the worst warranty coverage I've ever heard of! Just out of curiosity, who did you buy the card from? Any retailer I've ever been associated with would handle warranty claims for the customer.

 

[Rifter]

newegg.ca

i actually didnt think of contacting them direct as most computer parts sellers have a 30day warranty only then you have to deal with who makes the card.

 

[dust]

You guys are being very spoiled over there in Canada/U.S. The most I can hope for as warranty here in the Middle East is one year, for any of the major components, from either vendor.

To be honest I don't think that much of it, as one year is always enough for the component to become obsolete and if it should break after the period's done, then so be it, I'll move to the store and have an excuse for an upgrade. And the rates are nowhere near that cheap as they are across the Atlantic.

I suppose it'd be a welcome improvement to have two-three years or maybe a lifetime warranty in hand and possibly it might make me see things differently, as of now however it doesn't matter as much.

 

[evolucion8]

My best friend had issues with his Sapphire HD 4870 1GB which came with AMD's stock cooler, he had the card for over a year and then started to have red dot artifacts and hard lock ups, he had to pay $50.00 to ship to California I think, (Don't remember where), he made the mistake (Stupid!! ) to ship the money in cash, but fortunately enough, they contact him to ask if he's willing to accept a Sapphire HD 4870 1GB which comes with the black cooler that ressembles the Vapor-X design, he said yes and two days later, they sent him a tracking number and 5 days later he received the card and works like a champ. The entire process took like 3 weeks which ain't bad, but I find unnacceptable that customers have to pay so much for an RMA. Usually U.S. customers pays far less than $50.00, my friend lives in Puerto Rico.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Intense. I have a Sapphire 4830 with the dual DVI.

Kind of weird, but I don't think this was the video card manufactures fault. I'm thinking it was more of the cable just not being poperly fitted and stuck itself inside of the port. If you grab some pliers and some oil lubrication (WD40 anyone?) You could probably get it out. This doesn't seem RMA worthy unless you're heading to the cable manufacturer.

 

[Rifter]

oh and incase anyone is cuirious, the HDMI cable that came apart was a Monster brand cable, got it onlsale for 90% off which i think now might have still been overpaying.

 

[tigersty1e]

Sapphire VGA products carry a 2 year warranty with all enquires carried out through your initial place of purchase. This can only be carried out by the original purchaser Please contact your Dealer/Reseller for Warranty / RMA service. They will require proof of purchase which includes the original invoice/documentation.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/support/?cid=3&psn=000203

go to newegg and get your new card.

 

[Rifter]

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/support/?cid=3&psn=000203

go to newegg and get your new card.

already sent them an e-mail, after the first poster mentioned it.

 

[Schmide]

BTW I've RMAed cards with sapphire. In the US Canada you send it off to LA?

 

[Rifter]

BTW I've RMAed cards with sapphire. In the US Canada you send it off to LA?

apparantly not anymore, at least sapphire gave me the conact info for a company in canada that handled there RMA's now.

 

[Rifter]

im not at home now so cant post exact e-mail but this guru3d thread is pretty much exactly what i was told, however althon inc is not the company i was told to contact but it would not surprise me if it was the same company now under a differnt name.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=275682

 

[Madcatatlas]

Not really surprised.

It says right there on the website that you need to contact them if you want to RMA the thing. This whole topic kinda says "i want to cry" instead of doing my homework.

 

[Rifter]

Not really surprised.

It says right there on the website that you need to contact them if you want to RMA the thing. This whole topic kinda says "i want to cry" instead of doing my homework.

i did contact them, they then gave me the contact info for there canadian RMA dept/company they contract out to/bunch of idiots.

If you mean i need to contact newegg then i have also done that and am awaiting a response, but i have never seen a computer parts store offer anything over 30 day warranty, or you had to deal with manufactorer. But people praise neweggs customer service so who knows maybe it will work out alright.

 

[Madcatatlas]

I see what you mean.

Canada is comparable to Norway in terms of guarente terms im guessing. Although we could have better conditions over here.

5 year general guarentee on all electronics.

The store that sells you the item, is resonsible for guarentee/replacements etc. So although the different stores could have variations in the service they provide, they all have to adhere to the same terms.

Stuff like bad RMA processes get out really quick here, with most of the population being on the net. So stores try to keep a good service level no matter the product they sell.

 

[JAG87]

That's why I only buy EVGA. The most expensive parts in my case are EVGA and that gives me peace of mind.

 

[spaceboy909]

General advice: Unless one is 'rich', warranty coverage is paramount, including the 'totally unnecessary and waste of money' extended warranties, as some would call them.

I always buy extended warranties. I've had to use them 3 times. They're worth every penny when you have to use them, and they're worth tons more than that in peace of mind.

When I shop, I price shop for the extended warranty plans and factor that into the total cost before I select a store.

My last extended warranty venture paid off beyond my wildest imagination. I had purchased a 22" LCD monitor with a 3 year manufacturer warranty, plus a 3 year extended warranty.

The monitor died 2 months before the end of the manufacturer warranty. I waited until I was into the extended warranty period (as I have zero interest in dealing with the pains of a manufacturer warranty), shipped it off, and got a gift card back for the monitor price + tax.

By this time, prices on 22" monitors, plus great sale prices allowed me to get TWO 22" monitors to replace it, PLUS enough left over to get a nice USB Wifi adapter!

Talk about an insurance policy paying off!

The warranty for my monitor cost $75, but the warranty price for some of these graphics cards is only $15-$20.

Also, at the time I purchased the warranty, I had a decent job and decent money coming in. At the time I received the gift card, I was broke and jobless, and had borrowed $25 from my dad so I could buy a used CRT to get me by.

Even if you are forced to buy a new card, for whatever reason, you can still get the old one replaced and then resell it and recoup a decent amount of cash, assuming it was at least a mid range card to start with. (Note: Extended warranty plans typically include all shipping expenses.)

I don't know why so many frown on extended warranty plans. It's no different than regular insurance. Sure, in some situations it's not a good idea, such as buying a $30 card when you know you could easily afford to replace it if it breaks.

 

[Zap]

I don't know why so many frown on extended warranty plans.

It's a numbers game, like gambling. And like gambling, the house always wins. Sure, some people "win" but overall the house wins. Basically chances are in the long run you spend more money than you recoup. Sure you make out now and then (just like playing slot machines) but in the long run...

 

[3DVagabond]

It's a numbers game, like gambling. And like gambling, the house always wins. Sure, some people "win" but overall the house wins. Basically chances are in the long run you spend more money than you recoup. Sure you make out now and then (just like playing slot machines) but in the long run...

I know this is the general consensus about extended warranties. The company makes a profit so therefore they must be charging you more than the warranty is worth. This isn't the correct math though. it's a bit more complex than that. It works the same way as any other insurance. If you make a claim it typically pays for itself many times over. It is financially prudent to pay a small amount out up front to protect you from major outlays that would strain you financially.

Look at it a different way. Are you so sure that someone doesn't need the extended warranty that you are willing to give them your home phone and have them call you to take care of their product if it fails? Of course not. You probably wouldn't be willing to do it even if they paid you the amt. of the warranty. You see it's a sort of co-op effect. Many paying a small amount can cover everyone where they wouldn't be able to do it individually.

Now, not all warranties are created equal. Many are just extensions of the manufacturers warranty. While these are OK, they aren't worth a lot of money because of what they don't cover. Many though cover for power surges, regular maintenance (annual cleanings, for instance), supply loaner equipment, etc...

Bottom line is, don't just dismiss extended warranties out of hand. Take them case by case and make a reasonable decision one way or the other. You definitely don't want to take out double coverage. If your credit card automatically extends the warranty of a product by an extra year don't pay for that coverage with the retailer as well. If your household or automotive insurance covers something, don't buy another warranty as well.

 

[Any_Name_Does]

BTW I've RMAed cards with sapphire. In the US Canada you send it off to LA?

Hi schmide, :sneaky:

I have another hard on. will you fart once more in my direction?


What does this have to do with the thread? Take it to pm...

Moderator Idontcare

 

[mikej007]

I just RMA'ed my 5970 to Sapphire 2 weeks ago. They made me send it to Althon Micro, somewhere in California. They also charged me that $15 "handling fee" which I thought was utter horseshit as well. I've RMA'ed cards to XFX, BFG, EVGA, etc etc and never had to pay anything like that (in addition to shipping).

 

[Zap]

Now, not all warranties are created equal.
...
Bottom line is, don't just dismiss extended warranties out of hand.

That is true I guess. The only consumer electronics that I've purchased extended warranty on was my first portable CD player. It was with Circuit City and it was $80 on a $200 product (3 years). However, it was a "performance" guarantee meaning it covered just about anything, kind of like the "accidental" coverage that you can get on notebooks these days. When bringing it back, basically I just had to show how it didn't work properly (had to hold lid down or it wouldn't detect lid was closed) and they brought out a brand new package, took the player from the box and swapped me right there.

Then of course there are the extended warranties with terms that are borderline onerous.

I'm also now more wary of the extended warranties that current retailers (Best Buy, Office Depot, etc.) push on you because OMG they hard sell like crazy. If it is that profitable, then it is even worse on consumers.

The tip on using credit cards is a good one. One of my cards is a platinum MasterCard and it "doubles up to one year" meaning if the item has a 1 year warranty they give the second, and if the item has a 90 day warranty they give another 90 days. Pretty good for being essentially completely free to the consumer. I've read up on it and the terms aren't the best, but if push comes to shove, dot the I's and cross the T's and they should come through for you. Anyways, I've used it on some bigger ticket consumer items such as my first HDTV.

For "enthusiast" computer parts, I usually don't bother because of how fast stuff changes and depreciates.

 

[Any_Name_Does]

Hi schmide, :sneaky:

I have another hard on. will you fart once more in my direction?


What does this have to do with the thread? Take it to pm...

Moderator Idontcare

Well I didn't want to open another thread to get him farting again, so I just thought I ask him politely if he would oblige. I found what he did sexy. :biggrin:

 

[tigersty1e]

we don't buy extended warranties because we really don't ever own cards longer than 2-3 years.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Well I didn't want to open another thread to get him farting again, so I just thought I ask him politely if he would oblige. I found what he did sexy. :biggrin:

Lol. wut?