I wish I hadn't gone for the cheaper option now. (OcUK Value IP35 Pro)

Ummugumma · 2 Mar 2008 at 13:52

I bought the OcUK Value IP35 Pro when it was £65 and after reading through the official thread about it i decided to purchase it.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh how I wish i didn't now! i should have spent an extra £20 and gone for an Asus or one of the other top brands and had a trouble free experience.
The first board I received failed to POST which I spent quite a bit of time on testing it with other parts to make sure 100% was the motherboard. I sent it back which left me £5 out of pocket, OCUK confirmed it was faulty and promptly sent me another one (very quick service).
I just went to fit it but noticed one of the heatsinks was half hanging off and clip was missing, I shook the antistatic bag and a few bits of plastic and a spring fell out.

Piccys..

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1204/p1010158nh7.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/412/p1010159kt6.jpg

Do you think OCUK might send me a new clip rather than me having to send it back and being another £5 out of pocket and them being out of pocket from send me a replacement?

Deluxe1 · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:04

Why not send the whole thing back and ask for a refund and get a more reliable board from Asus as you suggested.

tom_e · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:13

the post problems seem quite comon on these, my mate had 2 with the same problem and there was a thread on here not long after with someone having the same problem

spicypixel · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:13

That is unlucky, mhmmm does make you wonder abit about quality control though.

Ummugumma · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:24

Deluxe1 said:
Why not send the whole thing back and ask for a refund and get a more reliable board from Asus as you suggested.

Because that would cost me another £5, i'd rather try the replacement clip option first.

Deluxe1 · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:28

I doubt they`ll dip into a new mobo to take the part out you need as that`ll render it useless and they cant sell it.

Tute · 2 Mar 2008 at 14:40

I had this with an Abit board I was sent - the NB heatsink was hanging off.

I luckily had an old board to hand that I robbed for a replacement clip, pushed it in firmly, and it booted fine.

What i'm trying to say is, if you can, get a replacement clip yourself from an old board.

WJA96 · 2 Mar 2008 at 17:41

It shouldn't have cost you anything to return a defective board. OcUK should have refunded your postage costs. Unfortunately, what most online traders do is ask for a copy of the receipt to be included with the package. That's a bit difficult since you've already wrapped the package prior to taking it to the post office.

I would telephone OcUK and ask them to arrange for the defective board to be collected, and a new one sent, and also for your £5 to be refunded. They would be perfectly within their rights to ask for a copy of the receipt though.

The fact that you bought a £65 motherboard is irrelevant here - the fact is that your board was damaged in the post this time. It could have just as easily happened with an ASUS, Abit or MSI board.

Unfortunately, it's a big problem with stuff delivered by courier/post as OcUK have no control over what the courier will do with it. I have noticed though, that they are just sending the boards out in plastic bags now though, whereas I would expect at least some degree of protection eg. bubble wrap or a second box. The motherboard boxes are not designed to withstand the postal system, I'd have thought.

Ummugumma · 2 Mar 2008 at 18:12

Deluxe1 said:
I doubt they`ll dip into a new mobo to take the part out you need as that`ll render it useless and they cant sell it.

They can do that then just assume it's the board i would have returned and return it to the manufacturer.

I doubt the damage happened in transit as the box is in perfect condition.

Ummugumma · 2 Mar 2008 at 18:17

WJA96 said:
It shouldn't have cost you anything to return a defective board. OcUK should have refunded your postage costs. Unfortunately, what most online traders do is ask for a copy of the receipt to be included with the package. That's a bit difficult since you've already wrapped the package prior to taking it to the post office.

I would telephone OcUK and ask them to arrange for the defective board to be collected, and a new one sent, and also for your £5 to be refunded. They would be perfectly within their rights to ask for a copy of the receipt though.

The fact that you bought a £65 motherboard is irrelevant here - the fact is that your board was damaged in the post this time. It could have just as easily happened with an ASUS, Abit or MSI board.

Unfortunately, it's a big problem with stuff delivered by courier/post as OcUK have no control over what the courier will do with it. I have noticed though, that they are just sending the boards out in plastic bags now though, whereas I would expect at least some degree of protection eg. bubble wrap or a second box. The motherboard boxes are not designed to withstand the postal system, I'd have thought.

Thanks for the info, i'll give them a bell tommorrow if i can get through.

It was well packaged though and I doubt it happened in transit to me as both boxes are in perfect condition.

WJA96 · 2 Mar 2008 at 18:23

Ummugumma said:
It was well packaged though and I doubt it happened in transit to me as both boxes are in perfect condition.

If I hold the box in both hands and shake it REALLY hard, the box itself will be undamaged, but the contents will be trashed, most likely.

Ummugumma · 2 Mar 2008 at 18:36

Tute said:
I had this with an Abit board I was sent - the NB heatsink was hanging off.

I luckily had an old board to hand that I robbed for a replacement clip, pushed it in firmly, and it booted fine.

What i'm trying to say is, if you can, get a replacement clip yourself from an old board.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6928/p1010177vk5.jpg

Sorted!

I took the clip off an old faulty P4 board i keep for straightening bent P4 CPU pins. It seems to fit nicely but i'll still contact OCUK for warranty purposes.