BFG Fails to Satisfy

[aamar]

Just thought I would add that the RMA replacement GTX 285 OCX which was DOA was collected by Fed Ex today.
BFG do not post on a Monday so I will not be getting my 5th card until Wednesday......
John

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

Sorry couldnt resist the irony of your sig.

[JohnZS]

Hehehe
You are right, I guess I was a bit insane hoping that RMA'ing my graphics card would give me a nice working one as opposed to a broken one.

I am really angry with BFG right now

They are not going to take this card off my hands. It is defective purely and simply defective.

The issues follow it around in TWO other systems.

John

[Falkentyne]

Thanks; Now I know which manufacturer to avoid if I need an Nvidia card.
BFG will not see a dime from me--ever.

And never tell them you overclocked the card or took off the stock heatsink. And if they refuse to honor warranties properly, contact your credit card company and reverse the charges. THEN send the card back to them.

[nge769]

Thats weird because I'm running 2X gtx295's in quad + a 9800gt for physx
and they work just as good as when i bought them almost a year ago.

In my experience,BFG is a very good company with a great warranty.
You have a lifetime warranty if you register right away i believe.

Receiving multiple defective cards in a short period of time usually points to user error,or something on your end.No pun intended.

You said your PSU volts are good judging by the green light.Green light doesn't mean your 12v rails are within range.Try bowering a video card from your buddy, and take a quality multimeter and test your 12 volt rails on load.

[Copenhagen69]

i bought a bfg 280 and it died sent it back to them ... 5 days after my card arrived to them i had a brand new 285 sitting on my doorstep ... yes 285! so im loving BFG right now

[JohnZS]

I hope your replacement graphics card works Copengagen69.
nge769
I do not have a multimeter sadly, however everest reports my 12V rail to be 12.10V.
I have only ever seen this dip to 12.04V a few times, but then it goes back up to 12.10V. Is that normal?
Before the BFG GTX 280 OCX the previous card I had running in this system for over a year was a Point of View Geforce 8800 and that had no issues at all.
John

[nge769]

I hope your replacement graphics card works Copengagen69.
nge769
I do not have a multimeter sadly, however everest reports my 12V rail to be 12.10V.
I have only ever seen this dip to 12.04V a few times, but then it goes back up to 12.10V. Is that normal?
Before the BFG GTX 280 OCX the previous card I had running in this system for over a year was a Point of View Geforce 8800 and that had no issues at all.
John

Software voltage 99% of the time is totally off, inaccurate by a lot, at best!Don't trust it ! Borrow a multimeter from somewhere, and if you want, ill show you how to test your rails safely .PSu's over time degrade(start to produce less power) .
Either way its good to know how your psu is functioning,it will determine how long components last and for stability reasons also.

BTW,my 12v rail shows 12.04 also on software,but in reality (manually tested)its 12.27.

[BringerOdeath]

I have used BFG cards since my 7800GTX and I have never had any problems with their customer service. I have RMA'ed 1 9800gx2, and 2 gtx 295 recently after my toughpower 1200w with wacky power fluctuations killed them giving me wonderful error 43 in device manager. These were on koolance WB's, I never ever mention that i have altered anything from stock as most manufacturers would sy the same thing if you OC your cards. They have always been prompt and quick with replacements and RMA's no questions asked!! If they won't replace it, go to the store, buy another one, then return the broken onr for a refund.....done this before at Fry's LOL!!! :P

[JohnZS]

nge769
I would be most interested in this, however my PSU (Enermax Infiniti 720W) is still in warrantry ideally I would like this process not to involve breaking any seals or opening up the PSU or Graphics card.
The BFG Graphics card is the bane of my life at the moment as BFG have (as of yet) not responded to my e-mail (see my other thread here )
I am at a total loss...stuck with a defective GTX 285 OCX.
John

[nge769]

nge769
I would be most interested in this, however my PSU (Enermax Infiniti 720W) is still in warrantry ideally I would like this process not to involve breaking any seals or opening up the PSU or Graphics card.
The BFG Graphics card is the bane of my life at the moment as BFG have (as of yet) not responded to my e-mail (see my other thread here )
I am at a total loss...stuck with a defective GTX 285 OCX.
John

Don't worry,you don't have to open the psu or the video card for that matter.
Its a very easy painless process.You can test on your six pin power connector on your video card.

Connect your red positive probe from your multimeter to the yellow wire on the video cards six pin power connector (Doesn't matter, any yellow wire) then connect your black probe to any metal part inside of the case.

Now,turn on your multimeter and turn the dial to dc volts,its the symbol with
the big V with a line over it and also dotted line over it(like this, __ ---) .

While your computer is idle, wright down your volts then run vantage to stress your system and see the fluctuation of the 12v rail (how low they drop under stress)..Post back with your results.

For me, I'm running 2X GTX295's(Quad sli) and a 9800GT for Pysx(thats 5 gpu's)a 975xe,multiple drives and a bunch of other stuff on a Enermax Galaxy 1250W.

My results were 12.27v @idle and 12.19 @load, thats rock solid rails

Hope this helps.

[JohnZS]

Thanks for your advice. Its a bit risky as BFG are now making noises that I might get an RM A. I dont think my PSU is an issue as I ran Vantage 10x on a mates 9800GX2 this evening as a process of elimination. Surely thats about the same power consumption?
John

[zalbard]

Perhaps ask for a different card? 260x2, 275, 280, 295?
Money back would be perfect but not sure they will go for that.

[JohnZS]

Well, I did request a GTX 280 OCX as that was my original card, however they said that they do not have anymore
So they offered to step me up to a GTX 285 OCX (I was happy with the gesture), sadly both GTX 285 OCX cards I have been sent were defective.
I would not like to downgrade to a 260 or a 275 and I cannot see BFG offering me a GTX 295 purely because those were more expensive than the GTX 280 and they are premium dual GPU cards.
My promised last chance RMA number did not arrive this morning
I will give it another 36hours....
John