Long time [H]ard reader, first time poster. About a year ago I decided to purchase a Corsair Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti based on the HardOCP review and I believe this post is relevant because I suspect other readers may have done the same.
I recommend that anyone who has a Corsair 1080 Ti contact MSI with their serial number to verify the card is a US model and has a warranty. Below is the reason why.
As stated above, about a year ago I read the Hard article on the video card, and at the height of the Bitcoin boom Corsair.com was selling the Hydro 1080 Ti at MSRP. I decided to jump on offer and placed an order and was happy to receive a great product as the review indicated. However, after about a year the card stared to have issues and I contacted Corsair support. Corsair support told me that they don't provide the warranty for video cards anymore however MSI is contractually bound to honor the warranty in their place. This was not a problem, MSI confirmed that they will honor the 3-year warranty and after diagnosing the card with the phone tech, the remedy was to send the card in for repair and the tech directed me to a website to submit information including the serial number.
However, upon entering the serial number the website would not accept it and claims it was invalid. I called MSI back and they looked up the card, and asked me where I purchased the card. I explained to them I purchased it from the Corsair.com US web-store to which they replied, it was impossible to purchase in the US and the card is "counterfeit" because it is only intended for the Hong Kong market. MSI has said they will not honor the warranty and it is a Corsair issue. I do believe MSI when they state the card is a Hong Kong SKU and not intended for the US market.
I purchase a lot of Corsair products and have always found their support to be helpful. However, on this issue, to my surprise they are not. I understand that this is such a peculiar situation that the staff was probably not trained for the scenario but they are stonewalling and refusing to escalate this matter to a supervisor. The only response I get from them is to contact MSI.
I am still trying to get though to a person at Corsair who can sort this mess out, however if you have a Corsair card I still recommend you check your serial number so you can ensure Corsair and MSI will honor your warranty if a problem occurs. If people are interested I will post back if a resolution is found.
I recommend that anyone who has a Corsair 1080 Ti contact MSI with their serial number to verify the card is a US model and has a warranty. Below is the reason why.
As stated above, about a year ago I read the Hard article on the video card, and at the height of the Bitcoin boom Corsair.com was selling the Hydro 1080 Ti at MSRP. I decided to jump on offer and placed an order and was happy to receive a great product as the review indicated. However, after about a year the card stared to have issues and I contacted Corsair support. Corsair support told me that they don't provide the warranty for video cards anymore however MSI is contractually bound to honor the warranty in their place. This was not a problem, MSI confirmed that they will honor the 3-year warranty and after diagnosing the card with the phone tech, the remedy was to send the card in for repair and the tech directed me to a website to submit information including the serial number.
However, upon entering the serial number the website would not accept it and claims it was invalid. I called MSI back and they looked up the card, and asked me where I purchased the card. I explained to them I purchased it from the Corsair.com US web-store to which they replied, it was impossible to purchase in the US and the card is "counterfeit" because it is only intended for the Hong Kong market. MSI has said they will not honor the warranty and it is a Corsair issue. I do believe MSI when they state the card is a Hong Kong SKU and not intended for the US market.
I purchase a lot of Corsair products and have always found their support to be helpful. However, on this issue, to my surprise they are not. I understand that this is such a peculiar situation that the staff was probably not trained for the scenario but they are stonewalling and refusing to escalate this matter to a supervisor. The only response I get from them is to contact MSI.
I am still trying to get though to a person at Corsair who can sort this mess out, however if you have a Corsair card I still recommend you check your serial number so you can ensure Corsair and MSI will honor your warranty if a problem occurs. If people are interested I will post back if a resolution is found.