'Little' problem with my ATI 9700 pro

[CMonakar]

I have been getting 'black snow' and random polygons when playing 3d games recently so I decided to initiate a warranty request with ATI. To start the process they needed a serial number off the card. When I went to remove the card from the computer I discovered that the ATI cooling fan had melted off the heat sink and was dangling by a wire. :!: The chip under the fan also looks slightly toasted, which leads me to believe it cooked itself and then melted the fan rather than vice versa. Has anybody had this happen? I didn't overclock the card or do anything silly with it.

A big motive for me paying a $40 premium to get an ATI brand 9700pro, instead of a 3rd party 9700pro, was ATI's warranty exchange program. Basically, you give them your CC info and they send you out a replacement. You then swap cards and return the original in the box the replacement arrived at. The beauty of this is there is no down time. Unfortunately, they have since discontinued this program. :roll:

I sent the card out on tuesday to their office in NY. From there it will be shipped to their tech dept in Canada. It takes them 1-3 days to process the card and another 3 days to get it back to the customer. On a positive note, the people at ATI have been very nice and said they would probably just replace it with a 9800pro.

[itsthepham]

Sounds really bad. This has never happened to me, I have a 9600PRO and seems to be running good for the past couple of months. Is your computer properly cooled? It sucks to run a computer or better yet the video card hot without proper cooling.

But the good side to this problem of yours is that you might get the 9800PRO. even better. :D BASTARD!

[CMonakar]

I have 2 case fans in addition to the CPU, power supply and vid card fans. . .and 'they're all blowing in the right direction:)

For the past year or so the card has worked flawlessly. When I started playing battlefield vietnam it went to hell. I wouldn't put it past EA games to put out a piece of software that is so crappy it damages the hardware;)

[gigdy]

if you get a 9800pro out of it who cares. :D i got the 9600 aiw and my roomate the 9700aiw and neither of us have ever had a problem. good luck

[itsthepham]

I have 2 case fans in addition to the CPU, power supply and vid card fans. . .and 'they're all blowing in the right direction:)

For the past year or so the card has worked flawlessly. When I started playing battlefield vietnam it went to hell. I wouldn't put it past EA games to put out a piece of software that is so crappy it damages the hardware;)

LOL. thanks for the news. I just started playing battlefield vietnam. :D

[CMonakar]

I put a call into ATI today. I sent my card to them by priority mail on the 20th. They still haven't recorded it in their inventory system. They confirmed I sent it to the correct addres and by the correct shipping company (USPS). I asked them if they could look for it to make sure it did not arrive and they told me they won't begin a search until the post office confirms it has not been lost. I contacted the post office and they said I have to wait 3 weeks before they will start investigating and then it can take another couple of weeks before they reach a conclusion.

Lets recap. I paid a premium for a defective product, started with an exchange warranty, they pulled that back leaving me with a 1 week turn around, which now appears may stretch out to 7+ weeks because either the post office or ATI misplaced the card and ATI will not lift a finger to help until I affirmatively prove to them that the post office, a company known for its dependability, did not lose the card. :roll: