Warranty and static electricity

[StefanWylde]

So my R9 290 Tri X somehow died. This is the story:
It was working great, then I had to sell my CPU + MB so I had to disassemble my PC. Then, when I got my temporary parts, ASrock H61 BTC + Celeron G1610, the GPU wasn't recognized at all, the signal went straight through the integrated video card. Then I bought an R9 280X Vapor X just to see if the motherboard is fault, and it wasn't, the R9 280X Vapor X worked like a charm on the H61 MB. So I thought ok it may be compatibility issues with AsRock since they're cheap. Then I got my final build, Gigabyte H81M-DS2 + 4770K, and I put my R9 290 Tri X and signal goes through integrated graphics again. I tried flashing other bioses, disabling onboard gpu through bios, nothing helped. The card isn't even listed in device manager. I'm assuming it was static that killed it even though I can't recall any shocks on my fingers while I was touching it.

Long story short: Lets say it was static that killed my R9 290, am I going to get a replacement for it or will they find out it's my fault?

 

[ShintaiDK]

I havent heard anything die to static electricity for ages.

Could be something else that broke.

 

[rc3ilynt]

As long as there isn't signs of physical damage it should be RMA. I'd check the PCI pins to see if there is any damage present. Sapphire's RMA process can be a pain and somewhat archaic but it works.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

You are fine, they arent going to throw a microscope at it to check, but that being said ive seen some microscope pics that show static damage to electronics. It still does damage, most people just dont know they have done it.

 

[Deders]

I've heard that static only really affects certain types of cmos chips

 

[MongGrel]

I've heard that static only really affects certain types of cmos chips

Static can degrade or affect anything chip related.

 

[digitaldurandal]

So my R9 290 Tri X somehow died. This is the story:
It was working great, then I had to sell my CPU + MB so I had to disassemble my PC. Then, when I got my temporary parts, ASrock H61 BTC + Celeron G1610, the GPU wasn't recognized at all, the signal went straight through the integrated video card. Then I bought an R9 280X Vapor X just to see if the motherboard is fault, and it wasn't, the R9 280X Vapor X worked like a charm on the H61 MB. So I thought ok it may be compatibility issues with AsRock since they're cheap. Then I got my final build, Gigabyte H81M-DS2 + 4770K, and I put my R9 290 Tri X and signal goes through integrated graphics again. I tried flashing other bioses, disabling onboard gpu through bios, nothing helped. The card isn't even listed in device manager. I'm assuming it was static that killed it even though I can't recall any shocks on my fingers while I was touching it.

Long story short: Lets say it was static that killed my R9 290, am I going to get a replacement for it or will they find out it's my fault?

Are you using the latest BIOS? I had to update my BIOS to get the 290 to be recognized in my system.

@ShintaiDK, I don't understand your statement, have you based it entirely on a lack of anicdotes? Do you think that the devices are suddenly immune to static electricity? You do realize that static electricity often causes instability and is often not initially noticed, in fact sometimes the symptoms are delayed, most people probably don't even realize they had a device fail due to static electricity.

Static electricity *will* ruin or degrade the performance/stability of your device. Even discharges at voltages that you do not even feel or see will damage your equipment.

@Deders This is incorrect, new CMOS chips are more susceptible than older CMOS chips but a static discharge will damage any of the chips on the device.

 

[ShintaiDK]

@ShintaiDK, I don't understand your statement, have you based it entirely on a lack of anicdotes? Do you think that the devices are suddenly immune to static electricity? You do realize that static electricity often causes instability and is often not initially noticed, in fact sometimes the symptoms are delayed, most people probably don't even realize they had a device fail due to static electricity.

Static electricity *will* ruin or degrade the performance/stability of your device. Even discharges at voltages that you do not even feel or see will damage your equipment.

20 years of administration experience with 10000s of systems/devices in all ranges. Most components got ESD protection buildt in.

Not to mention I cant recall another episode on this forum with a GPU that died to static electricity. Specially in recent times.

 

[digitaldurandal]

20 years of administration experience with 10000s of systems/devices in all ranges. Most components got ESD protection buildt in.

Not to mention I cant recall another episode on this forum with a GPU that died to static electricity. Specially in recent times.

How would they know? Static causes damage that can worsen over time and is often not immediately apparent. The only way they would know is if the shock was large enough that they felt or saw it. 500v will damage chips.

What ESD protection do they have built in? The only protection are coatings which tend not to be conductive which would not be reasonable on a board with traces in it, a faraday cage, or grounding.

If you are a System Admin you should know better.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Static can degrade or affect anything chip related.

Even capacitors and resistors ^^

Sometimes in a way where the values change and i.e. the original functionality gets thrown out of the window which in return can cause problems.

 

[Cookie Monster]

20 years of administration experience with 10000s of systems/devices in all ranges. Most components got ESD protection buildt in.

Not to mention I cant recall another episode on this forum with a GPU that died to static electricity. Specially in recent times.

GPUs dying due to ESD I think are rare.. but perhaps the surrounding external components could also be affected without the users knowing. Could lead to all sorts of problems.

 

[Lorne]

Look the 6/8 pin power plug solder joints to the board, Had a friend that had the same similar thing happen (different brand), He gave it to me explaining it just stopped working after pulling it out of his system, Cleaning and reassembling.

I looked it over and was about to put it into a test system and just happen to spot and oddity, Dirty solder joint, Touched it up and it worked.
Asked if he wanted it back just before he went to get a new one, I should have shut my mouth.

 

[StefanWylde]

Look the 6/8 pin power plug solder joints to the board, Had a friend that had the same similar thing happen (different brand), He gave it to me explaining it just stopped working after pulling it out of his system, Cleaning and reassembling.

I looked it over and was about to put it into a test system and just happen to spot and oddity, Dirty solder joint, Touched it up and it worked.
Asked if he wanted it back just before he went to get a new one, I should have shut my mouth.

I already sent it for RMA...

 

[StefanWylde]

So check this out, the company finally responded and they said the GPU will not boot when there is an onboard GPU present which matches my problem. When I had FX 8350 + 990FXA-UD5 the gpu worked fine, but then I got H61 + Celeron, and the GPU wasn't recognized at all, then I got H81 + i7 4770k, the gpu wasn't recognized either. Any of you had similar problems? Do you know the solution? I have to wait additional days until they try to find a solution, which I hardly doubt they will because obviously there's some kind of problem, and if they don't they should probably give me a new card? I'm so sick of waiting it's been more than 20 days already and the company is 3 kilometers away from my home. Lazy bastards...