Seemingly dead graphics card... any suggestions?

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giollarnat

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#74749 6-Jan-2011 18:00

gday all,

PC: Asus P5QL Pro - Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 - 500W Silverstone PSU, only 2 years old, had all been working fine until...

DVI output was a blank screen when i tried to wake up PC from standby the other day.

Turned it off, then back on and same result (not "no signal" just blank screen)

Wouldn't even post, let alone BIOS, everything else looked like it was starting up ok (fans leds etc) except for no graphics card fan, red LED briefly lighting up on graph card as well. The PC wasn't actually starting windows etc in the background.

Started PC without 6pin extra power supply plug for graph card and same result, but then plugged in power supply and immediate full fan action on said card. Re-seated graph card to no avail.

Did some screen swapping, VGA/DVI swapping and finally part swapping (RAM, graphics) and turns out the PC works fine with a friends old ATi 1300 graphics card. Only difference is this card doesn't need the extra 6pin power supply.

That seems to be the only variable left PSU 6pin plug failure or dead Radeon 4850?

Tested 6pin PSU plug for voltage and perfect 12V readings all round. But that doesn't mean it supplying the right wattage to start up the card... does it?

Don't know anyone else with a PCIe extra-powerplugged graph card or sufficient power supply. Tried graph card in a friends 350W Dell that had a quad core processor - no luck but not expecting any!

Any suggestions? Thanks!

p.s. i'm thinking about baking the card but not desperate enough ... yet

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#424923 7-Jan-2011 10:43

Sapphire cards have a 24 month warranty. Check to see if its actually out of warranty?

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giollarnat

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#424930 7-Jan-2011 11:18

yeah thanks for the suggestion, i did yesterday and ... 2 weeks out of warranty.

that is very well programmed obsolescence if you catch my drift... argh.

[i just tried using the 12V 4pin connector off the DVD drive with the 4pin to 6pin adaptor supplied with the graphics card for PCIe power... no joy. So i bought a used Gigabyte Rad. 5770 on trademe for $140 ... if that works in my pc then i know the 4850 is dead...

time to turn on the oven?

or is oven baking only for cards that have corrupt picture?]

Lias

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#425088 8-Jan-2011 02:24

Could try a CGA claim? 2 weeks out of warranty is close enough you'd probably have a chance.

giollarnat

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#425121 8-Jan-2011 09:34

That's interesting ... You reckon? even on a 2 year warranty from an overseas based company (Sapphire)?

I only had a 1 year warranty on the assembled parts from Playtech.

I'll have to look into this, no idea how to make a CGA claim ...

rscole86

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#425140 8-Jan-2011 10:34

Playtech cannot offer less than the manufacturers warranty, even if they install the card for you. Playtech are the company you should be going back to, and pursuing the CGA with.

giollarnat

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#425148 8-Jan-2011 10:59

Playtech were willing to RMA the graphics card within the 2 year manufacturer warranty period so that isn't the problem (not sure if that's what you're referring to).

Seems a bit unfortunate to be pursuing them on a CGA claim for a card they sell that failed just after the 2 year manufacturer warranty lapsed... has anyone ever had any luck with this kind of CGA claim?

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Lias

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#425150 8-Jan-2011 11:03

Not an individual components but a few years a go a guy took a CGA claim for a 5 year old PC and won.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/2419413/Warranty-ruling-a-grey-area

giollarnat

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#425151 8-Jan-2011 11:07

hmmm ... interesting.

Thanks for all these quick replies by the way.

What should I do first? Just contact Playtech and remind them of my rights under the Consumer Guarantee Act, and that it seems unreasonable for a graphics card to fail after just over 2 years, and are they willing to do anything about it?

dacraka

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#425156 8-Jan-2011 11:25

Just go back to Playtech and let them know about the problem without telling them about the CGA first, they may even honour it right there and then!

giollarnat

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#425160 8-Jan-2011 11:32

yeah that's what I did, I filled in an RMA form and sent it after chatting to one of their tech guys on the phone, but then they got back to me 2days ago to say it was just out of warranty.

i offered them an easy way out by asking if they had any open box/refurb/display type cheap cards around that i could buy but they didn't.

so i've just emailed them back now to say that as per the CGA, it seems unreasonable for the graphics card to die after 2 years and 3 weeks, especially with very light usage and no overclocking/tampering whatsoever.

no threats of dispute tribunal or anything, i'd just like to gently remind them of their obligations, i am open to compromise, hopefully they will see that i'm not being unreasonable...

tonyhughes

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#425168 8-Jan-2011 12:06

CGA is pretty clear, an item like that should last longer than 2 years. It is the retailers responsibility to repair, replace, or refund (at their discretion).

Good luck.

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giollarnat

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#425205 8-Jan-2011 14:28

Thanks all for your help. I will update you on what they come back to me with.

giollarnat

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#426490 12-Jan-2011 12:34

Here's the response I got. I think that the manufacturer warranty has little to do with the intent of the Act as to what is "reasonable", and I think that the burden actually falls on the retailer not the manufacturer in terms of honouring the CGA.

So all in all i imagine if it went to disputes tribunal they would lose, but it seems a bit silly to take it that far unless they decide to not help altogether. Their offer for me to pay cost of repair or discount on a similar card seems a bit short (unless it's a huge discount - doubtful).

Anyway, they've suggested I send it back to identify the fault, which I'm happy to do, and then once that's established we'll take it from there.

What do you guys think? What should I do?

Cheers.

“Reasonable Time” is defined by the Manufacturer (Sapphire) and as well as the industry (which is 2 years). When you purchased this VGA Card, you already have entered into a contract with Sapphire and ALREADY have accepted 2 years as a reasonable time period. On our end we already have tired talking to Sapphire Rep and it was not successful; they will not accept the RMA claim. We cannot extend the warranty period as it is defined by Sapphire themselves. If you are unhappy with the warranty period, you need to contact Sapphire.

As to consumer guarantee act, you cannot claim your rights to RMA because-

CGA 1993 – 20(1)(a)

20 Loss of right to reject goods

(1) The right to reject goods conferred by this Act shall not apply if—

(a) the right is not exercised within a reasonable time within the meaning of subsection

(2) In subsection (1)(a), the term reasonable time means a period from the time of supply of the goods in which it would be reasonable to expect the defect to become apparent having regard to—

(a) the type of goods

Majority of VGA manufacturers provided 2 years warranty to this model of card.

Now, what we can do for you is to try sending the card back for repair with our supplier. Note that there may be cost involve in doing so, and you are responsible for any costs that may incur from this process. Other option for you is that we can offer you a discounted price on a replacement something similar. But before you do anything else; please send your card in for our tech team to confirm the defect on the card then we can take it to the next step to resolve the problem with you.

giollarnat

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#426500 12-Jan-2011 12:56

By the way, i did find this brilliant topic on Warranty vs CGA on the forum, but if the store put forward this misinterpretation of the CGA, I need to be able to change their mind on the issue or else i'll end up having to go to the disputes tribunal ...

Need some ammo in terms of "legal precedents" or the like to refer them to, I doubt a consumer.org.nz FAQ will sway them...?

Lias

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#426511 12-Jan-2011 13:22

You will almost certainly have to goto tribunal.

You will most likely win, just go in with proof that there is already a precedent for 5 year life expectancy for computers both from the previous tribunal decision and the consumer.org report (which will cost you $5 to buy)

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