Is a long warranty worth it?

[Qubit]

Some graphics card manufacturers offer 5 and even 10 year warranties on their high-end cards. Given the fast rate of component upgrades of 1 - 2 years for an enthusiast gaming PC, this doesn't seem to be of much benefit. A two year warranty seems reasonable.

I get the impression that it's more of a marketing gimick, as few people are likely to be using such a card after such a long time. Hence, when choosing a particular model of card, I don't look at brand or warranty too closely, but mostly at the price and bundled extras.

Anyone still using a 6800 Ultra 256MB for example?

 

[peterparkerr]

Well just in case you want to use their product in the long term, you could make use of the long warranty.

 

[k4p84]

I think folk like EVGA , XFX and BFG offer the best warranty solutions.

Though i can't remember the reason but BFG are not allowed to offer the same life time warranty that they offer in the states, something to do with the EU..........

Always read the small print though......... not covered if you overclock, have watercooling failure, do not use stock cooler, let the hamster lose on it.......you know the usual things that happen

ED

 

[Pat123]

Some graphics card manufacturers offer 5 and even 10 year warranties on their high-end cards. Given the fast rate of component upgrades of 1 - 2 years for an enthusiast gaming PC, this doesn't seem to be of much benefit. A two year warranty seems reasonable.

I get the impression that it's more of a marketing gimick, as few people are likely to be using such a card after such a long time. Hence, when choosing a particular model of card, I don't look at brand or warranty too closely, but mostly at the price and bundled extras.

Anyone still using a 6800 Ultra 256MB for example?

My friend over the road is still using a 6800 gt

 

[Qubit]

Ah, the usual warranty exclusions! Unless the card is used under very specific conditions it always falls outside the warranty; hardly worth having it, is it? lol

 

[Bungral]

Just lie....

Shouldn't really say I don't think they check every card that comes back to them very thoroughly.

I've sent back a gfx card that was intermittently faulty and was worried that they might send it back should they not find the fault if it wasn't doing it at the time.

So what to do?? Break it more myself very surgically. It worked a treat. They never found what I did and I aint gonna shout it out either.

I wouldn't do that to something I had busted myself, but I couldn't be dealing with having to send it back and forth arguing that it was broken.

 

[Qubit]

You didn't...

Lie?! I'm shocked!

Yeah I did something similar to a rubbish new JVC VHS video recorder (wot thay? ) years ago. After about a week, it began making this very annoying, loud mechanical whistling sound after just a few minutes of use, but intermittently of course and not with all tapes. Why was it rubbish? Very poor user interface, too many bugs and glitches and the recording quality was pants, too. All these goodies from the inventors of VHS. I just wanted to be shot of it.

I'd bought it retail off Currys and they don't take anything back unless it's faulty. Well, it really was faulty, but in a way that Currys could have been difficult about it and possibly forced me to go home, still stuck with it. So I made sure they weren't. I did the only logical thing I could - made sure it wouldn't power up at all. No room for argument there.

How?

I carefully unscrewed the cover, took out the internal mains fuse, popped it with a little excess current, put it back in, carefully put the cover back on and handed it back to Currys as "faulty" and demanded a full refund.

The most satisfying bit about the whole experience, was the way the manager was so absolutely, totally sure I'd nobbled it. If suspicious looks could kill... He looked at it over and over, changed power cables, interrogated me as to how, what, where etc it happened and was I sure, really sure that I didn't want another? "No thankyou, I'll have a full refund!" - with a straight face. You could see that he was in virtually physical pain when he had to eventually, finally, satisfyingly, admit defeat and order the cashier to do the refund.

Oh and the icing on the cake? The cashier was new, didn't know what she was doing and messed it up. She ended up calling him over, so he had to fix the mess and do it himself! The manager was livid by the end of that...

 

[k4p84]

I sent back two BFG 8800 GTX's when they kept BSOD on me.

After BFG:

lost them...................

refused to knowledge that they had been delivered for RMA..............

I proved that they had been delivered via recorded delivery (there is a lesson there kids) ...................

I got two GTX260's in the post.

They were refurbs but hey they worked !

If you are engineering a fault make sure there are no tool marks or if you had it in a watercooling loop run it under a black light to show up any water staining.

Not that i advocate deliberately breaking your kit but for some of the intermittent faults it isn't half tempting :-O

 

[Qubit]

BFG providing such bad customer service, eh? Good to keep this in mind next time I buy something from them.

Engineering solid faults is unfortunately a requirement a lot of the time, because shops just love to deny you your rights if you can't prove the problem.

 

[clone38]

I say yes its worth it as i gives you a peace of mind if you keep it or sell it on,i buy EVGA 10yr warranty and they let you take the stock heatsinks off the videocard/motherboard as long as you dont damage it,BFG is also good i think they offer a 10yr warranty on cards also.

Plus you may have more of a chance when you sell them on with a better warranty.

 

[Freak]

I think that its worth it. Tho it depends on whose card it is. EVGA then definately worth it. They actually let you mess with the cards. Dont think that any others do that, well there may be one. Not toooo sure.