XFX warranty sucks.

[jc99]

Wouldn't the attourney fees make it not worthwhile to pursue that course of action?

[Sparky]

Possible that some traces or those dinky little resistors/capacitors/what have you got damaged when peeling off that giant sticker?

[Waxking1]

I took it off as a single piece, they use a lot of glue. Its not about what I should have done. XFX does this on purpose in order to avoid warranty claims. EVGA doesn't cover the screws with anything. I'm not doing this in hopes of changing XFXs mind about honoring my warranty. I'm doing this to warn anyone before buying an XFX GT200 series card. Do not buy one thinking you will have a warranty if you plan on taking the card apart. You won't.

I would like to see XFX admit that they will not honor warranty on a card that has been disassembled. At least they would be being honest then.

[Eddie3dfx]

Wouldn't the attourney fees make it not worthwhile to pursue that course of action?

You need to use an attorney who is a friend
In my case, I told my attorney-workout buddies to short oil at $146.
Let's just say I get many rewards in return

Whats it to a friend.. 3 cents of their "official" paper and a 2 minute jot down.

[IanY]

Wouldn't the attourney fees make it not worthwhile to pursue that course of action?

Obviously, if you have to pay attorney fees. I would hope that everyone knows any number of lawyers in today's litigious society. As long as no one is faking legal credentials, a lawyer is a lawyer, and having counsel represent you on the phone is enough to send a message that enhances cooperativeness.

[2low4u]

Guess it's a good thing the 8800GTX's don't have those stickers eh? lol

[IanY]

This isn't the first case I've heard about XFX not wanting to honor their warranty, especially with regard to their XXX series of highly overclocked video cards.

[TheGanG]

Covering the screws with a restricted label is sick, that brand is sick too, they also have a sick way to protect themselves...

They know prety good, we all buy VGAs for clocking and mostly watering, so what the hell is that covering hysteria?

It doesn't bother me too much why someones RMA shi.ts, but bothers me that covering personally...

Regards...

[XFX Tech]

I am sorry but in this case we are not able to replace your card. We would never be able to use that cooler on a card for any other customer. I don't believe that the result is any different than any other manufacturer would have taken.

[Waxking1]

The covering is what surprised me. I would never have ordered the XFX card if I had known they cover the screws in a way that you have to damage the card in order to take the card apart. I knew when I saw this label that I would be in trouble if warranty issues arose. I bought the card with the intention of watercooling so I took the chance. I guess I should have turned around and sold it and bought an EVGA. i didn't really expect that the card would die.

XFX_TECH,
Why would your company put a cover like this on the GT200 cards and still claim to honor an aftermaket cooling solution warranty issue when you know that we can't take the card apart without damage to this cover. I think the answer is obvious.

[dinos22]

i am confused
where does XFX Tech say they cover aftermarket cooler in warranty

how can a card be damp even if it took a single day for the card to be delivered :S:S:S:S:S

[T_Flight]

This is precisely why I'm am going with EVGA. I've seen this for the last 15 years with XFX. I hate to be negative like that, but they have seriously earned that rep. I've had freinds on numerous forums have warranty issues denied even when the card weas left bone stock like it was straight out of the box. Back when I was benching if I saw 10 of these kind of issues, I saw 100. I'm seeing it again, now that I'm getting back into it. Nothing has changed obviously, so this is nothing new. Maybe threads like these will send a message, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

On a positive note, I have an online freind that works at EVGA and will definitely be buying from them. They have courteous service, and they treat they enthusiasts very well, and actually go above and beyond in most cases. I've seen them offer things that I couldn't believe just to make people happy, and in some cases just to help them get up and running again. They care.

[SoulsCollective]

i am confused
where does XFX Tech say they cover aftermarket cooler in warranty

XFX Warranty:

If you live in the US or Canada our video cards come with a Double Lifetime Modder Friendly warranty. This basically means the video card is under warranty for as long as you own it and if you give it away or sell it, the second owner also has a lifetime warranty (helps with resell value). Modder friendly means we do not mind if you overclock the video card or change out the fan as long as the video card is not physically damaged and you keep the original hardware (in case you ever need an RMA).

While they say "change out the fan" rather than "use an aftermarket heatsink", I think it's pretty clear.

how can a card be damp even if it took a single day for the card to be delivered :S:S:S:S:S

I'm also very confused about this. There should just be no way that a card can be damp, unless it was absolutely soaking before it was packed, and noone's stupid enough to send a card in for RMA soaking wet (plus OP says it was sent in bone dry). However, I in no way think it's fair to say that XFX must have wet the card themselves in order to not have to honour warranty. Without evidence of some kind it's just not fair to make that kind of claim.

Shipping damage, perhaps? @ OP, how was it shipped?

On a general note, I've dealt with stickers like that before. Regardless of how thick the sticker was, I'm finding it very, very hard to accept that you needed to damage the sticker and plastic that much to find the screw holes. You should easily be able to run your fingertip over the sticker, and find out where the holes are that way. Even if not, there's damage to parts of the card where no screws could possibly be hiding.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

OP, it looks like you were just wayyyy too hasty in removing the sticker when you installed the waterblock, and thus you paid the price. Not to mentiong that you did short the card so you probably did something wrong besides ripping at the sticker like a rabid dog

[MomijiTMO]

LLOLOLOLOLOLOL the card looks like it's been to hell and back. I didn't have any stickers falling off when I removed my cooler. If you are going to do things like removing coolers, you have to be extra careful, so that nothing looks touched. It also pays to thoroughly test everything before hand.

[Erasmus354]

If I am getting an nvidia video card I always go eVGA as well, even if it costs more or if I have to wait. I have dealt with their warranty and customer service and everything is a breeze. So through my experience and their reputation I think it is well worth it. It amazes me that more companies don't see the kind of effect customer service like this has. I don't think any video card company has the kind of word of mouth recommendations that eVGA or BFG has, and it is all because they have sensible and helpful customer service.

[cadaveca]

PLease see the picture of the card he sent in, and tell me that it's OK to do this, and then complain...

[Gir92]

lol, even Zotac didn't care about me using a waterblock and having done a volt mod when I RMA'd my card.

[Ic3man]

Is that the new 'Battle Damage effect' GTX?

Even if the card wasn't wet and XFX are lying through their back teeth, I'm not surprised they are not honouring the warranty on this occasion given the dire state of the card.

Because the card arrived wet (confirmed by XFX) can you not claim on postal insurance?

[cadaveca]

Yeah but did the card look as bad as above when you sent it back?

[dinos22]

just a tip for ppl when they face the same situation as OP about removing stickers

find your hair dryer and heat up the sticker
that will help you peel if off without ANY damage

[N19h7m4r3]

It looks like he tried to remove the sticker, which he already claimed.

Also the condition of the sticker doesn't really have anything to do with the card.
Now if the actual card looked like that, it's a different story.

I for one have always removed those types of stickers because I find them ugly.

[Gir92]

Yeah but did the card look as bad as above when you sent it back?

Sorry, didn't see your post.

That does look really bad, but it doesn't necessarily point to him using water. An air cooler could have done that as well.

[IanY]

I see the sticker being peeled off, and nothing else. The sticker has no bearing on the health of the video card.

[Waxking1]

That is what the card looked like. There was nothing wrong inside. I guess I could have stabbed holes in the laminate label until i could have gouged out some holes to find the screws. You can't see or feel the screwholes through their label. Looking back, maybe I could have used a heatgun to get it off better but I still don't think it would have gone back on right. This is basically what you have to do to get the card open and they will void your warranty. If you are going to mod don't buy XFX, buy EVGA. Nothing wrong with the XFX card except that they won't honor an RMA on a modded GT200 series card. There is no doubt that they covered the holes intentionally to prevent modding. If you mod, you have to damage the card.

I didn't know the card was going to have the holes plastered over with the label from hell when I bought it. This is the info I am trying to pass along. I would never have bought the card if I had known about the label. I bought the card with the intention of watercooling and the place I bought from would only accept returns for replacement with the same item. I could have sold it or I could tear the label off and take my chance.