Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Graphic cards => Topic started by: bhavv on April 10, 2009, 04:16:37 pm
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Hi. How long is the warranty on Gigabyte graphics cards? I found some 1 GB 4870's for just £154 and ordered a pair, so would like to check if they are just 1 year, or 3 years like the motherboards are.
Thanks.
These cards here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-046-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=
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Hi
1. ask Overclockers about their warranty conditions
2. If they provide you will less than 3 years then you can always send your damaged VGA directly to GIGABYTE UK RMA. Check details at http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,85.0.html as this was already discussed some time ago.
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Thanks. I just wanted to know the length of the manufacturers warranty to make sure it was 3 years, I've only had 1 year on graphics cards before which is why I asked, but it is good to have 3 years now, even though I usually swap out my graphics cards as soon as prices on the next one up drop.
Putting memory sinks on doesnt invalidate the warranty with Gigabyte does it? The cards have bare memory and I have lots of BGA memory sinks and akasa thermal tape.
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I think as long as you can remove them and do not modify the actual card in the process I think it should be ok, if anything I would think it would benefit the card to have them.
Just confirm this with Gigabyte, but to return them to www.overclockers.co.uk by an RMA you cannot modify the product, so not sure if that comes under it:
4.Modified Goods. Any goods that have been modified or physically altered in any way shall be deemed Warranty Void and no support will be provided.
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Yes, Overclockers are right about RMA conditions, so if any problem happens you will need to remove the memory sinks.
Please remember, in case when VGA is modified or damaged somehow during installing / removing of these sinks, the warranty will be void.
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Yea, Im still pondering whether I should keep and install some Thermaltake Sorbs that I bought, or just use the Zalman coolers already on the cards and sell my Sorbs.
The Sorbs are like nearly double the size with two extra heatpipes, but the Zalmans are already good enough and completely silent.
I initially wanted everything in the new PC to be aluminium and blue lights, but will no longer have a side window.
I find it odd that the cards dont have memory sinks already on them though as Gigabyte is a premium brand and these cards are normally expensive, but
Without my case side fans turned on, the cards reach 75 degrees, but my new Antec P182 will have brilliant case cooling.
This is not to do with the warranty, just that I dont actually need to touch the Zalman coolers on these cards, I just wanted better looking ones that match the motherboard and CPU cooler I'm getting.
I would like to try and keep the new PC for 3 years without upgrading, and can add one more 4870 over this time instead of getting new cards.
The heatsink can be easilly changed back to the stock ones, but memory sinks are difficult to remove.
I will E mail Gigabyte tomorrow and ask about the memory sinks before deciding to add them or not.
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Oh well, I tried to remove the stock cooler on one of the cards today, and it is stuck down very strongly, it seemed to be a permanent thermal paste :(.
So I wont be modifying them.
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Odd, usually most are replaceable. Missed any screws? I would of thought it would be possible.
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I took of the 4 screws on the back, but it was still stuck down and the pins wouldnt even push out from the back. I obviously dont want to exert excessive pressure.
The orange coolers are a nice contrast in my case though, but the thermaltakes are matching aluminium with blue lights and bigger. I might try removing them again tomorrow, but doesnt look like they will shift.
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hellllooo!
seems to be the first my post here so WELCOME EVERYBODY !
i had the same problem with one of gigabyte products and the solution was simple :
1. warm up the thermal paste or gum, however called (let the vga have heavy work for a few hours or use hair dryer)
2. not to shift or pull but rotate (as the clock arm does) instead
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Hi. I'm having another problem now, it seems that ATI CCC is not detecting both cards and I cannot enable crossfire.
I have used GPUZ and that detects both cards, but says crossfire is disabled.
I have both cards installed with two 6 pin connectors to each, and a single crossfire adaptor between them, but I cannot activate crossfire.
I will try the other crossfire connector tommorow, and even try both but you should only need one for two cards.
I'll try asking on ATI Game forums as well.
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ATi Drivers are a bit fidly. I would suggest to get something like DriverCleaner and uninstall the drivers using that programme or similar, the download the 9.4 again.
Check that both cards work in the primary PCI-E slot too.
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Oh, I already fixed it. I used the drivers on the CD and they work with crossfire.
I tried rotating the cards, switching the crossfire cables, using the drivers from Gigabytes website, nothing worked.
Then I tried the drivers on the CD and can enable crossfire :).
Both cards are stable and artifact free at 790 / 1050. Next I look up how to push the core to 850 Mhz.
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Hi bhavv
nice to hear it's working. yes, sometimes drivers from bundled cd are the best ones, i am also a bit surprised. anyway it's OK
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Not meaning to thread hi-jack, but what's Gigabyte's policy on changing coolers on their cards?
Curious, as I know there are a few companies that allow removal so long as returns as sent with original heatsink attatched... But others are no go and put stickers on the back plates to instantly VOID cards.
Also - what would be the possibility of "OEM Cards"? No one does it as of yet, but I know I'd buy them! Cards with no cooler, just reference design to allow easy watercooling? Obviously it'll be a specific market and will require a more specific warranty, but it would be nice if someone actually did it!
Would mean people buying cards wouldn't get confused over compatability. I know loads have bought the 1GB 4870's lately and over 50% aren't compatable with the standard block, and only 20% of that 50% are compatible with the non-reference blocks available.
I'm aware you simple could do a watercooled version, but for those who have their favourite blocks, it wouldn't really suit because there will always be someone who doesn't like how it's designed...
~Bex
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I managed to get the stock coolers off today - You need to heat them up first so that it softens to take them off, after the card cools down the stock paste solidifies.
I didnt change the cooler, there was no need, but I attached some copper ramsinks to the ram modules, and the results were astonishing -
Before I could run the ram stable and artifact free at 1050 MHZ. 1075 MHZ was stable in Vantage with noticable artifacts, but would crash in 3D Mark 06.
After installing the Ramsinks, the ram is now fully stable at 1100 Mhz in both Vantage and 3D Mark 06, with a few artifacts so it cant be used 24/7, but less artifacts than they had before at 1075 MHZ, plus they are more stable!
The improved memory clocks arent just because of the ramsinks, but because of the way the Zalman VF830 is designed - its air is blown through its fins and over the ram modules.
I will only use 1100 MHZ ram for benchmarking though, and 1050 MHZ should be good for 24/7 use.
Because I had broken the bond on the thermal paste, I replaced it with some of what was left over from my Asus paste which looks like MX-II, but load temperature on the first card went up to 78 degrees from 75 before oops. The bottome card however is cooler at 57 degrees under load, the first one is just cramped with little airflow, but this temperature should still be safe enough for 4870's, so I dont need to rush out and buy better thermal paste right away, but will add some to my next order.
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I believe that most warranty is from date of manufacture.
If the shop you bought it from has disappeared then ask Gigabyte if you can send it to them directly.
It may cost you postage to them.
Also which shop was it? They may have a parent company or wholesale supplier you could try.
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Nice results, just be careful. Artifacts means the card is not stable, and long term damage may be caused to the ram and you could end up with corrupt memory with constant artifacts even at stock speed. I don't think the warranty covers overclocking, I could be wrong though.
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Well, I am new here and firstly wanna drop a hello to everyone. And yes brad it won't cover overlocking. and i hav some confusions bout the prob relates to drivers which has been sort out from ur discussions with bhavv. :) thanx
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Just to confirm that there are no void stickers on my cards, which is good because my first slot one wasnt very healthy with the stock cooler.
It is now running stable at a max of 79 degrees under load with the thermaltake S orb and an Antec Spotcool fan on full speed blowing over it, while the second is nice and low for a 4870 at just 68 degrees under full load. Turning my Spotcool fan up to full dropped it from 86 to 79 :).
Also, if you have a Gigabyte card with the Zalman fansink like mine, then look at the new Zalman VF2000 which is an updated version with 4 heatpipes, 92 mm fan and blue light, I wish I had gotten those now, but the ones I have are working good with an extra fan blowing over the first card. I just wanted blue lights on them.
I didnt see the model name of the Ramchips on my cards, but originally the Zalman cooled 4870 was shipped with Hynix ram that barely reached 3800 MHZ.
Mine were Qimonda and are artifact free at 4400 MHZ now with the extra cooling I put on them, it looks like they are the same second generation GDDR5 chips found on the 4890 and 4770 to be able to reach the magic clock of 1100 MHZ :). I realised this from reading reviews, and also Gigabyte support asked me which ram I have, Hynix or Qimonda when I contacted them about newer drivers not working with crossfire. So if you get a new Gigabyte 4870, you are getting ram chips that may be capable of 4400 MHZ with extra cooling.
But I actually run them underclocked to 500 / 450 for 24/7 use to save power, and only overclock when benchmarking.
I doubt they will have any problems, I did plan on upgrading to third gen 40 nm cards next year, but will try and skip upgrading untill 2012 if I can help myself now. Energy consumption is helped with underclocking through rivatuner.
If they do break, my problem will be getting the ramsinks off, but Ive never had graphics cards break before so dont think there will be any problems.
Nice cards, I havnt ever had so much luck with getting good memory chips in the past on other brands.
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2012? Good luck on that, you will end up 4 generations behind unless ATi manage to fall behind again with Nvidia using the same architecture for a few years such as the 8800GTX.
Nice overclock there, and I don't think void stickers are used much anymore, only on branded whole desktops usually and many laptops when replacing stuff.
Any benchmark results?
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Hi there,
Sorry for necroing this thread but after searching for a while I could not find the answer to my question:
I recently bought a Gigabyte HD7970 and I am not too happy with noise of the stock cooler. I am thinking of replacing it with an aftermarket cooler, but I am not sure how it will affect the warranty.
What is Gigabyte's warranty policy regarding the installation of coolers on their cards? I tried to find an answer but no success so far. If this information is available somewhere, please point me to the right direction. I would prefer an official answer and not something " I think..."
The Gigabyte site does say something about modifications but that is quite vague.
I know that there is a factory overclocked version of the card by Gigabyte with a better cooler, but who knows when it will be available to purchase.
Thanks
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Hi and welcome.
I come across this quite often as I watercool all my systems and so that involves removing the stock coolers and replacing with waterblocks. Gigabyte like most manufacturers looks on it that the warranty is voided if you replace the stock cooler. So it is something that you must think hard about and then decide. The only thing I can suggest is to be very careful when removing it and keep it safe in case of having to replace it for RMA reasons.
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Thank you for the quick answer. Not the best news, I should have asked this question before I bought the card.
I need to think about it twice then but it is really loud, so I need a solution.
Thanks again.