Bought my ASUS G750-DB71 from Xotic PC- 3 motherboards and RAM replaced in less than a year

My ASUS has failed once more. Appears to be another motherboard. Within a week of getting it in March 2014, the laptop would not turn on. 6 weeks later got it back from XoticPC via ASUS.. Then had to return the defective battery and power cube in July 2014 with the PC.Then in November 2014, another motherboard. Then in January 2015 another motherboard (3 motherboards plus the original) but this time ASUS replaced the motherboard again and reformatted the HDD. Xotic PC replaced the RAM. I had no problems for awhile. Never loaded a game as I knew laptop would blow up. Downloaded an NVIDIA GPU update in September 2015, left the PC for a month. Started it up and now the WiFi and HDD LED lights blink back and forth and no video. Have downloaded many NVIDIA GPU updates with no problems before. Contacted Xotic PC this month. Told them must be another motherboard. Cost would be $600 to replace (includes shipping to and from XoticPC because out of warranty). Can you imagine 5 motherboards in less than a year and a half of ownership?

Had a local PC tech tear the laptop down and rebuild. He checked the CPU and GPU- no problems. His conclusion: Another motherboard. I have not contacted ASUS as reviews I see on them are not good for their customer service. Something is not engineered correctly.

I have indicated back in November 2014 to XoticPC that I had a lemon but because I had the laptop tailored: Like increased RAM, Windows 7 Pro, better GPU, etc no replacement. Checked back early on and XoticPC said No. I need feedback on what I should do. I have owned many PCs and laptops: NEVER have I replaced a motherboard. 2 other guys I talked to had the same problem with this model series. They replaced the motherboard once and sold it. Too late for me.

I would like ASUS to fix this for me FREE! This laptop must have some engineering issue that has not been seen before.

BTW, I have kept every single e-mail and other documents to and from XOTIC PC to back up my claims.

Ed

 

Hello,

I'm very sorry for these issues. I know that our RMA team is still working with Asus trying to find out what is going on. As of right now it is out of warranty yes, but we are doing what we can to see if Asus can do anything on this one.

I also had them double check the quote and we show it as being $450 for the motherboard replacement not $650, although i know this is not the option that you want to go with. Feel free to PM if there is anything that I can help with and I know our RMA team is diligently working to try and figure out an alternate solution for you.

 

Just sent this to Xotic PC in an e-mail:

Tanner,


After much thinking, I decided to get a second opinion on my laptop. Just like with Doctors.


So I had a local PC guy check out the laptop thoroughly. He took the laptop apart, put it back together (this does not void the warranty as the laptop is out of warranty) and checked out all components like RAM, CPU, GPU, etc. No problems could he find other than the motherboard needs to be replaced.


Here is the “ apparent reason”, in my opinion, for the 4 motherboards (original plus 3 ASUS replacements) that were changed out in less than a year on my ASUS ROG:


Missing screws throughout. He thinks what may have happened is that as the system was built and repaired several times by ASUS screws were not available or were not put it with no QA on ASUS’ part. Couple this with the back and forth via UPS and FEDEX- my house to Xotic PC to ASUS in CA and back, components may have shifted and as the laptop was moved they shifted into each other. I can think of no other reason for my problems, although other people had none as you have previously stated.


He also found that there are two hinges that are supposed to hold one component in place and there is only one. And the CMOS Battery bracket was broken in one place and, get this, super glued in.


When I put my ASUS away for a month, I took it off the table and placed it in a computer case and left it on the floor next to the table (not a kitchen one) out of the flow of traffic against a wall. This may have loosened some components impacting the motherboard in putting it in and taking it out. So when I turned it on, I go the switching between the HDD and LED lights. He even put an external monitor on the laptop and no video.


So here are my conclusions:


1. Both he and you said I was unlucky and you recently said no problems with the ASUS G750JW-DB71 laptop. You are both right. It appears that ASUS lack of QA throughout for my laptop buy and repair did not exist. Seems like they got it in the door. Slapped a new motherboard on and it worked for them. No one saw or cared about missing screws to anchor the system down or fixing it correctly.

2. As a reseller, XOTIC PC QAd the laptop for a week after build but could not have known how the motherboard and other components were secured. As of today, I have spent well over $2,000 on this laptop: $1630 to buy, close to $300 in shipping back and PC tech examination . And it does not work.

3. ASUS will deny everything as is their custom. I have scoured the web and this seems to be the majority opinion.


So, I am now out over $2,000 and I seem to have no legal recourse. Tanner, sending it back to you will not solve the problem as you will send it back to ASUS, they will slap the motherboard into it, back to you and me. That is going to be over $500 for me alone ($450 for the motherboard and the cost to me to send it to you). Maybe back here by December 2015. It will probably die sometimes in February 2016, if I am lucky. Put yourself in my place. Would you be upset with the situation? When fixed, would you try to pawn it off on someone else?


If ASUS is a good and reputable company, they will provide me with a new laptop free. When I get it, I will take it back to the same PC specialist to check it out: To make sure it was put together carefully and nothing is missing.


Finally, I have had many laptops and desktops, and let me repeat, not ONE ever had to have a motherboard replaced. This whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth for the ASUS Company.

Ed

 

Thanks for the in depth response and we definitely appreciate your business. To clarify, we have logged two motherboards being replaced (one being the original and one right before laptop warranty expired), both times the laptop passed all testing at our facility with flying colors. In an effort to help op, we have reached out to ASUS and are trying to get a lower price for any repairs needed and have offered lower shipping costs as well. Unfortunately our influence is limited with ASUS and since laptop was purchased in March of 2014 and is far outside of the 1 year warranty, we may not be able to pull many strings. We will post any updates when we hear back from the manufacturer as well

 

Here are my e-mail dates when Lapotop was sent to XoticPC and what they did:

11/20/2014- To Derrick S.: motherbaord died and sending back

 

Here are my e-mail dates when ASU ROG Lapotop was sent to XoticPC and what they did: A copy of each mail plus other supporting documentation to verify my claims is available on request: Overall: Takes about 5-6 weeks to get laptop back, given transit times from me to XoticPC to ASUS to Xotic PC back to me. I am providing this data as I kept records on everything.

5/1/2014- To Tanner: Motherboard died after using for maybe a week, not used due to company and an operation.
7/1/2014- To Tanner: Power brick and battery returned with laptop to Xotic PC; Battery not charging. Sent to ASUS.
11/20/2014- To Derrick S.: Motherboard died and sending back. A Lemon. XoticPC sent to ASUS to replaced motherboard.
1/22/2015- to Tanner: Motherboard died again. Sent to XoticPC. ASUS replaced motherboard and reformatted HDD and then Xotic PC replaced 16GB RAM.

Does not one wonder why this laptop had 4 motherboards (original plus 3 per me) or XoticPC's records that say 3 (original plus 2) in less than a year of ownership? Xotic PC QAd this machine several days before sending to to me originally and after each repair by ASUS. It appears that "workmanship" by ASUS (upon original build and repairs) as verified by an independent PC is not professional; local tech said screws missing, hinge on right side of laptop missing, and CMOS Battery super glued into place. Talking to ASUS to fix the problem would not be productive as they will deny anything out of warranty is not their problem. Many reports on the Web say I would waste my time talking to them. Tanner said I will not get a replacement laptop from ASUS. BTW, after the first motherboard replacement, I kept power to the PC in an APC UPS always as Tanner recommended. Here is the tech's actual report:

As promised, here’s a quick list of what I (the PC tech) completed:

Swapped monitor, monitor good.

Checked GFX card, checks good.

Swapped HD with a tested working one. Hard drive tested good.

Checked keyboard, checks good.

Checked CD-Rom, checks good.

Stripped the laptop completely apart, reseated all connectors and visually inspected all components, checks good.

Attempted a “Reflow” on both the CPU and GPU, no success.

Found glued down CMOS battery, most likely done in response to a broken battery clip.

Numerous missing screws.

Missing hinge on right side of monitor.

 

We are working with ASUS on the exact number of times it was repaired, if I am off I apologize, just going off the records that I can see ( the ones above that have my name by them). We have been trying to get ASUS to help OP this whole time and hope to hear something promising. They likely will only repair outside of warranty but that is out of our realm. Also just to clarify, our general turn time is usually very quick, most of the time would be spent in shipping or with ASUS and we push them to expedite as much as possible. On another note, I did run across a correspondence mentioning a 3rd party extended warranty, we will be working with op on that.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, XoticPC. You are right about turn around times but it included transit times which are nominally about 5-7 calendar days each leg.

I always trust but verify. After the report from the independent PC tech, I now know why I had so many problems. In the many hops to and from on FEDEX and UPS, I believe the laptop got bumped around causing the components that did not have screws to jostle and impact the motherboard over time. But the fact that the laptop rarely left the table indicated I could not be doing anything wrong. ASUS may be able to work with XoticPC better than me. In their rush to fix the laptop many times, they may have been less than careful. No one apparently checked my laptop at ASUS. No vendor needs someone like me who complains about a costly product which should have been fixed correctly the first time. I hope we can resolve this issue finally with minimal cost to me. Thanks. When you get the laptop, open it up and see if the Tech's findings were correct. Surprised about the missing hinge on the right side of the computer though and the super glued CMOS battery fixture.

Ed Corack

 

Hi man, i was reading your problem and i want to know the end of the story... they changed your motherboard or dont ?

 

What a hassle man. I'm currently in the market for a new laptop and was looking at the Asus Zenbook Pro 501, but I have been hearing and reading many horror stories about Asus. They pretty much crossed that company off my list.

 

Some companies are better than others, granted, but you'll find similar stories pretty much everywhere.

 

Yea I feel you man. The Asus stories just seem to stand out more than others. Both with their products and horrible customer service.

 

You have seen nothing. If I tell you my horror stories with ASUS in all their products not just laptops, you will never touch anything that has the name ASUS on it.

 

Going through a re-seller can help give you that reliable support of course