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RMA?

RichH

RichH

RichH

Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2011
Posts
434
Hi Guys,

I'm just after a quick bit of advice before I RMA my card f you dont mind.

I have had a Sapphire 7950 OC for about 2 months and it has worked perfectly until this weekend.

I have been gaming with it clocked to around 1150/1600 @ 1250mV, I change the clock frm game to game up keep the voltage the same.

Anyway this weekend it started blackscreening while gaming or running Heaven. This is on all clocks, including stock.

I have rolled back to 12.4 from 12.6 beta and am still getting the crashes.

Firstly is there anything else I should be trying?

Secondly is this a straigtforward RMA? You could easily load up the card and think it is fine but give it a while and it will crash, will they pick up this sort of instability while RMA testing?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
I have the card here at work so I could try it in my work machine and run Heaven but the processor (Core 2 DUO) would probably bottleneck it, so probably not a great test.
 
the first thing is, don't let the retailer know that you have been overclocking it (so if you bought it from OCUK then you've just shot yourself in the foot a bit, though they might turn a blind eye if you are lucky)

and yes, RMA it, contact the retailer through support and tell them the issues you are having, they will probably suggest some steps to try to fix it (though by the sounds of things you've tried all the types of things they would suggest), and make it clear that it happens after x minutes gaming, when they test it they should run it for double the amount of time that you say it takes to happen so they should be able to replicate it pretty easily
 
Thanks for this.

Unfortunately some retailers have automated returns systems which don't allow you to talk to anyone or even add a note to the ticket. Will certainly buy from OCUK next time, even if there is a price difference.

Also I cant try the card in my machine at work as I only have a VGA monitor here. Just downloaded and ran Heaven here though - 3 fps....
 
write a note and put it in the box (include 2 copies, one attached to outside of the 7950 box and the other actually inside all the packaging with the card itself - hopefully at least one copy will make it as far as the person actually testing the card)?
 
Yeah I have just done that - I selotaped a note to the static bag containing the card. It is a French company so i might even get my wife to translate it into french.
 
Had exactly the same problem with my Sapphire 7970oc it was running fine at first then started randomly black screening with the occasional artifacts as well.

Just fill in the web form then they will contact you with your RMA number and an email telling you what to do.

They sent my card back to Sapphire about 2 weeks ago and still haven't heard anything back yet but it can take up to 28 days.
 
So you are sending yours back to Sapphire direct? Not to the retailer?

Can you link this form for me please. When i looked the Sapphire site said to return it to the retailer.
 
RichH said:
Secondly is this a straightforward RMA? You could easily load up the card and think it is fine but give it a while and it will crash, will they pick up this sort of instability while RMA testing?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure they bother testing them. I've returned components with similar issues and I've never had a problem.

I suspect they do a visual check for obvious (and accidental) physical damage, perform a test if it's something really easy (like DOA), and otherwise just default to accepting the return.

PS. Sods law dictates that your return will now be properly tested. Sorry!
 
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Bodom said:
Had exactly the same problem with my Sapphire 7970oc it was running fine at first then started randomly black screening with the occasional artifacts as well.

Just fill in the web form then they will contact you with your RMA number and an email telling you what to do.

They sent my card back to Sapphire about 2 weeks ago and still haven't heard anything back yet but it can take up to 28 days.
Click to expand...


Also did you overclock yours much? I am a bit worried I damaged mine by over volting.
 
Engram said:
I'm not sure they bother testing them. I've returned components with similar issues and I've never had a problem.

I suspect they do a visual check for obvious physical damage, perform a test if it's something really easy (like DOA), and otherwise just default to accepting the return.

Sods law now dictates that your return will be properly tested. Sorry!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hope you are right.
 
RichH said:
So you are sending yours back to Sapphire direct? Not to the retailer?

Can you link this form for me please. When i looked the Sapphire site said to return it to the retailer.
Click to expand...

No I meant I had sent it back to OCUk and then they tested it and have sent it back to Sapphire.

I did overclock it just for running a few benchmarks when I first got it then I just set it back to bios settings 2 which is the higher of the two factory overclock settings and left it at that, wasn't till a few weeks later that it started black screen crashing.

After it started I tried switching to setting one and it still kept crashing also tried underclocking it to reference 7970 clocks and it still kept on crashing.

Seen quite a lot of posts on various forums with people haveing problem with the Sapphire OC cards, seems to be quite a common problem :(
 
I have a Sapphire HD 7850 OC sat in a box here ready to go into my new build once all the parts arrive. I hope I don't have the same issue.
 
Gibbo_GTI said:
I have a Sapphire HD 7850 OC sat in a box here ready to go into my new build once all the parts arrive. I hope I don't have the same issue.
Click to expand...

My 7950 was great for the first 2 months - just a shame it stopped working.

I have just ordered a 7950 Windforce from OcUK, it seems like there is a much better RMA service with Gigabyte. If I ever get my Sapphire back i can crossfire or sell.

If you are worried you could always DSR it now while you still have the chance.
 
Overclocking is usually fine with high end cards, its when you over volt them too much that can cause problems. I would try the card without drivers before sending them back, just to rule out drivers (Uninstall them and do a driver-sweep)

Edit: or maybe run in safe mode to get a quick idea of what to expect (If you see any difference)
 
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