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Why you should avoid Arctic Cooling

R

rampantandroid

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
1,962
Hi All,

I wanted to spawn a new thread here, to help explain my problems and those of others on this forum with regards to AC, and why I believe (and why many people on here might also believe) they're a company to be avoided. To start with, the issue that some people including myself hit:

We bought the AC Accelero 5970 cooler; when installed following the instructions this heatsink damaged the videocard irreparably; the reason this occured is the heatsink was sent with the wrong instructions and mounting hardware (read, no special mounting hardware) - the instructions stated to tighten the screws down 100%; doing so resulted in on DVI output no longer sending a digital signal (a DVI-DSUB converter would allow the output to be used, but obviously you lost all digital capabilities on that port.)

Many of us sent mail to AC to try to get some form of support, given we all now had destroyed our $700 cards. AC's reply was simply to ask us to help them solve thier issues; in no way to did they offer to help US deal with our dead $700 cards, nor did they offer us any ability to get a refund. Here is the reply to my email which reported the damage done to my card, and asked for an immediate return for refund - notice, they didn't reply to any of my concerns, and it took them a week:

I'm sorry to hear, that you've made a bad experience with one of our products.

To help us finding a solution for this problem it would be helpful, if you send us some detailed pictures of your VGA board with our cooler installed and without. Please provide high resolution macro pictures of your card. Of special interest would be the backside area of both GPUs, sideview pictures and if you uninstalled the heatsink already some detail shots from both GPUs.

We now have taken the product from our webshop in order to prevent further damage. We are already reviewing the situation with our Engineers and also with Sapphire who are using this cooler as stock cooling solution on their card without any problems.

Also the circumstance that you've reported, that the DVI Port is not working, but is working when using the adapter is so strange.

Other users report, that everything went fine with their boards and that they didn't have any problems.

We are currently collecting all available information to find the reason why this is happening to some customers. This is why we need your help here.
Click to expand...

I replied informing them I had no desire to help their hardware engineers (I had sent the card off to for an RMA already) and that I just wanted a refund. No reply. I replied again, informing them I was filing a chargeback with Discover Card. Again, no reply.

Discover did an investigation...and AC was willing to talk to Discover. This is the reply they gave discover, and Discover passed on to me (Discover did not approve the chargeback, I'm still stuck with this POS heatsink):

Note: Grammar and spelling issues are copied verbatim from AC's reply

Buyer said our product with quantity issue. But we have explained to them it is because of their way to install the product is incorrect. Hence, we don't agree the buyer get back the money as they have received our product.

[Fed Ex tracking info was then included showing it had been delivered to me]
Click to expand...

On a serparate page, AC further blamed me, saying that I did not return the product to them (I would if they had sent me the info for it. But they didn't), including an address to send my return to; They did not include an RMA number, only an address to send my package to, at my own expense.

I called Discover back immediatly, asked what I needed to do for the return; They've informed me I just need to return the package to AC with a tracking number that shows what address the package was delivered to; if AC won't refurnd my money within 15 days, the dispute can start again.

Now, I would like to reiterate: I never received ANY email from AC about installation - they "replied" to me on this forum in the thread in which we were all posting about our issues with the cooler. Their response to my dispute is thus utter BULLSHIT since they had not replied to me, and in fact did not know whether or not I had EVER read the [H] forums. They assumed I had seen that.

Here is a link to the ongoing thread about people having issues with their cooler:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1515486

Here is the "reply" they gave to us:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035756062&postcount=248 - realize, their original instructions told us to tighten the screws down 100%. THEY are at fault here, NOT the customers. But they're blaming the customer here, when they are to blame. This dispute is only about the $100 the cooler costs; This is not addressing the videocard they destroyed.

I'm sending the cooler to the address Discover Card supplied in hopes I can finally end this nightmare; if anyone here is still fighting with AC, I'd be happy to send them copies of the dispute - just PM me.

Hopefully some people will see this and tread lightly when dealing with AC, or avoid AC altogether. This is apparantly a problem that was also encountered by people who purchased the AC cooler for their 4970X2, with AC pulling the same nonsense there.

I also asked Discover card to file a complaint on my behalf against the company so that they will be flagged as a bad company to deal with, though this will sadly only flag the AC Webshop, not the actual product itself - but it's a start. I'm also filing a complain with the Office of Consumer Affairs (Attorney General).

RA
 
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Sorry to hear about your whole experience , sounds like AC tried to fuck you. Hopefully Discover will put everything through and end this ordeal for you.
 
I'm sorry about your experience but do you really think one bad experience will make Discover drop AC?
 
they screwed me too with the 5970 cooler. Arctic Cooling has the worst, most pathetic customer service i have ever experienced for a computer product.
 
eddieck said:
I'm sorry about your experience but do you really think one bad experience will make Discover drop AC?
Click to expand...

While I can be optimisitc, I doubt they'll drop AC; but I can at least have their webshop flagged. Should anyone else have issues with them, then there will already be a note against them; even so though, like I said before, other online stores will still carry their crap.

I will forward a letter to stores like Frozen CPU and make an appeal for Kyle Bennett to run a story on this. My intent is to turn this whole ordeal around and instead fuck with AC.
 
Man, sorry to hear that but thanks for potentially saving me (and others) a lot of trouble and cash. If it makes you feel better you've already convinced me not to give them any money. I was seriously considering it too but they're off my list now. Consider it 1 victory in your personal war you started.
 
+1 here too! I hate companies that wont take care of their mistakes and screw the customer. I also hate customers that return hardware that they are responsible for braking! I've used AC in the past but will no more. I vote with my money! It's not much I know, but it's all I can do. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
 
I'm also staying away from AC products after this, I was about 5minutes away from picking up the heatsink when people started posting their problems.

If they had even accepted the refunds and been helpful throughout this problem, it would have redeemed them a bit, but nothing. So I'm voting with my wallet, and everyone else should too, $50-$70 at a time.
 
sorry to hear about AC doing this, I was about to buy a aftermarket cooler for my 5970 from them with a aftermarket cooler for a spare system but after reading this there not seeing a dime of my money. Thanks for the heads up on companies like these.
 
Meh, this won't change my occasional purchases of AC heatsinks. The desktop ones work fine and are relatively cheap when on sale.

Bummer that they made guinea pigs out of the early buyers.
 
jeez, that sucks. I just bought an AC product yesterday unfortunatley. It could possibly be my last though. subbing this thread, keep us updated.
 
you might also want to try telling your story to the consumerist.

www.consumerist.com

They are pretty good at getting attention to issues and providing advice on how to resolve them.
 
In all fairness, do you not feel your slightly responsible for damaging your card. Normally when I install any computer parts or anything from daily house work, to modding my car. I never blindly follow directions because I've seen many mistakes from torque specs being off for supercharger installs to torque specs on suspension components. Always be observent when installing equipment, and if something doesn't look right follow up with other members or the manufacturer. It's also a good idea when sending something that's of high value to get a signature on delivery which usually runs an extra $1.50 or so.

I do hope everything works out for you. I can understand if Arctic cooling doesn't want to help you on the damaged card, but it would be nice for them to give you some type of instore credit for your time
 
While the situation sucks, I think it's unfair to expect the company to pay for the card. By installing these aftermarket products you always take some level of risk.

It's in these situations though that you find the companies that go above and beyond the call of duty for good customer service.
 
zoglog said:
While the situation sucks, I think it's unfair to expect the company to pay for the card. By installing these aftermarket products you always take some level of risk.

It's in these situations though that you find the companies that go above and beyond the call of duty for good customer service.
Click to expand...

they won't even refund their heatsink.
 
I had sent the card off to for an RMA already
Click to expand...
Wait, so you RMA'ed the 5970 that you damaged by incorrectly installing an aftermarket cooler on? I can't think of a single vendor that covers that under their warranty. I can understand the frustration at AC for their bad directions, but why is the card's manufactor paying for a mistake that is the responsibility of either you or AC.
 
This is just dumb, dumb, dumb of a company to be like this. When a company really, really goes against the level of decency that is to be expected by the consumer (dignified human beings), the company only digs it own grave in this dog-eat-dog world of brutal capitalism that is fueled (and actually ruled) by us very consumers.

Plus I didn't like how the prices went wayyy up. The Accelero Xtreme 8800 cost only $50 but then the GTX Pro (for GTX 285) cost $85. What the heck happened anyways? Both look nearly identical and if the cost went up by that much, it should have been of better quality--not destroying video cards by now.
 
1) When you install the cooler, can you tell that you are tightening the screws too hard?

2) What did the card manufacturer say when you returned for an RMA?
Did you tell them it was damaged by an Arctic Cooling aftermarket cooler?

3) I would guess the desent thing for AC to do would be at least give your money back.

In all fairness, do you not feel your slightly responsible for damaging your card. Normally when I install any computer parts or anything from daily house work, to modding my car. I never blindly follow directions because I've seen many mistakes from torque specs being off for supercharger installs to torque specs on suspension components. Always be observent when installing equipment, and if something doesn't look right follow up with other members or the manufacturer. It's also a good idea when sending something that's of high value to get a signature on delivery which usually runs an extra $1.50 or so.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this.

We bought the AC Accelero 5970 cooler; when installed following the instructions this heatsink damaged the videocard irreparably; the reason this occured is the heatsink was sent with the wrong instructions and mounting hardware (read, no special mounting hardware) - the instructions stated to tighten the screws down 100%; doing so resulted in on DVI output no longer sending a digital signal (a DVI-DSUB converter would allow the output to be used, but obviously you lost all digital capabilities on that port.)
Click to expand...

Was the "don't tighten the screws too much" warning on the AC webstore site when you bought your cooler?
 
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JJ91284 said:
In all fairness, do you not feel your slightly responsible for damaging your card. Normally when I install any computer parts or anything from daily house work, to modding my car. I never blindly follow directions because I've seen many mistakes from torque specs being off for supercharger installs to torque specs on suspension components. Always be observent when installing equipment, and if something doesn't look right follow up with other members or the manufacturer. It's also a good idea when sending something that's of high value to get a signature on delivery which usually runs an extra $1.50 or so.

I do hope everything works out for you. I can understand if Arctic cooling doesn't want to help you on the damaged card, but it would be nice for them to give you some type of instore credit for your time
Click to expand...

Really? A car analogy? Really?
 
SixtyWattMan said:
Really? A car analogy? Really?
Click to expand...

I thought my analogy was pretty straight forward. Do your question marks signify that you don't understand my analogy? I used this analogy so he could see the similarities between working on pc components/modding and applying this approach to everyday stuff.
 
JJ91284 said:
I thought my analogy was pretty straight forward. Do your question marks signify that you don't understand my analogy? I used this analogy so he could see the similarities between working on pc components/modding and applying this approach to everyday stuff.
Click to expand...

I like your analogy :).

AC at the minimum should refund the money on their heatsink. It's a faulty product and you should be able to return/exchange it.
 
JJ91284 said:
In all fairness, do you not feel your slightly responsible for damaging your card. Normally when I install any computer parts or anything from daily house work, to modding my car. I never blindly follow directions because I've seen many mistakes from torque specs being off for supercharger installs to torque specs on suspension components. Always be observent when installing equipment, and if something doesn't look right follow up with other members or the manufacturer. It's also a good idea when sending something that's of high value to get a signature on delivery which usually runs an extra $1.50 or so.

I do hope everything works out for you. I can understand if Arctic cooling doesn't want to help you on the damaged card, but it would be nice for them to give you some type of instore credit for your time
Click to expand...

Yea I don't even know what 'tighen down 100%' means. 100% of what? Does that mean tighten until you can't turn it anymore? Turn it until you break it? You can always grab a breaker bar and get some more torque on it to get '100%'.
 
noquarter said:
Yea I don't even know what 'tighen down 100%' means. 100% of what? Does that mean tighten until you can't turn it anymore? Turn it until you break it? You can always grab a breaker bar and get some more torque on it to get '100%'.
Click to expand...

it's like when they sell you a 100% crap product, take 100% of your money, and then tell you to swallow 100% of their dong when you ask for support help or a refund.
 
the biggest crime in this thread is the op sending in video cards he destroyed for rma service. I am not imagining he sent in an email that said 'hey I destroyed this myself rying to mod it, please replace'.

and seriously learn to pay attention when you tighten shit.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
ocellaris said:
the biggest crime in this thread is the op sending in video cards he destroyed for rma service. I am not imagining he sent in an email that said 'hey I destroyed this myself rying to mod it, please replace'.

and seriously learn to pay attention when you tighten shit.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...

I have to agree. if the product is manufactured incorrectly, then they should refund your money. However, when you try to install it it should all fit. If something is not right never try to just cram it in their thinking it must fit. The company messed up in the design and the install messed up because he FORCED it. After you for it the the point of breaking the cooler and the video card, good luck with an RMA with either.
 
The reality is that AC should not only give him a refund for the cooler, but also pay for the card that was ruined by following their directions. The RMA thing is not cool.
 
honestly blindly following directions is not good... they may have gave you the wrong directions, but it should have been obvious... I never read install instructions... I almost never use all the install parts...

like with my old Danger Den water block... I used a random back plate and all-thread to mount it... I did not use any springs... and you know what happened... I got great temps, way better than the stock mounting hardware...

the point it the instructions are not always perfect and the consumer needs to have enough common sense to know when its not a good idea to do something...

I mean it should have been obvious that what you where doing was causing some issues... you should have checked for clearance issue n the first place.

it sucks what happened but you could have avoided it...

I mean If the instructions said to throw your graphics card in the microwave oven on high for 30 minutes would you? No... because that would kill your graphics card and your microwave!
 
OP, sorry you had a bad experience.

I did the AC Accelero cooler too when IU had a GTX 285 2GB model. The stupid thing only supported the 1GB model in terms of the DVI dual-link transmission chip (separate from the GPU). So I had to fabricate my own for that chip. But it worked overall. Temps went from 65-70C load down to 50C load, with idles in the 34 to 39C range.

Now I don't really bother with aftermarket air-based coolers. Especially since none exist for my GTX 295 (unless you want watercooling). I mount a 120mm fan right in front of my cards any ways, so I never need to have my GTX 295 at anything more than 70% fan speed when gaming, which is still moderately quiet. And I even added a little air duct on the back of my GTX 295 to point exhaust away from the 120mm fan in front of it (since it exhausts inside the case for the second GPU which stinks).

In general, I avoid after-marketing video card cooling because that market can never keep up with the latest cards. Worse yet, if a new version of a specific model comes out (like a 2GB version of a 1GB model), those after market coolers may not fit anymore. This is a dying market for sure. However, there will always be a market for water cooling blocks for video cards.
 
JJ91284 said:
I thought my analogy was pretty straight forward. Do your question marks signify that you don't understand my analogy? I used this analogy so he could see the similarities between working on pc components/modding and applying this approach to everyday stuff.
Click to expand...

Here's another car analogy. You sent your car to get a new aftermarket stereo system at a supposedly reputable megastore. They get the system installed but now your A/C is broken because of the way they installed the system. Who is to blame besides yourself?
 
That's a bummer, hope they at least give you a refund for the heatsink (maybe there's an AC rep around here?). Last time I had one of their product was one of the 9800pro VGA Silencers.
 
JJ91284 said:
I thought my analogy was pretty straight forward. Do your question marks signify that you don't understand my analogy? I used this analogy so he could see the similarities between working on pc components/modding and applying this approach to everyday stuff.
Click to expand...

A car is not a computer. Stop using car analogies, in fact stop using analogies all together. They always do more harm than good.
 
What if "you bought a saddle for your horse and the instructions say pull the strap around at 100% "
sorry no more analogies.


hehe
 
rampantandroid said:
realize, their original instructions told us to tighten the screws down 100%. THEY are at fault here, NOT the customers. But they're blaming the customer here, when they are to blame. This dispute is only about the $100 the cooler costs; This is not addressing the videocard they destroyed.
Click to expand...

In light of the analogies flying around in this thread, here's something more on-topic...

How many foot-pounds of torque is "100%"? There is no correlation. When the instructions state "50%" and "100%", they're not talking about torque, they're talking about 1/2 way tightened vs. all-the-way tightened in reference to installing each screw only part way, then tightening them in an opposing order. I don't think AC is wrong in their instructions here.

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalog/images/installation_Accelero_Xtreme_5970.pdf

I do feel for you, though, as the 100% could be misinterpreted as you did. It's very poor instructions, but at the same time I don't feel it's their fault. Why? There's a nice warning on their site before you download the instructions...

[FONT=&quot]When installing the Accelero Xtreme 5970 the X-plate can easily be over tightened and thus cause a damage of the VGA board. To prevent this, the screws should not be tightened too much. A good indicator for this is the X-plate itself. The X-plate should not bend as shown in this graphic.

Taking care and not over tighten screws at this point makes the installation safe. Also Screws A and B should not be over tightened. This picture below is showing the correct installation, the X-plate is paralell to the board.
[/FONT]
Click to expand...

In general, anyone installing coolers, be it a CPU, GPU, or some other chip, should know the fundamental basics of tension (as in don't over-tighten anything). Same is true for just about anything other mechanical mount.

Sorry, but I still feel you're at fault here. Expensive lesson to learn but I can almost guarantee you won't make that mistake again. Yeah, I know, you're pissed and it's not what you want to hear. I do agree that the instructions are poor. It's certainly lawsuit worthy, but in our lawsuit-happy world, it's not worth it, nor would I recommend even entertaining the idea.
 
SixtyWattMan said:
A car is not a computer. Stop using car analogies, in fact stop using analogies all together. They always do more harm than good.
Click to expand...

Really his analogy wasn't that bad. While it was a meme car analogy, it was a respectable one.
 
cipher_nemo said:
I do feel for you, though, as the 100% could be misinterpreted as you did. It's very poor instructions, but at the same time I don't feel it's their fault. Why? There's a nice warning on their site before you download the instructions...
Click to expand...

Was that warning on their site at the time the OP purchased and installed his cooler?
 
eddieck said:
Was that warning on their site at the time the OP purchased and installed his cooler?
Click to expand...

irrelevant, anyone modding a card should know better. if someone is not comfortable with the modern marvel of 'screws', they should not touch a screwdriver. plus since the op wanted to try following the directions as literally as he/she could, they should also follow the warranty which clearly states they will not replace cards that the owner physically destroys.

sucks for the op, but they should eat that $700 loss. I am sure the card was working fine before the mod.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
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