Did your dfi ultra or sli nf4 arrive damaged?

[6rendel]

I ask because I found a post in hardocp's forum from someone besides myself that recieved their "new" board and found that one of the onboard switches (power switch) was damaged they also mentioned where it was purchased (zzf) the post should be here
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=871266
From the post it appears that they proceeded to use the board in spite of the damaged switch. My ultra which arrived last week from newegg was similarly damaged I noticed it because after I removed the board from antistatic bag I heard something rattling in it. Upon close inspection I found a little piece of metal and some plastic. After several slaps and some shaking of the board I found another little piece of metal and then a tiny metal spring that was caught on or under one of boards components. I also have decided to keep this board as an rma will result in additional cost and more than likely result in me getting the unmoddable revision. I thought I would mention it if it turns out to be something others might encounter. I should that I tore apart an identicle switch (the reset button on the front panel of a case) so I could be certain there wasn't something else that might be caught on the board that might "smoke it" the minute I turn it on. If you find that your board's onboard switch's are not there or you find pieces in the bag and you can live without this "feature" Make certain you FIND THESE FOUR PARTS the spring, and the two small copper contacts and I forgot the small metal hook looks sorta like this (_] the first ones were attached to the plastic button the hook is attached to the part of the switch that should be still on the board but I doubt it would stay there examine the board from every angle give some light pats and if you powered it up before finding the damage and have had any problems rma pdq if you are not having issues but kept a damaged board find those suckers they are all very small.

 

[Super Nade]

Contact hitechjb1. His was damaged. Broken switches.

Check the pics in his thread:-
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=364223

 

[6rendel]

this makes three and havent even checked google yet i posted a similar topic at nforcershq i think the placement and component choice is going to put this problem at the top of the Q/C list of causes for return not to mention the number of people who will smoke their boards if they just plug it in or dont find all of metal pieces

 

[CJ4]

I received my Ultra-D without any problems.

CJ

 

[mitro]

Yikes... my power/reset buttons were broken. I figured I was the only one. Just got the processor today so I tried firing it up and cant even get into the BIOS (Boots but acts as if the keyboard isn't connected). Needless to say, its RMA time.

OT: I realy feel like DFI has dropped the ball on this one (with all the probs I've read about) and that's very unfortunate as I have become a big fan.

 

[Xtreme Barton]

man i must say i doesnt seem like a big deal .. but o me those buttons came in so handy when testing it first out .. no need for dumb front case panel to get in the way ..


send it back if you can wait it out ..

 

[Dinzy]

Are the mechanical buttons broken or are the switches just bad? I don't have my chip yet but both buttons feel like they are working.

I f the mechanical part is bad I would suggest rigging up an alternative switch rather than RMAing just because it would be much less of a pain in the *** than having to wait. I am waiting on an RMA's CPU and it sucks big time

 

[mitro]

The buttons were physically broken off.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

Hmm, my switches were fine, but when I received mine...it looks like it was used! There was nothing sealing the mobo box, and the plastic that held the cables and such was torn. Also, there are some scratches on top of the ethernet/usb/sound portion of the board.

Surprise surprise, I got it from zzf as well.

-Collin-

 

[Vrykyl]

minewas imaculate and perfect in everyway, but i do live in the uk
plus it modded to sli

 

[Super Nade]

Hmm, my switches were fine, but when I received mine...it looks like it was used! There was nothing sealing the mobo box, and the plastic that held the cables and such was torn. Also, there are some scratches on top of the ethernet/usb/sound portion of the board.

Surprise surprise, I got it from zzf as well.

-Collin-

Collin,

That sounds real shady to me. ZZF are sending people used stuff? Maybe one of the classifieds mods could help you with a small investigation.

 

[Xtreme Barton]

newegg has done it too.. sell used stuff that is ... not many people here have delt with it but i have .. i did 5 times in a row from them .. each call and email they said no sir we do not re-sell opened itmes as new .. and thats funny cause all packages were ripped open by a very excited overclcoker hehehe ......

anyways i learned the mention of a bad review does wonders with these buisnesses..

just tell em you have nasty stuff to say and you will 99% get what you want ..

 

[6rendel]

I cannot speak about whether it is used or not but if the buttons work you should be fine if one does get damaged you will more than likely find little pieces of it in the anti esd bag it was shipped in. what i have left on the board is the part of the switch that the contacts would normally slide up down on. The most serious danger I would think is that one of the two very tiny copper contacts or the spring would easily get caught in the pins of any number of things on the board and you would not always easily find them. that is why i mentioned the need to find the metal parts that may have seperated from the rest of the assembly they would be two pieces of copper and a small 3-4 mm spring that looks like one found in a disposable lighter but much shorter. removing the cover is just a matter of lifting the plastic tab on either side of the plastic cover. this could easily be accomplished if the switch is bumped against anything in the box. I would think any boards with switches such as these on them are vulnerable however the differant packaging of the sli boards might make a differance

as for the buttons usefulness i never had a problem touching the pwswt or reset jumpers with a screwdriver just need to be familiar with the board you are working with

 

[Pickle]

I got my board from ncix.com in perfect condition

 

[Xtreme Barton]

"as for the buttons usefulness i never had a problem touching the pwswt or reset jumpers with a screwdriver just need to be familiar with the board you are working with"

to each his own i guess.. but i would have to say its easier pushing the button tan jumping pins with a screw driver.. but thats really besides the point.. if your board has a part that doesnt work than return it.. otherwise deal with it.. what other option is there ?? how big of deal is it to your personally .. i like the features of the buttons as mentioned above, but thats my persoanl preference..
you may get one broken sata connector but you have 3 or 7 more .. may never use it .. who knows ... all up to you ..

basically we all here know its mostly a time issue .. nobody wants to send in there brand new board and be with out for a week or so .. in fact i have to send mine back ???

the downfall you must keep aware of .. if you send it back you risk them just replacing it with another board ( most the time they will do just that) and it will not be a moddable one im sure.. if you dont have a moddable one than no biggie..

im banging my head against the wall for not just getting the true sli board... ah well

ill sell this when i get anoither card and take a little hit in the pocket book for my my/dfi/nvidia's mistake lol ..

 

[Z YA LTR]

I got mine and it looked as if it was used also. The book had folded edges and the little audio chip had scratches on the top metal part. Also the bottom pins where you hook up the power switch and stuff was bent nearly all the ay over. When I bent them back they nearly broke and I havent got them to work yet. I have to turn it on by using the onboard power switch. I might have put them on wrong but I am going to check tonight.

Oh and I got mine from newegg.

--Josh

 

[6rendel]

looks like this is widespread

This site is apparently used by a few dfi people or so it says. In any event they have a sticky in their amd64 forums regarding the problem.
http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6245

 

[ONE]

Yes mine was damaged, I noticed it when I saw a tiny spring laying on the board near the sata connectors and I had already powered it up.
BTW.....I got mine from ZZF also.....thats strange. I didn't even consider rma'ing it because I considered it to be a very minor flaw but now its looking fishy......hmmm.
edit; my pins were also bent next to the switches so I carefully straightened them.

 

[xenolith]

the downfall you must keep aware of .. if you send it back you risk them just replacing it with another board ( most the time they will do just that) and it will not be a moddable one im sure.. if you dont have a moddable one than no biggie..

im banging my head against the wall for not just getting the true sli board... ah well

ill sell this when i get anoither card and take a little hit in the pocket book for my my/dfi/nvidia's mistake lol ..

What are talking about? All NF4 ultras are hardware moddable with full SLI support as long as the board has a second 16x PCI-E slot, which DFI ultra's have. I even heard there's a way to use Nvidia's latest chipset drivers with a registry tweak.

 

[6rendel]

not anymore the new ultra chips coming from nvidia will not be moddable a direct result of this board using the same pcb. All dfi did was use the chip they were givin. So other than a change to the pcb or removal of the 2nd pci16 slot there isn't much that can be done except for them to stop- production until nvidia gets the new ultra chip to them. My guess anyway. Sorta makes it nvidia's fault don't you think?

IF YOU HAD A DAMAGED SWITCH

when I posted this I only mentioned three pieces of metal from the switches. I WAS WRONG there are FOUR the spring the two contacts and a small metal hook looks sorta like this (_] If you kept the board and cannot account for these pieces then you might want to take another look at your board. I don't know how much of a risk there is but if you dropped a few screws in there would you turn it on? Everything in the switch is small thin and can get hooked on just about anything.