Petitioning for 970 Refund

[Meeho]

Considering Guru3d has banned me from their forums (member since 2002 with many positive contributions) for pointing it out... I wouldn't imagine they care too much about their recklessness.

A funny aside is they edited out my 250 kilobyte image and claimed it was "too big" a file size in a PM to me (warning that a forum infraction would be handed out if I posted it again there) and was thus being removed, minutes before banning before I even saw the email. Given that for a broadband connection that takes typically around a tenth of a second to download I couldn't help but chuckle on that one.

Wow, classy.

So I tried to make a graphical summary of all the events that have happened thus far. It's not in chronological order, but hopefully is satisfactory for those who just want a tl;dr summary, and I hope some will find some much needed comic relief in them. (yes there is some text, sue me. No wait on second thought sue nVidia instead )
...

Nice work on the summary. Expect new posters to ignore it and declare this is all a temper tantrum with nothing to see here, though.

Found this interesting, wonder if we will see more of it.

http://steamcommunity.com/games/239140/announcements/detail/112923269201683635

Probably them doing Nvidia's work and limiting the RAM usage on 970s to <3.5 GB.

specs mean little
reviews tell the real story
if it was all about specs the Voodoo5 should of murdered the GF2 it didnt.... why
it wasnt very fast at 32bit color i bet that 16bit color would last a bit longer
i lost it was still a very fast card i just had to stick with 16bit color

OH and bought my 780Ti thinking that there would be a 6GB 780Ti in time for to use the step up like with the 780 guess what NV shit canned the 780Ti 6GB but sold limited numbers of the 780 6GB
i didnt bitch about that and ask for my money back

same here the 970 is a very fast card you just cant max out every game
expecting to be able to max out games 1-2 years from now ARE YOU INSANE that has never been a thing
unless your buying the VERY top end like 780Ti Titan level stuff OH WAIT I DID
you picked an upper mid range card deal with it that its not going to maxing out games in 18 months

Why do you ignore everything that is posted in these threads? It has to be on purpose to keep straw manning the argument so much while continuously ignoring what people have explained multiple times.

 

[Blade-Runner]

So listening to the specifications given by a manufacturer and advertised for over 4 months is gambling?

The stupidity being spewed in this thread is nauseating.

 

[DriZzLe]

Well, I decided to just suck it up & keep my 970.
Am I pissed about the reveal of being lied to about the actual specs? Yes
Am I disappointed I immediately lost a huge chunk of my resale value? Yes
Am I dissatisfied with how all this was handled? Yes

But, at the end of the day(I have until Feb 4th to return my card), am I unhappy with how this card performs? No
Is there a better performing card out there right now in the same price point,? Not Really
Will I buy nVidia again next time? Hmmm, we will have to see, but not looking good.

It would end up costing me more money in the long run to return the 970 & get a 290x, not show any improved performance, & I would be without a card while waiting on the other one to arrive.

I am very unhappy with nVidia, but not unhappy with my card. It is a definite improvement in performance, power consumption & heat production than my 2-670's it replaced.

 

[FrgMstr]

Some of the language and rhetoric used TOWARDS EACH OTHER is about to get this thread locked. You have been warned.

 

[polonyc2]

most people are just jumping on the issue out of principle...yes Nvidia lied about the specs but as long as performance is not affected in a tangible way then it's really not a big issue...if you bought a 970 and wanted it to last 2+ years, the card will still do that at 1440p or lower...once that last .5GB becomes a real issue you'll most likely need a new video card anyway...funny how [H], AnandTech, Guru3D were all respected hardware sites before this but no one seems to want to listen to them when they say the issue is not a big deal (performance wise) for the vast majority of people who bought a 970

4k people would/should have bought a 290x or 980 from the start if they were really concerned about 4k...all reviews said that from the get-go...if the principle of Nvidia lying is the most important factor then don't support them again in the future but no need to over-react...I have a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970 and after thinking about for a few days I'm most likely going to keep the card...it plays Battlefield Hardline, Evolve and most other games at 60fps and that's all that's important to me...if it can handle the latest CryEngine and Frostbite 3 games then I have no worries about any upcoming games...what may or may not happen with future titles using more VRAM is just speculation...if the 970 was borked with less then 3GB there would be a more legitimate issue but as it stands now I'm fine with it...the only real upgrade path would be next-gen 6GB+ cards which are due out shortly...my Amazon return expires on March 2nd, so I'll wait and see if anything better is released during that time...if so I might upgrade, if not I'll keep my 970

 

[Starrbuck]

most people are just jumping on the issue out of principle...yes Nvidia lied about the specs but as long as performance is not affected in a tangible way then it's really not a big issue...if you bought a 970 and wanted it to last 2+ years, the card will still do that at 1440p or lower...once that last .5GB becomes a real issue you'll most likely need a new video card anyway...funny how [H], AnandTech, Guru3D were all respected hardware sites before this but no one seems to want to listen to them when they say the issue is not a big deal (performance wise) for the vast majority of people who bought a 970

4k people would/should have bought a 280x or 980 from the start if they were really concerned about 4k...all reviews said that from the get-go...if the principle of Nvidia lying is the most important factor then don't support them again in the future but no need to over-react...I have a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970 and after thinking about for a few days I'm most likely going to keep the card...playing Battlefield Hardline, Evolve and most other games at 60fps is all that's important to me...what may or may not happen with future titles using more VRAM is just speculation...if the 970 was borked with less then 3GB there would be a more legitimate issue but as it stands now I'm fine with it...the only real upgrade path would be next-gen 6GB+ cards which are due out shortly...my Amazon return expires on March 2nd, so I'll wait and see if anything better is released during that time...if so I might upgrade, if not I'll keep my 970

I agree, except we saw issues at 1440p with 2x 970s in SLI. It only got worse in 4k.

Also I upgraded from 780s with 3GB, so my upgrade was only .5GB and for lower temps/power. I should've kept my 780s.

 

[SRTie4k]

It makes me wonder...had Nvidia had the correct specs, would people still have bought the card en mass? How many that are now currently complaining about it would still have purchased this card, without the hindsight of misrepresentation?

Only reason I ask this is because I was looking into getting one before the revelations, but even after this whole debacle, I'm still interested in the card, despite it's ever so slight downgrade in specs.

It also makes me wonder if Nvidia has ever done this before with other cards that we don't even know about, yet were still happy with those cards despite our ignorance.

 

[xTrident]

whats with the car analogies all across the web, its hilariously bad.

The issue here is about relativity and customer service.

Are all those petitioning for a refund actually truthfully encountering problems as a result of the issue. Has daily usability been completely stopped as a result of the memory misrepresentation. If this is the case, then yea Nvidia should step up and refund those customers directly; the item does not work as described and its actually hindering ones normal way of life.

However if your 970 has been the best upgrade you have ever purchased and now you were the one of those singing Nvidia's praises during initial launch and now after this has come to light its time to refund the card... cause you can (and not cause its disrupting daily usage)....idk thats grey area that I`m sure Nvidia will answer in the coming weeks.

Does it matter? Two issues - nVidia lied about the specs. That should be plain as day, and that should be enough of a reason for anyone to be upset even if the card still fundamentally worked the same. But, that's the other issue. It doesn't. It's also clear that the card has issues when actually trying to use what's supposed to be there.

And Doz is right. The 970 is definitely a good bang for you buck purchase, but a mid-range card? I don't think so. $150 to $250 is mid-range to me. This card sells ~$100 more. I think I've said it three or four times now within Hard's forums, but I too bought the 970 with intentions of going 4k with it. And to those of you saying it's not going to matter if you have that extra 512MB when games/high resolutions require 5+GB... While that extra 512MB won't give users the "ideal" amount of VRAM needed it would certainly help. It's completely false to say it wouldn't matter either way.

Reading everything I have up to this point, I also would have seriously considered going with a 290x. I certainly didn't want to added power usage or heat output but to actually have 4GB VRAM would have been very compelling... Not to mention the biggest reason - Not helping nVidia.

 

[polonyc2]

Also I upgraded from 780s with 3GB, so my upgrade was only .5GB and for lower temps/power. I should've kept my 780s.

when the 900 series was first released most if not all review sites stated that if you already owned a 780 then the upgrade really was not worth it...I went from a GTX 580 to a 970 so the difference was very noticeable...I played Lords of the Fallen with my 580 and when I replayed it again with my 970 the performance difference was easy to see

 

[Dayaks]

most people are just jumping on the issue out of principle...yes Nvidia lied about the specs but as long as performance is not affected in a tangible way then it's really not a big issue...if you bought a 970 and wanted it to last 2+ years, the card will still do that at 1440p or lower...once that last .5GB becomes a real issue you'll most likely need a new video card anyway...funny how [H], AnandTech, Guru3D were all respected hardware sites before this but no one seems to want to listen to them when they say the issue is not a big deal (performance wise) for the vast majority of people who bought a 970

4k people would/should have bought a 280x or 980 from the start if they were really concerned about 4k...all reviews said that from the get-go...if the principle of Nvidia lying is the most important factor then don't support them again in the future but no need to over-react...I have a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970 and after thinking about for a few days I'm most likely going to keep the card...it plays Battlefield Hardline, Evolve and most other games at 60fps and that's all that's important to me...if it can handle the latest CryEngine and Frostbite 3 games then I have no worries about any upcoming games...what may or may not happen with future titles using more VRAM is just speculation...if the 970 was borked with less then 3GB there would be a more legitimate issue but as it stands now I'm fine with it...the only real upgrade path would be next-gen 6GB+ cards which are due out shortly...my Amazon return expires on March 2nd, so I'll wait and see if anything better is released during that time...if so I might upgrade, if not I'll keep my 970

IMO DSR/VSR makes the 1440p statement invalid, since I use DSR on everything.

Also I think you meant 290x for 4k gaming, since a 280x = 7970 and it's last gen + only 3 GB.

 

[xTrident]

most people are just jumping on the issue out of principle...yes Nvidia lied about the specs but as long as performance is not affected in a tangible way then it's really not a big issue...if you bought a 970 and wanted it to last 2+ years, the card will still do that at 1440p or lower...once that last .5GB becomes a real issue you'll most likely need a new video card anyway...funny how [H], AnandTech, Guru3D were all respected hardware sites before this but no one seems to want to listen to them when they say the issue is not a big deal (performance wise) for the vast majority of people who bought a 970

4k people would/should have bought a 280x or 980 from the start if they were really concerned about 4k...all reviews said that from the get-go...if the principle of Nvidia lying is the most important factor then don't support them again in the future but no need to over-react...I have a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970 and after thinking about for a few days I'm most likely going to keep the card...it plays Battlefield Hardline, Evolve and most other games at 60fps and that's all that's important to me...if it can handle the latest CryEngine and Frostbite 3 games then I have no worries about any upcoming games...what may or may not happen with future titles using more VRAM is just speculation...if the 970 was borked with less then 3GB there would be a more legitimate issue but as it stands now I'm fine with it...the only real upgrade path would be next-gen 6GB+ cards which are due out shortly...my Amazon return expires on March 2nd, so I'll wait and see if anything better is released during that time...if so I might upgrade, if not I'll keep my 970

Power usage and heat - specifically heat output. I had a 7970 that put out a ridiculous amount of heat and it was an issue for me. But the fact that I could also get a card that used less power showing nearly the same, as good and sometimes better performance (1080p). I was sold. (not to mention the last AMD card I had - 7970, had lockup issues playing one of my games. Swapped it for an nVidia and no issues)

If the card is what the specs said and I take a hit using 4k compared to if I was running a 290x, fair enough. But to take a hit because of what wasn't disclosed... That's a problem.

 

[Starrbuck]

when the 900 series was first released most of not all review sites stated that if you already owned a 780 then the upgrade really was not worth it...

So it's not really worth it to go from 3GB to 4GB... um, I mean 3.5GB. Ah, never mind.

 

[Astral Abyss]

So to everyone that bought a 970 thinking it was just too good to be true... well, it was.

But honestly, as cheesy of a marketing gimmick as it is, the card does still have 4GB. I don't see anywhere where it says it will all be identically performing, or even usable (remember the days when they'd slap a ton of RAM on a pathetic card to sucker people in?.. 440mx anyone?). It's shady, but it is what it is. I'm glad they're being called out on it though, so maybe with enough bad press on the tech sites they won't try this in the future.

Concerning class action lawsuits, they keep companies honest, because this threat is always looming over them, but a class action doesn't do anything for the consumer. It's like the mob hiring a hitman to take care of someone. They're out for revenge or to make an example out of the mark, but they aren't going to recoup their loss.

 

[Starrbuck]

So to everyone that bought a 970 thinking it was just too good to be true... well, it was.

But honestly, as cheesy of a marketing gimmick as it is, the card does still have 4GB. I don't see anywhere where it says it will all be identically performing, or even usable.

Don't we assume that the 4GB is one speed? Do you really want to have to question this on future cards? I don't!

 

[Astral Abyss]

Don't we assume that the 4GB is one speed? Do you really want to have to question this on future cards? I don't!

Nope, I don't. It's never really been an issue before, so we never had reason to call anyone out on it. It was really poorly thought out by Nvidia. They crossed a line they shouldn't have crossed, but unfortunately nothing legally prevents them from doing it, at this time.

 

[captainzombie]

Still waiting on Newegg, I don't get what is taking them so long to decide if they will open the floodgates here on a return or exchange considering that people called them way before I did last Friday.

 

[xTrident]

Nope, I don't. It's never really been an issue before, so we never had reason to call anyone out on it. It was really poorly thought out by Nvidia. They crossed a line they shouldn't have crossed, but unfortunately nothing legally prevents them from doing it, at this time.

It's sounding like it depends what continent/county you live in.

 

[Dayaks]

So to everyone that bought a 970 thinking it was just too good to be true... well, it was.

But honestly, as cheesy of a marketing gimmick as it is, the card does still have 4GB. I don't see anywhere where it says it will all be identically performing, or even usable (remember the days when they'd slap a ton of RAM on a pathetic card to sucker people in?.. 440mx anyone?). It's shady, but it is what it is. I'm glad they're being called out on it though, so maybe with enough bad press on the tech sites they won't try this in the future.

Concerning class action lawsuits, they keep companies honest, because this threat is always looming over them, but a class action doesn't do anything for the consumer. It's like the mob hiring a hitman to take care of someone. They're out for revenge or to make an example out of the mark, but they aren't going to recoup their loss.

They told you the bandwidth (which was wrong) and the memory speed. So yes, they did say it was all the same speed by giving those two details.

 

[FnordMan]

Still waiting on Newegg, I don't get what is taking them so long to decide if they will open the floodgates here on a return or exchange considering that people called them way before I did last Friday.

Could be fighting with Nvidia or some of the manufacturers.
Though as of right now i'm done with Newegg, it'd take something utterly spectacular to win me back after them basically telling everyone "screw you, you bought it, you're stuck with it".
aka: I bought a 970 though Newegg... utterly pissed off about the whole situation

 

[Starrbuck]

Could be fighting with Nvidia or some of the manufacturers.
Though as of right now i'm done with Newegg, it'd take something utterly spectacular to win me back after them basically telling everyone "screw you, you bought it, you're stuck with it".

Same for me. I'm witih Amazon now, even if it's a little higher-priced. The superior customer service is worth it.

 

[FnordMan]

Same for me. I'm witih Amazon now, even if it's a little higher-priced. The superior customer service is worth it.

Yeah, i'll do some window shopping at Newegg first to find what I want (Amazon's search SUCKS) and then buy it from Amazon.

For that matter this may be my last Nvidia card ever as well, what with their utterly horrible response.

 

[Starrbuck]

Yeah, i'll do some window shopping at Newegg first to find what I want (Amazon's search SUCKS) and then buy it from Amazon.

For that matter this may be my last Nvidia card ever as well, what with their utterly horrible response.

Yeah, you can look up better on Newegg, then go search for that model number, for example, on Amazon and usually find it for a similar price.

NVIDIA is going to have to earn my business back, and I told them so.

 

[Ocellaris]

Same for me. I'm witih Amazon now, even if it's a little higher-priced. The superior customer service is worth it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Amazon is only taking back card purchased under their standard holiday return policy? I've haven't read of anyone who purchased in October sending their cards back.

 

[XxDaRkReAp3rxXdOtCoM]

It makes me wonder...had Nvidia had the correct specs, would people still have bought the card en mass? How many that are now currently complaining about it would still have purchased this card, without the hindsight of misrepresentation?

I don't think it would have made that big of an impact tbh. The benchmarks for all the games that reviewers tested would have been the same regardless of what (untrue) numbers were written on paper. I'm sure there would have been sections explaining that the card had less VRAM than the GTX 980 and what that would mean for potential buyers but it's still a $330 card with custom cooled models like the MSI Gaming and Gigabyte G1 going for $350-360, $200 cheaper than a GTX 980. Either way you look at it, it still outperforms a GTX 780 and has 512 MB more VRAM than it...

I bought two G1s and put them under water for 2560x1440 res (BenQ 32" that I plan on keeping forever). Am I upset that Nvidia misrepresented the specifications? Yes, however, I feel that for the $360 I paid per card I am still getting my money's worth given the correct specifications. I would have liked the extra 512 MB of VRAM to be useable without issue so I wouldn't have to upgrade sooner in the future but I still would have sold my EVGA 980 I bought at launch to downgrade to two 970's like I did ($200 gap for the small performance difference is just too large imo and it feels better to save it towards a future upgrade instead).

There's a lot of people in here that have said "vote with your wallet". I've only used AMD twice, first time was when I bought a 6850 at launch and the second time was when I had CrossFire 280X's (for about a month, sold them before the 900 series was launched). Both times I had driver issues - wasn't even going to get the 280X's originally but people on forums commented "AMDs drivers aren't bad anymore, that was in the past many years ago" so I went with them. After using the cards for a few hours, I didn't feel their drivers improved at all from the two years since I last used them. Doing something as simple as watching a video on YouTube with a game running in the background caused AMD's display driver to BSOD the system. For me, it feels like the only choice is Nvidia or bust.

 

[10e]

You know, I can't even say that I care so much about the "false advertising" concerning the number of ROPs, and the partitioning of the RAM.

I can't even blame reviewers, specifically [H] in this case, because the way they test gives you the "best" settings for the cards. Looking back at their GTX 970 SLi reviews compared to R9 290/X Crossfire with some of the newer games, you can see Crossfire doing better with some of the more VRAM heavy games like Watch Dogs, for examples.

Fair enough.

What pisses me off most, outside all the deceit by nVidia concerning these cards, and the false advertising, and their flip-flopping denial(s) is ultimately, the end result.

I'd accept slower performance from two $350.00 cards versus two $500.00 cards, and that's to be expected. I mean $hit the GTX 670 was cheaper than the GTX 680 on release, and provided a slightly slower, albeit similar gaming experience, and generally everyone agreed that the GTX 670 was the good deal out of the two.

But this? Honestly, WTF.

No wonder people love consoles. Needless to say I will avoid future nVidia products like the plague, and choose to agree or disagree with me, it's my prerogative. Anything with their technology in it I will do my best to pass on.

Oh, and as for GoldenTiger, I've rarely agreed with him on much, but I don't see why he was banned from Guru3d. That's not right. That site is off my list for now on. No cliks for you.

 

[polonyc2]

Still waiting on Newegg, I don't get what is taking them so long to decide if they will open the floodgates here on a return or exchange considering that people called them way before I did last Friday.

you answered the question...Newegg knows that once they start accepting returns it'll open up a flood of returns

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Also I upgraded from 780s with 3GB, so my upgrade was only .5GB and for lower temps/power. I should've kept my 780s.

Heck no! At least nVIDIA is actually optimizing newer titles for Maxwell.

Kepler users can GTFO : http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2one2z/discussion_has_nvidia_forsaken_kepler_cards_has/

^ Look at the before and after gaps between Maxwell <-> Kepler and GCN <-> Kepler.
When a 780 ~= 280X/7970 already, you know you're screwed.

<-- Abandoned ship. Dumped 2x 780s on eBay and got 2x XFX DD 290s. Actually made a little money in the process too

 

[XxDaRkReAp3rxXdOtCoM]

I'd accept slower performance from two $350.00 cards versus two $500.00 cards, and that's to be expected. I mean $hit the GTX 670 was cheaper than the GTX 680 on release, and provided a slightly slower, albeit similar gaming experience, and generally everyone agreed that the GTX 670 was the good deal out of the two.

That's why I went with a 670 over the 680 back then. $400 vs $500 and at close to my resolution, TPU had the relative performance of a 680 at only 8% better than the 670, for $100 more: http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/images/perfrel_1920.gif

This time, it was ~$350 (custom models) vs $550 and at my higher resolution of 2560x1440, TPU listed the relative performance of the 980 at 11% better than the MSI 970 Gaming (close to the G1 performance which is the card I got) and that would be at $200 (or $190 if you paid 360 for the G1) difference. At 1920x1080 they have it as 10% better than the MSI 970 Gaming: http://tpucdn.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/images/perfrel_1920.gif Granted, this is for current gen games so when newer titles are released the smaller VRAM of the 970 may be a hindrance.

I don't know if they can really optimize much at this point since I've read that the last 512 MB is around 10% of the speed of the rest so it seems like their only choice at this point is to just disable it.

 

[Nenu]

Heck no! At least nVIDIA is actually optimizing newer titles for Maxwell.

Kepler users can GTFO : http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2one2z/discussion_has_nvidia_forsaken_kepler_cards_has/

^ Look at the before and after gaps between Maxwell <-> Kepler and GCN <-> Kepler.
When a 780 ~= 280X/7970 already, you know you're screwed.

<-- Abandoned shiped. Dumped 2x 780s on eBay and got 2x XFX DD 290s. Actually made a little money in the process too

Feck, if thats the way NVidia is going I'll be watching them like a hawk!
My once mundane 290x is looking pretty good.
(mundane because I like to play with newer drivers but I dare not due to features breaking and stability)
At least it performs well and is stable when left alone with a driver install that works, and it has a non pretend 4GB

 

[Neon01]

Wow, this reminds me of the Ford Mustang HP claim issue back in 2001. Ford eventually made that issue right, and it probably cost them a LOT more than fixing this would cost Nvidia.

I game at 4k and this concerns me. I realize that my 970s was never going to give me smooth 60fps performance, but clearly I'm not getting what I should be given the specs quoted. I requested an exchange from Newegg (Premier customer), to which I was denied, but was told the case was being referred to a specialist and I would be contacted in 3-7 days. I'm not counting on that going anywhere.

This probably wouldn't have pissed me off so much but for the fact that my resale value probably just cratered without warning. As someone that flips cards pretty often, my purchase of the 970 was a stopgap until true UHD capable cards were available. If Nvidia or Newegg don't make this right somehow, I'm seriously tempted to take advantage of Amex' return protection. Only downside is it's capped at $300 per item, so I'd be short somewhat. Still, it might be better than I can get through private sale, I don't know.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Feck, if thats the way NVidia is going I'll be watching them like a hawk!
My once mundane 290x is looking pretty good.
(mundane because I like to play with newer drivers but I dare not due to features breaking and stability)
At least it performs well and is stable when left alone with a driver install that works, and it has a non pretend 4GB

Well, gotta go with the flow as an enthusiast.
"Upgraded" from 2x 7970GHz to 2x 780s for free in Dec 2013 (certainly didn't think that they'd have almost equal performance in recent titles )
Just upgraded from 2x 780s for 2x 290s for free

 

[bpizzle1]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Amazon is only taking back card purchased under their standard holiday return policy? I've haven't read of anyone who purchased in October sending their cards back.

You must have missed my post then. I purchased my cards in October, and they allowed me to return both of them without any problems. I just pointed them to several articles about the issue and pointed out that the most recent reviews of the card also complained about it.

 

[captainzombie]

Same for me. I'm witih Amazon now, even if it's a little higher-priced. The superior customer service is worth it.

you answered the question...Newegg knows that once they start accepting returns it'll open up a flood of returns

The manager I have been speaking with since Monday says that they are going to have some resolution. I wouldn't think it would be taking this long. There are a lot of people that are still happy with the 970 as is at 3.5GB from reading around many forums that they will not be returning, exchanging, selling, etc. so returns may not be as bad.

If Newegg doesn't come through, just going to go the Amazon route with my next card purchase.

 

[Ocellaris]

You must have missed my post then. I purchased my cards in October, and they allowed me to return both of them without any problems. I just pointed them to several articles about the issue and pointed out that the most recent reviews of the card also complained about it.

This is YMMV, not a policy.

Heck I bought a monitor from Amazon last December and the price went down $40 not long after I bought it. I asked Amazon for a credit, and they wouldn't give me a credit because I had the monitor for 9 days and their price protection is only for 7 days

Anyway if Newegg makes it a policy to take returns on the cards, I would send mine back and get another card to mess with. If that doesn't happen, it isn't worth my time to try convincing them I should get to return the GPU I've been happy with for three month.

 

[[L]imey]

Depending on what Newegg says, I may return mine and buy another one just to get something with less coil whine (my EVGA is pretty bad)

Still waiting to hear what they say to you captain.

 

[captainzombie]

Depending on what Newegg says, I may return mine and buy another one just to get something with less coil whine (my EVGA is pretty bad)

Still waiting to hear what they say to you captain.

Hopefully I can have an update for you guys today. I called their customer service an hour ago and the manager I was dealing with is on break so I gave them my cell again so hoping to hear back soon.

I have an ITX build so going with an AMD card has me a little apprehensive due to heat issues and power consumption, so why I'm pushing if they can give me a better deal on a 980.

 

[bpizzle1]

This is YMMV, not a policy.

Heck I bought a monitor from Amazon last December and the price went down $40 not long after I bought it. I asked Amazon for a credit, and they wouldn't give me a credit because I had the monitor for 9 days and their price protection is only for 7 days

Anyway if Newegg makes it a policy to take returns on the cards, I would send mine back and get another card to mess with. If that doesn't happen, it isn't worth my time to try convincing them I should get to return the GPU I've been happy with for three month.

Correct, this is definitely a YMMV situation. However, I was pointing out that Amazon has definitely taken a return from beyond their normal holiday window.

 

[Neon01]

Hopefully I can have an update for you guys today. I called their customer service an hour ago and the manager I was dealing with is on break so I gave them my cell again so hoping to hear back soon.

I have an ITX build so going with an AMD card has me a little apprehensive due to heat issues and power consumption, so why I'm pushing if they can give me a better deal on a 980.

I'm awaiting a call back from them too. Very curious to see what you hear.

As for a replacement, I had too many issues with AMD hardware last year when I bought a pair of 290s. I'm sure the drivers have improved leaps and bounds since then, but I'm still gun shy. I'll probably go for the 980s instead, even though the change will cost me $400. Really wish there were an alternative, but with the 390x seemingly always on the horizon, taking the hit for the top dog 980s is a little more palatable.

 

[Yakk]

Heck no! At least nVIDIA is actually optimizing newer titles for Maxwell.

Kepler users can GTFO : http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2one2z/discussion_has_nvidia_forsaken_kepler_cards_has/

^ Look at the before and after gaps between Maxwell <-> Kepler and GCN <-> Kepler.
When a 780 ~= 280X/7970 already, you know you're screwed.

<-- Abandoned ship. Dumped 2x 780s on eBay and got 2x XFX DD 290s. Actually made a little money in the process too

Very interesting read.

 

[naticus]

I'm awaiting a call back from them too. Very curious to see what you hear.

As for a replacement, I had too many issues with AMD hardware last year when I bought a pair of 290s. I'm sure the drivers have improved leaps and bounds since then, but I'm still gun shy. I'll probably go for the 980s instead, even though the change will cost me $400. Really wish there were an alternative, but with the 390x seemingly always on the horizon, taking the hit for the top dog 980s is a little more palatable.

Are you actually having performance issues with your 970s? A good friend of mine is having zero issues and he plays a metric shit ton of games (CSS,BF4,TF2).

Or is this more of a moral objection to Nvidias practices? No one that I have actually spoken with that has a GTX 970 has any issues with it, currently. Nor do I. And the last three game I have played have all used more than 3.5GB VRAM (ACU,Dying Light,Mordor,etc.) with no stutters.

Just curious.