Heatsink over chipset loose & wobbly after warranty repair (GA-X99-UD3P)

R

rennervision

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Nov 15, 2006
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Does anyone think I should fight with Gigabyte over this? First, my PC stopped powering on - no fans, no lights, no post screen, nothing. After ruling out a problem with the power supply and power button, I shipped the motherboard back to Gigabyte for repair since it's still under warranty. (The board is a GA-X99-UD3P.)

About 20 days later it comes back with an explanation that the BIOS chipset was replaced. (Didn't think that would be the reason it's completely dead, but oh well - they're the professionals, right?) Then, as soon as I remove the board from its box, I notice both the VRM and the chipset heatsink are really wobbly.

The wobbly VRM was easy enough to fix as I could see the technician didn't bother to tighten the screws underneath the board. But I can't figure out what's going on with the chipset heatsink. It's very loose and I can wiggle it left and right with my thumb, but the screws on the other side of the board are as tight as can be. I've illustrated below how I can nudge it around...



I'm thinking the actual heat spreader contacting the chipset isn't moving - just the "GIGABYTE" brand shield on top. I don't know if this top part is broken or there's a way to attach it more firmly - but I don't like something coming back feeling more broken than when it was under my care.

Should I just send this back to Gigabyte to fix right? Based on the apparent rush job, I'm questioning whether the board was properly diagnosed in the first place. (I'm not too keen on building another machine with this board only to find I have to tear it all back down again due to shoddy repairs.)
 
No need to fight unless they refuse service.
Tell them of the problem and ask for a solution.
 
I requested another RMA # three days ago. On the third day after no response I called Gigabyte and the customer service rep insisted this issue was normal (even though I told him it didn't wobble before), but if I didn't like it I should be able to fix it myself. Supposedly the shield part that wobbles is just decorative and is applied via double-stick tape. He said I could pry it off and reattach it if I wanted, but something doesn't seem right. I tried some gentle pressure and this thing does NOT want to come off.

I don't know what's going on. I would be curious what others think, but I don't like things coming back loose and wobbly that weren't like that before. There's something else holding this stupid thing in place besides tape like he said and I can't figure out how it is attached. I'm also not entirely convinced this part is just decorative. If I had bought this thing initially and it was loose like this, I would've exchanged it. A few hours later I did finally get an RMA #, so I guess I'm going to return ship it again to Gigabyte.
 
Will it slide out? (opposite direction of your arrows)
It looks like it might slide inside channels in the heatsink.

I know I would not RMA for that if the board is working right.
You could end up with a different board with a different, more serious problem.

ETA: I'd sell this one and buy a new one if it bothered me that much. I usually
do that with mobo failures anyway.... buy a new one and sell the used one when
it comes back from RMA.

.
 
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