[Sinik]

Hi guys,

This isn't a trouble, I just wanted to share my today experience with you. We received in-store yesterday a computer which requires a video-card installation. He want to play at 'Dawn of War 2'. The customer said he bought it looking carefully for everything but he seems to not be able to install the card since the computer seems not to be booting...

I post pictures to show you different angles of the problem. Notice the thermal paste on the GPU but where's the fan?











Some gamers are really devoted!

Edited by Sinik, 03 June 2009 - 08:03 AM.

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Notice the thermal paste on the GPU but where's the fan?

lol Good catch! I don't have the desire to try and figure out what card that is, but it could have just been a heatsink and not a HSF assembly. But your point is still valid. If nothing else, they should have cleaned the die so it was not so noticeable. I wonder if the thermal overload feature was able to kick in before self destruction. With no heat sink, overheating would occur almost immediately.

The customer said he bought it

I wonder from where, or from whom he bought this PC. I hope not where you work!

[Digerati]

Notice the thermal paste on the GPU but where's the fan?

lol Good catch! I don't have the desire to try and figure out what card that is, but it could have just been a heatsink and not a HSF assembly. But your point is still valid. If nothing else, they should have cleaned the die so it was not so noticeable. I wonder if the thermal overload feature was able to kick in before self destruction. With no heat sink, overheating would occur almost immediately.

The customer said he bought it

I wonder from where, or from whom he bought this PC. I hope not where you work!

[Sinik]

Actually he bought this from futureshop the guy there helped him to choose the right stuff....
the right stuff: a power supply of 160w for a Graphic card that requires 300w minimum

The card is a 3450 and the heatsink on it was a Zalman which I didn`t received with the card from the customer

[Digerati]

That's sad. FutureShop huh? Will remember that next time a Canadian poster is looking for someplace to spend their money.

He needs to take it back and demand his money back.

[Sinik]

I'm not quiet sure that the warranty is still legit, even if he cut all the metal around the sticker that says 'void if removed'....

[Digerati]

I thought you were saying FutureShop sold him a PC in that condition. Now I gather you mean he took the HSF off himself, and left it off. Leaving the card without the provided cooling solution would definitely give FutureShop the right not honor the warranty.

However, since you brought it up, (and because I just had a similar discussion on another site) I will note those stickers mean nothing! Users have the right to open the side of "their" case, upgrade RAM, add a drive. More importantly, they have the responsibility to keep the interior of the case clean of heat trapping dust and dirt. So makers can put stickers everywhere, it does not matter. As long as there are "user serviceable" parts inside, you have the right to open it up, and do whatever maintenance you need to do - as long as it is done correctly. If there are no user serviceable parts, such as inside a hard drive or power supply, then breaking the seal might void the warranty of the drive, or PSU. But even still, in a court of law I suspect they would have to prove that breaking the seal damaged the device, or that something inside could only have been broken by abuse. Just breaking the seal and looking inside may still be within your rights. It is your PSU.

Understand that most independent PC assemblers, including yours truly, feel those stickers are nothing more than a scam to coerce and scare owners in to having all maintenance, including upgrade purchases, done through them. Consumer protection laws protect us from such abuse. Automobile makers tried the same thing and were shot down long ago. You can do all the maintenance (routine and otherwise) in your own backyard, as long as you do it correctly, using any oil and parts that meet industry standards, and your warranty is still good (just keep your receipts for supplies). The big electronics firms tried that with TVs - yet tube testers were in every drug, grocery, and hardware store because we had the right to break the seal, remove the back, pull the tubes, and take them for testing.

So if someone says you broke the seal, the warranty is void, remind them it is your machine, your right and you will gladly meet them in court if they choose. Since they know they will lose, then get stuck with the legal fees, they will honor it.

[Sinik]

You are totally right, I was just kidding

These stickers aren't on any brand name computers anymore. Just off course in this case it won't be honored, the guy just went thru the case with a Dremel, then he fold all the supports, removed any part that were in the way of his video card. Including the fan of this car itself Without talking about the fact that the video card wasn't able to fully reach its sockets. So actually the guy just misused both: the computer and the video card itself.

This said, warranty are honored if you open your case. You can and have to clean the dust into your computer. You may install any components as long as it is supposed to fit in and that you are doing the work correctly. Like getting an anti-static bracelet or so if you don't know how to get rid of the static, and to off course not eat chips and then put your greasy fingers all around the circuits...

[Sinik]

Just for update purposes, I left a voice message to the customer yesterday telling him I would need the fan or the heat sink to complete the job. He called me today trying to explain me there was no such thing on this video card... Then I said well bring this box here I'll send it to the manufacturer as they took the time for the thermal paste but forgot the cooling kit!
He said just give me 2 minutes so that I can double check the box. Suddenly he found the fan that 'had felt in the box'... I asked him if the screws were there too and believe it or not, yes they felt at the exact same place
This is probably my most brilliant explanation this year.

[Digerati]

Make sure he knows where the any key is too.