BFG GTX 285 OCX owners... I need your help (please)

Hi all

Yesterday I received an RMA replacement from BFG for a GTX 285 OCX

The replacement graphics card POSTS and I can install drivers fine.. however 5 minutes into gaming I get graphical corruption. (Flashing and strange polygons).

The odd thing is, the fan never reaches more than 60%.. not even in Furmark when using 1920*1200 x16FSAA

Code:

Date , GPU Core Clock [MHz] , GPU Memory Clock [MHz] , GPU Shader Clock [MHz] , GPU Temperature [°C] , PCB Temperature [°C] , GPU Temperature [°C] , PCB Temperature [°C] , Fan Speed [%] , Fan Speed [RPM] , Memory Used [MB] , GPU Load [%] , Memory Controller Load [%] , Video Engine Load [%] , 2010-01-15 17:58:50 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 81.0 , 57.0 , 73.5 , 57.8 , 40 , 1474 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:51 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 82.0 , 57.0 , 74.5 , 57.8 , 40 , 1473 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:52 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 82.0 , 58.0 , 74.5 , 58.8 , 41 , 1493 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:53 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 83.0 , 58.0 , 75.5 , 58.8 , 42 , 1515 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:54 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 83.0 , 58.0 , 75.5 , 58.8 , 42 , 1533 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:55 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 83.0 , 58.0 , 75.5 , 58.8 , 43 , 1570 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:56 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 83.0 , 58.0 , 75.5 , 58.8 , 44 , 1587 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:57 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 84.0 , 58.0 , 76.5 , 58.8 , 44 , 1613 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:58 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 84.0 , 59.0 , 76.5 , 59.8 , 45 , 1633 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:58:59 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 84.0 , 59.0 , 76.5 , 59.8 , 45 , 1646 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:00 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 85.0 , 59.0 , 77.5 , 59.8 , 46 , 1672 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:01 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 85.0 , 59.0 , 77.5 , 59.8 , 46 , 1674 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:02 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 85.0 , 59.0 , 77.5 , 59.8 , 47 , 1699 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:03 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 85.0 , 59.0 , 77.5 , 59.8 , 47 , 1731 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:04 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 86.0 , 60.0 , 78.8 , 60.8 , 48 , 1742 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:05 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 86.0 , 60.0 , 78.8 , 60.8 , 48 , 1758 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:06 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 86.0 , 60.0 , 78.8 , 60.8 , 49 , 1779 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:07 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 86.0 , 60.0 , 78.8 , 60.8 , 49 , 1789 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:08 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 86.0 , 60.0 , 78.8 , 60.8 , 49 , 1809 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:09 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 87.0 , 60.0 , 79.8 , 60.8 , 50 , 1821 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:10 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 87.0 , 61.0 , 79.8 , 61.8 , 51 , 1835 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:11 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 87.0 , 61.0 , 79.8 , 61.8 , 51 , 1838 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:12 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 87.0 , 61.0 , 79.8 , 61.8 , 51 , 1862 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:13 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 61.0 , 80.8 , 61.8 , 52 , 1869 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:14 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 61.0 , 80.8 , 61.8 , 52 , 1892 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:15 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 61.0 , 80.8 , 61.8 , 53 , 1905 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:16 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 62.0 , 80.8 , 62.8 , 53 , 1917 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:17 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 62.0 , 80.8 , 62.8 , 53 , 1932 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:18 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 62.0 , 81.8 , 62.8 , 54 , 1942 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:19 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 88.0 , 62.0 , 80.8 , 62.8 , 53 , 1946 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:20 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 62.0 , 81.8 , 62.8 , 54 , 1957 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:21 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 62.0 , 81.8 , 62.8 , 54 , 1965 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:22 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 62.0 , 81.8 , 62.8 , 55 , 1969 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:23 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 62.0 , 81.8 , 62.8 , 55 , 1991 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:24 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 63.0 , 81.8 , 63.8 , 55 , 1996 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:25 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 89.0 , 63.0 , 81.8 , 63.8 , 55 , 2003 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:26 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 63.0 , 82.8 , 63.8 , 56 , 2022 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:27 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 63.0 , 82.8 , 63.8 , 56 , 2020 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:28 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 63.0 , 82.8 , 63.8 , 56 , 2026 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:29 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 63.0 , 82.8 , 63.8 , 56 , 2047 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:30 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 64.0 , 82.0 , 64.0 , 56 , 2049 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:31 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 64.0 , 82.0 , 64.0 , 57 , 2050 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:32 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 64.0 , 82.0 , 64.0 , 57 , 2058 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:33 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 64.0 , 82.0 , 64.0 , 57 , 2075 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:34 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 64.0 , 83.0 , 64.0 , 58 , 2075 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:35 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 64.0 , 83.0 , 64.0 , 58 , 2075 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:36 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 64.0 , 83.0 , 64.0 , 58 , 2093 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:37 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 64.0 , 83.0 , 64.0 , 58 , 2101 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:38 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 64.0 , 83.0 , 64.0 , 58 , 2098 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:39 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 58 , 2104 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:40 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 59 , 2125 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:41 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 59 , 2128 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:42 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 59 , 2125 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:43 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 59 , 2141 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:45 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 91.0 , 65.0 , 83.0 , 65.0 , 59 , 2135 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:46 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 92.0 , 65.0 , 84.0 , 65.0 , 60 , 2148 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:47 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 92.0 , 65.0 , 84.0 , 65.0 , 60 , 2152 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:48 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 92.0 , 65.0 , 84.0 , 65.0 , 60 , 2159 , 434 , 99 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:49 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 90.0 , 66.0 , 82.0 , 66.0 , 56 , 2161 , 434 , 98 , 47 , 0 , 2010-01-15 17:59:50 , 702.0 , 1332.0 , 1584.0 , 85.0 , 66.0 , 77.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1834 , 434 , 77 , 37 , 0 ,

Does anyone else here have a BFG GTX OCX 285 Graphics card?
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/2...285ocxgpuz.gif

If so what drivers are you using on your card and what BIOS does it ship with?
I reported the issues I was experiencing to BFG but they say they have ran 3d mark for 3 hours and also ran ATi Tool for 1 hour.

System specs.

Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme
ASUS P5E3 Motherboard 1503
8GB of OCZ RAM (tested and working fine).
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty
Enermax Infiniti 720W PSU
BFG GTX 285 OCX.

I have not had much luck with GT 200 cards, this is my FIFTH!

First was a GTX 280 OCX which lasted 3 months before developing pink pixel issues (Pink Pixel of death apparently).

Second was a DOA replacement from BFG which died in 10mins.

Third lasted me for 8months before developing "black flashing rectangle snow effects"

Fourth (this time a GTX 285 OCX ) was a DOA card that would not even POST.

Fifth.. is what I am on (and hope to keep).

I have NEVER had any issues with graphics cards in the past and to be honest I am at the end of my tether.

I am using Forceware 191.07 as BFG said that these were the drivers they used for their testing. I have already tried 195.62WHQL and 186.18WHQL.. and the issues were still present with those dirvers :(

Any help or suggestions you have to offer would be most appreciated.

Thank you

John

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZS

Hi all

Yesterday I received an RMA replacement from BFG for a GTX 285 OCX

The replacement graphics card POSTS and I can install drivers fine.. however 5 minutes into gaming I get graphical corruption. (Flashing and strange polygons).

I have NEVER had any issues with graphics cards in the past and to be honest I am at the end of my tether.

I am using Forceware 191.07 as BFG said that these were the drivers they used for their testing. I have already tried 195.62WHQL and 186.18WHQL.. and the issues were still present with those dirvers :(

Any help or suggestions you have to offer would be most appreciated.

Thank you

John

Very sorry to hear that mate

I have a BFG GTX285 H20 SSC edition...that i heavy modded (Electronically)

But im speachless for that bad luck you had

Did you tried the card on another sytem ? or other PSU...i Know Enermax are awesome...but i would try...

I dont think its drivers related or soft...

Try the card on other system or with other PSU mate

this is my card

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7315/bfggtx285.jpg

Keep me posted

Cheers and best of lucks
Sergio

Thank you for your response Sergio

The problem persists in an E8400 based system with 2GB of RAM running Windows XP. This has an Enermax Modu 625W (which is enough to effectively power a GTX 285...just?)

I have noticed that the graphical anomalies seem to be related to temperature.

For example with the default fan profile, I can last 90 seconds of furmark and the fans only just start to wake up before the application "black screens on me".

Now, what I have noticed is that most, if not all GTX 285's on the internet appear to have a BIOS revision like yours, for example 62.45.xx.xx Yet mine arrived with an odd one :(

BFG said that they ran ATi tool for an hour and it reported no errors.
And were able to pass 3 hours worth of 3d Mark Vantage. :confused:

This is what happens when I run ATi Tool
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/7...olcrash.th.jpg

Anymore advice you have to offer is most appreciated.

Thanks

John

After a lot of troubleshooting with Sergio (thanks mate :up:)
It appears that this graphics card has a strange defect, whereby if the card reaches 74C or more graphical defects occur.

Now, what is interesting is this.
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/6577/biossticker.jpg

This is the sticker on the card, which does not match my BIOS revision. I did a google of the BIOS revision on the sticker... all searches return BFG GTX 285 OC! but NONE return OCX:down::down:

Is this card a potentially converted OC to OCX?!?!

EDIT this thread here on Overclockers UK does not fill me up with confidence. :(
What shall I do?!?

John

For those of you who are wondering about airflow.
This is the inside of my case
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5...idecase.th.jpg
John

I have OCFU and it is working properly

I don't know if this helps you but I just thougt I'd share my experiences with BFG.

Well I bought two BFG's GTX285 OC2 cards last year from Overclockers UK. The other one worked fine while the another did not. It did not run through Canyon Flight in 3DMark06, never. I contacted this magical tech support manager (?) Jeff who had been reading OcUK's forums and replied to me pretty quickly. So I had to RMA the card to BFG, and after a few mistakes by Fedex I got another one back that looked like someone had been stabbing with his knife. But dang, the same problem..DAMN! So, another two weeks of RMA process, and finally got a brand new back. Phew, I could actually finish 3D06 with it.

What annoyed me is that I got another card back that had exactly the same problem that could be tested in a matter of minutes. If I lowered the clocks to 'stock' 285, both would run fine. So I think the BFG cards are actually just factory clocked too high! :( I have seen similar problems with old XFX 8800 Ultra XXX that just couldn't handle the massive OC that was programmed into the BIOS while it would run as a standard Ultra just fine.

I have got some odd behaviour with my two BFG GTX285 OC2's in SLI, but mainly in games that produce very high FPS. Other than that, no problems now.

By the way I live in Finland and luckily got BFG to pay the shipping to UK and back, otherwise I would've been out of luck.

I'd say you should try to contact Jeff if not already and try to solve your problem with him. You can find his contact details from the OcUK forums.

My first experience with BFG's products wasn't very good.

Thanks for the input guys. I might have to contact Jeff as I am out of luck, I received this from BFG today

Quote:

Sorry this is out of my hands now the card was 100% working when you received it ill have to pass you over to usa.
this is your 5th card sorry.

Regards

This is my 5th card due to BFG sending 2 DOA cards. (So in reality it is my 3rd card however since this experienced the problem from the word go I would suggest this is a DOA too?!?)

xarot

That sounds really bad, I must admit my 1st DOA card looked like it had been kicked along the floor as it had scratch and scuff marks all over it. I agree that their factory clocks must be too high otherwise why have I gone through 2 (possibly 3 if you count the GTX 285 I recieved on Thursday with issues from the word go).

Bulldog
Out of curiosity what BIOS revision is on your card?

I am really confused how the BIOS revision on my card does not match what is on the sticker and even more is nowhere to be found on google.

The BIOS on the sticker revision number matches exactly that of the GTX 285 OC (which is clocked lower).

I get issues in 3dmark06 on the Balloon test too (tests before this are fine and do not even show graphical issues).

I cannot play Stalker for more than 5 to 10mins. I have tested this in another PC and the problems follow the card around (if that makes sense).

My PSU maintains 12.10V even when furmark is running.

I am truly out of hope that BFG will sort this what confuses me is the screen prints provided by BFG have the card reaching 48C in ATiTool however that is only 2C more than idle even after an hour?!?!? :(

Any ideas, suggestsions or advice??

Fingers crossed Jeff will help or I am out of luck

Thanks

John

To those who e-mailed Jeff. How long does it usually take for a response?
I sent a rather long and comprehensive e-mail with pictures and screenshots to Jeff and BFG Support yesterday... I still have not had a response :(

Anyway reading threads like this and this on OCUK does not fill me with hope.

I am stuck with a defective card which somebody already RMA'd (it would not surprise me if it was RMA'd for artefacts too).

What would really help is if somebody on this forum who owned a BFG GTX 285 OCX manufactured after June (with the black PCB) would take a GPU-Z image of their BIOS revision.

I am certain that my card has a dud BIOS on it.
Why does it differ from the sticker?

:down::down:

EDIT: I tried the new Forceware drivers (196.21 WHQL) which were released today... sadly the same issues still persist.
John

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZS

To those who e-mailed Jeff. How long does it usually take for a response?
I sent a rather long and comprehensive e-mail with pictures and screenshots to Jeff and BFG Support yesterday... I still have not had a response :(

Anyway reading threads like this and this on OCUK does not fill me with hope.

I am stuck with a defective card which somebody already RMA'd (it would not surprise me if it was RMA'd for artefacts too).

What would really help is if somebody on this forum who owned a BFG GTX 285 OCX manufactured after June (with the black PCB) would take a GPU-Z image of their BIOS revision.

I am certain that my card has a dud BIOS on it.
Why does it differ from the sticker?

:down::down:

EDIT: I tried the new Forceware drivers (196.21 WHQL) which were released today... sadly the same issues still persist.
John

Hey mate so bad i get this news from ya, i tough BFG will replace the card :down:
When we talked on msn i told you that maybe some part of the cooler is not covering some part...we tested and over 74C crapped out...so if you dont have a chance to return to BFG i would try to open cooler and see whats wrong, or replace with some other cooler...of course this hoping a component its not damaged (that i doubt)...other thing is to downlclock till you find a swee spot...but if the card ends of being a bad contact with the heatskink then all will be solved...

Cheers mate
Sergio

Thank you once again for your help Sergio

Sadly I cannot even think about touching the heatsink/fan/cooler as any "tampering" would instantly void the warranty of the card. The back rear right hand corner does feel a bit lose, however the screw is very tight!

Thanks once again for your help on msn, the temperature thing is a bit odd.
I have found that in Uniengine Sanctuary it messes up @ 74C
In ATi Tool (which BFG use for their diagnostics), it messes up @ 78C
And lastly in Stalker and GTA IV it messes up between 74C and 76C

I cannot even touch the clocks on this card as once again... BFG will void any warranty.

I just have to cross my fingers and hope that BFG USA respond to me as soon as possible. I just find it quite puzzling how BFG Europe were able to run ATi Tool for 1 hour and the card did not exceed 48C!

For me this card idles @ 46C and I consider my airflow to be at least average as the hottest my CPU gets after 14 Maximum stress runs of Intel Burntest is 62C.

I did casually ask the BFG rep what cooling system he had to get this card so cool, his response was "Better Airflow systems"

I cannot find "Better Airflow Systems" on google or anything :confused:

John

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZS

Thank you once again for your help Sergio

Sadly I cannot even think about touching the heatsink/fan/cooler as any "tampering" would instantly void the warranty of the card. The back rear right hand corner does feel a bit lose, however the screw is very tight!

Thanks once again for your help on msn, the temperature thing is a bit odd.
I have found that in Uniengine Sanctuary it messes up @ 74C
In ATi Tool (which BFG use for their diagnostics), it messes up @ 78C
And lastly in Stalker and GTA IV it messes up between 74C and 76C

I cannot even touch the clocks on this card as once again... BFG will void any warranty.

I just have to cross my fingers and hope that BFG USA respond to me as soon as possible. I just find it quite puzzling how BFG Europe were able to run ATi Tool for 1 hour and the card did not exceed 48C!

For me this card idles @ 46C and I consider my airflow to be at least average as the hottest my CPU gets after 14 Maximum stress runs of Intel Burntest is 62C.

I did casually ask the BFG rep what cooling system he had to get this card so cool, his response was "Better Airflow systems"

I cannot find "Better Airflow Systems" on google or anything :confused:

John

Sorry to hear mate...on air 48C its a joke...they would have to push AC at the card for that, mine is watercooled and goes to 55C gamming and 60C on Furmark...this is modded at 1,36vgpu...when it was stock didnt pass 44C LOAD...that temps are water domain...not air...

Just keep fighting them mate :up:
Best of lucks
Sergio

That is what I thought Sergio
However I cannot really prove that and have to take their word for it :(
BFG were adamant they tested my card out ok.
I'll see if I can find a scanner to use later, but for now here is a phone pic of their results.
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/9697/bfgresults.jpg
Again this is with the BFG GTX 285 OCX which is clocked at 702Mhz Core, 1584 Shader and 2664 Memory.
Can anyone else reproduce 48C Maximum temperature on stock cooling with these cards?!?
If not please could you upload a screen cap of your ATi Tool after one hour. (My ATiTool screen capture is above).
Thanks
John

I have just spent a small fortune and called BFG USA.
They have agreed to RMA this defective GTX 285 OCX, however they say that this is my last RMA. NO MORE RMA's
They say that the odds of having 5 defective cards are a billion to one. They questioned my honesty and I felt like they were being obtruse.
The fact is THEY (BFG) sent me 3 DOA cards. And I was unfortunate/unlucky to have 2 cards die on me.
However I am not alone. Here, here, here and here.
I am absolutely disgusted at this.
Just for kicks I tried ATi Tool using the latest drivers.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/153...oolfw19621.jpg

To top things off BFG said that each card was tested when they were shipped out and then became defective ONLY when used by me?!?! :down:

1) My initial GTX 280 OCX lasted 3 months before developing a pink screen syndrome (a "known" weakness of the GT200 apparently)

2) I then received a DOA GTX 280 OCX (not my fault!)

3) I received a GTX 280 OCX which lasted ~9 months before developing a flashing retangle/square bug (this is also documented by other users).

4) I then received a DOA GTX 285 OCX which would not even post I mean seriously?!?! how could this be anything to do with long term use in my system?!?

5) Received a GTX 285 OCX which artifacted, dropped to the desktop and had blackscreen of death issues. This card also had ambiguity with it's BIOS revision not matching what was on the sticker. (Google says the BIOS revision on the sticker is a GTX 285 OC NOT OCX it seems).

I do NOT like being branded a liar.... especially when I am telling the truth.

SHAME ON BFG :down::down::down::down::down:

I now await the RMA number I was assured would arrive within 1 hour..... 1hour and 5 mins ago.

John

I hope you get a good one back, it's really a pain in the A$$ to RMA something to another continent.

why dont you locate the bios which is on the sticker on the back of the card and flash it to that bios? seems to me its a simple fix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florinmocanu

I hope you get a good one back, it's really a pain in the A$$ to RMA something to another continent.

Thanks. I Hope so too. Fingers crossed nobody else has to go through this and that things improve for their end users.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattle

why dont you locate the bios which is on the sticker on the back of the card and flash it to that bios? seems to me its a simple fix.

Sadly I cannot locate BFG GTX
285 OCX bioses
With that revision...only the lower clocked OC.
Besides flashing is not supported.
Thanks for the suggestion though it does make a lot of sense. Im surprised BFG did not offer me a BIOS when I mentioned the mismatch.
If anyone has this BIOS or at least a BIOS for the BFG GTX 285 OCX "Black PCB" edition, please PM me. My promised "RMA number within the hour" has not turned up yet... :( (12hours later)
I am getting tired of this defective card and BFG's lack of help!!
They insisted that the cards were rigorously tested before being sent out.
Then please could someone explain.

1) The first GTX 285 OCX card not POSTing in 2 PC'x
2) The 2nd GTX 285 OCX card artifacting and eventually crashing to desktop/black screening on 2 PC's

The symptoms are different, fair enough if BOTH GTX 285's had the same issue then I might sway to thinking that there was a compatibility issue with the 2 PC's and BFG's GTX 285 OCX graphics cards, however since nobody has said that they can replicated BFG's test (ATi Tool for 1 hour with a maximum temp no more than 48C WITH STOCK COOLING) I am getting rather miffed.
John

Still no word from BFG :(
I've had this defective card 1 week now!!!! If only there was a magical cure like the REAL BIOS, which matches the sticker, but alas Google does not know of it's existence.. besides I am too scared to fiddle with the card anyway as I want BFG to take it back and swap it for one which works!
So I guess nobody on this forum has the Black PCB BFG GTX 285 OCX graphics card? Or are you all too shy to help :(
John

Bios Version: 62.00.52.00.01
Bios Date: 28.04.2009
GPU Clock: 666MHz
Shader Clock: 1512MHz
Memory Clock: 1242MHz

its on this page

http://www.mvktech.net/component/opt...imitstart,120/

it looks like that card doesnt do those clocks and they flashed it with the wrong bios. I had an 8800gtx once that was a pny that was flashed with the wrong bios. It was a pny bios and it was for the same clocks but mem timings were diff or something. Artifacted like crazy, flashed it and it oc'd nicely after.

Thanks for the info rattle.

My card has the model number BFGEGTX2851024OCXBE which in theory should have the clocks of:

GPU Clock: 702MHz
Shader Clock: 1584MHz
Memory Clock: 1332MHz

I just do not understand why the sticker on the back corresonds to the OC (NOT OCX) model?!?!
I still have not heard back from BFG and to be honest am getting rather concerned that they just want me to keep an obviously defective or misbranded card.
John

I am now starting to get 2D corruption if Aero is enabled....symptoms are a strange tint (purple/blue?) and speckles...
BFG STILL have not got back to me :(
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/8...corruption.jpg
Only way to cure the 2d corruption is to reboot/powercycle...
John

Does this look like a model number mismatch?
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/431...ermismatch.jpg

I still have not heard back from BFG, I am going to skype them again on Tuesday if they have not got back to me :down::down:

John

EDIT: after posting this I saw your PM and responded :-)

Have you heard anything from Jeff yet? Dunno if he's still around, but I'd check OcUK's forums if there are new successfull RMA's involving Jeff? :-)

Just checked my OC2 cards and the temps are idle 47 and 50 degrees so BFG got VERY low temps in their tests? My ambient temp is 19 deg Celsius. I might get those temps if I took my computer outside the house, it's -20 degrees Celcius outside at the moment. :up: :D Dunno if BFG did the same? :D

Idk if your reseller provides any kind of warranty or is willing to help just for good customer service (I actually don't know how RMA's are handled outside my country, in Finland we always go to the reseller in the first place)?

Just trying to help you out, as I had my fight with BFG last summer. :)

Well, it's obvious that your card is unfortunately :banana::banana::banana::banana:ed up :(

Thanks for the PM xarot :up:

Usually in the UK we can go back to the reseller for 1 year and then if the manufacturer offers warranties past this period we have to go to them. I was foolish enough to deal with BFG after my 1st GTX 280 GTX developed the pink screen of death bug. (after just 3 months).
This meant that as soon as I received a replacement card the retailer was not responsible for any defects which occurred thereafter as I sent the card they sold me onto BFG.

In hindsight I wish I sent it back to Scan and then.. fingers crossed I would not have ended up in Referb central.

From what limited information I have gathered from literally trawling lots of forums, BFG RMA's are a bit like Russian Roulette.

Cards come in, they are repaired and then sent out. Sometimes a Repair process is a simple "downgrade" (eg an OCX down to a OC2 or something like that) and then that is shipped out to someone as a "refurnished OC2".

Sometimes an RMA'd card can be fine and last for years, other times you can be unlucky and have it die within less than a year. I believe that BFG's QA in Europe has gone downhill dramatically because they no longer sell cards here. (Officially BFG pulled out of Europe in December 09 and are now only honouring warranties).

It would not surprise me if we all had the same bunch of cards floating around, literally being repaired, cleaned up a bit and reflashed.

Out of curiosity xarot what colour PCB does your GTX 285 OC2s have and what BIOS revision is on the cards?

Crikey -20C outside, now that is what I call cooling potential :up:
Your Idle temps are pretty much the same as mine, between 46C and 48C. Sadly the card crashes out when I try to stress it or game so I do not know what my Maximum load temperatures are, however I have seen it reach 86C before it judders and eventually black screens. (artefacts start at 74C)

Indeed it is madmax999, sadly BFG are convinced the card is in full working order because of the print out they provided me with, a print out which may I add has rather ambiguous temperatures on it to say the least.

Seriously has anyone with an ambient temperature of 18-20C managed to use their GTX 285 OCX in ATi Tool for one hour and get Maximum load temperatures of 48C?

Thanks for the support and help guys

John

I finally got an RMA number after going on Skype again.
Card is being posted off to BFG tomorrow, fingers crossed I have a working replacement by the weekend or at least early next week
John

Are you sure your PSU is not defective on VGA line ? Cooking slowly your card ? Good luck for next 285

Its simple really, BFG didnt test that card for those clocks, your card is probably better ioff with stock clocks, i would flash to the original BFG gtx 285 bios, im about 90% sure this will fix your problems, also BFG stating they wont do anymore RMA's is beyond stupid, they can get slapped with a nice lawsuit for that. They cannot deny your warranty, simple and plain, as long as the card is under warranty they cannot deny it, dont let them walk all over you as a customer, get some legal knowledge of the situation and take control, or else they will take advantage of you.

Thanks Helix
Well things have gone from good (them accepting the RMA) to bad them denying there is a fault with the card.

Quote:

Hi John,

Just e-mailing you that the gtx 285 oc id working fine been on ati tool for 3 hours now and just played crysis on it,

I recommend than you check your pc for faults

Regards

That is totally unfounded.
1) It messes up. on TWO PC's
2) Crysis cannot last more than a few minutes.
3) I sent them a BFG GTX 285 OCX... NOT AN OC?!?!

What gives?
John

wow BFG in the UK is FAIL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattle

wow BFG in the UK is FAIL

Oh I wouldn't say that, BFG UK are very efficient.
My package arrived at the RMA warehouse at 1023GMT
I received the e-mail above at 1300GMT stating that they had tested the card in ATi tool for 3 hours and even played Crysis on it too... I'm amazed how they managed to fit all that in within such a small amount of time.

Oh and something was dispatched to me at 1430GMT.

I never got a reply to my reply which was sent @ 1328GMT requesting that BFG gave me more information on what drivers, PSU and test system they used. I also requested they ran Unigine Sanctuary, Furmark and 3dmark Vantage on the card.... sadly no response.

The return package (I do not even know if they are sending the defective card back. or a different one), is being sent to me by the lowest Fed Ex option... economy, I MIGHT have it by Tuesday.

If it is the same defective card, which BFG USA say has invalid seriel numbers, then I will not be too pleased.

Oh well... I will need to wait and see what BFG have sent me

John

Good luck, I admire your patience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

Good luck, I admire your patience.

Sadly I wish I could say the same, I am probably the most impatient person on this forum ;)
I guess because where I work we tend to deal with everything in that day and nothing gets moved onto the next day. We always reply to e-mails..even if it is just to let a customer know we have passed their enquiry onto the relavent department.
Ah well, at the end of the day the package will get here when it gets here, I just hope it is not the same defective card.

BFG did admit in a previous conversation when I first reported the card as defective that it DID artifact in their Top PCI-E slot on their Tri SLI motherobard, however lower slots did not artifact.
Sadly both test PC's here are X38 based :(
John

Oh my god, this appears to be nearly an endless story :( Bad luck! I keep my fingers crossed that your next card will run until eternity! After having quite a few issues myself (DOA RAM and driver related issues) I finally tend to agree to the statement "never touch a running system"... I'm cured from overclocking :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by FischOderAal

Oh my god, this appears to be nearly an endless story :( Bad luck! I keep my fingers crossed that your next card will run until eternity! After having quite a few issues myself (DOA RAM and driver related issues) I finally tend to agree to the statement "never touch a running system"... I'm cured from overclocking :eek:

Thanks FischOderAal
I would also like to thank everyone else for their support :up:
Fed Ex were on my side today, as even though my replacement card was posted by "within 3 working days delivery", it arrived today.

So far I have managed to play GTA IV for around an hour, Stalker Clearsky for around an hour. and have succeeded 3 loops of 3dmark vantage. And 10 mins of Furmark Xtremeburn mode.

For the record, I was not able to achieve this at all with the RMA replacement which was an RMA replacement for an RMA (it would crash after 3-5mins of GTA IV with serious artifacting).

My replacement card *touches wood* appears to be working.

Once again, thanks for your advice, help and morale support.

John:up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZS

Thanks FischOderAal
I would also like to thank everyone else for their support :up:
Fed Ex were on my side today, as even though my replacement card was posted by "within 3 working days delivery", it arrived today.

So far I have managed to play GTA IV for around an hour, Stalker Clearsky for around an hour. and have succeeded 3 loops of 3dmark vantage. And 10 mins of Furmark Xtremeburn mode.

For the record, I was not able to achieve this at all with the RMA replacement which was an RMA replacement for an RMA (it would crash after 3-5mins of GTA IV with serious artifacting).

My replacement card *touches wood* appears to be working.

Once again, thanks for your advice, help and morale support.

John:up:

Glad to hear this story ended good Tony :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by andressergio

Glad to hear this story ended good Tony :up:

Thanks for your help along the way Sergio :up:
Played Clearsky for well... nearly 2 hours before I made dinner and went out on a nice winter walk.
I think it's fair to say (while touching wood and crossing fingers) this replacement card is in working order.
:up::up::up:
John

So did the swapped card have a different serial number than the one you sent back? Anyway, glad to hear it's working finally.

Thanks Xarot :)
Not only does the swapped card have a different serial number, it also has a different BIOS revision to the returned card.
Still so far so good as played more Stalker Clearsky yesterday. :)
John

i had almost the same problems as you (graphical glitches, aero dots) on my old 260 gtx.

the problem was NOT due to gpu, it was due to RAM

even though the ram passed memtest 86+ for hours and several cycles, i ran it through (then) vista memory diagnostic, and it failed.

try running your ram though windows mem diagnostic rather than memtest and see if it passes

FYI, i had this problem initially with a 4870 512mb, then RMAed for another one, then i got a 260, RMAed again and finally figured out i can't trust memtest.

BFG is a good company and they are correct that the chances of you getting 5 bad cards are a billion to one.

probability states that the DOA cards were probably due to you failing to take the right procedure in installing the cards (aka maybe you didn't use ESD protection, etc...) and that caused doa cards.

Well, John does not have problems with new card as he had with his old card so I think that it's obvious where the problem was :)

Thanks Madmax
Just thought I would say that I am really loving this replacement card right now, the only problem I have is that is if I play games, I lose track of time.

garbageacc3
I agree with what you are saying, which is why I tested the cards in a different PC before even contacting BFG. I always use an antistatic strap and ensure I am earthed while handling and installing PC hardware to avoid ESD.
As for memtest, yes I do use it (am 4 full passes stable), as well as OCCT stable, IntelBurntest Stable and now with my replacement card 5 passes of 3dmark Vantage and gaming stable. :)
Sadly I was just very unlucky.
1 card died within 3 months with a well known GTX 280 issue (pink screen of death).
2nd card was a DOA (it died within 10mins of use)
3rd card lasted 10months before developing chessboard and flashing black rectangle error (again this issue is sadly a potential issue for the GTX 280 series cards)
4th card did not even POST.
5th card was what this thread was about (artifacted terribly after 2-5mins of gaming)
6th card is going very well :) and touch wood no more RMA's for me :)
John

glad to see that your prob was resolved

just wanted to help.

i was so frustrated when i to exchange and return cards 4 times and i thought it was my gpu.

kinda embarrassing to go return the card that many times.

Thanks again guys :)
Just re-bumping this as recent news about BFG says that many people are having RMA's turned away and that BFG have gone into liquidation. The replacement card I received back in February is still working perfectly and I have been enjoying gaming in lots of titles which would most likely stress it (Metro2033, Stalker COP and Just Cause 2, just to name a few..)
My only concern is that BFG apparently sent out a lot of defective or just about repaired cards which became defective pretty quickly....what happens to those who do have say a card from BFG RMA which is only a few months old?!
John

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZS

Thanks again guys :)
Just re-bumping this as recent news about BFG says that many people are having RMA's turned away and that BFG have gone into liquidation. The replacement card I received back in February is still working perfectly and I have been enjoying gaming in lots of titles which would most likely stress it (Metro2033, Stalker COP and Just Cause 2, just to name a few..)
My only concern is that BFG apparently sent out a lot of defective or just about repaired cards which became defective pretty quickly....what happens to those who do have say a card from BFG RMA which is only a few months old?!
John

hey mate so long what happened to you never connected again

glad to hear your card is rocking mine still :) i gonna try some I7 and X58 in some weeks :up:

Hey mate :)
Good to hear from you!!!
Are you still enjoying that fantastic ES 775 Quad chip you had?
I must admit I am tempted by i7, just I feel something more powerful is around the corner, (or at least a huge price drop on the 32nm processors).
Card is still going strong, and thank you very much for your help and troubleshooting with the defective BFG one back in February :)
John