can i trust a referbished graphics card?

[amanojyaku]

I am thinking about getting this graphics card. what does (oem barebone) mean. am i not going to get anything but the card and if thats all i get. i have a ati card now with the latest drivers. would i just be able to plug it in and notice a difference in speed. thx.
linky


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-291R&catalog=48&depa=0&section=4

and how about this one


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-276R&catalog=48&depa=0

 

[NiTrO bOiE]

OEM is the card only....

 

[Zazuk]

Well it means that someone else already had it and had problems or was not able to get the overclock they wanted and was returned and possible fixed by the manufacture. If you have problems with it within the first 15 days then RMA it... The refurb @ newegg sell out fast, the first one is already out of stock.

 

[amanojyaku]

ok i just want to make sure i have got this strait.
are these steps correct?
do i unistall the drivers, shutdown computer, switch cards( will the card work without the drivers to do the next step?),dowload the latest cat software from ati, and have it installed successfully?

 

[eaglescouter]

For newegg refurbs they only promise to give you the card, so you may or may not get any drivers, cd's, cables or connectors.

 

[Breadfan]

For newegg refurbs they only promise to give you the card, so you may or may not get any drivers, cd's, cables or connectors.

This is true. Sometimes you get the bare card with nothing. I got my ASUS ti4200 refurbed, it came bare card, and no DVI-VGA adapter. However, I just received a Chaintech ti4200 I bought for my little sister for christmas...it came in the retail box with manual, CD, and svideo cable. Still no DVI adapter, but who knows if it even had one.

My best advice is to test it the day you get it. Try to use it every day of your 15 day return period. If there is a problem you'll find it then. So far I'm lucky, my ASUS is perfect and OC's faster than a ti4600. I'm just about to go test my sisters card once I get the energy.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starting to wonder about some of these refurbed cards, like the ti4200's...why are they returned? I'm starting to think people buy them, don't like the RAM chips and send them back for a replacement.

My ASUS was the "S" versoin, which has the 3.3ns RAM, shown everywhere as being Samsung BGA. I got mine, and it was EtronTech RAM. This chaintech also shows it might come with Samsung, my sisters as EMST ram on it. You think people get them and don't like how they OC so they return them?

My EtronTech BGA ram still goes to about 630mhz though...

Edit: Oh, and as a side note, getting a driver CD should be your last worry...I can't remember the last time I used the drivers on the enclosed CD...I always get the latest (or best for an older card), whether it be Dets or Cat's.

 

[Hoot]

Last year, my sister-in-law commissioned me to put a box together for her inexpensively. I bought a refurbed Radeon 8500 from NewEgg and it was great. Mind you, I didn't want any support issues with her living 2-1/2 hours away, so nothing was overclocked but the CPU and then only slightly. People return stuff for a number of reasons. There's no way to tell inadvance, so it's a bit of a dice toss. I'd wager the refurbished device will run at spec, but I wouldn't bet on anything more.

Hoot

 

[CrashOveride]

Isn't that one of the -supposed to be- softmodable ones?
If so it could have just been returned because it wasn't softmodable without problems (somtimes that happens even if the card is one of the softmodable ones) rolleyes and might not have had any other problems.

I would guess that it is fine but like hoot said there is some chance of bad happening, all depends on if the extra money (50 or bucks in this case right?) is worth it to you.

 

[Surfeit00]

I purchased a refurb 5900 Ultra from Newegg & it was a good buy. The card has never given me any problems & I wouldn't refrain from buying a refurb card again.

It came in a white box, with nothing but the card in it. That was ok as I simply booted into safe mode & installed my newly downloaded drivers.

 

[UnLoadeD]

I've got 2x All In Wonder 9800 Pro's from newegg refurb(both came as cards only). First one died on me before 15 days. I RMA'd it using "repair/replace" option. If you choose "refund" option they h it you with a 15% restoking fee. Well turns out they didn't have any refurb cards in stock to exchange with mine, so they gave me a 100% refund(whole RMA process took about 7 days). Two days later more cords showed up, so I bought another. The second one died after the 15 grace period. I could'nt RMA it to newegg, so I checked with ATI. I was able to RMA it to them. They sent me a # and a NY address for US customers. They sent me a new card, took about 10 days. Also they sent me info that the new card was under warranty for 5 yrs from the purchase date of the card that went bad. I was pleased with how it turned out. The RMAing was a bit of a pain, but after it was all done, I upgraded my m/b and cpu. When I took the waterblock off my old cpu, I noticed signs that it had leaked a little bit. It's very possible that this is what caused my problems with the cards. I felt a little bad when I realized this, but I 'd didn't do it knowingly. Anyway, it is nice to know that the manufacturers really do back up the products after newegg's grace period is over. Also both RMA's went a lot quicker than I'd expected. Hope this helps put some of your minds at ease. Some really good deals can be had from the refurb section, specially if you don't need all the extras, or mind possibly having to do an exchange. I think the most you have to lose is time, your investment is safe.

peace.
unloaded

 

[Twigs]

I bought a ti4200 from newegg, it came, it worked, but it had artifacts in every game, the manufacturer repairs the item and gives it to newegg, but newegg doesnt even test the products.

 

[Aktunka]

There is really NO risk involved in buying a refurbished card from a place like Newegg. The reason is that even if the thing dies on you after Neweggs 15 day limit for a refurbed item, you are still covered by the full manufacturers warranty unless there is something specifically stating that is not the case. The only times I have ever seen items with something specifically stating that they did not have a full warranty is when the manufacturer themselves sell the refurbished item straight to consumers, then they might have a less than normal warranty.

Anyhow, if you are worried about going refurb because you don't know if you will have a problem and be stuck with a bad card, don't sweat it. Can always contact the manufacturer as your safety net.