MSI 980 TI Sea Hawk RMA

shaun2007182 · 19 Apr 2016 at 13:21

Hello to anyone reading this.

After a reading another post I thought I would create this one.

I have an issue with the above card and thought I would record the process of getting it fixed/replaced.

MSI 980 TI Sea Hawk purchased from Overclockers Nov 2015. Installed, never overclocked been working great. Idle temps around 40. In game around 60 to 70. Fan never runs at 100% which is good as it’s loud. Love this card most I have ever spent on a pc part.

2 days ago playing Rocket league not a heavy graphic game. My fan starts working at 100% halfway through a game. Card temp showing over 90. I am like WTF. So closed game down temp came down to 60. Restarted my pc watched the temps move between 40 and 60 up and down every few seconds. Not normal. So I thought maybe needs a dust. Not that much dust in the pc but cleaned it anyway. Still high temps. Perhaps a driver issue so removed and installed an old driver. Still overheating. So tried the driver from MSI website. Still no difference.

Now I am really stressed, angry and upset.

I emailed MSI and Overclockers both replied really quickly. MSI said they will RMA but I have to pay to send it to Netherlands. Luke at Overclockers also said they will RMA it. I am going to go with Overclockers as I trust them and it will be cheaper to post to them than abroad.

So first I will try one more test and that will be to put it in my son's pc and test it. I will be them 100% sure is the card. Still have original box etc. so will pack up and take to post office.

I will update this post when I post the item back.

Thanks

Woodsta888 · 19 Apr 2016 at 13:55

Hi Shaun,

I have exactly the same card. Mine Idles at 20 degrees and NEVER goes above 60 and it's overclocked to boost to +1500Mhz and I can game for hours with that and the fan never increases speed.

Thta is running too hot. Could be airlock in the pump. Temps shouldn't jump between 40-60 degrees in a few seconds. I'd have a google for methods for removing air locks from AIO cooled gfx cards.

If you hold a torch behind the rad you should be able to see through it and not blocked with dust you'll want compressed air to blow out the rad. The temp jump sounds odd, like a faulty temp probe. If it is getting to 90 degrees the rad will be very warm to the touch. Do GPU-z and afterburner report the same temps?

shaun2007182 · 19 Apr 2016 at 14:25

Woodsta888 said:
Hi Shaun,

I have exactly the same card. Mine Idles at 20 degrees and NEVER goes above 60 and it's overclocked to boost to +1500Mhz and I can game for hours with that and the fan never increases speed.

Thta is running too hot. Could be airlock in the pump. Temps shouldn't jump between 40-60 degrees in a few seconds. I'd have a google for methods for removing air locks from AIO cooled gfx cards.

If you hold a torch behind the rad you should be able to see through it and not blocked with dust you'll want compressed air to blow out the rad. The temp jump sounds odd, like a faulty temp probe. If it is getting to 90 degrees the rad will be very warm to the touch. Do GPU-z and afterburner report the same temps?

Hi thank for the reply can you send that link. If it is a air block and I can clear it then it will save a lot of time and expense.

shaun2007182 · 19 Apr 2016 at 14:30

Woodsta888 said:
Hi Shaun,

I have exactly the same card. Mine Idles at 20 degrees and NEVER goes above 60 and it's overclocked to boost to +1500Mhz and I can game for hours with that and the fan never increases speed.

Thta is running too hot. Could be airlock in the pump. Temps shouldn't jump between 40-60 degrees in a few seconds. I'd have a google for methods for removing air locks from AIO cooled gfx cards.

If you hold a torch behind the rad you should be able to see through it and not blocked with dust you'll want compressed air to blow out the rad. The temp jump sounds odd, like a faulty temp probe. If it is getting to 90 degrees the rad will be very warm to the touch. Do GPU-z and afterburner report the same temps?

Just noticed your not that far from me i'm in Tiverton lol

Five.Stars · 19 Apr 2016 at 14:36

It could be the airlock/ pump issue, or it could also be something as simple as poor contact between the gpu core and the heatsink. A lot of companies quality control with regard the amount of TIM they use leaves a lot to be desired.

shaun2007182 · 19 Apr 2016 at 15:01

Five.Stars said:
It could be the airlock/ pump issue, or it could also be something as simple as poor contact between the gpu core and the heatsink. A lot of companies quality control with regard the amount of TIM they use leaves a lot to be desired.

Well to be honest its in warranty and if its not simple to fix then need to RMA. I worry that they have stopped making this card and what will I be offered?

thefish · 19 Apr 2016 at 15:42

Mine idles at 23 degrees and never goes above 55 gaming though I have two fans on the rad and it's clocked to 1550

shaun2007182 · 19 Apr 2016 at 15:48

Been looking all over and seems although nothing official this card is no longer available. My question is why? Its not that old so either not sold well or there is a problem with them!

Gerard · 19 Apr 2016 at 17:00

shaun2007182 said:
Been looking all over and seems although nothing official this card is no longer available. My question is why? Its not that old so either not sold well or there is a problem with them!

Some cards just don;t have that big of a production run, the msi lightning isn't that old either yet its not available from ocuk anymore,same as the msi golden sample card among a few others.

Woodsta888 · 19 Apr 2016 at 21:07

Yeah you'm just up the road innerz!

I bought mine when I could only see one left in all the online shops so I nabbed one of the last ones.

With an AIO cooler there shouldnt be any air in it as air would have gotten into the system. I'd dismount the radiator and fan and turn it on and move it around. Even shake it carefully. Or turn whole PC upsidedown whilst on, on it's side. Though should be factory bled with no air in the system.

When it is mounted in the case are the tubes at the bottom or top of the radiator? Mine are at the bottom. Is the block on top of the GPU itself secure? You haven't kinked the tubes or attenuated them to much to reduce flow in a narrow case? On my case the tubes are pushed in by the case sides a bit. If you squeeze a tube when GPU is running can you feel

If the temp change is rapid then it seems the temp sensor is faulty = RMA.

RMA through OCUK is second to none and probably quicker than MSI direct. HAve heard that on some AIO coolers that the block has loosened or someone has been a bit mean with the TIM but you'd have noticed this earlier if it wasn't for the TIM.

As others have said the seahawk or AIO's have shorter runs as they are more expensive, you pay extra for cooling and OC'ing ability and they are binned chips. Many boost to 1400Mhz+ out of the box un OC'd. Deffo not a bad batch or model.

If the GPU is getting hot you should be able to see the rest of the system temps rise also. Not as much but if the GPU is 90 degrees in the case then I'd have thought the CPU ytemp would rise a bit. Use coretemp/realtemp to measure.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 11:26

Woodsta888 said:
Yeah you'm just up the road innerz!

I bought mine when I could only see one left in all the online shops so I nabbed one of the last ones.

With an AIO cooler there shouldnt be any air in it as air would have gotten into the system. I'd dismount the radiator and fan and turn it on and move it around. Even shake it carefully. Or turn whole PC upsidedown whilst on, on it's side. Though should be factory bled with no air in the system.

When it is mounted in the case are the tubes at the bottom or top of the radiator? Mine are at the bottom. Is the block on top of the GPU itself secure? You haven't kinked the tubes or attenuated them to much to reduce flow in a narrow case? On my case the tubes are pushed in by the case sides a bit. If you squeeze a tube when GPU is running can you feel

If the temp change is rapid then it seems the temp sensor is faulty = RMA.

RMA through OCUK is second to none and probably quicker than MSI direct. HAve heard that on some AIO coolers that the block has loosened or someone has been a bit mean with the TIM but you'd have noticed this earlier if it wasn't for the TIM.

As others have said the seahawk or AIO's have shorter runs as they are more expensive, you pay extra for cooling and OC'ing ability and they are binned chips. Many boost to 1400Mhz+ out of the box un OC'd. Deffo not a bad batch or model.

If the GPU is getting hot you should be able to see the rest of the system temps rise also. Not as much but if the GPU is 90 degrees in the case then I'd have thought the CPU ytemp would rise a bit. Use coretemp/realtemp to measure.

Hmm I think it could be the sensor as when it was running in the 90's rest of my system temps where normal. The fans and air felt cold. Anyway I have boxed it up and will be taking it to the post office tomorrow. Had to put my R9 280X back in which is still not a bad card but no where near the sea hawk.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 12:25

So if the card has been discon and they don't have any recon's left what do you think will happen? I mean I paid a lot for this card and I got it as it had great specs and with the water cooler. I don't want a sub standard replacement or the money back as I still need to get a card.

Gerard · 20 Apr 2016 at 12:53

shaun2007182 said:
So if the card has been discon and they don't have any recon's left what do you think will happen? I mean I paid a lot for this card and I got it as it had great specs and with the water cooler. I don't want a sub standard replacement or the money back as I still need to get a card.

Contact them and ask.

Jason_Sturgess · 20 Apr 2016 at 13:00

I got this card and I play Rocket league and don't have this issue , The only issue I have it coil whine when gaming over 60FPS but sticking on V Sy sorts this out. Sounds like the water pump is faulty , If that is the case then OC will test it and if its faulty will give you a brand new one if its within the year , I've always stayed with MSI because I know from experience if something goes wrong they send me a new one , I'm pretty sure this cards got a 3 year warranty so if anything does break in this time you should get a brand new card sent out.

Jason_Sturgess · 20 Apr 2016 at 13:02

shaun2007182 said:
So if the card has been discon and they don't have any recon's left what do you think will happen? I mean I paid a lot for this card and I got it as it had great specs and with the water cooler. I don't want a sub standard replacement or the money back as I still need to get a card.

If the card is Discon then by law you have to have a card brand new at the same specs ! like for like. So they will have to give you a new 980TI or similar or even a refund from the big boys online.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 13:45

Problem is Jason is that if they dscon this card they don't have a like for like replacement!

Gerard · 20 Apr 2016 at 13:49

Gerard said:
Contact them and ask.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 14:50

I could ask them but rather wait and see what happens. Although I could send them email infact I will.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 14:55

I have just asked MSI what they would offer as a replacement to a Seahawk if they had to replace one under warranty.

Lets see what they come back with.

shaun2007182 · 20 Apr 2016 at 15:47

Here is MSI's reply:

we still have Seahawk in service stock, so defectives one are swapped for a refurbished card.