GPU Warranty Moral Support (Appreciate suggestions / thoughts)

[Zarathustra[H]]

So, I bought an MSI 4090.

I was shopping around and finally found one from a major retailer without TOO much of a markup over MSRP, and decided to pounce.

When I got it, popped it in my testbench machine to confirm it was working and then waited for my EKWB water block to arrive.

The water block from EKWB came early, so I decided to get a start installing it this evening, and ugh do I have a nightmare scenario.

I took the stock backplate and cooler off of the MSI board only to discover that one of the caps is loose. One of the legs doesn't make intimate contact with the board unless you push it down. It is almost coming off the board.

I didn't apply any kind of force to the thing disassembling it, so I don't think I could have damaged it... It must have been that way from the factory. Maybe failed wave solder or something.

I think the stock cooler applies pressure to the cap that keeps it in contact with the board, but as soon as I take it off it comes loose.

The EKWB waterblock does not apply pressure in the same way to the caps, so I can see the affected cap through the plexi flapping with motion...

So. I reinstalled the factory cooler and the GPU is back in the testbench and I am stress testing it now and it works just fine, but it probably wouldn't without the pressure on the cap keeping it in place, and who knows about longevity even with the stock cooler pushing the cap in place?

So the question is what to do:

1.) I could play coy and RMA it and say it isn't working, but...

a.) its going to be pretty obvious I took the cooler off, as I had to rip the little MSI sticker off one of the screws. I know it is illegal to deny warranty in the U.S. if you worked on something yourself, but that usually results in a fight with the warranty department.

b.) if they just stick it in a test machine and start running stress tests on it, they are going to find that that it works just fine, and may even send it back as "no problem found"...

2.) Or I could just straight up tell them, I took the cooler off, and there is a loose cap on the board, and then see how that fight goes.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[GoldenTiger]

2. Tell them it came that way (which it probably did from your description).

If all else fails... Hopefully you know how to solder .

 

[erek]

2. Tell them it came that way (which it probably did from your description).

If all else fails... Hopefully you know how to solder .

GiGaBiTe is proficient at solder , for reference

 

[RazorWind]

Can you not just solder the cap back on? I'd be willing to do it for you, if you happened to be local to me in Austin, Texas. I guess I'd be willing to entertain the idea of having you ship it to me, if you want to do that, but the cost of shipping it is probably greater than just finding someone local to do it, or buying a soldering iron and doing it yourself. This is a trivial repair.

Edit: This is a trivial repair, assuming the cap didn't rip the pads off of the board. Can you post a photo of the damaged area?

If you want to go the warranty route, just tell MSI that it came that way and ask to RMA it.

Another edit: I don't think it'll be a fight with the warranty department. Just be up front that you took the cooler off, and found a loose part stuck to the thermal pads. Worst they can say is no, but I bet they don't.

 

[Furious_Styles]

Can you not just solder the cap back on? I'd be willing to do it for you, if you happened to be local to me in Austin, Texas. I guess I'd be willing to entertain the idea of having you ship it to me, if you want to do that, but the cost of shipping it is probably greater than just finding someone local to do it, or buying a soldering iron and doing it yourself. This is a trivial repair.

Edit: This is a trivial repair, assuming the cap didn't rip the pads off of the board. Can you post a photo of the damaged area?

If you want to go the warranty route, just tell MSI that it came that way and ask to RMA it.

Another edit: I don't think it'll be a fight with the warranty department. Just be up front that you took the cooler off, and found a loose part stuck to the thermal pads. Worst they can say is no, but I bet they don't.

Yeah this is one of those instances where they could easily say OP damaged the card, no dice.

Also the card costs $1600+, the shipping to you would be trivial in comparison.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm not a solder wiz.

I tried heating up the pad a little bit to see if I could reflow it to coerce it to stick, but no dice, but that's as much as I am comfortable with trying on my own.

The amusing part is it still works perfectly even with the cap flapping half off the board.

My only assumption is that the factory heatsink keeps it in intimate contact with the board. Still, not ideal.

I started an RMA. I just told them that the C1150 cap is loose and I'll have to see what kind of push back I get.

You can't really see it here (I'd probably need to pull out my macro lens for that) but the right leg of that cap lifts about a half a mm off the board unless you press down on it.

SO I initiated an RMA. It looks like their system auto-approves it, but of course they still reserve the right to reject it once they receive it. If they reject my RMA, I may just lose my shit. I'm prepared to go full Karen and drag MSI's name through the mud on every site I am able to if this isn't resolved in my favor. I may not have the pull of someone like Kyle, but I can still make a lot of noise.

Timing wise this sucks too. I may be in my 40's, but I'm still like a kid in a candy store when it comes to new GPU's. Now I need to ship it to California (5-7 days) wait for them to process it (15-35 days according to their site) and then wait for it to be shipped back (another 5-7 days) And that assumes there is no drama.

Meanwhile the most expensive GPU I've ever bought depreciates without me even being able to use it...

I guess I'll post back in 25-49 days. See you all in late Feb / early March :/

 

[Rvenger]

I'm not solder wiz.

I tried heating up the pad a little bit to see if I could reflow it to coerce it to stick, but no dice, but that's as much as I am comfortable with trying on my own.

The amusing part is it still works perfectly even with the cap flapping half off the board.

My only assumption is that the factory heatsink keeps it in intimate contact with the board. Still, not ideal.

I started an RMA. I just told them that the C1150 cap is loose and I'll have to see what kind of push back I get.

View attachment 541447

You can't really see it here (I'd probably need to pull out my macro lens for that) but the right leg of that cap lifst about a half a mm of the board unless you press down on it.

SO I initiated an RMA. It looks like their system auto-approves it, but of course they still reserve the right to reject it once they receive it. If they reject my RMA, I may just lose my shit. I'm prepared to go full Karen and drag MSI's name through the mud on every site I am able to if this isn't resolved in my favor. I may not have the pull of someone like Kyle, but I can still make a lot of noise.

Timing wise this sucks too. I may be in my 40's, but I'm still like a kid in a candy store when it comes to new GPU's. Now I need to ship it to California (5-7 days) wait for them to process it (15-35 days according to their site) and then wait for it to be shipped back (another 5-7 days) And that assumes there is no drama.

Meanwhile the most expensive GPU I've ever bought depreciates without me even being able to use it...

I guess I'll post back in 25-49 days. See you all in late Feb / early March :/

That appears to be a surface mount cap. Are the legs solders on completely? How is it "flapping"? The contacts to the mount is the key to the connection. I wouldn't be wiggling it back and forth because you will break the connection eventually.

 

[RazorWind]

Is it just the leg of the cap that's broken loose from the pad, or the whole pad that broke loose from the board?

Assuming it's the actual solder that broke (that does look like a pretty crap joint), the steps to repair it would be:

0. Edit: Heat up the soldering iron - you'll want it to be about 400-450 degrees C.
1. Apply a little dab of flux to that pad
2. Clean and tin the soldering iron tip, so it's shiny
3. Hold the cap down with your off hand
4. Heat the terminal with the soldering iron until it melts - maybe 5-10 seconds
5. Remove the iron
6. Clean off the flux residue and reassemble

I could do it for you in a hell of a lot less than 49 days if I had the card in hand, but I totally can't blame you for wanting MSI to make this right. :/

 

[Rvenger]

Grab yourself this https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Flux-...673626805&sprefix=solder+flux,aps,136&sr=8-21

And you don't even need an expensive soldering iron, some pressure on the affected leg for about 10 seconds and then should be good. Just like Razorwind said. I am in GA so if you are in that state, LMK. I have been practicing a lot and have been doing tiny capacitors lately with a microscope.

 

[vegeta535]

Return it to the store so you don't get stuck with a $1600+ paper weight.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Grab yourself this https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Flux-No-Clean-10ml-0-34oz/dp/B07B53LNGX/ref=sr_1_21?crid=2TU1B1S6YQ2AD&keywords=solder+flux&qid=1673626805&sprefix=solder+flux,aps,136&sr=8-21

And you don't even need an expensive soldering iron, some pressure on the affected leg for about 10 seconds and then should be good. Just like Razorwind said. I am in GA so if you are in that state, LMK. I have been practicing a lot and have been doing tiny capacitors lately with a microscope.

I tried that, but its not tacking. I can only assume that there was insufficient solder printed on the board under that cap before it went into the machine.

 

[RazorWind]

I tried that, but its not tacking. I can only assume that there was insufficient solder printed on the board under that cap before it went into the machine.

Did you tin the iron? If you did, then some of the solder you applied to the iron should flow off of the tip and onto the joint. You can add a little extra to the pad while you've got it hot, if you need to. That's a huge pad - you'd have to add a crapton for it to start bridging to anything else.

Flux also makes a huge difference. You should be able to do this without it, but it will be a lot easier if you put a little dab of it on there first.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

I tried that, but its not tacking. I can only assume that there was insufficient solder printed on the board under that cap before it went into the machine.

It's pretty obvious that is the case from the pads just below it. Not enough solder was used, so the cap never got soldered to the board correctly. I'd wager that the other caps are in the same boat, the legs look pretty sparse of solder.

I wouldn't just solder that one leg, I'd go over every other capacitor as well.

 

[Rvenger]

Nudge every leg a little with a pair of tweezers. No need for extensive soldering. Just check for connection and no movement. The last thing you need to do is overheat the surrounding caps on accident

 

[GoldenTiger]

Return it to the store so you don't get stuck with a $1600+ paper weight.

Yeah, I wouldn't trust an auto approved rma for something like this... Zarathustra[H], at this point I'd just rma it to the store and get a new one then.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust an auto approved rma for something like this... Zarathustra[H], at this point I'd just rma it to the store and get a new one then.

I considered that, but the 15% restocking fee was offputting...

I'll have to hope that MSI does the right thing. If they don't I'll try to make them regret it by spreading the info as much as possible.

I can always seek out a local shop that does board solder repairs to help fix it. To be clear it still works, but the loose cap is really disconcerting.

 

[GoldenTiger]

I considered that, but the 15% restocking fee was offputting...

I'll have to hope that MSI does the right thing. If they don't I'll try to make them regret it by spreading the info as much as possible.

I can always seek out a local shop that does board solder repairs to help fix it. To be clear it still works, but the loose cap is really disconcerting.

They charge for replacement or defective rma? Keeping fingers crossed for you with msi then...

 

[vegeta535]

I considered that, but the 15% restocking fee was offputting...

I'll have to hope that MSI does the right thing. If they don't I'll try to make them regret it by spreading the info as much as possible.

I can always seek out a local shop that does board solder repairs to help fix it. To be clear it still works, but the loose cap is really disconcerting.

They should refund you if it is defective if they don't have the same card in stock at the time. What store btw?

 

[Rvenger]

I would send the PCB to Razorwind. You're gonna pay for shipping one way at least. At least the package will be light with just the PCB and will likely cost the same in the end sending the entire 5lb unit. You will send to MSI and they will not have stock and send you a check.


If you decide to send to MSI, send me the RMA number and your name and I will take it up with MSI Monday morning.

 

[RazorWind]

I would send the PCB to Razorwind. You're gonna pay for shipping one way at least. At least the package will be light with just the PCB and will likely cost the same in the end sending the entire 5lb unit.

I’d need the heatsink in order to test it after any repairs I did.

 

[Rvenger]

I’d need the heatsink in order to test it after any repairs I did.

He can send it to MSI and I can work on getting it cleared. Honestly, if you watch Northridge Fix on youtube, he boots it up naked to test, every time. :S I have an aluminum block that I stick on the GPU to test boot, but any stress tests need to be done with a heatsink, yes.

 

[RazorWind]

He can send it to MSI and I can work on getting it cleared. Honestly, if you watch Northridge Fix on youtube, he boots it up naked to test, every time. :S I have an aluminum block that I stick on the GPU to test boot, but any stress tests need to be done with a heatsink, yes.

The circuit this capacitor is a part of is such that you’d need to actually test the board with a game-like application to tell if it’s working or not. Just booting it up won’t tell you much unless you totally fucked up the repairs.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

Nudge every leg a little with a pair of tweezers. No need for extensive soldering. Just check for connection and no movement. The last thing you need to do is overheat the surrounding caps on accident

Those caps are sitting right on top of a huge power plane. You'd need a 150W iron or a blow torch to heat that up enough to cause problems.

 

[NamelessPFG]

How strange that this capacitor isn't soldered properly on that one side, on a $1,600+ graphics card at that... how did that get past QC?

See if MSI will own up to it and fix it for you under warranty, and if not, there's many people (myself included) that would consider this a trivial repair with a decent soldering iron. Just gotta get enough heat into the solder blob to melt, and let it join the capacitor leg and the pad on the PCB properly.

 

[GoodBoy]

Yeah, just RMA it. You could likely solder it yourself, but if you are n00b at that you don't want your first practice to be on a $1600 card.

The other caps appear to be a little sparse on the solder as well. Be best to not attempt any repairs and let MSI fix it. They might just send you a brand new card, or if they got stateside techs who repair these, they will take 1 look at the solder on all of those and know that the customer didn't mess it up, it just didn't get quite enough solder on those.

 

[vegeta535]

Yeah, just RMA it. You could likely solder it yourself, but if you are n00b at that you don't want your first practice to be on a $1600 card.

The other caps appear to be a little sparse on the solder as well. Be best to not attempt any repairs and let MSI fix it. They might just send you a brand new card, or if they got stateside techs who repair these, they will take 1 look at the solder on all of those and know that the customer didn't mess it up, it just didn't get quite enough solder on those.

Then again they can see the customer opened up the card and damaged one cap in the process. Irrelevant that those other caps solder doesn't "look" up to snuff.

 

[Thunderdolt]

Often, defective parts discovered within 30 days of purchase are handled by the original retailer. I'm not sure if MSI is this way, but many brands operate like this. This would be my recommendation. I'm guessing you got this from the store next to Trader Joe's. Since they're a specialist B&M, you'll get the double benefit of being able to speak to a real human live and face-to-face, plus that human will be an enthusiast.

 

[Sir Beregond]

What store did you buy from? I imagine defective merchandise wouldn't have a 15% restock added to it. Though RMAing either through them or MSI might just result in your money back given stock situation.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

So, MSI wound up swapping out the GPU for a new one which arrived today!

I'm glad MSI wound up not being like certain brands (which shall remain unnamed right now) which have fought me on warranty claims in the past. I'm happy to recommend them based on that.

I appreciate all of your recommendations and well wishes. Time to pop this bad boy in the test-bench for some pre-waterblock installation stress testing!

 

[LigTasm]

MSI has always been very good to me for RMA, second only to PNY amazingly (as a relatively unpopular brand they are the only ones that have ever done an RMA for a product just outside of the warranty period for me).

I avoid Asus and Gigabyte at all costs, they will typically damage your parts on purpose to blame you and reject the repair. I sent a dual socket X79 board that cost like $700 in once to Asus for failed onboard audio and it came back 6 months later in an empty box with no paperwork and both sockets smashed with a hammer lol

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I sent a dual socket X79 board that cost like $700 in once to Asus for failed onboard audio and it came back 6 months later in an empty box with no paperwork and both sockets smashed with a hammer lol

Jesus Christ. I had heard bad stories about Asus warranty, but this one is nuts!

I had thought they were just really slow and poor communicators.

 

[KickAssCop]

Send it to Jayz2cents for repairs.