Gigabyte's warranty questions

[HeatM1ser2k4]

My 6950 just died....the screen simply went black on me and the computer shut down.Its still under warranty, and I was wondering if removing the heatsink and replacing it with an aftermarket heatsink voids the warranty?

This is the card I have

I heard that it depends on the company, and that some allow you to replace the heatsink and fan without voiding the warranty, while others dont allow it. Does anyone know Gigabytes stance on this?

I also posted this in the ATi video card forums because I didnt know which was more appropriate. Please PM me and let me know which one to delete.

 

[Bobnova]

I haven't seen anything in their warranty forms banning it.
Assuming it didn't die due to the aftermarket heatsink, slap the stock unit back on and RMA the thing.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

I hope i still have it!

 

[White Runner]

I have RMA'd GPU's through Gigabyte that I had removed the stock heatsink to replace thermal goo... RMA took about 2 weeks, I paid for shipping there, they covered it back. Maybe not the best communication but not bad by any means. Good luck to you!

 

[Bobnova]

Yeah their communication... well it doesn't really suck, it doesn't really exist. The only email I ever got was one that made it sound like they had rejected it and were returning it. In reality, they're just bad at english and fixed it.

 

[87dtna]

They didn't start putting the little stickers on the screw heads (warranty void if removed) until the 7000 series. You should be good (if you can find the stock cooler and all the screws).

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

My card doesnt have a sticker with a S/N on it. I see the space where its painted and says thats the S/N sticker should go there...but its not there and I cant recall it ever being there.....do you think this will be an issue?

 

[Bobnova]

No SN = no warranty. That's important. It may be in a different spot on the card though.

 

[87dtna]

Yeah you can't even apply for an RMA without the serial.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

the only sticker I see says: GV-R695D5-2GD-B

is that the S/N?

 

[freakdiablo]

No, that looks like the model number (695 being short for 6950, was it a 2GB card? Because that may be what the 2G stand for right after it. Edit: Yeah, it's the model number) The serial will probably look more random, I've never used gigabyte so I don't know if it's alphanumeric or just numeric. Most of the things I used listed it as S/N: or SN:, and it may have a barcode.

 

[87dtna]

Are the stickers underneath that backplate? Perhaps post up some pics.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

Are the stickers underneath that backplate? Perhaps post up some pics.

NO, but maybe they put it on the box? Im not home to check right now

 

[87dtna]

No the serial will always be on the product itself. If the sticker came off, sorry but you're SOL.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

No the serial will always be on the product itself. If the sticker came off, sorry but you're SOL.

Logged into my Newegg account and saw that I bought the card on 2/28/2011, but when I called their customer service, they had already closed for the weekend.

 

[87dtna]

Your card doesn't have this yellow tag? Starts with SN meaning serial number.


The card is 2 years old now, Newegg won't have anything to do with anything after 30 days. You have to talk to gigabyte.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

Your card doesn't have this yellow tag? Starts with SN meaning serial number.


The card is 2 years old now, Newegg won't have anything to do with anything after 30 days. You have to talk to gigabyte.

Oh, its on the fan...I wont be home until Monday or Tuesday to check, but if thats where they put it, Im sure its on mine. Maybe the biggest issue I have is that I bougth the card on 2/28/2011, so it died 1 day before the warranty ran out. When I called their customer service, they had closed for the weekend.

 

[87dtna]

It should have a 3 year warranty.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

It should have a 3 year warranty.

2/28/11 was three years from yesterday.

 

[87dtna]

haha, yeah good point. Don't mind me, I'm stuck in 2013. derp