First, let me state that all of my past experiences with EVGA have been stellar, and have wholeheartedly recommended them to friends and family in a heartbeat.
Now, to my RMA story. This is not a "bash" against EVGA, just putting it out there to make others aware of what can happen...
Way back in 2008, I bought an 8800 GT, which I then stepped up to a 9800 GTX (I wanted the fastest single-GPU card around, and the possibility of 3-way SLI in the future made me grin). I bought the EAR so if something happened to it, I wouldn't have to deal with a ridiculous amount of downtime as is usually normal with RMAs.
Fast forward just shy of 4 years, and my trusty 9800 GTX, which was never overclocked, and kept in a very clean system with great cooling, up and died in the middle of a movie (black screened, forcing a reboot, then providing me with a lovely rainbow of artifacts everywhere, and producing a Code 43 error). After a bit of sadness, I called EVGA to set up an RMA on 04-27-2012.
The EAR process went smoothly, and the person I talked to was quite friendly, and helpful. I was quite pleased, having dealt with other companies in the past, who weren't so helpful.
On 05-02-2012, I received the replacement, a GTX 550 Ti. I popped it in my computer, and the computer wouldn't even POST with it. Thinking something may be wrong with my computer, I tried it in my girlfriend's computer, which houses a GTX 560 Ti. It also wouldn't POST, and her 560 Ti worked like a charm in my computer.
So, I called up EVGA and got a 2nd RMA started. This is where it started to turn bad... I had some questions/concerns about the 550 Ti regarding lower texture and pixel fillrate, as well as the loss of the ability to run 3-way SLI, and was transferred to a Level 2 tech who was quite rude with me, and essentially told me I was an idiot because features like DX11 support, and 1GB of RAM vs 512MB of RAM made up for that... OK, whatever, I just need my computer back running again. I was told I would be receiving a 9800 GTX as a replacement for the 550 Ti since they were in stock, no option given. Again, odd, but OK, that was what I had originally.
Fast forward again to 05-07-2012, and I got the next replacement. It was actually a 9800 GTX+, but had the P/N of a 9800 GTX (the S/N on the card matches the 9800 GTX registered to my account, and the P/N on the card says its a 9800 GTX, not a GTX+). OK, it's a little better, no problem. Put it into my computer, and surprise! It does work, but has about the same exact problem my original 9800 GTX did. Once again, I try it in my girlfriend's computer. Same story.
I call up EVGA again, and got another RMA rolling. At this point, I was quite frustrated, as the time I had spent with this completely has nullified the money I spent so it WOULDN'T happen with the EAR purchase. I explain this to the tech I got ahold of, and was again transferred to Level 2. The RMA was set up and I was told, by the Level 2 tech, to call back the next day to talk to a manager about my issue.
I called the next day (05-08-2012) and talked to a manager, after noticing that my 3rd RMA was set up as a standard RMA, not an EAR, like the last 2 were. I was transferred to a manager, who told me that EVGA was going the extra mile by continuing the EAR and paying shipping both ways. After some searching my account, I was granted an "upgrade" to a 3rd EAR (gee, thanks?) for the 3rd RMA, and EVGA would be doing "extra testing" on my 3rd replacement to make sure it works (shouldn't that be common practice?) This, after explaining that I work from home, and this is now costing me money, as projects I have now have to be pushed back, and I have to make concessions to my clients because of the delay.
The 3rd RMA is on its way now, and per the info I can see on my account, it's another 9800 GTX and is scheduled for delivery for 05-11-2012. OK, I hope it works. Just seems completely stupid that the EAR I paid $40 for to not have this downtime has now cost me 2 weeks of downtime, completely negating that $40 I spent (in my opinion).
A few points though:
1.) I'm an A+ Certified tech (I know, doesn't mean jack, but noting it nonetheless)
2.) I have built countless PCs, so I know what I'm doing, I wasn't killing the cards, I'm damn sure of that
3.) I wasn't ever fishing for an upgrade (I've worked an RMA dept. before, I hate those kind of people) though after this, it would have been nice to get one, but I'm happy with just having a functioning computer with my 9800 GTX.
At this point, I seriously question whether I will ever buy EVGA ever again, having gone through this.
Now, to my RMA story. This is not a "bash" against EVGA, just putting it out there to make others aware of what can happen...
Way back in 2008, I bought an 8800 GT, which I then stepped up to a 9800 GTX (I wanted the fastest single-GPU card around, and the possibility of 3-way SLI in the future made me grin). I bought the EAR so if something happened to it, I wouldn't have to deal with a ridiculous amount of downtime as is usually normal with RMAs.
Fast forward just shy of 4 years, and my trusty 9800 GTX, which was never overclocked, and kept in a very clean system with great cooling, up and died in the middle of a movie (black screened, forcing a reboot, then providing me with a lovely rainbow of artifacts everywhere, and producing a Code 43 error). After a bit of sadness, I called EVGA to set up an RMA on 04-27-2012.
The EAR process went smoothly, and the person I talked to was quite friendly, and helpful. I was quite pleased, having dealt with other companies in the past, who weren't so helpful.
On 05-02-2012, I received the replacement, a GTX 550 Ti. I popped it in my computer, and the computer wouldn't even POST with it. Thinking something may be wrong with my computer, I tried it in my girlfriend's computer, which houses a GTX 560 Ti. It also wouldn't POST, and her 560 Ti worked like a charm in my computer.
So, I called up EVGA and got a 2nd RMA started. This is where it started to turn bad... I had some questions/concerns about the 550 Ti regarding lower texture and pixel fillrate, as well as the loss of the ability to run 3-way SLI, and was transferred to a Level 2 tech who was quite rude with me, and essentially told me I was an idiot because features like DX11 support, and 1GB of RAM vs 512MB of RAM made up for that... OK, whatever, I just need my computer back running again. I was told I would be receiving a 9800 GTX as a replacement for the 550 Ti since they were in stock, no option given. Again, odd, but OK, that was what I had originally.
Fast forward again to 05-07-2012, and I got the next replacement. It was actually a 9800 GTX+, but had the P/N of a 9800 GTX (the S/N on the card matches the 9800 GTX registered to my account, and the P/N on the card says its a 9800 GTX, not a GTX+). OK, it's a little better, no problem. Put it into my computer, and surprise! It does work, but has about the same exact problem my original 9800 GTX did. Once again, I try it in my girlfriend's computer. Same story.
I call up EVGA again, and got another RMA rolling. At this point, I was quite frustrated, as the time I had spent with this completely has nullified the money I spent so it WOULDN'T happen with the EAR purchase. I explain this to the tech I got ahold of, and was again transferred to Level 2. The RMA was set up and I was told, by the Level 2 tech, to call back the next day to talk to a manager about my issue.
I called the next day (05-08-2012) and talked to a manager, after noticing that my 3rd RMA was set up as a standard RMA, not an EAR, like the last 2 were. I was transferred to a manager, who told me that EVGA was going the extra mile by continuing the EAR and paying shipping both ways. After some searching my account, I was granted an "upgrade" to a 3rd EAR (gee, thanks?) for the 3rd RMA, and EVGA would be doing "extra testing" on my 3rd replacement to make sure it works (shouldn't that be common practice?) This, after explaining that I work from home, and this is now costing me money, as projects I have now have to be pushed back, and I have to make concessions to my clients because of the delay.
The 3rd RMA is on its way now, and per the info I can see on my account, it's another 9800 GTX and is scheduled for delivery for 05-11-2012. OK, I hope it works. Just seems completely stupid that the EAR I paid $40 for to not have this downtime has now cost me 2 weeks of downtime, completely negating that $40 I spent (in my opinion).
A few points though:
1.) I'm an A+ Certified tech (I know, doesn't mean jack, but noting it nonetheless)
2.) I have built countless PCs, so I know what I'm doing, I wasn't killing the cards, I'm damn sure of that
3.) I wasn't ever fishing for an upgrade (I've worked an RMA dept. before, I hate those kind of people) though after this, it would have been nice to get one, but I'm happy with just having a functioning computer with my 9800 GTX.
At this point, I seriously question whether I will ever buy EVGA ever again, having gone through this.