Warranty? - Inno3D GeForce GTX 980Ti Hybrid Black Edition

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I picked up two of the below back in October 2015.

Inno3D GeForce GTX 980Ti Hybrid Black Edition 6144MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (C98TP-1SDN-N5HNX) GX-057-IN

I've been happily using them all this time yet tonight I heard a pop and then a slight hissing noise. I of course turned my PC off instantly and stuck my head inside to find the cause of the weird noise.

I found that the GPU in the first PCI slot has died a death. It seems as if the processor / main chip (whats cooled by the cooler) has expanded and pushed the cooler away as all 4 screw mounts have the plastic casing chipped and is coming way from said screws.

Also looking close at the pipes right near the main cooler it looks cracked and on dusty as if there has been a slight leak.

Spoiler: Pictures

 

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Opps should have actually put what I wanted to ask - is it warranty worthy but yeah thanks!

 

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@T.Kay I know... I did a double take when I checked the order date.

@Nelly - Yes was purchased from OcUK spoke to them this morning and already got my RMA number and dropped the package off for return. Will drop an update when I get one.

 

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@Nelly Warranty refused to physical damage thats why I sebt it in). Overclocker's great as usual have never seen a hybrid card do this do they went back to Inno3D.

Inno3D said that they did not ship the card like that in 2015 and as the card has been physically damaged they refused the warranty claim.

So I guess I will await the card back in the post take the cooler off and see if there is any damage to the chip or the cooler itself ... it might shed light as to what caused the damage.

 

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What caused the physical damage? Was it the leak from your cooler ?

No idea. Head a pop and a hiss. The pictures fron OCUK seem to show the card with the cooler totally off it was still connect when I sent it in. Using the original box and extra packaging.

Once I get the card back I can take the cooler off and see if its the chip or the cooler what caused the damage.

Thanks for the reply @Bailey - I understand sadly nothing OCUK can do.

 

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I have to say you are remarkably relaxed h00x...

I don't understand Inno refusing this - saying they did not ship the card like that in 2015 when clearly they did, and of course there is damage - that's why you are RMA-ing it.

From the sounds of it Inno didn't even physically look at the card, just at the pictures OCUK sent them.

Not OCUK's fault at all I understand, but very poor show from Inno imo and will make me think twice about buying a card from them when other providers seem to have better attitude towards support.

Oh I'm angry but OCUK or anyone here cannot do much. If Inno3D do not accept my hands are tied. Once I get the card back I can look under the cooler and check if theres fluids in the pipes. Once I've inspected it I can I guess speak to Inno3D directly and try and plead a case.

 

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Sorry for the delay in a proper response had a busy day.

To give some explanation

The card was put into a new build machine back in October 2015. Its been sat in there since and had a clean every 6-8 months - it was never taken out the PCI slot just left in place. PC is turned off at night. The PC itself has been moved twice since then - once when I took it off my old desk and once to put it back into its new home.

The pictures I took in the original post were straight after I removed the card and placed it down but as soon as I moved it any further more of the plastic around the screws came away and the shroud came effectively totally away from the card. Just to also clarify ... I head a "pop", then my monitor lost signal / no receiving a display. I then heard a hissing sound (I would presume coolant leak). At that point in a matter of seconds I had turned my PC off and removed power.

What @Zeeflyboy said makes a lot of sense to be fair and it did look like one of pipes had a crack in it. Would that be covered under warranty?

@efish - Overclockers as they have said sent the pictures over to Inno3D as Overclockers have never seen this issue on an Hybrid card. They waited for the advise of Inno3D who have refused the warranty claim as physical damage. I find this a bit "quick" as if its something what has never been seen before surely they would have wanted a close look at the card. Instead I have my return tracking details from Overclock already. So I presume I will have the card back with me by the end of this week.

The warranty claim is for the physical damage so I would have presumed a more indepth look at the card would have taken place by Overclockers. Taking a look at the pipes and causes of the damage and removing the shroud to look at the chip and underside of the cooler.

@Bailey could maybe advise on if this actually took place or it was just a quick look at the cooler mounts which took place. Also thank you for trying to organize some replacement parts that's appreciated and fingers crossed it at least saves my card - if its my only option.

This is the first card I've had to return in any way shape or form so not sure where I stand with warranty and returns. I believe the burden is for me to prove the product is at fault but I'm not sure how I can do that with the issue and damage as it is. - I could argue the fact that I have the same exact card currently sat in my PC working without issue, which shows that there is an issue with the faulty card?

 

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@pastymuncher - Yes the whole PC build was bought from OCUK and on credit card. The thought had crossed my mind to go down that route.

@Bailey - Getting the cooler and mounting hardware is greatly appreciated but as with the general opinion here there must but something else which can be done. Was an inspection to find the root cause of the card failure event conducted and if not - can I get the card returned to yourselves for this?

The fact that I have an identical card of exactly the same age and usage time sat in my PC working without issue surely shows one card has an issue and is not fit for purpose / satisfactory quality?

 

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@Ezyryder - its not on the way back. It is back with me - delivery was earlier on today at 10:14 (less then 24 hours then when I had talked to OCUK on the phone - cracking service!).

@pastymuncher The new cooler / shroud is appreciated but the same thoughts had crossed my mind. If the card is now damaged the warranty will not be honored as I'm not an authorized repairer / all the rest of it. I'm going to give OCUK a call and see what they can do if anything for me - if not I've already spoken to my bank and got the forms on the way.

 

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@efish I've checked my current card and apart from a bit of dust all of the mounts for the screws seems to look fine.

Spoiler: Pictures

 

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Firstly I contacted OCUK this morning and have been advised to speak to Inno3D directly. I have tried on multiple times only to get the same response each time from Inno3D as below.

Spoiler: Inno3D - Canned Response

Dear Sir

Firstly, thank you for your kind support of our product,
If your graphics card have any problem,
You can return graphics card and invoice warranty document,
To your local reseller or etailer,
They will provide RMA Service to you.

For your information:
INNO3D Graphics card: 1 or 2 year warranty, ( Different regions are different, please contact the local purchase of stores, )
iChill Graphics card: 3 year warranty ( Artificially damaged, burned parts, oxidation parts, are not included in the warranty, )

The warranty period is decided by the local distributor.

Hope the above information is useful for you.

Best Regards,
Inno3D Support

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I was off work last week so despite getting the card back in the post on Friday, I have only today actually opened the box.

I received 3 bags of Haribo what was nice as always! Thanks OCUK but... whoever looked at my card and packaged it back up did not do so correctly (see pictures below). My card on inspection today, is more damaged then when I sent it originally to OCUK.

It seems like the card was damaged by DPD (who I returned via the paid for service by OCUK). I do not believe OCUK would have damaged the card further while inspecting it - why would they? The reason I believe it was DPD is that the card seems to of been damaged more between me sending pictures for the RMA process to start and the pictures OCUK sent to Inno3D

Is this now for OCUK to make a claim against DPD - if they used a service with insurance etc?

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When I sent the card, it was in the original box and more than enough bubble wrap and packaging.

Pictures sent to OCUK to start RMA process. - Although cracked and coming away the plastic was still fully attached.

https://i.imgur.com/tYIXCTq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NDa8hFY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Tunedaj.jpg

The pictures OCUK sent to Inno3D the card shroud etc is now totally disconnected - https://imgur.com/a/BRt7Xvy

The card received back from OCUK as always was well packaged - bubble wrap and air bags, but upon opening the box I was welcomed to my card like this. The card could have been further damaged by OCUK when packaging or in transit by DPD and has at some point had pressure applied to the PCI connector as evident by the depression in the foam.

https://i.imgur.com/8ZoHAWQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zkbmbiH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/36PNyVj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ygqH0DO.jpg

 

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OCUK and Inno3D have alleged I caused the physical damage which of course is not covered by warranty. Both companies have never come across this issue before so in their professional opinions

"this has been caused by user error / misuse - physical damage." - OCUK

Some replacement parts are on the way but I fully believe the card to be dead.

I've contacted my contents insurance free legal advice and they just pointed me in the direction of my credit card provider - who I've already contacted and going through the motions.

 

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So they saying you physically damaged the card - what evidence is this based on ?

Their evidence is that the card has physical damage. To quote OCUK - "The onus would be on the end consumer to prove that the item was not fit for purpose and had an inherent fault from day 1. This would require a independent unbiased 3rd party report." and "We contacted the manufacturer directly as this has not previously been seen before with this card by ourselves as a manufacturing fault or failure of the item. This damage would indicate physical damage caused by user error/ misuses." and "the card has been determined warranty void by the manufacturer and ourselves due to physical damage."

The warranty does not cover physical damage so either I caused it (haha ) and its not covered under warranty, or the card had damaged itself - and the physical damage is not under warranty.
I have to try and prove some plastic has been an issue since almost 3 years ago. If I would have had this issue with another retailer Overclockers would have been the first people I contacted for a third party report(not any longer).

In my opinion not that it means anything. The damage as its all 4 corners of the cooler mounts, Which do not show any stress fractures or warping in the plastic (like its been moved back and forth repeatedly) shows that its been a sudden and violent action to cause this.

Anything of such force that I could have performed my self - such and pull at the shroud would have also damaged or bent the shroud. Yet its only the mounting plastic which has broke nothing else. The screws inside the plastic also are not bent which shows its been a sudden one direction movement and no pulling back and forth.

I've yet to do a full inspection but the radiator still has coolant in it and there are no leaks that I can see or feel. The chip under the cooler seems to be intact and the cooler itself seems to be in on peice. I would at this point presume that there is a pump failure or a blockage somewhere what has caused a pressure build up and release from somewhere causing the sudden damage.

As I'm getting hopefully getting a new shroud and mounting bits. I'm hopeful this gets the card working. However if its an issue with the pump or the card itself I'm just left out of pocket (which should be covered under warranty - but alas that would be physical damage technically so not covered under warranty ).

 

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@pastymuncher At no point has OCUK said they have inspected the card further then an initial look at the damage and it defiantly did not make it back to Inno3D and back in week the card was at OCUK / in the post.

They've looked at the card and said its physical damage, checked with Inno3D to see if its covered under warranty. The response from Inno3D was that its not covered so told me its my fault.

I have mentioned that there is a first time for everything to OCUK ... Man Landing on the Moon as an example.

OCUK quote

The card was inspected for physical damage which was found to be present. The manufacturer was then contacted with photos to see if they would accept the card back under warranty. Due to the physical damage, this was rejected by the manufacturer and rejected by ourselves back to you.

We contacted the manufacturer directly as this has not previously been seen before with this card by ourselves as a manufacturing fault or failure of the item. This damage would indicate physical damage caused by user error/ misuses.

The manufacturer has also confirmed that this is not a fault from hardware failure, that this has been caused by user error / misuse - physical damage.

By owning a second card of the same age, which does not have the same issue, would also indicate that this is not an inherited fault with the cards from the manufacturer.

As previously stated, we would be unable to offer a resolution to the issue as the card has been determined warranty void by the manufacturer and ourselves due to physical damage.

If you are unhappy with the outcome, i would recommend taking legal advice.

 

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When I've quoted OCUK its been verbatim / a copy and paste so defiantly accurate. I made sure to email / use the webnote system so it is all black and white.

 

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@montymint @Paladine - I'm currently awaiting to hear back from my credit card provider should be tomorrow or Wednesday.

The credit card provider are happy that as long my first contact was within the warranty period then the time to deal with the issue can extend past. Warranty would I presume expire 3 years from purchase which is 14th October.

I also awaiting receipt of the cooler from Inno3D. Not sure if its been sent to me directly or via Overclockers.