MSI Lightning 780 gtx Faulty - Need Help

[MooMoo444]

This topic is a good advert for 3-5+yr warranties. I wouldn't go near another 2 year one ever again as I had a card fail within days of the 2 year mark, thankfully the good side

 

[GabenPlis]

I think I'd have no problem with a 2-3 year garuntee had I bought a sub £200 card, I mean it's more acceptable, but when your paying for top of the range style things you just expect more naturally. Makes me seem more stupid for ever taking the 2 year garuntee but as I said I don't recall seeing any 4-5 year ones at the time.

I've also just received a reply from MSI again, this is the part most hilarious to me about the situation. Now bearing in mind I put a fair bit of effort in wording and explaining my situation, further explaining that I've been a MSI customer for years, had various Twin Frozr edition cards and the like all registered to the site, this is the entire reply I received for my few paragraph email.

"We are very sorry to hear that you experience a problem with the card
However the warranty already expired end of 2016
We are sorry but cannot be of assistance

Thank you and Best regards"

I accept the fact that it's my own fault for taking the 2 year yada yada, but to literally reply something like that, not even a remotely remorseful message just sorry **** out of luck pal. So basically don't buy any high end MSI products, because if they do brake, you are shafted. You can be perfectly correct saying the time was up so they are within their rights to say no bluntly and shut you down but if a product of that cost can break a year and a few months after a short 2 year warranty then the parts aren't as high spec as they claim and is an absolute shambles. Entirely different beast I know and I'm not directly comparing the two BUT, I had an Xbox 360 which survived the red ring of death fiasco, but about 5 years after purchase well out of warranty it broke with the same symptoms. I sent an email just hoping I could pay the £50 or whatever and get it repaired by mcrsft and they replied straight back, picked the Xbox up free of charge, sent me out an almost brand new looking refurbished one which arrived the same week. Now that is what I call customer service, they identified it was their fault (they manufactured something with defects) and was one of the most pleasant experiences ever.

Now I will admit I do value customer service very highly over other things sometimes, but some companies just leave a lot to be desired. Microsoft is up there and definitely OCUK too with really good customer service. I bought an OC bundle same time I bought this GPU, but the overclock failed or had an issue a year or less down the line and OCUK replaced and took back the one causing issues. So I've had brilliant support by them in the past. Everything else has survived longer than the GPU and seems to be running pretty solid.

I will certainly never be buying from MSI again and to be fair there platforms for contact and presence is not great.

Longer warrantys, cheaper cards and Definitely not MSI I have gathered so far from my endeavours.

 

[Qitarah]

I mean I don't really expect anything else from MSI in this situation. It's not like it's out of warranty by a week or even a month. I don't see many companies helping in this situation. It's a whole year..


It does highlight (to me personally) the need to get 3 year (or more) warranty cards. I do often keep GPUs for north of 2 years before upgrading. I certainly Will keep that in mind for next purchase.

 

[Gregster]

I think it is best to take it on the chin Gaben and move on Bud. Zotac do a 5 year warranty, so worth keeping them in mind on your next purchase

 

[GabenPlis]

You may say that you expect nothing more but I say this, I've had cheap cards, I've had plenty of mid range cards, all of which have gone strong for longer periods of time and they are made out of standard components. This card is highly marketed as having military class stronger components (regardless of the truth these are the claims of such) and in general just being an expensive card you expect it to have a little life in it. You buy anything else in this world for a lot of money and it breaks in a relatively average timeframe and the company that made it usually does something out of good will, sometimes due to saving face or embarrassment, being a long time customer or try and atleast give you some good reasoning for why they refuse to help. It's just bad customer service on MSIs behalf and it doesn't look good does it?

 

[GabenPlis]

I think it is best to take it on the chin Gaben and move on Bud. Zotac do a 5 year warranty, so worth keeping them in mind on your next purchase

Yeah I have accepted my fate but I still appreciate all the suggestions put forward such as future brands etc so please keep them coming . Some people are just replying that it's past the 2 year date so deal with it, that's true but doesn't mean something should brake leaving you dead in the water with no help from the manufacturers when it was so costly to buy in the first place. People are acting like they would just roll over and let their money burn but in reality they would atleast try to get some response from a company they were loyal too.

 

[Qitarah]

I really don't see many PC component companies helping out of good will after a year of being out of warranty, I certainly would ask the company if they can help out but would expect nothing.

Also, you said it your self the whole "military class" components is just marketing speak.

 

[GabenPlis]

I really don't see many PC component companies helping out of good will after a year of being out of warranty, I certainly would ask the company if they can help out but would expect nothing.

Also, you said it your self the whole "military class" components is just marketing speak.

Regardless if you make claims these days you must back them up otherwise you are committing a crime and can face fines. You may be missing the point or I may not be conveying it well but warranty or no warranty it's not a death sentence, an expensive and or superior product should be either backed up by the company or at least last past a suitable time. As others have pointed out (and I have taken on board) there are 5 year warrantys on offer now and maybe before. Are the manufacturers spending a lot more money and time on higher quality components all of a sudden? I doubt it.

 

[Akagi]

You haven't lost £650, you've lost probably £90~ or so, the difference between the faulty cards value on eBay, and the price of a replacement on eBay.

I know it isn't ideal, but manufacturers put limited length warranties on products for a reason, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. 1 year / 50% outside of the warranty period will in most cases be past that line, but you could still write them a polite email as suggested prior.

GPU's die sometimes, and thats that. I had an MSI GTX660 die on me after around a year. I also had an Asus ROG GTX780TI die on me when it was around 3 years old. (in the second case it caught fire... )

 

[GabenPlis]

You haven't lost £650, you've lost probably £90~ or so, the difference between the faulty cards value on eBay, and the price of a replacement on eBay.

I know it isn't ideal, but manufacturers put limited length warranties on products for a reason, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. 1 year / 50% outside of the warranty period will in most cases be past that line, but you could still write them a polite email as suggested prior.

GPU's die sometimes, and thats that. I had an MSI GTX660 die on me after around a year. I also had an Asus ROG GTX780TI die on me when it was around 3 years old. (in the second case it caught fire... )

I agree with almost everything you said and yeah things fail, go wrong etc and I did get 3 years use but I just feel the 780 lightning/MSI in general has been a bit of a waste of my time and money in general. When you put it into percentages yes it was over 50% out of warranty so when you format it like that it does seem like a damn long time extra. But I'm talking more in hindsight now, why was it ever a 2 year warranty on such an expensive product, with claims of quality and durability. Pretty pathetic on their part but as I've said I've learned from my mistake I'm just looking for some more insight and points of view!

Also I fully understand my issue is probably minor in comaparison to what some of you have probably experienced in the past. But that is why I try to buy quality and do some research into reviews and various other sectors before committing to a purchase (such as not skimping on cheap PSUs etc and planning for the future/upgrades/compatibility).

 

[Akagi]

I used to ignore warranty length, but now its one of the main things I check when buying (as a result of the 780TI dying 1 month out of warranty!!!)

I do think a 2 year warranty is a bit of a poor show. It displays a lack of confidence in the product.

 

[queamin]

I used to ignore warranty length, but now its one of the main things I check when buying (as a result of the 780TI dying 1 month out of warranty!!!)

I do think a 2 year warranty is a bit of a poor show. It displays a lack of confidence in the product.

I agree it shows a lack of confidence.

 

[Scania]

In fairness to MSI, it's nigh a year out of warranty, they have to draw the line somewhere, you've been unlucky, nothing more I feel.

Longer (3-5yr) seems relatively new to my mind and afaik people like Zotac are new ish to the market but their warranty offer no doubt helps them build market share(and rightly so!)

I've always been reluctant to pay for a high end card at new retail prices, always preferred used for bang per buck, but the 5yr Zotac is swaying me to break this habit, in my case I'm looking to pay ~ £450 for an Amp Extreme and will be reassured knowing my sizeable (to me) investment is going to be covered for the effective useful life of the card.
I'm sure other manufacturers will soon have to offer more warranty especially for high end, as a consumer why have 2 years when you can get 5?

Again though, I don't feel MSI have stiffed you and remember the potential repair cost (if it's repairable) would most likely be near what a replacement with more RAM and better performance would cost you.

Wang it on eBay - it will sell! - and get a new card.

 

[Qitarah]

Regardless if you make claims these days you must back them up otherwise you are committing a crime and can face fines. You may be missing the point or I may not be conveying it well but warranty or no warranty it's not a death sentence, an expensive and or superior product should be either backed up by the company or at least last past a suitable time. As others have pointed out (and I have taken on board) there are 5 year warrantys on offer now and maybe before. Are the manufacturers spending a lot more money and time on higher quality components all of a sudden? I doubt it.

O come on, you don't really think "military class components", "ultra durable" or any other buzz words/marketing BS is anything other than something to help them sell hardware, surely?

They aren't implying anything, the only weight a statement like "military class components" has is what you as the buyer hold it to.


The fact a company puts a 2 year warranty on something speaks far more than any marketing buzz words.

That being said it's still poor form for something to die after only a few years, and I would expect it to last longer, that's for sure. Only thing u can do is vote with you wallet and not buy MSI products again.

 

[Tommy_Here]

The retailer has a 6 year duty of care NOT a garuntee however it's got to be what the retailer would accept as reasonable, so a £50 card you'd expect it to go after 3+years a £650 nope I'd expect it last longer so if you can prove the fault ( reverse burden of proof) ( take it to a reputable repair source and get a report to prove the fault is with the item itself and not something you've done) you're entitled to a partial refund with how long you've had it so £650/6= 108. 108x3=324 so you're entitled to half your money back. Know your rights it can help at times like this. Annoys me how tech retailers ignore the customer after the warranty expires

 

[GabenPlis]

I agree it shows a lack of confidence.

The retailer has a 6 year duty of care NOT a garuntee however it's got to be what the retailer would accept as reasonable, so a £50 card you'd expect it to go after 3+years a £650 nope I'd expect it last longer so if you can prove the fault ( reverse burden of proof) ( take it to a reputable repair source and get a report to prove the fault is with the item itself and not something you've done) you're entitled to a partial refund with how long you've had it so £650/6= 108. 108x3=324 so you're entitled to half your money back. Know your rights it can help at times like this. Annoys me how tech retailers ignore the customer after the warranty expires

This is exactly what I'm trying to convey here, I've been pretty much disregarded just because the card is out of warranty. I've already said its out of warranty and I know I'm not going to get any help, just find the lack of care or even Thought towards me from the manufacturer to be laughable. No faith in their product past the very minor 2 year warranty on such an expensive product, but I've had £100 cards that will still probably work now if I plugged it in.

 

[Ian Evey]

The retailer has a 6 year duty of care NOT a garuntee however it's got to be what the retailer would accept as reasonable, so a £50 card you'd expect it to go after 3+years a £650 nope I'd expect it last longer so if you can prove the fault ( reverse burden of proof) ( take it to a reputable repair source and get a report to prove the fault is with the item itself and not something you've done) you're entitled to a partial refund with how long you've had it so £650/6= 108. 108x3=324 so you're entitled to half your money back. Know your rights it can help at times like this. Annoys me how tech retailers ignore the customer after the warranty expires

I like you

Indeed your right, just read up on knowing your rights with electrical items.

 

[Griffildur]

O come on, you don't really think "military class components", "ultra durable" or any other buzz words/marketing BS is anything other than something to help them sell hardware, surely?

They aren't implying anything, the only weight a statement like "military class components" has is what you as the buyer hold it to.


The fact a company puts a 2 year warranty on something speaks far more than any marketing buzz words.

That being said it's still poor form for something to die after only a few years, and I would expect it to last longer, that's for sure. Only thing u can do is vote with you wallet and not buy MSI products again.

depends, I guess, those "marketing words" were part of my decision to buy my current motherboard, which is an Asus Sabertooth x79, marketed as TUF and extremely durable.

5 years later it still runs strong and haven't had a single issue in all this time. Of course it also had 5 years warranty like pretty much anything expensive in my computer

 

[Griffildur]

This is exactly what I'm trying to convey here, I've been pretty much disregarded just because the card is out of warranty. I've already said its out of warranty and I know I'm not going to get any help, just find the lack of care or even Thought towards me from the manufacturer to be laughable. No faith in their product past the very minor 2 year warranty on such an expensive product, but I've had £100 cards that will still probably work now if I plugged it in.

well, try it as you have nothing to lose. Oh and please let us know how that goes as it might change things for quite a few people.

 

[vapor matt]

I don't see why the etailer has to cover anything that's out of its warranty. And to provide proof of failure due to product defect is going to be difficult and expensive to prove. and even if you do prove that with one person, another could find something different to blame. time and money wasted.

I can see you have the hump about it failing after its warranty has expired but that's life. I have a X1900 XTX that is still going, I also have a black opps GTX580 that failed out of warranty. even now I could envoke this 6 year etailer can I have a replacement GFX card if I could prove it was a defect. but what else does the rule cover, I bought some new tyres and they have worn out quicker than I thought, where does all the rubber go from all the car tyres in the world, some where there is a big pile of rubber

Sometimes annoying as it is when failure strikes you have to accept its one of them things, and to avoid you purchase a card with a 5 year warranty in future.

yea its a bummer, but so is a 3 grand gearbox rebuild in a 4 year old beamer lol don't go there, or swirl flap failure lol

take it on the chin, buy a card with 5 year warranty and move on, lifes to short.