*WhatEver* you do *Don't* buy a Sapphire! WithOUT *knowing* Their RMA Process costs $15

[sieistganzfett]

now my sapphire x1950 pro 512MB agp is having problems, and its only day 3 of using it. wow. i didn't install it until i used the PC P&C silencer 610 for a solid day full load with my geforce 6800. i then carefully took the new card out of it's packaging, installed it properly, used the CCC, etc. and drivers on the cd, and CCC really is crap, the program itself crashes randomly and says the clock rates are changed, and do i want to accept it, which i say NO since i never changed that... after running the x1950 for about 24 hours with rthdribl it was still fine, played some COD2 yesterday for a few hours, and it was fine, now today its locking up with a nice screen of artifacts (sometime's recoverable by closing COD2) and other times it goes right to a black screen lock up. but tapping the numlock lights up and turns off fine most of the time. i then decided the latest drivers (which sapphire doesnt even seem to give, since it was the same date, then just used ATI's, same graphic problems still, then just uninstalled all ATI crap, and installed only the driver, and use atitool to see the temps still (which are still under full load only 67C, most of the time its mid 60s, with idle of high 30s.) low and behold, my favorite COD2 is crashing, on different levels, regardless of settings, and even my next favorite, halo, is locking up to black screens. some experience I am having for my first ati product, and my first sapphire as well. better to have problems on day 3 (aka 10 days after zzf's ship date) then 30+ right?

moral of the story, beat the sh!t out of your new hardware in a lengthy stress test so it fails under warranty instead of it failing when the manufacturer hopes it will fail (out of warranty) and don't ship to sapphire. i'm packing this PoS up and calling zzf monday during lunch to get them to take it back.

 

[apoppin]

did you change the HS/Fan?
:Q

 

[apoppin]

my x1950p arrives this Wed from ZZf via FedEx ... good CS, i might add ... they made an exception to *no exception!*

Anyway .... does *anyone* think i should stick it back in my rig without upgrading the PS?
--i doubt it as my PS does not meet the "recommended" spec [i don't want *another* RMA].

i do not want to upgrade it yet as i do not know r600's x-fire requirements and my 7800GS is running fine for all current games

anything i am overlooking?


if not it goes in FS/T

thanks for your interest!
:thumbsup:

and tolerance

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: apoppin
does *anyone* think i should stick it back in my rig without upgrading the PS?

No, and even if someone does, don't do it.

You don't have enough amps on your +12v rail.

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: apoppin
does *anyone* think i should stick it back in my rig without upgrading the PS?

No, and even if someone does, don't do it.

You don't have enough amps on your +12v rail.

Yeah, especially that he has P4 which is really power hungry.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: apoppin
my x1950p arrives this Wed from ZZf via FedEx ... good CS, i might add ... they made an exception to *no exception!*

Anyway .... does *anyone* think i should stick it back in my rig without upgrading the PS?
--i doubt it as my PS does not meet the "recommended" spec [i don't want *another* RMA].

i do not want to upgrade it yet as i do not know r600's x-fire requirements and my 7800GS is running fine for all current games

anything i am overlooking?


if not it goes in FS/T

thanks for your interest!
:thumbsup:

and tolerance

don't

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: apoppin
my x1950p arrives this Wed from ZZf via FedEx ... good CS, i might add ... they made an exception to *no exception!*

Anyway .... does *anyone* think i should stick it back in my rig without upgrading the PS?
--i doubt it as my PS does not meet the "recommended" spec [i don't want *another* RMA].

i do not want to upgrade it yet as i do not know r600's x-fire requirements and my 7800GS is running fine for all current games

anything i am overlooking?


if not it goes in FS/T

thanks for your interest!
:thumbsup:

and tolerance

What PSU please don't make me read this whole thread. I grew a headache the first time.

Bottom line is you need 30A on 12V to be safe. With multiple rails at least 18A ea. total rating above 300W on 12.

 

[apoppin]

ThermalTake 480w ... same one as CaiNaM's wife - and he upgraded it for her [!]

thanks, guys!

i didn't think i missed anything

my x1950p goes on FS/T ... i guess i will plug it in - *only* if the buyer needs me to verify that it boots into Windows


no point in buying a PS ... now


overall - assuming i don't get a DOA back from RMA - ZZf made this "experience" quite tolerable

live and learn


maybe

 

[sieistganzfett]

for me its a simple as this, i HATE sapphire, and zipzoomfly, i hate ati just for the hell of their #1 partner being a jerk. my psu was the 40+ Amp on the 12volt rail silencer 610. i used this for a whole day before using the stock cooling on the x1950, ran it through rthdribl for mostly a a non stop 24 hour period (couple times i didnt have it up for about minutes at a time. i leave my pc on 24/7. randomly checking temps on the stock cooling at the ****** stock 40% of max rpm showed full load temps of around mid 60s. idle was 40C didnt really matter if case was open or closed. considering my 6800 vanilla runs hotter for both idle and full load, i figured stock was good enough.

apoppin, i sure as hell would NOT put a x1950 in anything less than my silencer 610 due to the card dying and killing the psu too, etc. from the strain. whole reason why i bought a silencer 610 and installed it before letting that beast touch my precious computer's insides.

zzf's "10 day" rma policy sucks, how the hell do i know ups ground would ever get there. the policy doesnt say business days or ment the shorter version. so i had to pay like 26 bucks for 3 day select so i get the card out of my hair with no futher worries.

my zzf customer service experience both this time and the one time i represented a company i worked at and had to contact them sucks. they truely screw the customer. they charge, and issue tracking #s for products saying it "shipped" but you check the tracking # and it never shipped because the part is still on back order and they don't update the website in the case of a tape drive the Co. i was at purchased through them because their price was the best... in terms of this x1950, they do not list and sapphire doesnt list what the "system requirements" are, such as the 450W or greater with 30amps on the 12 volt rail recommended." thats just screwed up. they might as well just sell the card saying its some sort of video card, they shouldn't even bother say its agp or has 512MB since something like power supply requirements isnt important enough for zzf or sapphire to mention up front, but sapphire is more than happy to send you the agp card in a pci-express box though, with just a sticker saying agp8x (what a piece of crap, not worth the cost to make seperate box, or provide better cooling, or even tell the vendors or list on it's on website that you must use a 450w+ with 30A+ on the 12V. most of the cards that are getting sent back and probably due to the customer not knowing the power supply requirements. mine happened to die since i actually used the thing to stress it enough to see if it will hold up, and it didnt for me with the requirements met.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: apoppin
ThermalTake 480w ... same one as CaiNaM's wife - and he upgraded it for her [!]

it ran perfect for like a week, so if figured it was fine, but after that, it started shutting down randomly. installed the OCZ 520w and the issue went away.

yea, those cards are VERY picky about their power supplies.

thanks, guys!

i didn't think i missed anything

my x1950p goes on FS/T ... i guess i will plug it in - *only* if the buyer needs me to verify that it boots into Windows

no, don't. it's shrink-wrapped and new. don't even offer to turn it into a 'used' card by plugging it in!

no point in buying a PS ... now

overall - assuming i don't get a DOA back from RMA - ZZf made this "experience" quite tolerable

live and learn


maybe

i'm actually a little miffed at zzf (again) right now..

i had to cancel an order because i couldn't 'change' it, so i did that, but they kept the 'hold' on my CC. so i called them up, asked them to release it so i could place a new order, and they said, sure.

3 days later, they still hadn't done so, so i called again. they apoligized, asked for the CC companies phone #, and assured me they would take care of it.

2 days after that, if finally happened.

regardless to say the $1000 order went elsewhere...

 

[apoppin]

wow ... your experience seems worse than mine, sieistganzfett

i am not bitter

silencer 610 is a PS?


as to the "ten-day ZZF RMA" ... i used USPS ... and it gets there in 2 days ... why save a couple of bucks using UPS ground? UPS ground should make it - anyway - "anywhere" in the USA to Cali within the ten days if you sent it the next day after getting the RMA

According to the ZZf website, they already sent my package out by FedEx and it is expected tomorrow [or thurs ... by tracking its 'progress']

So i have ZERO problem with ZZf ... they are a little *slow* in comparison to NewEgg [like 24 hours slower] but CS replied to every one of my emails - and even "followed up" ... so i would still buy from them and *recommend* them [although i will weigh their "30 day RMA policy" carefully - depending on 'which manufacturer']

--and "agreed" the Sapphire packaging and their warranty is *cheap* ..

cheap

cheap

nice card though ...

*For Sale*



and *agreed* also, CaiNaM

but depending on *who* and if the deal hinges on it, i will consider opening the package for them

 

[Paratus]

The same thing happend with the 7800GS / 7900GT last year. Lots of bad cards.

So I'll say what I said about Nv last year about Sapphire: It's unacceptable. They need better QC & they need it yesterday.

 

[apoppin]

Oh oh

it looks like they sent the SAME card back from RMA

same serial number and the package is not sealed

i'd better open and test it

i'll let you know

 

[apoppin]

OK, i can breathe now

well i *opened* the package ...

it says

REPLACE BRAND NEW VIDEO CARD
RETURN YOUR ORIGINAL ACCESSORIES

so i guess it's brand new ... the electrostatic bag IS sealed

think i should test it by booting into Windows just to make *sure* there is no issue for my buyer ?

well do you?

i may leave it to the buyer

 

[Daemos]

I personally wouldn't want you to use it again...because if your PSU killed it last time good chance it'll kill it this time too :s then you will have to do the RMA process all over again.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Daemos
I personally wouldn't want you to use it again...because if your PSU killed it last time good chance it'll kill it this time too :s then you will have to do the RMA process all over again.

if you say so



actually, my last x1950p worked *fine* in my rig for over a month on a PS that exceeded the 'minimum' [wattage] but did not meet the 'recommended' [amperage]....

and it IS a different card than my last one ... it is OBVIOUSLY brand new - *impossible* to reseal the bag without a brand new sticker in exactly the same spot ---

and ...

*best evidence*

the serial number is different from the box [which DID match the defective card i returned]


they simply returned a brand-new factor-sealed x1950p in the "old" packaging


so it's zen
-again

of course, i will be glad to test it for my prospective buyer if he so requests ...

--at no extra charge

 

[sieistganzfett]

apoppin, i am bitter to zzf and sapphire because they are screwing me. flat out, plain and simple. Like if a car were to be sold that required diesel instead of the regular gas, it should be said before hand, not after you paid for it. On top of that it fell apart within days of using it, crashing in CoD2 in just minutes or less of using it.. Thats 2 times for retarded stuff from them, and the drivers + CCC just sucked, it was slow and kept doing strange things from the start, even after updating them.

I live in NJ, the UPS store i took it too yesterday said it was like 15 for ground, or 26 for 3 day select after insurance, estimated delivery difference was pretty big, closer to 8 or 9 days for ground and that would put me right on the 9th or 10th day since the UPS store was closed when i wanted to get it there Monday, which is when I got the RMA#... its just that ground vs UPS 3 day or fedex's 2 day is a lot quicker and not that bad for value when it's getting there 2-3 times faster. Ground always seems to take more than 5 business days from NJ to CA, usually 7 or 8 business days, and I got the RMA# Monday, and couldn't get it to ship till tuesday so I'm being very conservative with time using 3 day for the extra money. So I have no worries about an unforseen delay anywhere that might screw me up, i'm just not having great luck with zzf or anything related to this video card. The sooner it's gone, the better. The geforce 8800 doesn't seem to be doing much better when i googled it for "problems" but that one is mainly driver problems, and regarding vista, not the card overheating with bloated CCC and faulty drivers along with the card failing to top it off like the sapphire x1950 AGP has.

The Silencer 610 is a psu, http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S61EPS 49A on the 12V rail, and this 610W is not the max, its continous, and all of this is rated at 104F, not something pathetic like 70F or an unlisted temp for the rating, so its the best psu i can get and will last me many years.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: sieistganzfett
apoppin, i am bitter to zzf and sapphire because they are screwing me. flat out, plain and simple. Like if a car were to be sold that required diesel instead of the regular gas, it should be said before hand, not after you paid for it. On top of that it fell apart within days of using it, crashing in CoD2 in just minutes or less of using it.. Thats 2 times for retarded stuff from them, and the drivers + CCC just sucked, it was slow and kept doing strange things from the start, even after updating them.

I live in NJ, the UPS store i took it too yesterday said it was like 15 for ground, or 26 for 3 day select after insurance, estimated delivery difference was pretty big, closer to 8 or 9 days for ground and that would put me right on the 9th or 10th day since the UPS store was closed when i wanted to get it there Monday, which is when I got the RMA#... its just that ground vs UPS 3 day or fedex's 2 day is a lot quicker and not that bad for value when it's getting there 2-3 times faster. Ground always seems to take more than 5 business days from NJ to CA, usually 7 or 8 business days, and I got the RMA# Monday, and couldn't get it to ship till tuesday so I'm being very conservative with time using 3 day for the extra money. So I have no worries about an unforseen delay anywhere that might screw me up, i'm just not having great luck with zzf or anything related to this video card. The sooner it's gone, the better. The geforce 8800 doesn't seem to be doing much better when i googled it for "problems" but that one is mainly driver problems, and regarding vista, not the card overheating with bloated CCC and faulty drivers along with the card failing to top it off like the sapphire x1950 AGP has.

The Silencer 610 is a psu, http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S61EPS 49A on the 12V rail, and this 610W is not the max, its continous, and all of this is rated at 104F, not something pathetic like 70F or an unlisted temp for the rating, so its the best psu i can get and will last me many years.

Good Gawd ... you mean 15 *DOLLARS* for UPS ground?
:Q

*$26 for 3 day?*
:shocked:

what kind of RIP-OFF store did you visit?

USPS from NJ to Cali is $8.00 using the flat-rate "priority" box [it barely fits] or less then $15 max for insurance and priority with a big box.


EDIT: what do you mean "two times" ... not your x1950p ???!


Please don't mention CCC ... there are MUCH better tools available that do far more with less bloat.

 

[sieistganzfett]

1. they didnt list the psu requirement, only random googling gives a forum where it is mentioned, the 5 review sites i visited on the day i bought it didnt even care to mention the psu requirement of 30+ Amps, some of those sites were even using power supplies that didn't meet even the watt requirement sapphire sets forth.. 2. the part stopped working after just a few days of use with an excellent psu i had to spend money on just to use the card without it getting damaged like most others who use cheap power supplies and had their cards die. my 1st x1950 died in days, i dont want to go through a possible 2nd which may turn into the sapphire rma procedure. ya, ups and fedex are expensive, usps is like half the price, but i don't like going to my post office since they are brain dead there and barely manage putting the right mail in my PO box.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: sieistganzfett
1. they didnt list the psu requirement, only random googling gives a forum where it is mentioned, the 5 review sites i visited on the day i bought it didnt even care to mention the psu requirement of 30+ Amps, some of those sites were even using power supplies that didn't meet even the watt requirement sapphire sets forth.. 2. the part stopped working after just a few days of use with an excellent psu i had to spend money on just to use the card without it getting damaged like most others who use cheap power supplies and had their cards die. my 1st x1950 died in days, i dont want to go through a possible 2nd which may turn into the sapphire rma procedure. ya, ups and fedex are expensive, usps is like half the price, but i don't like going to my post office since they are brain dead there and barely manage putting the right mail in my PO box.

you seem a little bitter

and ... *my* US PO is the "nicest" and most efficient within 100 miles ... people drive from the next valley just to use their legendary service ... it's the ONLY government office i wrote a formal letter just to COMPLEMENT them !

ANYWay, my prospective buyer is Canadian and didn't want to pay Customs ridiculous 21% surcharge --for the *privilege* of living in Canada
:beer:

so i put it in FS/T a few minutes ago

FS - Sapphire AGP x1950p/512MB - factory-sealed - $220 shipped

if i *don't* get my price, i WILL return my GS and buy a HUGE PS and stick it back in with my x1950p and be 'ready' for next year's x-fire.

*worst* comes to *worst* ... don't seem so bad.
... anymore ... when you have a choice