Stay Away from BBA 9600 Pros

[Rubberbband]

The E-mail I just sent Ati explains it all! BTW I did manage to reach them by phone and their"solution" is for me to RMA the card again and this time they'll test it before shipping me a replacement. Great news, they actually plan on testing their cards I'm overjoyed.


Hello again,
This is becoming an ongoing saga...My BBA 9600 Pro's fan failed recently. I inquired about getting an RMA number, which was problematic as I live on a Military base (CFB Halifax) which has a PO Box number for an address. Finally I gave up with inquiries because I was only getting the standard reply with links to your website. I decided to fill out an RMA request and include my permanent address which is Victoria BC (my wife and son live there while I am on a Submarine course out here). Anyways my card was deemed defective and a replacement was sent to my wife. She in turn shipped it to me here in Halifax. I received the card today (new serial number: 1803260022180).

I installed the card and it is also defective. Exact same problem: the fan spins but whines constantly and slows down (to a crawl) and then speeds up again. Once in a while it stops completely. At least my original 9600 pro lasted three months before failing. This card did not even last three minutes.

I am not pleased to say the least. I paid to ship the card to your service department. Because Ati chooses to use UPS to ship their cards I could not have it shipped here. I had to get it shipped to my wife in Victoria and pay for shipping it here. It has cost me 20 dollars so far and I can't believe it will cost me another 20 dollars to send this back and forth again. Will the next card be defective also? If I could get a full refund for this product I would in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I did not purchase the extended warranty offered to me by FutureShop. Right now I am running my system with a Leadtek GF4 Ti 4200 128Mb that I had laying around and I can tell you that my confidence in Nvidia products has been boosted tenfold.

After installing the card tonight I tried to reach your office by phone. I wasn't surprised when I found out that you were experiencing technical difficulties and NONE of your contact numbers were operational. This is not the way I expect to be treated after purchasing a $300.00 video card.

What are my options now? I would like a full refund or an offer to upgrade to another model of video card as I have lost faith in your 9600 Pro series. I can't see myself wasting more time and money trying to get your product running again.

Tx, Rob

 

[rbV5]

Bummer story....but I think I'd just replace the fan myself.

 

[Matthias99]

Or get a Zalman heatsink for it? The sidesteps the fan problem entirely. Although either of those will void your warranty.

I mean, it sucks that they screwed up your replacement, but this is hardly an indictment of the entire 9600Pro line or of ATI. I mean, it's entirely possible the replacement card got damaged in shipment. I can't image shipping something to Halifax would be particularly gentle.

 

[Rubberbband]

I considered replacing the fan myself when the first card failed. Then I thought to myself why void the warranty on a card that is only three months old? I figured that I should just let ATI handle it. Then the whole "UPS refuses to ship to military bases thing" came up and I was a little stoked. Not only did I have to return the card but I'd have to wait for it to get to Victoria and then wait again for it to be shipped here. I guess I'm just a disapointed and maybee a little bitter now.

 

[Genx87]

I would just cut your losses and get a different brand 9600 Pro or get an Nvidia product.

 

[Rubberbband]

$300.00 dollars CDN is alot of money to just cut my losses. I wish I could afford to lol. I'd be happy if ATI gave me full credit for the card towards the purchase of a better product.

 

[Corporate Thug]

this is an unfortunate situation but there are many people who are quite happy with there BBA 9600 pro

 

[SilverLock]

What in heck is a BBA 9600?

 

[modedepe]

Originally posted by: SilverLock
What in heck is a BBA 9600?

Built by ATi 9600.

Really sorry to hear about your situation, though I must say I think this same thing could happen with just about any manufacturer.

 

[Sid59]

Built By ATI

 

[Keysplayr]

Bummer dude, but you need to learn to have more patience these days.

I don't mean to offend anybody when I say this, but I have always worked very hard in my life. Since I was 15 I held a job and worked hard and well at whatever I did. Took pride in what I did. But, with today's kids it's a different story. I walk into Best Buy yesterday to purchase a Case/PSU off the shelf and of course when I get to the checkout counter, the cashier says a different price that it said on the shelf. It was in the wrong spot which is nothing new. So then the cashier looks over at a fellow employee and asks for assistance and price check. The fellow employee just ignored the cashier even after being called 3 times. The cashier finally had to raise her voice and get serious with the fellow employee (young kid) in order for the kid to generate enough power in the brain to get the legs moving. It was like watching a lobotomized mental patient eat pudding. That slow. And of course the kid got all huffy and tantrumy and gave a look as if to say "How dare you ask me to do my job..".

I used this as an example because it is indicitive of how things barely get done today. It's the same wherever I go. Big companies hire kids because it's cheaper and cuts costs. AND IT SHOWS... Kids don't care about doing their jobs right and well. They care if their paycheck is enough this week ( because of the sick days of course) to buy that new XBOX game.

Your latest ATI RMA was probably an already defective return put into the wrong area and someone who thought it was in it's right place took it and sent it to you. Nobody tested your card before sending dude. They lied to you. Get used to it. They are too lazy to be bothered.

I know I sound like an old man, but I'm only 35. Pretty sad huh?

/rant

Keys

 

[Rubberbband]

Man you are OLD. I'm ONLY 32 lol. Yeah I know exactly what you mean. I guess I'm a little impatient because ATI uses UPS to ship (did I mention that UPS refuses to ship to military bases lol).

I'll get over it.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Bummer dude, but you need to learn to have more patience these days.

I don't mean to offend anybody when I say this, but I have always worked very hard in my life. Since I was 15 I held a job and worked hard and well at whatever I did. Took pride in what I did. But, with today's kids it's a different story. I walk into Best Buy yesterday to purchase a Case/PSU off the shelf and of course when I get to the checkout counter, the cashier says a different price that it said on the shelf. It was in the wrong spot which is nothing new. So then the cashier looks over at a fellow employee and asks for assistance and price check. The fellow employee just ignored the cashier even after being called 3 times. The cashier finally had to raise her voice and get serious with the fellow employee (young kid) in order for the kid to generate enough power in the brain to get the legs moving. It was like watching a lobotomized mental patient eat pudding. That slow. And of course the kid got all huffy and tantrumy and gave a look as if to say "How dare you ask me to do my job..".

I used this as an example because it is indicitive of how things barely get done today. It's the same wherever I go. Big companies hire kids because it's cheaper and cuts costs. AND IT SHOWS... Kids don't care about doing their jobs right and well. They care if their paycheck is enough this week ( because of the sick days of course) to buy that new XBOX game.

Your latest ATI RMA was probably an already defective return put into the wrong area and someone who thought it was in it's right place took it and sent it to you. Nobody tested your card before sending dude. They lied to you. Get used to it. They are too lazy to be bothered.

I know I sound like an old man, but I'm only 35. Pretty sad huh?

/rant

Keys

I don't see the connection. ATI didn't make good on their word, I'd be pissed too.

As for your problem, Rubberbband - that sucks. You should really just get an aftermarket HSF and save yourself the trouble. If anything goes wrong after with the card just remove the stock HSF, clean up the core and put back on the original HSF. It saves both you and ATI time and money.

 

[Pete]

If ATi doesn't pay to ship your card next-day both ways with a functioning HSF, I'd tell them to refund your money themselves, or send you a 9600XT with a Zalman cooler for your troubles. I can understand one failure, but multiple ones that leave you without a card is unacceptable.

The fan on my Visiontek 9100 also began buzzing and getting louder, but I didn't have to ship the card to get fixed. Vtek just mailed me a new fan, and I replaced it myself. Unfortunately, the new fan started to make the same noises recently. I suppose I'm somewhat more tolerant of it because it was a fairly cheap card at $60. But crappy fans that crap out reliably shouldn't be a part of a customer's experience.

 

[Rubberbband]

The fan assembly is the cheapest I have seen . I will not void my warranty by replacing it myself. I would like ATI to give me the opportunity to "trade up" to the 9600 XT. I'll gladly pay the difference to avoid having to RMA the card 10 times a year.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
I used this as an example because it is indicitive of how things barely get done today. It's the same wherever I go. Big companies hire kids because it's cheaper and cuts costs. AND IT SHOWS... Kids don't care about doing their jobs right and well. They care if their paycheck is enough this week ( because of the sick days of course) to buy that new XBOX game.

Please don't generalize like that. I hate my job just as much as any other 'kid' but you'll never hear a complaint about me from a customer at my job.

 

[Pete]

I don't know what your fan assembly looks like, Rubberbband, but with the tiny HSF on my 9100, replacing the fan is a simple matter of removing the four tiny screws holding the fan in place and swapping fans. The heatsink is left in place. Swapping a fan like that, without removing the HS, shouldn't void your warranty, and it'll save you time without your card and the expense of shipping. I don't know if your fan is as easily accessible as mine, though.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Pete
I don't know what your fan assembly looks like, Rubberbband, but with the tiny HSF on my 9100, replacing the fan is a simple matter of removing the four tiny screws holding the fan in place and swapping fans. The heatsink is left in place. Swapping a fan like that, without removing the HS, shouldn't void your warranty, and it'll save you time without your card and the expense of shipping. I don't know if your fan is as easily accessible as mine, though.

The 9600 Pros that I saw had no screws on the fan, but it might be possible to just pop the fan off the heatsink with a thin flathead screwdriver.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Rubberbband
I considered replacing the fan myself when the first card failed. Then I thought to myself why void the warranty on a card that is only three months old? I figured that I should just let ATI handle it. Then the whole "UPS refuses to ship to military bases thing" came up and I was a little stoked. Not only did I have to return the card but I'd have to wait for it to get to Victoria and then wait again for it to be shipped here. I guess I'm just a disapointed and maybee a little bitter now.

understandable, man... sorry to hear about those problems... that does kinda suck~!

 

[Rubberbband]

I don't think I should have to put a fan on this card. The first one lasted 3 months and the second was defective from the start. What I'd like is for ATI to credit me the price of the card and I'll purchase an 9600XT from them. The XT uses a higher quality fan.

 

[Pete]

Sounds good to me.