4 x 18A 12v rails for a GTX 260 Black Edition?

[marktime]

Quick update on my RMA. Just had an email back from the *other* place saying there's nothing wrong with the card and that I'd failed to take off the plastic protection from the heatsink which caused it to overheat. They reckon there's a label on the front saying remove before use.

If this is true I feel like a right wally but perhaps anyone else having the same problems could check they haven't done the same thing before they send it back. Serves me right for being so eager to get it up and running too quickly.

They haven't mentioned any cost for testing/returning it yet, got my fingers crossed I won't get stung. As I also couldn't resist picking up one of those cheap 280s last week before they tested the BE this is turning out to be an expensive mistake.

 

[Alfie]

Quick update on my RMA. Just had an email back from the *other* place saying there's nothing wrong with the card and that I'd failed to take off the plastic protection from the heatsink which caused it to overheat. They reckon there's a label on the front saying remove before use.

If this is true I feel like a right wally but perhaps anyone else having the same problems could check they haven't done the same thing before they send it back. Serves me right for being so eager to get it up and running too quickly.

They haven't mentioned any cost for testing/returning it yet, got my fingers crossed I won't get stung. As I also couldn't resist picking up one of those cheap 280s last week before they tested the BE this is turning out to be an expensive mistake.

I'm sorry to say this, but i am about 110% they have decided that is the reason based on the fact that the stickers had not been removed. There are three stickers on the gtx 260 and whilst it does say to remove them they will not and do not prohibit cooling unless they get sucked into the fan assembly.

I've just found out that "the other place" wont refund me for my second gtx 260 black edition because it's over 28 days and XFX say it must be a fault with my system. Now i am stuck with an unstable card. BOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Not impressed.

 

[GSDog]

This is worrying since I just sent mine back.

What are the three stickers exactly? I didn't notice any and had a good look around the card when it first arrived and before sending it back... Is it only on the XFX card?

Mine is definitely within the 28 days so I hope they refund it. If they send it back to me and it's still faulty I will have to get it properly tested and if it is found to be faulty I will demand a full refund of the card and the extra costs, if they refuse I will take them to court. There is no way in hell I am going to pay £230 for something that doesn't work properly and be fobbed off. We'll see what happens.

 

[marktime]

This is worrying since I just sent mine back.

What are the three stickers exactly? I didn't notice any and had a good look around the card when it first arrived and before sending it back... Is it only on the XFX card?

Mine is definitely within the 28 days so I hope they refund it. If they send it back to me and it's still faulty I will have to get it properly tested and if it is found to be faulty I will demand a full refund of the card and the extra costs, if they refuse I will take them to court. There is no way in hell I am going to pay £230 for something that doesn't work properly and be fobbed off. We'll see what happens.

yeah, I'm a bit sceptical about this sticker business now I think about it - it's not like me to miss stuff like that and I'm sure I'd have noticed at least when I took it back out to send it off.

The RMA info page has a tick by 'credit authorisation' so I've still got a few digits crossed that I might get a refund, though I doubt it if they have explicitly said there was no fault after testing.

 

[GSDog]

yeah, I'm a bit sceptical about this sticker business now I think about it - it's not like me to miss stuff like that and I'm sure I'd have noticed at least when I took it back out to send it off.

The RMA info page has a tick by 'credit authorisation' so I've still got a few digits crossed that I might get a refund, though I doubt it if they have explicitly said there was no fault after testing.

I've never even heard of this plastic heatsink protection/sticker on GTX260 cards before...
How long did it take for them to test the card?
My card was collected yesterday by courier and it hasn't been recieved by them yet according to their website.

 

[marktime]

Mine was collected last Thursday and I got an e-mail yesterday saying they had left it on test overnight, so would have thought you'd get an update tomorrow.

I reckon they've got a whole load of these going back from the sounds of it so interested if the same 'diagnosis' comes back on yours too.

If your card was picked up by City Link you can use the assignment number you were issued to track it btw.

 

[GSDog]

Mine was collected last Thursday and I got an e-mail yesterday saying they had left it on test overnight, so would have thought you'd get an update tomorrow.

I reckon they've got a whole load of these going back from the sounds of it so interested if the same 'diagnosis' comes back on yours too.

If your card was picked up by City Link you can use the assignment number you were issued to track it btw.

I didn't realise it was Citylink. It has been delivered according to Citylink so it shouldn't be long now.

I wonder how they test the cards? It can sometimes take hours to crash in games but it's usually 80-120secs in FurMark stability test.

 

[Stu]

My XFX BE had a clear plastic film cover over the front - it was in two parts, one over the main body and one around the fan. It was like the films that are used as screen protectors on new things with screens (e.g. mobile phone, digital photo frame, ipod).

 

[GSDog]

My XFX BE had a clear plastic film cover over the front - it was in two parts, one over the main body and one around the fan. It was like the films that are used as screen protectors on new things with screens (e.g. mobile phone, digital photo frame, ipod).

Ahh I think I might have noticed that on my card, I thought it was just small air bubbles under the sticker but I guess it was the protection film covering it... I didn't see anywhere in the instructions to remove it though and I very much doubt it would cause it to overheat... I just thought the EVGA sticker on the front had started to peel off slightly due to the heat of the card.

I've never seen any warnings to remove it.

EDIT:

Found a forum thread elsewhere discussing this protective film thing.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032773267

It seems BFG and EVGA cards don't even have a warning sticker to remove it. The guy with the EVGA card explained it exactly like what I saw - just a few bubbles under the sticker. If it is protection film on the EVGA card then it is extremely hard to see and I can't think I'd be the only one not to notice it. I can't believe it would cause the card to overheat.

I guess I'll wait and see what **** says. If they give the same diagnosis as Mark's card and I still find it to be faulty then I will demand that they retest it free of charge.

 

[marktime]

I didn't realise it was Citylink. It has been delivered according to Citylink so it shouldn't be long now.

I wonder how they test the cards? It can sometimes take hours to crash in games but it's usually 80-120secs in FurMark stability test.

They claimed to have run Furmark overnight and it was completely stable @ 81C max. Incidentally, I was reading some stuff about Furmark where Thermaltake had warned people not to use it for any length of time as it would subject the card to way in excess of any real-world scenario and burn out the fan if left indefinitely. Scary!

My XFX BE had a clear plastic film cover over the front - it was in two parts, one over the main body and one around the fan. It was like the films that are used as screen protectors on new things with screens (e.g. mobile phone, digital photo frame, ipod).

Cheers for that info. I just can't remember if I removed this or not to be honest. Is it something that was really obvious when you first get the card out? If so I must have took it off without thinking. I do remember when I got the card back out the Large XFX-BE sticker had started to peel off (due to the heat I presume) but they can't mean that surely as all cards have manufacturers id stickers fitted and are not intended to be removed.

 

[Stu]

I thought that it was fairly obvious, though I am the sort of person that examines everything closely to check everything looks OK before installing it in the case.

I've just checked all the paperwork, and there is no mention of it, thus, no instruction to remove it.

 

[marktime]

Quick update. Just had confirmation that my RMA is complete and they WILL issue credit BUT minus £17. This sounds like a scam to me (funny, rhymes with their name) - say there was no problem with the goods, there's no way he can check for certain, knock off money for having the cheek to send it back.

Not sure what to do, if I elect for a replacement I've got the problem of shifting it and will almost certainly lose money anyway. Might just have to accept it and move on.

GSDog: Please let me know what happens in your case, if you get the same treatment it will confirm my suspicion and it might be worth taking it further.

 

[GSDog]

Quick update. Just had confirmation that my RMA is complete and they WILL issue credit BUT minus £17. This sounds like a scam to me (funny, rhymes with their name) - say there was no problem with the goods, there's no way he can check for certain, knock off money for having the cheek to send it back.

Not sure what to do, if I elect for a replacement I've got the problem of shifting it and will almost certainly lose money anyway. Might just have to accept it and move on.

GSDog: Please let me know what happens in your case, if you get the same treatment it will confirm my suspicion and it might be worth taking it further.

Thanks for the update. I still haven't heard anything about my RMA. On the website it's still not showing up as recieved!

I don't understand how they are charging you £17. I think if they do it to me I will make a huge fuss about it and demand a full refund. If they don't I think I will just accept it and never buy from them again - my wallet will hurt them far more in the long term.
I'll probably buy a standard EVGA GTX260 55nm from OcUK or if I can get my hands on a cheap GTX280 I will buy it.

 

[duffbeer666]

I have had enough with this stupid XFX card so I replaced it with a 55nm EVGA SSC and all my previous issues are gone.

Now that I know for certain that the GPU was at fault I just have to find a way of getting the retailer to test it properly - it sounds like you guys are having some serious problems with that!

 

[antonusklesk]

It is unfortunate that you guys are having so much trouble, both initially with the XFX card and now the retailer

It's most certainly persuaded me not to go with XFX in future though, I've had the EVGA SSC from the same retailer since the 17th of Dec (I believe a few of us getting it posted in a similar thread around that time), and fingers crossed, it's still going strong with a further OC on top.

Good luck to all having problems, I hope the retailer doesn't mess you around too much and you get a full refund quick-sharp!

 

[marktime]

I have had enough with this stupid XFX card so I replaced it with a 55nm EVGA SSC and all my previous issues are gone.

Now that I know for certain that the GPU was at fault I just have to find a way of getting the retailer to test it properly - it sounds like you guys are having some serious problems with that!

The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to suspect they didn't test it, otherwise why are they giving me a refund if it was ok? Reckon they just figured I'd be happy with paying a fee just to get most of my money back.

Don't think I'll trust XFX oced cards again. Only pre-overclocked card I've ever paid for apart from this was an EVGA 8800GTX and I never had a problem with it for nearly 2 years. Damned expensive though, the EVGA top models.

 

[GSDog]

I just got my RMA status upgraded to "Awaiting replacement / credit".
The diagnosis was "Dies in FurMark - tested in several benches."

I am pleased to say the least. I wonder if it had something to do with me adding a letter in with the card when I sent it back fully explaining the problem.
Now I need to decide which card to buy in it's place.

 

[marktime]

I just got my RMA status upgraded to "Awaiting replacement / credit".
The diagnosis was "Dies in FurMark - tested in several benches."

I am pleased to say the least. I wonder if it had something to do with me adding a letter in with the card when I sent it back fully explaining the problem.
Now I need to decide which card to buy in it's place.

Great news mate. Hopefully they won't sting you for testing it (can't see how they could). You thinking of another 260, then?

 

[GSDog]

Great news mate. Hopefully they won't sting you for testing it (can't see how they could). You thinking of another 260, then?

I might go for the EVGA GTX260 55nm and just overclock it myself unless I can find a GTX280 for under £250. I don't think I'm going to buy a pre-overclocked card again.

 

[marktime]

I might go for the EVGA GTX260 55nm and just overclock it myself unless I can find a GTX280 for under £250. I don't think I'm going to buy a pre-overclocked card again.

Having run a GTX280 now for the last few days I can honestly say there's very little in it compared with a heavily overclocked 260, less than 500 points in vantage, little if any real performance gain in any of the games I play.

I certainly wouldn't pay much more for one and seeing some of the new 55nm 260s now around the £200 mark I reckon they're looking like a good deal at the moment. Best of luck, anyway.