Question on BFG waranty.

[jnick]

I tried searching their site, but couldn't find anything about it. I'm wondering, is the warranty void if you change the stock colling on the card? I'd love to put a Zalman cooler on my card but I think I'd rather the warranty . . .

Cheers mates.

 

[Mr. Miyagi]

As of right now, if you overclock or replace the heatsink, your warranty is void. Hopefully BFG will adjust their warranty to follow EVGA's or XFX's (allowed to overclock and change cooler as long as no physical damage to the card).

 

[FrgMstr]

My personal thoughts here - BFG would be NUTS to adjust their policy to this. It bascially gives you license to burn up your card any way you see fit and still be up for warranty, which is just not what it is all about. If you are going to go off and rip off the cooler, break your GPU, then think someone else should pay for it, just seems a bit off to me. Bottom line is that someone is going to have to pay for this and it comes back to the consumer. I am waiting to see what happens to companies doing this in the long run.

 

[morningreis]

I don't think BFG needs to, nor will they. They already have good customer support and a big fanbase under them.

A lifetime warranty is already quite generous.

 

[jnick]

Thanks for the reply guys.

By no means am I saying BFG better switch over or anything like that. Just wanted to know if it was covered on warranty. I didn't mean if they cover my mistake on the cooler replacement of burning out my card on OC (as I don't plan to anyways). I wanted to know if they would cover the "normal" mishaps even with a replaced cooler. So if a couple of months down the road, something out of my control happens to the card, even though I have an aftermarket cooler, which didn't cause the problem, would the card still be covered. That's what I was asking.

I don't expect a company to replace or pay for a card that I burned out.

Do you understand where I'm coming from?

Thanks for the answers anyway.

Cheers.

 

[Mr. Miyagi]

If the fan on your card dies, BFG will be happy to replace your card. This happened to my friend's 6800 OC and they were great about it.

 

[Slade]

I think as long as you know what you're doing, you'll be fine.

just remember though that you accept whatever consequences arises from what you do.

 

[Kermit]

BFG is awesome. Great American Tech Support. 24/7. I honestly dont think I would ever get a card from a different mfg.

Not sure if this pertains, but some states have laws that say you can change certain items in automobiles (headers for example) and that will not void an engine warranty if you throw a rod. So, if you change the fan on the card, and a cap blows out, it might be covered under warranty. Course.. I dont know.

 

[UltimaParadox]

The eVGA lifetime warrenty + overclocking + coolerswapping will definately get them more sales with the enthusiast market, and yes that will come with a few idiots who mess up their card physically and send them back broke and try to hide it...but I think eVGA is aware people are always going to try and bone them (it happens to every company, reguardless of how you word the warranty), and this opens a window for people who "responsibly" (keyword here) optimize their card without voiding the warrenty. As long as volt modding stays [H]ard, I think this policy will work well for eVGA....but if voltage adjustments come in the form of software, I think this warrenty service will have to get a bit of a tune-up.

Thats the problem almost all of the warranties are identical, and poeple are not reading between the lines...

Marketing is getting people pulled too far in

None of the other warranties state in writing that they will support o/cing and aftermarket coolers. Evga basically dodges the issue saying only if there is damage, but they don't specify how much. Basically if there is one resistor burned up from o/cing you have to pay for the repair cost of bringing the card back to "stock", which is basically the same thing you pay for with every other company. It's all marketing, and I am glad someone like Kyle actually made a comment, since this is starting to get out of hand IMO.

Bottom Line no warranty pays for someone's fuck ups, you burn it up o/cing there will be phsycially damage if you see it or not, and be prepared to pay.

 

[tsuehpsyde]

Well, this is what I have in writing from Joe Darwin, who is an eVGA employee (their marketing director with a custom title in these forums). It is a bit dodgy I agree, but it does state that I can overclock and cooler swap without voiding my warrenty.

I would like to just say thanks to eVGA for taking the side of the enthusiast. I wish more companies would take eVGA's stance on their products.

I'm not sure if you saw my keychain ( http://link removed ), but I turned one of eVGA's cards into a keychain as I had voided the warranty with my tinkering and it had died. Not what I wanted to do with the card, but I'm not one to screw over a company because of my own actions. I was questioning if I shoulda went eVGA again, as all cards are basically the same except for the warranty, and after reading your posts that basically say that if you know what you're doing and don't physically damage the card, it's still under warranty, I can say I'm happy to stay aboard eVGA again. I just ordered your e-Geforce 7800GTX about 10 minutes ago, then I jumped on here to see your auction to donate all proceeds to Hurricane Katrina victims. Glad to see you're giving back to those who need it.

But I want to make sure I'm correct with my assumptions. If I overclock my videocard, as long as I don't voltmod the card, it is still under warranty, correct? Also, if I swap out the videocard's cooler for an aftermarket cooler, as long as I don't damage the card itself and put the original cooler back on, it's still under warranty, correct?

Keep up the good work, and thanks for having a presence in the [H]ard|Forums.

-Jim

Hi there,

Thank you for sticking with EVGA and we are here to support you!

Yes, you are correct, as long as you have no physical damage to the card then we will warranty the product.

As for the cooling, you are welcome to use your own solution but if you need to RMA the product you will have to put the original cooling solution back on the card with no damage.

Hope this helps and if you need anymore you can email me directly at xxx@xxx.

Thanks
Joe Darwin

As you can see, he doesn't say "Sure, go ahead and overclock it." but he also states it doesn't void the warranty. For me, this is sufficient for my needs. Hell, my 6800 Ultra that I turned into a keychain was in perfect sorts physically...I just had a warranty that was void that I diddn't intend to 'dance around' for my own benefit.

 

[UltimaParadox]

Well, this is what I have in writing from Joe Darwin, who is an eVGA employee (their marketing director with a custom title in these forums). It is a bit dodgy I agree, but it does state that I can overclock and cooler swap without voiding my warrenty.

As you can see, he doesn't say "Sure, go ahead and overclock it." but he also states it doesn't void the warranty. For me, this is sufficient for my needs. Hell, my 6800 Ultra that I turned into a keychain was in perfect sorts physically...I just had a warranty that was void that I diddn't intend to 'dance around' for my own benefit.

If you o/c and it dies, in no way was it perfect physically, something burned up and you just couldn't see it. That is where the problem lies, if you o/c and your card dies, something is physically wrong, even if you can not see it with the naked eye or not. Because it could be a tiny resistor on the card. So basically your warranty is void.

Back to the point though what does a post on the forum stand up to when it comes to warranty disputes... nothing.

 

[Elios]

i picked up my 2nd BFG card so far the 7800GT in my sig and its great i love BFG
i had there 6800GT befor this both are great cards

and check out there gaming site www.bfggaming.com

 

[Fawkes]

I have the same card...

Id love to rip the cooler off, it only arrived today already its driving me nuts.

other than that its a nice card.

 

[tsuehpsyde]

If you o/c and it dies, in no way was it perfect physically, something burned up and you just couldn't see it. That is where the problem lies, if you o/c and your card dies, something is physically wrong, even if you can not see it with the naked eye or not. Because it could be a tiny resistor on the card. So basically your warranty is void.

Back to the point though what does a post on the forum stand up to when it comes to warranty disputes... nothing.

I think they're more pointing to a smashed off capacitor or a cracked board, something that's more "user error", more than the fault of something smaller caused by general use. Either way, overclocking does not void their warranty, as stated above. Therefore, if the card just dies while in use, overclocked or not, it's covered by eVGA, unless a cap blows on it or something....but remember, they'd still warrenty the card if it was stock speeds from any company, so overclocking doesn't change that. eVGA just loses the ability to point to that as the problem (and unless you overclock and don't watch tempatures and such, you really are asking for problems).

Either way, I run their stock overclock of 450/1200 daily because it doesn't overclock much and it's fast as Hell stock anyway. And I plan to step-up to a 512MB version, or the GTX KO ACS3.

 

[UltimaParadox]

I think they're more pointing to a smashed off capacitor or a cracked board, something that's more "user error", more than the fault of something smaller caused by general use. Either way, overclocking does not void their warranty, as stated above. Therefore, if the card just dies while in use, overclocked or not, it's covered by eVGA, unless a cap blows on it or something....but remember, they'd still warrenty the card if it was stock speeds from any company, so overclocking doesn't change that. eVGA just loses the ability to point to that as the problem (and unless you overclock and don't watch tempatures and such, you really are asking for problems).

Either way, I run their stock overclock of 450/1200 daily because it doesn't overclock much and it's fast as Hell stock anyway. And I plan to step-up to a 512MB version, or the GTX KO ACS3.

You find that in writing, then come back and point it out to me, because you can't. Its all marketing. They say you can o/c but then the little thing down at the bottom footnote says, that if the card is not in working condition blah blah blah, then you have to pay a service fee to get it back to stock settings.

Don't get me wrong Evga makes great cards, and their customer service isn't bad, but that type of baiting people in warranties, kinda ticks me off. Trust me, you o/c and it no longer works you pay for it. No company pays for people to fuck up

 

[tsuehpsyde]

Here's your "in writing" statement from their marketing director.

If I overclock my videocard, as long as I don't voltmod the card, it is still under warranty, correct?

Yes, you are correct, as long as you have no physical damage to the card then we will warranty the product.

That was a direct response to my quote. He diddn't directly say the word overclock, but he replied to my asking "If I overclock....it is still under warrenty, correct?" and he says Yes. Black and white, sir.

 

[UltimaParadox]

Here's your "in writing" statement from their marketing director.



That was a direct response to my quote. He diddn't directly say the word overclock, but he replied to my asking "If I overclock....it is still under warrenty, correct?" and he says Yes. Black and white, sir.

In writing as in the actual warranty, forums posts = nothing

 

[tsuehpsyde]

In writing as in the actual warranty, forums posts = nothing

In a PM from an eVGA employee, it means everything, sir. I'd hope eVGA would stand by THEIR word, being as employee's are what a company consists of. I've also called eVGA tech support and asked if overclocking voided the warranty, and they said the same thing Mr. Darwin has said. I have absolutely no problem sending back an overclocked card to eVGA for RMA. If eVGA refuses to take back their card because overclocking voided the warranty, they would be contradicting themselves and would lose quite a few customers, myself included.

It's common sense, sir. Just because Joe Darwin's PM's and emails diddn't come packaged in my 7800GTX box, doesn't make them any less true or tangible.

 

[UltimaParadox]

In a PM from an eVGA employee, it means everything, sir. I'd hope eVGA would stand by THEIR word, being as employee's are what a company consists of. I've also called eVGA tech support and asked if overclocking voided the warranty, and they said the same thing Mr. Darwin has said. I have absolutely no problem sending back an overclocked card to eVGA for RMA. If eVGA refuses to take back their card because overclocking voided the warranty, they would be contradicting themselves and would lose quite a few customers, myself included.

It's common sense, sir. Just because Joe Darwin's PM's and emails diddn't come packaged in my 7800GTX box, doesn't make them any less true or tangible.

It does when you are trying to get your money back, always get it in writing thats rule number 1.

 

[tsuehpsyde]

It does when you are trying to get your money back, always get it in writing thats rule number 1.

It is in writing. He obviously wrote it for it to show up in my PM box. Or perhaps he has telekenetic powers of mysetery...ooooooooo. Sorry, but I diddn't want to ask the man to write it in blood and sign it with the spilt blood of his first born. I think a PM and emails from his eVGA email account will suffice.

 

[UltimaParadox]

It is in writing. He obviously wrote it for it to show up in my PM box. Or perhaps he has telekenetic powers of mysetery...ooooooooo. Sorry, but I diddn't want to ask the man to write it in blood and sign it with the spilt blood of his first born. I think a PM and emails from his eVGA email account will suffice.

Eh no its not, I think most people would agree I think they would actually like to have it in the legal document that ships with the card, or at least acknowledged on their website. Forum posts and e-mail are all to easy to be considered non-valid. Funny how its not even mentioned with the shipping card or the warranty guidelines specified on their website.