englandr753
n00b
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2015
- Messages
- 21
Hi,
I just went through the most disappointing experience with Sapphire with their support trying to get my issues resolved. Read below and see what you think. Feel free to give your opinion on what graphics card solution to go with.
Right now I'm left with two refurbished R9 290x trix cards that should arrive tomorrow. I also have a good XFX R9 290x that could be used in three way trifire. I'm considering going team green although I know it will be a little less powerful overall but I'm thinking it may make sense to reduce the heat and power requirements going with a 980ti.
I had considered shipping the replacement cards back and upgrade but I've now decided the support is too much of a hassle to deal with and I don't want to deal with them any further.
Hardware:
5930k
Asus Rampage V Extreme motherboard
Antec 1200 watt psu
32g crucial DDR4 ram
Samsung 850 pro 256g ssd
Windows 10 pro
To read the replies in order, start at the bottom and work your way up. Here it goes:
2015-11-13 [03:49]
I am sorry to hear that. we always try our best to accomdate the best solution we can offer to our customers. And we still apprecieted your support for Sapphire products
2015-11-13 [03:42]
Must've been shipping damage because if it wasn't like that when they shipped it and I didn't damage it, the only way it could've been damaged was during shipping.
As far as me selecting one of the two options mentioned althon micros response to me when I told the originally I wanted a new replacement card, he specifically stated they only ship out refurbished cards. If there was an option for them to ship a new card then that would've been the time for him to speak up and make that offer. That never happened.
At this point I'm cutting my losses with your company and sticking with brands I've had good experience with in the past unless someone in your company can do better than this.
Thanks for your time.
2015-11-13 [02:55]
We can unerstand your frustration, but trust us and Althon Micro we do not want this more then you do, it is also costing us money to send cards back and forth, you are not the only victim here. We are not in the states, if you send the cards back to us, you will be sending it to China, and shipping alone is not going to be cost effective. From what we understand, the last card that was send back had a bad fan unit on it. and its not because it didnt turn, there was a crack fan blade on the card, and the fan blad stops the card from spinning freely which could contibue to your issue, Althon told us there is no way the card was send like that to you, they know for a fact that it happen after the card was ship out. But as a responsible distributor, they still offer options for you to send your card back and continue to service it. There are no more new R9 200 series cards they can offer you, everything they have now are rework refurbish units. if you didnt want the 2 units, you should have talk to them and ask for other options, maybe pay difference for a new R9 300 series. I dont know what Althon Micro usually offers, but i am sure there is something they can try and accomdate you. But now the cards are send out to you, i dont think they will spend more money to get the cards back and try to offer you something else. Unless you are welling to pay and send the card back to them and ask them if you can pay the difference for new R9 300 series cards. This you will need to take it up to them.
2015-11-12 [15:31]
Hi,
Yes, they have been responsive and did pay for the shipping this round to and from their location which is much appreciated. The package shipped the afternoon I sent my last message to you so at that time the shipping had not happened yet. You're correct, I don't want the units that are being shipped to me. They are both refurbished units and this is my 4th try at getting a product that works from your company. The only reason I agreed to having them shipped in the first place is the rep at althon micro agreed to either sending me another 295x2 or two 290x trix cards but the problem I ultimately have with this entire deal is that I'm receiving more refurbished products.
The more I thought about it the more upset and dissatisfied I have become because I was expecting the customer service to be stepped up to ensure that I get a good product and go away another happy customer for Sapphire but instead I'm told to be more patient and work with althon micro.
There's not a customer online or on the streets that would sit back on a 4th round of refurbished products and 730.00 later in product costs and shipping fees dealing with constant issues with defective products.
I just want to sum up what has happened so far for you so you can better understand where I'm coming from.
1. I purchased this card through newegg and was excited to receive your product to install in my brand new high end rig. I used it for almost 5 months and began to experience occasional screen flickering and it became so bad I couldn't read 2 words on my monitor before it shut off. I got an RMA approval, shipped the card and received a new (refurbished card).
2. 3 days later it happened again. Identical issue. New RMA issued. Card shipped, tested by Althon micro and was proven defective. Another refurbished card was shipped and received and installed.
3. New replacement card immediately defective out of the box. Same identical issue with on screen flickering. Another RMA approved, shipped and tested again by Althon Micro, proven defective.
Problems found by Althon micro on each issue:
1. 1st issue, card tested and experienced same issue I reported. card replaced with refurbished unit.
2. 2nd issue, fan throttling not working on the card. Althon rep stated card overheated and damaged the card.
2. 3rd issue, fan not working on radiator. Rep asked if I noticed this and my answer was no.
I was asked by the Althon Micro rep to remove the card and install in another system. I did just that. I tore apart a perfectly working system to test this card and had the exact same problem.
My ultimate question is, do we just keep sending cards back and forth and keep receiving refurbished replacements into infinity or where does your company begin to realize a customer is being dragged behind the bus and measures above the normal procedures need to happen to get a customer taken care of? I realize this is unusual to have so many issues so maybe your company doesn't deal with this often enough to even think about the answer to the question I'm asking. The fact is, I'm in that situation and need specialized help outside of the normal process.
Can I ship my two cards back to you (at my cost due to me allowing althon micro to ship them out which is fine) and have a replacement card or cards that are new, not refurbished? If this can happen, I would like to know all of my possible options so I can make an educated decision?
Thanks for reading my rant and handling my issue.
2015-11-12 [01:29]
I undertand your frustration, i just check with Althon Micro RMA#xxxxx they paid for your shipping label and went the extra miles to get your card back from you to process it for replacement, and they told me that your units has been ship to you already. Right now i am under the impression that you do not want the two units that are send to you, and why didnt you tell them?
2015-11-11 [15:47]
"I know for a fact Althon Micro is trying their best to help you out. So pleas work with them."
That statement just pushed my button. I have done plenty to work with Althon Micro AND Sapphire. Just how many times to you expect a customer to return their defective products for repair before the customer realizes they are being hugely inconvenienced with shipping fees and no working product?...
Good customer service will realize when a customer needs to be taken care of after a certain point after experiencing so many issues. 3x is the limit for me and most any reasonable customer.
I got a confirmation email from Althon Micro stating the cards were shipped but the tracking number they provided was incorrect. I emailed them so I anticipate a reply tomorrow with the correct number.
As for the replacement cards I am receiving, I am totally dissatisfied with receiving more reworked cards that will stand a pretty good chance of failure in the near future. Having 3 defective cards from your company in 5 months and 100.00 in shipping fees is where I am getting my opinion as would any other reasonable customer.
I was told by Althon Micro that they don't ship new cards and that any replacement card that I would receive would be refurbished. This is unacceptable after my experience with your product.
Think carefully how you reply as I will ether go away a happy customer that you are going to take care of or I will be the complete opposite and rant online about your company in every channel that I can find.
I'll gladly ship the two cards back at my expense but I want to know the card selections I have to choose from that are new, NOT refurbished.
2015-11-10 [06:49]
As much as we would like to help you, your regional point office is Althon Micro, only they will be able to assist you. As for the replacement unit, since we do not produce 295X2 anymore, we will not be able to offer you new replacement even if we wanted to. So if you are not happy with the cards they are offering you, you need to let them know. I know for a fact Althon Micro is trying their best to help you out. So pleas work with them.
2015-11-8 [05:55]
Hi,I wanted to give an update on my experience with Althon Micro. I've had defective cards and there's been a different issue with each of them. I'm being told that I have to receive refurbished replacements.
As a customer that is on the verge of selling the replacements as soon as I receive them and to never purchase sapphire products again and post my experiences online on the technology websites I'm a member of,I need someone from your organisation, not Althon Micro to handle this RMA properly.
What althon micro has agreed to do is send me either a reworked 295x2 or two r9 290x cards which is a generous offer but my sole problem is its another refurbished unit that could die a 4th time on me. I don't have any interest in that.
Please forward to your supervisor and see of you can do the right thing and send me a brand new r9 295x2 and get my issue resolved once and for all.
Thanks!
2015-10-23 [03:43]
[email protected].
2015-10-23 [03:05]
What's their contact Info?...
2015-10-23 [02:36]
Please contact Althon Micro about your issue, since they are the one that help you with the RMA request.
2015-10-23 [02:14]
Rxxxxx.
Thanks
2015-10-23 [01:43]
What was the last RMA# that was assign to this card?
2015-10-22 [21:13]
Hi, I'm having the same issues with screen flickering and going blank every few minutes like the previous two times. I no longer am interested in RMA'ing this card as I have already spent 90.00 in shipping + packing materials and have been a full month without the use of this card. I will need for someone to contact me about the option to exchange this card for another card or dual card setup equal to the value of my card. I'm very disappointed and have never experienced so much trouble from any product in my 16 years of PC ownership and enthusiast pc interest. Please have someone to contact me about the options and methods to exchange. I can be reached @ 000-000-0000 or direct email, email is best. Thanks for your help.
I just went through the most disappointing experience with Sapphire with their support trying to get my issues resolved. Read below and see what you think. Feel free to give your opinion on what graphics card solution to go with.
Right now I'm left with two refurbished R9 290x trix cards that should arrive tomorrow. I also have a good XFX R9 290x that could be used in three way trifire. I'm considering going team green although I know it will be a little less powerful overall but I'm thinking it may make sense to reduce the heat and power requirements going with a 980ti.
I had considered shipping the replacement cards back and upgrade but I've now decided the support is too much of a hassle to deal with and I don't want to deal with them any further.
Hardware:
5930k
Asus Rampage V Extreme motherboard
Antec 1200 watt psu
32g crucial DDR4 ram
Samsung 850 pro 256g ssd
Windows 10 pro
To read the replies in order, start at the bottom and work your way up. Here it goes:
2015-11-13 [03:49]
I am sorry to hear that. we always try our best to accomdate the best solution we can offer to our customers. And we still apprecieted your support for Sapphire products
2015-11-13 [03:42]
Must've been shipping damage because if it wasn't like that when they shipped it and I didn't damage it, the only way it could've been damaged was during shipping.
As far as me selecting one of the two options mentioned althon micros response to me when I told the originally I wanted a new replacement card, he specifically stated they only ship out refurbished cards. If there was an option for them to ship a new card then that would've been the time for him to speak up and make that offer. That never happened.
At this point I'm cutting my losses with your company and sticking with brands I've had good experience with in the past unless someone in your company can do better than this.
Thanks for your time.
2015-11-13 [02:55]
We can unerstand your frustration, but trust us and Althon Micro we do not want this more then you do, it is also costing us money to send cards back and forth, you are not the only victim here. We are not in the states, if you send the cards back to us, you will be sending it to China, and shipping alone is not going to be cost effective. From what we understand, the last card that was send back had a bad fan unit on it. and its not because it didnt turn, there was a crack fan blade on the card, and the fan blad stops the card from spinning freely which could contibue to your issue, Althon told us there is no way the card was send like that to you, they know for a fact that it happen after the card was ship out. But as a responsible distributor, they still offer options for you to send your card back and continue to service it. There are no more new R9 200 series cards they can offer you, everything they have now are rework refurbish units. if you didnt want the 2 units, you should have talk to them and ask for other options, maybe pay difference for a new R9 300 series. I dont know what Althon Micro usually offers, but i am sure there is something they can try and accomdate you. But now the cards are send out to you, i dont think they will spend more money to get the cards back and try to offer you something else. Unless you are welling to pay and send the card back to them and ask them if you can pay the difference for new R9 300 series cards. This you will need to take it up to them.
2015-11-12 [15:31]
Hi,
Yes, they have been responsive and did pay for the shipping this round to and from their location which is much appreciated. The package shipped the afternoon I sent my last message to you so at that time the shipping had not happened yet. You're correct, I don't want the units that are being shipped to me. They are both refurbished units and this is my 4th try at getting a product that works from your company. The only reason I agreed to having them shipped in the first place is the rep at althon micro agreed to either sending me another 295x2 or two 290x trix cards but the problem I ultimately have with this entire deal is that I'm receiving more refurbished products.
The more I thought about it the more upset and dissatisfied I have become because I was expecting the customer service to be stepped up to ensure that I get a good product and go away another happy customer for Sapphire but instead I'm told to be more patient and work with althon micro.
There's not a customer online or on the streets that would sit back on a 4th round of refurbished products and 730.00 later in product costs and shipping fees dealing with constant issues with defective products.
I just want to sum up what has happened so far for you so you can better understand where I'm coming from.
1. I purchased this card through newegg and was excited to receive your product to install in my brand new high end rig. I used it for almost 5 months and began to experience occasional screen flickering and it became so bad I couldn't read 2 words on my monitor before it shut off. I got an RMA approval, shipped the card and received a new (refurbished card).
2. 3 days later it happened again. Identical issue. New RMA issued. Card shipped, tested by Althon micro and was proven defective. Another refurbished card was shipped and received and installed.
3. New replacement card immediately defective out of the box. Same identical issue with on screen flickering. Another RMA approved, shipped and tested again by Althon Micro, proven defective.
Problems found by Althon micro on each issue:
1. 1st issue, card tested and experienced same issue I reported. card replaced with refurbished unit.
2. 2nd issue, fan throttling not working on the card. Althon rep stated card overheated and damaged the card.
2. 3rd issue, fan not working on radiator. Rep asked if I noticed this and my answer was no.
I was asked by the Althon Micro rep to remove the card and install in another system. I did just that. I tore apart a perfectly working system to test this card and had the exact same problem.
My ultimate question is, do we just keep sending cards back and forth and keep receiving refurbished replacements into infinity or where does your company begin to realize a customer is being dragged behind the bus and measures above the normal procedures need to happen to get a customer taken care of? I realize this is unusual to have so many issues so maybe your company doesn't deal with this often enough to even think about the answer to the question I'm asking. The fact is, I'm in that situation and need specialized help outside of the normal process.
Can I ship my two cards back to you (at my cost due to me allowing althon micro to ship them out which is fine) and have a replacement card or cards that are new, not refurbished? If this can happen, I would like to know all of my possible options so I can make an educated decision?
Thanks for reading my rant and handling my issue.
2015-11-12 [01:29]
I undertand your frustration, i just check with Althon Micro RMA#xxxxx they paid for your shipping label and went the extra miles to get your card back from you to process it for replacement, and they told me that your units has been ship to you already. Right now i am under the impression that you do not want the two units that are send to you, and why didnt you tell them?
2015-11-11 [15:47]
"I know for a fact Althon Micro is trying their best to help you out. So pleas work with them."
That statement just pushed my button. I have done plenty to work with Althon Micro AND Sapphire. Just how many times to you expect a customer to return their defective products for repair before the customer realizes they are being hugely inconvenienced with shipping fees and no working product?...
Good customer service will realize when a customer needs to be taken care of after a certain point after experiencing so many issues. 3x is the limit for me and most any reasonable customer.
I got a confirmation email from Althon Micro stating the cards were shipped but the tracking number they provided was incorrect. I emailed them so I anticipate a reply tomorrow with the correct number.
As for the replacement cards I am receiving, I am totally dissatisfied with receiving more reworked cards that will stand a pretty good chance of failure in the near future. Having 3 defective cards from your company in 5 months and 100.00 in shipping fees is where I am getting my opinion as would any other reasonable customer.
I was told by Althon Micro that they don't ship new cards and that any replacement card that I would receive would be refurbished. This is unacceptable after my experience with your product.
Think carefully how you reply as I will ether go away a happy customer that you are going to take care of or I will be the complete opposite and rant online about your company in every channel that I can find.
I'll gladly ship the two cards back at my expense but I want to know the card selections I have to choose from that are new, NOT refurbished.
2015-11-10 [06:49]
As much as we would like to help you, your regional point office is Althon Micro, only they will be able to assist you. As for the replacement unit, since we do not produce 295X2 anymore, we will not be able to offer you new replacement even if we wanted to. So if you are not happy with the cards they are offering you, you need to let them know. I know for a fact Althon Micro is trying their best to help you out. So pleas work with them.
2015-11-8 [05:55]
Hi,I wanted to give an update on my experience with Althon Micro. I've had defective cards and there's been a different issue with each of them. I'm being told that I have to receive refurbished replacements.
As a customer that is on the verge of selling the replacements as soon as I receive them and to never purchase sapphire products again and post my experiences online on the technology websites I'm a member of,I need someone from your organisation, not Althon Micro to handle this RMA properly.
What althon micro has agreed to do is send me either a reworked 295x2 or two r9 290x cards which is a generous offer but my sole problem is its another refurbished unit that could die a 4th time on me. I don't have any interest in that.
Please forward to your supervisor and see of you can do the right thing and send me a brand new r9 295x2 and get my issue resolved once and for all.
Thanks!
2015-10-23 [03:43]
[email protected].
2015-10-23 [03:05]
What's their contact Info?...
2015-10-23 [02:36]
Please contact Althon Micro about your issue, since they are the one that help you with the RMA request.
2015-10-23 [02:14]
Rxxxxx.
Thanks
2015-10-23 [01:43]
What was the last RMA# that was assign to this card?
2015-10-22 [21:13]
Hi, I'm having the same issues with screen flickering and going blank every few minutes like the previous two times. I no longer am interested in RMA'ing this card as I have already spent 90.00 in shipping + packing materials and have been a full month without the use of this card. I will need for someone to contact me about the option to exchange this card for another card or dual card setup equal to the value of my card. I'm very disappointed and have never experienced so much trouble from any product in my 16 years of PC ownership and enthusiast pc interest. Please have someone to contact me about the options and methods to exchange. I can be reached @ 000-000-0000 or direct email, email is best. Thanks for your help.