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Demetri
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5 Bad GPUs?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 6:08 pm

So I ordered 5 GPUs from Newegg and they're all identical models and factory refurbs. I've tested them all, and they exhibit the same problem. They crash the entire system about 8 seconds in to 3Dmark Firestrike, and also in Overwatch on the main menu (except of one of them, which was able to make it into a match before crashing). I've tested on two different platforms (my main LGA 1150 system, and an old backup AM3), 3 different power supplies, and two different versions of Radeon drivers. The only thing I've found to keep it from crashing is to downclock the GPU by 30%. Then it can pass 3Dmark and run Overwatch.

It seems too much of a coincidence that I received 5 bad cards that made it past QA with the same problem but that's the conclusion I'm coming too. Is there anything I'm missing or should I just pack these up and send them back?
 
Delta9
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 6:33 pm

What kind of cards and what were the fans doing? Any idea what kind of temperatures you were encountering despite the short time frame? A poorly ventilated case with a toasty GPU from a previous generation along with a messed up fan profile in software or an old video bios could be the culprit. See if there is a newer bios from the card manufacturer and if there were known issues with the launch or early bios code. Or they could just be defective.
 
Demetri
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:19 pm

Good call. I pulled up the Newegg reviews on the non-refurb listing for this model and a bunch of people had the exact same problem. No BIOS updates available either. So basically, they took back the defective cards, only tested them through POST, then repackaged and sold them again. Nice job Asus/Newegg. I wonder if they thought they could get away with it since people are undervolting/clocking these for mining and they seem to be functional in that situation... or just crappy QA. Probably the latter.
 
Delta9
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:36 pm

What a bunch of scumbags. They probably figured the mining set would jump on them and avoid the issues you encountered by running different workloads, or underclocking and/or undervolting the cards. You nailed what happened, greed and laziness. Now the question is who did it? Was it the 'Egg, Asus, or a 3rd party that bought up returned stock. Shame on the guilty party. Good luck with everything.
 
Chrispy_
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:41 am

I've just decided it's best to avoid refurbs.

Most RMA departments are full of people who don't give a crap, and it seems that every repair/diagnosis seems to be a sloppy rush job.

If the card was defective enough that someone decided it was worth the inconvenience of raising an RMA, removing the card, packaging and shipping the damn thing back and then being without the card for some period, chances are good that it's screwed.

The minor cost savings aren't worth the gamble of the RMA department actually caring about it. Let's face it, if it really is defective they'll just see it again next time - they have no reason to care because it's not their time or money that will be wasted.
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Waco
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:45 am

I've had incredible luck with refurbs in general. HDDs, RAID/SAS controllers, TVs, monitors, CPUs, GPUs, DRAM. Generally anything actually defective (even after refurb) has enough warranty to exchange for a good item. The only thing I tend to stray away from is anything Flash-based.

Half of the drives in my NAS are refurbs and they've been hammering along for years now.
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ludi
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Re: 5 Bad GPUs?

Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:20 am

Chrispy_ wrote:
If the card was defective enough that someone decided it was worth the inconvenience of raising an RMA, removing the card, packaging and shipping the damn thing back and then being without the card for some period, chances are good that it's screwed.

It's usually a three-way tie between whether the card was defective, the system was defective, or the user was defective. In two of these three scenarios the vendor RMAs a perfectly good card.
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