i have never had to do an RMA through any company and i'd appreciate your impression if you have ever done one through Sapphire. i am about to send back my video card and i would like to know what to expect. will they test the card and send it back if they can't recreate my problem or just ship me a refurbished one right away? also will they send me a shipping label or do i have to pay for it and about how long did the whole process take for you? thanks
It depends on where you're situated in the world and what store you bought it from. There are shops in the UK that will honour a companies warranty and deal with them for you, OCUK will do this for various companies. When that's the case it's generally a hassle free experience. If you have to deal with it yourself it can depend on whether they've a nearby base of operations. Powercolor for instance are a royal pain in the buttocks due to a Taiwan RMA base. Interesting image for fellow UK/Euro members: Taken from a stickied post over at the OCUK forums. The site is blocked so I can't link directly.
^OCUK have a piss poor rep when it comes to RMA's. There have been a lot of users in the past who came here looking for advice when OCUK tried to avoid their RMA responsibilities. If this is regarding the black screen issue Sapphire are apparently aware of it. I posted this in FrontPage news recently. A couple of 7870 owners posted on Sapphire's forum the other day saying they had opened an RMA ticket and it was accepted immediately no questions asked. According to the article I saw Sapphire are replacing the bad cards with modified versions that don't have the black screen issue. Make sure you get one of these cards back and not an older model (check w/ RMA dept.). This doesn't mean Sapphire are to blame, just means they are offering RMA's and other partners are not. Sapphire are AMD's biggest GPU partner afaik so they prob sell more than other brands like MSI, ASUS etc.
I've heard those complaints from a handful of users for some time, never had a problem myself. I view them much the same way I view complaints about AMD products. If anything, they've given me the best support of any of the UK based shops when I've had an issue. I've had a nightmare with Palit products the past few months, OCUK refunded the money no questions asked and even offered a discount on comparable products. Regardless, the post I made stands true for multiple outlets. OCUK was simply an example.
They've got a guy that goes by the alias 5UB on their forums that's been working wonders for their customer support. Lovely guy, and very easy to deal with. I understand people have had issues, but considering the offers that OCUK put out at times I'd say it's worth giving them another chance for those who were put off in the past.
before you RMA... can you please check your BIOS first... which of these 7870 BIOS do you have? (if you have a different 7870 BIOS...pls. indicate) I'm currently doing a research regarding the 7870 black screen issue.
thanks for the info guys, i live in Pennsylvania which just got hit by a hurricane so my RMA got put off for a couple days. to answer your question rievhardt my bios is O02, the one you have highlighted in red. oh, and i originally bought the card from newegg.com
OcUK and KFA2 have appalling after sales service, I have experienced them both independently first hand. OcUK, scammed me as well!! Last I heard about Sapphire was that if you dealt with RMAs using their online forum, they were atrocious, they treat users with problems very badly and ban people who complain from the forum. You may be charged shipping to and from Hong Kong, best check with your retailer. http://forum.ncix.com/forums/topic.php?id=2500891
@rumpltumpskin thanks! I hope you guys are ok there in Pennsylvania. Good Luck on the RMA! I'll let you know what I find once I get more replies on this research.
rievhardt, if your still doing your research then this link might help: http://www.techpowerup.com/174858/S...Affected-by-quot-Black-Screen-quot-Issue.html i don't know how reputable techpowerup is but according to this report i was completely mistaken about the black screen issue being an AMD driver problem. hope this helps
my first RMA is going well so far. i sent the card from Pennsylvania to California last saturday, the 10th, and Sapphire shipped a replacement today, the 15th. my only complaint is that they wouldn't email me a shipping label so i had to pay the shipping myself but they said that they would pay for it next time if something doesn't work out with the replacement card within 90 days.
my first and hope the last was with a green gforce gtx 260 gigabyte black edition the super oc and i have to say it was a disgrace they blayme for things that i said the gpu was duing the fan never going up 30% even with gpu load at 99% and the gpu temps climb to 99 degrees in less then 5 minutes and i never oc the card but they said i did and i stay with the gpu damaged and they didnt fix and i had to guet stuck with this amd also from gigabyte
Yeah, I wonder why too? I have nothing more than an excellent experience when I RMA'ed a Sapphire GPU via my retailer.
LOL OCUK are the most vile, foul, disgusting company you could even deal with in your likely entire lifetime. avoid at ALL costs - (like ALL) Been in the PC scene for YEARS, and this is one certainty. If you have escaped sting so far, it will not last. AVOID. You have BEEN WARNED.