Disappointed with Zalman

N

novadaemon

Gawd
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
862
I'm going to sum up my experience by saying that Zalman customer service blows. I've emailed twice from 2 different email addresses with no response. Not even a "Sorry, but that sucks for you." standard corporate response. Zalman is a Korean company so I thought that mentioning that I was in Korea would help the situation, but I guess not. It's pretty hard to find a replacement fan this model.

Here are some pics and the copy of my email:

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Hello,

My name is (omitted). I am an American currently residing in South Korea and I own a Zalman VF700-Cu which I've had for over half a year. One day I left my computer on and came back to hear a loud grinding sound.

Apparently a fan blade broke off my VF700 and had bent the fins on my cooler. I turned my computer off to assess the damage. When I took the cooler off the core had been crushed from the fan making the heatsink wobble back and forth because it was unbalanced. Originally the fins were bunched up in groups but I did my best to separate them back into normal condition. Either way I now have a dead video card and a busted cooler.

I had purchased this cooler with cash at a CompUSA and brought it with me from America. I am currently located in (omitted), but I am unable to navigate the Korean version of the Zalman site. I did not save any of my original materials, and I only have the cooler.

I really enjoy Zalman products, but this experience has me a bit concerned. I am not willing to give up on it just yet and would like to know if I can get the whole cooler replaced since the fins are messed up or if I can just get a replacement fan or something. I'm kind of mad that the video card is dead, but I don’t really expect you guys to replace that. Please look at the pictures attached so you can assess the situation.
 
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I would call them if I was you.. whenever I have a problem I always call instead of email- it has proven to get a faster response than an email

--other than that I don't really know what else to tell you.. sorry that happened to you
 
Sorry to hear OP. My experince with Zalman has been great. They sent me a free AMD clamp when I sent them a RMA. I was surprise they actually sent it out but relieve I wouldn't have to pay $10+shipping for it on other websites. Plus it arrive in 2 days from California.

Perhaps try to fill out an RMA form instead. It should reach the proper people that way.
 
Maybe i am misunderstanding, but are you saying that blade broke off spontaneously?
 
I doubt a spam filter is rejecting my emails because I've sent them from 2 different addresses. If it were then I'd assume that ALL emails were getting rejected and that's just messed up.

I'll try calling them a bunch today. I've given them 1 week per e-mail to respond and I think that's ample time. Yeah it does suck, and yes the blade flying off was spontaneous. I'll update after I call them and see if anything happens.

I liked Zalman too, but then again every company is a good company when your stuff works. It's their customer service that determines whether it's a "good" company or a great company.
 
I am sorry to hear and see this happen, i used to be a big fan of "zalman" but now i dont have anything of theirs, they cant really keep up, and some of their prducts have built in fans that can not be replaced. a fan blade breaking off and destroying your GPU is really too much though.
 
They don't respond to their emails, I remember trying to contact them a year ago. Just call them if possible.
 
Novadaemon,

Sry to hear about Zalman not responding to your issues. I've always been a Zalman fan and am also disappointed in the fact that you're not getting anywhere with them.

Tell you what, and I'm being 100% serious here. If you'd like a replacement cooler for your card (if it's compatible) I'll send you a Zalman VF-900Cu for free if you pay the international shipping costs. I have one still in the box that didn't help a malfunctioning x1950xt agp card I tried out. All materials are in the box and sitting about 8 feet away from me on a shelf. I have no use for it and no one in the for sale section seemed interested when I advertised it months and months ago. PM me for more info. I'd like to help out a fellow Zalman user even if they wont.
 
yeah i don't know about zalman either... the cpu heatsink i have is going pretty strong after 3+ years but my GPU cooler fan stopped working after less than a year
 
Actully I've good experiences with them. I had the LED's die on my CNPS9500 and emailed them asking for a new fan. They sent one out right away. No asking for reciept of proof of purchase.

My brother also had problem with his Zalman HSF and they sent out the replacment part right away.

They are actually one of the better companies I've dealt with. Maybe they are ignoring you because they don't have that part in stock.

My email was like this:

Hello, I own a Zalman 9500 LED CPU cooler and some of the LED's have died. I need a new fan.

Thank You.
 
Mister E said:
Novadaemon,

Sry to hear about Zalman not responding to your issues. I've always been a Zalman fan and am also disappointed in the fact that you're not getting anywhere with them.

Tell you what, and I'm being 100% serious here. If you'd like a replacement cooler for your card (if it's compatible) I'll send you a Zalman VF-900Cu for free if you pay the international shipping costs. I have one still in the box that didn't help a malfunctioning x1950xt agp card I tried out. All materials are in the box and sitting about 8 feet away from me on a shelf. I have no use for it and no one in the for sale section seemed interested when I advertised it months and months ago. PM me for more info. I'd like to help out a fellow Zalman user even if they wont.
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That's straight stand-up right there. Right here's a man with a good heart.
 
I was finally able to get in contact with Zalman. Here is a copy of the 2 emails they sent me:

Hello William,

We're sorry to hear about your video card and the cooler. I think what happened with your first email was that we tried forwarding it to the tech support in Korea, but it didn't go through. Since you are a resident in Korea, you have to get in contact with the Zalman in Korea.

It sounds to me that the fan fin broke, causing your heatsink get way too hot. Then, the wobble from the unbalanced cooler caused the overheated heatsink and video card to become deformed.

You can definitely get your cooler replaced by the tech support in Korea. Good luck.

Sincerely,
Orville Buranday
RMA Department
Zalman USA, Inc.
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Dear William,

First of all, sorry for late reply and the replacement will be sent to you next Monday.

Since our service team is on summer vacation now, we can send replacement next week.

As soon as we arrange courier, we will send a message to your mobile phone.

Regards,
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Though this is good news. I won't make anything official until I have a new cooler in my hands. I'll update when I get the cooler which wont be for another week or so.
 
I wanted to give this one last update. Here is the cooler I received today. I had to send the old cooler back of course, but they paid for shipping. They shipped it out Monday, and I got it on tuesday.

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Overall it sucks that my card died, and it sucks that Zalman doesn't respond to emails, BUT once you get them on the phone they are very quick to resolve the issue. In the end I'm satisfied. The LED version of the cooler was a nice touch. Most companies might not even help so I give Zalman a thumbs up, and I'll be remaining a customer.
 
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If I were you, I'd ask for a replacement video card too... (maybe that's asking too much?)
Stay with me- I'm just trying to use logic here: if Company A's product damages one of my expensive components, and the damage would not have happened if I hadn't bought Company A's product; shouldn't Company A be responsible to fix said component because the purpose of the product obviously failed... miserably? I've done this before and typically it produces discounts on "future" Company A products, but hey... something's better than nothing.
 
paco16 said:
If I were you, I'd ask for a replacement video card too... (maybe that's asking too much?)
Stay with me- I'm just trying to use logic here: if Company A's product damages one of my expensive components, and the damage would not have happened if I hadn't bought Company A's product; shouldn't Company A be responsible to fix said component because the purpose of the product obviously failed... miserably? I've done this before and typically it produces discounts on "future" Company A products, but hey... something's better than nothing.
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I agree. It's worth a shot, you have nothing to lose.
 
Hey novadaemon! Good deal on getting a replacement cooler. Love the blue LED's. All my stuff has blue as well.

Sorry I can't try and help you with a replacement video card. The only thing I have on my parts shelf is a crappy Nvidia FX5200 agp (LOL) that came out of an old Dell Dimension 8200, and I know you don't want that pos. ;)
 
paco16 said:
If I were you, I'd ask for a replacement video card too... (maybe that's asking too much?)
Stay with me- I'm just trying to use logic here: if Company A's product damages one of my expensive components, and the damage would not have happened if I hadn't bought Company A's product; shouldn't Company A be responsible to fix said component because the purpose of the product obviously failed... miserably? I've done this before and typically it produces discounts on "future" Company A products, but hey... something's better than nothing.
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Good luck suing a major corporation, especially with making it cost less in lawyers fees than to just replace the card.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
RADEoN said:
Good luck suing a major corporation, especially with making it cost less in lawyers fees than to just replace the card.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
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I sense a bit of sarcasm...:D You obviously didn't read my post(skimmed it maybe?). I wasn't suggesting it's a huge corporate conspiracy and we should sue them if they don't fix my damaged product, (although that's what claims court is for), I'm simply suggesting that one uses logic and conveys that logic to said company.
I've found the companies I have the best luck with actually understand logic. (Logitech for instance, or EVGA).

Suing is the absolute last option in my opinion. But that's just me... I don't have time for possibly wasteful/unnecessary drama/litigation.
 
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