Mining may void warranty on Inno3D GPUs

Dirk Diggler · 26 Aug 2017 at 05:31

http://www.pcgamer.com/cryptocurrency-mining-may-void-warranty-on-inno3d-gpus/

There was a conversation previously about the potential damage mining could do to a card, but I can't find the thread. I made the point at the time that mining specific cards can come with warranty periods as short as 3 months. Now I've seen this article about the potential for no warranty to be available.

I think second hand buyers in the future need to be wary of what they're buying, depending on the model they go for. If manufacturers are now going to start refusing RMA requests then surely there must be an increase in returns for them to react in this way? Is there any evidence that mining cards are more likely to fail? And by evidence I don't mean heat causing damage etc.. I mean evidence that card manufacturers are seeing an increase in RMA requests?

I'd be interested in how INNO3D could prove the card was used for mining unless the damage itself was irrefutable proof?

Mark1989 · 26 Aug 2017 at 06:07

I don't get how they could prove it? If a card for example is just artifacting or no display that could be due to a general fault not mining :s

Kaapstad · 26 Aug 2017 at 06:21

No way to prove what a card has been used for.

Also what if someone uses their cards for folding 24/7, that is just as bad as using them for mining.

Hotwired · 26 Aug 2017 at 06:52

It's to scare off the plebs who know they've been using it for mining but don't have the nerve to try it on with an RMA if they bust it doing that since obviously the manufacturer told them not to.

Just saying it has an effect.

Dirk Diggler · 26 Aug 2017 at 07:56

There must surely have been a serious increase in RMA requests for Inno3D to have made this move, plus Gigabyte have put a 3 month warranty restriction on mining specific cards.

Is the second hand market going to be a big risk for the next few years due to cards potentially going pop? Or, are the cards functioning fine and miners are actually ripping the **** out of it to try and get a return on cards they no longer need? Maybe deliberately damaging them to get a brand new replacement?

Finners · 26 Aug 2017 at 07:58

Lots of miners use custom bios and I guess if the card dies they wouldn't be able to flash back the original bios.

They may be able to void it that way if they can still access the bios some how.

sanaxe1 · 26 Aug 2017 at 08:26

Don't they have to give 1 year by law?

andybird123 · 26 Aug 2017 at 10:14

sanaxe1 said:
Don't they have to give 1 year by law?

No, the retailer does. Manufacturers can put whatever they want in the warranty conditions but the retailer still has to pass the "reasonable quality" test and if you pay by credit card that is pretty much an instant win button on a claim.

arby1 · 26 Aug 2017 at 10:20

I would think the 3 month limit on a mining-specific card is more to reduce the number of returns once the card is no longer profitable and the user comes up with a way of engineering a fault. Most cards are profitable for 6-12 months (total stab in the dark there- impossible to predict the future, but maybe you get my point).

rtho782 · 26 Aug 2017 at 10:30

andybird123 said:
No, the retailer does. Manufacturers can put whatever they want in the warranty conditions but the retailer still has to pass the "reasonable quality" test and if you pay by credit card that is pretty much an instant win button on a claim.

The retailer could easily argue that mining is "business use" and as such there is no requirement for a 1y warranty.

AiiR · 26 Aug 2017 at 11:10

The greedy retailers that slapped a huge premium on mining cards and happily sold them in the 100s should be the ones sucking up the RMA requests for these.. reap what you sow.

nashathedog · 26 Aug 2017 at 11:31

Mark1989 said:
I don't get how they could prove it? If a card for example is just artifacting or no display that could be due to a general fault not mining :s

That's what I was thinking, Unless they add some type of spyware like a chip inside the card that makes a timestamp of how it's being used they shouldn't be able to tell, Should they?

bru · 26 Aug 2017 at 11:39

nashathedog said:
That's what I was thinking, Unless they add some type of spyware like a chip inside the card that makes a timestamp of how it's being used they shouldn't be able to tell, Should they?

Who's to say they haven't already

.
[/tinfoil hat mode]

Sasahara · 26 Aug 2017 at 11:45

It not the type of use, but conditions of purchase that affect the warranty conditions in the UK.

This is why the 3 month mining cards are only sold to business registered customers since they don't have any right to 1 year or more under the Consumer Rights Act.

rtho782 · 26 Aug 2017 at 14:31

Sasahara said:
It not the type of use, but conditions of purchase that affect the warranty conditions in the UK.

This is why the 3 month mining cards are only sold to business registered customers since they don't have any right to 1 year or more under the Consumer Rights Act.

I work self employed as a sole trader doing IT support work in addition to my main job. I'm not a "business registered" customer, by which I guess you mean a limited company, but I do buy kit from places that are B2B sales only.

As you're mining with a card to generate an income stream, you're doing it for profit, i.e. it's a business activity. Regardless of if you're "business registered" whatever that means, you're doing it as a sole trader if you're just an average Jo, so arguably you're only entitled to a business warranty.

andybird123 · 26 Aug 2017 at 15:33

rtho782 said:
The retailer could easily argue that mining is "business use" and as such there is no requirement for a 1y warranty.

And how would they prove you'd used it for mining unless you were stupid enough to tell them?

Also by that logic anyone using a gpu for photoshop would be business use, as photoshop can be used to generate a profit.

five8five · 26 Aug 2017 at 16:20

Finners said:
Lots of miners use custom bios and I guess if the card dies they wouldn't be able to flash back the original bios.

They may be able to void it that way if they can still access the bios some how.

This. It seems to be common to use a custom BIOS. I'm sure the manufacturer can access the BIOS even on a "dead" card.

andybird123 · 26 Aug 2017 at 16:25

Sending in a card with a different bios is already a voidable offence, so thats no different anyway.

ubersonic · 26 Aug 2017 at 16:59

Finners said:
Lots of miners use custom bios and I guess if the card dies they wouldn't be able to flash back the original bios.

It's very rare for a card itself to actually die from mining, usually you lose a fan or sometimes even all of them, and sometimes it may become unstable at high clocks. In both cases it would be easy to flash back.

rtho782 · 26 Aug 2017 at 17:42

andybird123 said:
And how would they prove you'd used it for mining unless you were stupid enough to tell them?

Also by that logic anyone using a gpu for photoshop would be business use, as photoshop can be used to generate a profit.

If you sold a GPU to someone working from home as a photographer and it was for their work computer, arguably it is for business use.

Mining isn't something that CAN be done for a profit, the literal only outcome is making an income. There is no way to do it without making an income.

Yeah, I'm not saying they can prove it, but the consumer rights act does not apply to B2B sales, and if you're running a business (which, if you are mining for profit, you are - indeed, you should be submitting a tax return) you are only ENTITLED to a business warranty.

Proving it is of course a completely different issue.