G1s GPU Fried - Out of Warranty - Any Idea on Cost?

Good luck man.
I've spent most of this Christmas buying tools and parts, drafting a heatsink, and planning fixing my burnt out 8600M GT. Good luck to you; I was fortunate to be able to fix my own problem. =(

 

i sent my g1s in 3-4 times before it was "fixed"

hang in there bud

 

Kricket isn't your computer still under the 90 day repair warranty?

If so that's bull, I wouldn't pay shipping. Be sure to contact the BBB and write a letter to the head office. If you wanted to, you could file a lawsuit, and probably win. There are forums about it, check out http://www.nvidiadefect.com/. This really pisses me off because it was bound to happen, and you had to suffer twice because of it. They need to take some damn responsibility.

They pulled the same crap with my g1s but I sent it back before It failed, since I knew it would; I *****ed up a storm, and got a g50vt-x5 a week later.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil =p

 

Well I got my laptop today and it says that they replaced the motherboard. Problem is the keyboard didn't work b/c they didn't even hook the thing back up properly. Makes me wonder just what kind of troubleshooting they do before they send the laptops back out.

Here's to hoping that my laptop runs for awhile.

 

I had a C90S and I thought to myself. "This won't happen to me". 4 months after warranty my 9600M GT died. I will definitely act upon any early warnings from now on. Squeeky wheel alright.

 

I have just received a quotation for my RMA (G2s b1). It has been found that
the unit will require a full Motherboard replacement.

Having purchased my unit in November 2007 I've not really had any problems (after installing w7 heat anstability issues disapeared)
in fact I have been extremely pleased with my purchase. I am aware that my
unit is out of warranty, but am very disappointed to have now experienced
such a massive component failure, only 6 weeks outside of my warranty when
the fault occured. I was unable to extend my warranty at point of sale due
to worldwide coverage for notebook repair not being available (3 years was
only offered within the USA) I now see extended Worldwide coverage is
offered. Had it been available outside the USA at the time I would've of
course purchased the 3 year warranty.

My issue here is the cost of repair, I have been quoted 220 British sterling
for the component, 30 for handling and 60 for labour. The total quoted is
364.77 British sterling. I understand that electronic equipment has a
certain life, i have had many notebooks, desktops, TVs etc.. but have never
had such an expensive repair to undertake. I have always had 3/4 years of
trouble free usage from previous electronic products, so therefore I feel
that 2 years of good working life is really not acceptable.

I saved my money for 10 hard months to invest over $2000 in a quality
product that i thought would last me at least 4 years.

Im currently in the process of discussion with asus. but its not looking good.
ive read many people have been helped out... can anyone help me please..
my work and life in general is being affected by this mess.
im now aware of nvidia 8600m gt being a defective component, its even been admited on here by an asus service tech. so im not to sure its evan worth getting it repaired....?

anyone help?
thanks in advance

 

Late November after Thanksgiving, my ASUS G1s-A1 took a roaring -dive into the dreaded blackscreen issue plaguing the NVIDIA g86 and g84 chips. My computer was about 3 months out of warranty (I bought it in July 2007 from Buy.com and after getting a dud I had it replaced in November with a new one). I did my research and sent the laptop to ASUS early December. On December 22nd (almost three weeks after I sent it in) I called customer service to follow-up on my laptop and was told that it had been received Dec. 11th and was awaiting repairs. I asked why I had not been notified and what exactly was under repair. I was given no answer to either question. I was assured that I would be notified within 24-48 hours.

After 24 hours had gone by I called again to help nudge them in the right direction. I asked the same two questions and received no answer. I told the man on the line to notify the repair facility to repair the laptop with a G1Sn motherboard. The customer service rep told admitted that ASUS was aware of the problems with the 8600M GT and would repair it "free-of-charge".

They did. However, after no communication for over a month, I again called ASUS to check on my laptop after Christmas. On Dec. 29th, I phoned in and was told that my computer had been repaired and sent to my college address. I asked why I had not been notified at any point during the repair procedure: "Don't Know". When told the motherboard had been replaced, I asked what motherboard had taken its place: "Don't Know".

So today, Jan. 11th, 2009, I picked up my laptop from my college mail room and cracked open the box to see what kind of mobo had replaced the faulty 8600M-carrying predecessor. You guessed it, a mother-fuc*ing, refurbed G1S motherboard.

I can't describe in words how frustrated, angry and disgusted I feel right now. For those more experience with customer service and trade laws, I really would like to have input on what my options are right now. I will not let it settle on this because it is not a complete repair and I know it will break again within months. Please help!

 

Calamityjoe, please read through some of the posts to see what other users did or how there situation was remedied. Generally, they contacted ASUS and sent it in for repair, ON YOUR DOLLAR. Usually ASUS, will be waiting on "parts" and will eventually if unable to fix it, offer you an upgrade for the cost of parts.

 

My G1s is just over two years old. After reading all the posts regarding the 8600 GPU frying I decided to do some investigation of my own G1s and see if I could do some preventative maintenance. I ran test with CPUID's hardware monitor program and saw my GPU temps running 80-85 at idle and over 100 during heavy use. Flipping the laptop over looking at the ventilation along the bottom of the laptop I noted that more than 80% of the vents were taped over from the inside, with some kind of black blockoff tape. Curious, I removed all of this black blockoff tape from the vent openings and ran more test. With all this tape removed my GPU temps were now 60-62 at idle and never got above 70 during heavy use. I was wondering what the purpose of this vent blocking is? This is all from the factory, I've never installed any type of tape on the vents myself. I have upgraded to W7x64 and a larger WD320 7200 rpm hard drive, along with 4gb of Mushkin DDR2. Windows 7 x64 suffers severe performance issues with anything less than 4gb of ram. I do use a Rosewill laptop cooler plate under my G1s, but the temps were high with the tape installed, even with the laptop cooler. Thoughts on this issue ?



- Mike

 

So are you saying that if im out of warranty ive got no hope? evan just six weeks out? I wouldn't mind trying the bbb just to give them a go.
what a scam.

 

no, but much like him, it seems you too have NOT read through this post. Most users contact ASUS to repair this item. Majority of the time ASUS will have them ship it in, they will need to wait for parts they wont have. After to long, tey will offer to sell you a newer laptop of equal or greater value for the price it would have costed you to fix the current problem. Usually, it ends up around $150-$250.

 

I did read the thread. I read it while researching a month ago and I read it again to see if I missed anything. I haven't seen a post about anyone who actually received their laptop replaced with the same 8600M mobo.

What I am asking is if there are any resources I can use to help get this same, defective motherboard out of my computer and get either a replacement or a refund?

I spent over two hours on the phone today. One of those hours was talking to some idiot saying "I assure you that this motherboard will work this time." I ask, "What makes you sure? I have legitimate concerns regarding the material used in a manufacturer-recognized, defective graphics card. What is the distinction between the old card and the new card? If you can't tell me, I can't feel satisfied with this repair." He offered me a goddamn 90-day warranty and snuffed me off the phone.

The second hour I spent on the phone was with another Tech Rep. I was trying to get transferred to a Customer Service Rep of some sort. I had been trying to find the names of the Board of Directors so that I could direct a formal letter of complaint to the headquarters. ASUS is very strange in that they don't trade on the New York Stock Exchange. I found them on the London Stock Exchange but with no information concerning their Annual Reports or their Board of Directors. The Tech Rep was helpful and offered to transfer me to a Supervisor. I spent 45 minutes on hold when he picked up the phone and promised that some one would notify me within 24 hours.

Well, I remember how THAT went before. The three times I called ASUS to get information on my RMA'd laptop I received NO contact whatsoever. If the CSR does not call by 2pm tomorrow, I'm calling back. I'm calling back every damn day until I get support from this TERRIBLE company.

P.S. I know that NVIDIA set aside 200 million in order to repair this problem. That's supposed to be roughly $200 per laptop affected (VERY conservative on NVIDIA's part). When ASUS asked for you people to fork over $200 for a refurbed model, why can't they reach into that large pool of money for the cash. They've already bent the consumer over and raided their cavity with a red-hot poker of inconvenience, untruth and incompetence. It seems extremely unnecessary.

 

het Kalamity,
Im having no luck with Asus UK. Ive basically been stonwalled by the service manager. I am going to try and give them a call and get through to him. im being told under no circumstances will i get the unit fixed out of warranty without me paying.
Im starting to get very frustrated, please let me know how you are getting on.
I may try trading standards later today.
ware are you based, uk or usa?

 

padidaddy

I am sure I will soon be in the same boat as yourself and so am very interested in how you get on. I posted a reply to a thread you started on the nvidia defect forum. I am assuming that asus has notified you of what the problem is you mentioned that the motherboard would need replacing, have they stated exactly what is wrong with the motherboard? Im not sure if it applies but have you mentioned the nvidia defect? and how has asus responded to that claim if you have.
Im guessing your also in the uk and so have the problem of not being able to claim under soga as you bought it from usa.

 

dappa
how r u getting on, i need to try and telephone the service dept tomorrow.
asus have not responded to my comments made about the nvidis defect. im going to ask abot this when i phone.

 

welp - i just sent my computer out for the 3rd time - cost another $33 in shipping - that brings my shipping costs to close to $100 so far - and still no functioning computer

oh - and an interesting sidenote - when i dropped off my package at ups the guy asked me what the deal was with "asus" - he said that mine was the second "rma" package he was shipping out to them that same day - i told him my story and he said that the other persons was very similar

told me he would make sure to stay away from asus when he was in the market for computers

its the small stuff like this that really draws customers away from a company - its a shame because, normally, asus puts out a very good product - but after my entire dilemma, how am i to recommend this company to anyone else? i just cant do it - not in good conscience

 

Kricket - and anyone else having this issue,

I didn't have time to read all the pages, but I wanted to respond because I had the same EXACT problem with my G2S. I sent it in last month (out of warranty) and they sent it back to me with a replaced motherboard. I wasn't charged anything oddly enough, I just paid for the shipping for it to get there. I'm not sure if it will be the same deal for you, but give it a try

 

you need to be under the warranty otherwise they won't cover you. Also ask them for a replacement. My G1S fried back in November and they offered a replacement unit which was the G50VT-X5. From past readings its about 250 bucks if you're out of the warranty. Also don't speak to the service rep, speak to the manager or someone higher up. They have more power and will probably help you out more.

 

alright, well - supposedly, it was delivered to their repair facility yesterday - as of today, my rma number still isnt showing up on the repair status inquiry site

here's to hoping that changes by tomorrow

 

just a quick update - i called into asus on monday to ask about the status of my repair - the rep claimed to see that it was delivered to them on the 22nd and told me that it was sent "to repair"

as of today, nothing shows up on asus repair status inquiry website for the rma number that they gave me - and i havent heard anything from asus - ill give them another call tonight to see if i can get ANY answers

honestly - this whole process has been a nightmare - 6 months and i still dont have a working computer...

 

how long has it been in for? I waited for about a month the first time and 3 weeks the 2nd time until the replacement arrived.

 

^ according to the ups website, theyve had it since friday

as of today, this is what shows up when i punch my rma # into the repair status inquiry check on asus' support site:



now, i understand that it may not be finished - im just wondering why they havent updated this in the system yet - this is the third time im sending them my laptop - and each of the other two times, the rma status website was updated within a business day or two of them receiving my computer...

also - when i called the first time to inquire about the repair - the guy first asked me if i had even sent it in yet - to which i replied: "yes, and according to the ups website, you received it on friday"

he then said: "oh yeah, here it is - its showing that we received it on friday"

now im concerned that he was just rattling off the information that i just provided him with to get me off of the phone...

my confidence in asus' support team is dwindling into oblivion...

 

Kricket - mine, too, isn't showing up on the ASUS website. I called the number and they also told me mine was "in repair".

Back story: Same as most of you, I bought the laptop from Best Buy about 19 months ago. The G1S first started having problems with the HDMI port and some FPS slowdown early-to-mid 2009. That would've been under warranty...but at the time I didn't think much of it. As 2009 wound to a close, I found the G1S freezing more and more often and eventually saw the dreaded "black screen reboot" earlier this month. I stumbled across this forum and tried several of the "fixes" to no avail. I contacted them on January 12th and got an RMA number. For the next two weeks, I tried every day to revive the notebook on the off chance that it would suddenly work when it got to the Indiana repair facility. It never did. I sent it in on the 24th, they received on the 26th. It's now "in repair", and the woman answering the phone isn't able to give me any more information about what's going on with the website and repair center.

I don't want the replacement motherboard. The 8600M is obviously a problem, and I wouldn't be very happy with the same GPU coming back to me...especially at my cost. I attached the letter below (modified from one sent by another user on the ASUS forums) with my G1S in the hopes that a G50vt could swing my way...and if it works, could serve as a reference tool for future RMA's.

" This is clearly another instance of the NVidia 8600M GT packaging failure that affects a large number of G1S notebooks. The symptoms are identical to those described by other G1S customers on the Asus forums and elsewhere.

Early Symptoms (Summer 2009):

• Occasional non-video reboot. Could hear the sounds of the computer starting up, but would not display anything on the screen. Letting the computer sit in an “off” condition for 2-3 hours would fix the problem. Occurred about once a month.

Later symptoms (Fall 2009):

• Occasional display freezing, especially in graphics-intensive applications. The entire computer would lock up and require a hard reboot. After the hard reboot, the computer would boot into the “non-video reboot” situation described in the Early Symptoms section. After 2-3 hours the computer would sometimes come back up. 5-6 hours always remedied the problem. This occurred about once a week.

Final symptoms (Early January, 2010):

• Graphics froze and notebook locked up, causing the “non-video reboot”. After allowing the computer to sit overnight (8-9 hours), the problem was not resolved. Reading forums and trying all the solutions offered by ASUS technical support and others did not fix the problem. Called in for RMA and continued to try to boot the computer for 2 weeks, hoping for resolution. It never restored video to the screen.

Thanks in advance for your help. I know several people have returned their notebooks and received a refurbished G50VT-X5 and have been very pleased with the results. If that is an option, I would be open to pursuing it, especially with the reported failures of the 8600M GT."

Hope that helps, and I'll keep posting with my experiences. Thanks!

 

hi there!

i have the model in signature...
i haven't any kind of problem... but i want to open a RMA...
is a good idea?
also the G1S model with T7700 have the GPU failiure?

thanks in advance!

 

that isn't really reliable. it was on off for me when I was checking the website. You will just need to wait. If you can't call Asus, and demand to speak to a manager, tell them this is unacceptable (website said turnaround time was 3-4 days, etc.). Tell them you need it repaired now due to midterms, work, etc.

 

Checked the RMA Status Inquiry part of their website today, and it still seems to be down. I called to check it and they still told me the part was "in repair". I asked when I would be receiving a notification as to the cost of the replacement laptop or ensuing repair (that I would reject). She informed me that they should have contacted me prior to repairing the product since I was out of warranty. I have had no contact with the repair facility thus far. She asked that I give them 2-3 more days to see if they e-mail me, and then call her if they don't.

This is a curious situation. Are they simply repairing the G1s without contacting me to let me know about cost? Will they contact me later, or is this one of those occasions where it gets magically fixed out-of-warranty for free? I'd prefer not to get the G1s back to me if I can get the replacement, but if it's free, I really can't argue with it.

Any suggestions? Has anybody had a product "in repair" for 3-4 days and then had the facility contact them?

Thanks!

 

well - i stopped by my parents over the weekend and, to my surprise, there was a box from asus - containing my g1s

they replaced the motherboard - once again, the repair was free of charge (i just had to pay for the shipping)

im keeping my fingers crossed that this will FINALLY take care of the issue - im going to re-install my 500 gb hd and slap on another fresh install of windows 7 - hopefully, this time itll last longer than a month

looking at your situation - it appears that they have these motherboards back in stock - so i wouldnt be surprised if you just got your computer back in the mail in a few days

ive sent my computer in 3 times - all 3 times i included a letter imploring the tech to call me before making any repairs - all 3 times i never received a phone call or an email - i simply received the "repaired" computer back from service

 

let's hope it works for you. Heard from an Asus rep awhile back that they had a shipment of repaired motherboards coming in. Definitely better for Asus than replacing laptops. I was lucky and managed to get a the G50Vt x5 for free as a replacement.

 

Well, I suppose I'll cross my fingers it just shows up. The thing worked for a year and a half on that GPU...if I get another year and a half out of it (with only an $11 shipping cost) I guess that will work. It'll be time to replace it by then anyway. Still aggravating to have to jump through some hoops at this stage of it's life cycle.

Looks like you got yours back in about a week, correct? Here's hoping my turnaround time is similar.

 

For the user's that have sent their G1S on an expired warranty how much are repairs costing? My Laptop just died and the warranty expired July last year. I'm wondering what the cost might before sending it in.

 

^ if its a gpu problem, theyll most likely cover the cost of the repair(s) (due to the nature of the defect) - i only had to pay for shipping to the service centers - they cover the repairs and shipping back

 

Thanks, I just submitted a case to get an RMA number. The only bad news is my wife is trying to get me to cancel my order for the laptop I was going to buy as a replacement. Headaches all around!

 

Add me to the list to having a problem with a bad GPU but when I called tonight, the rep was insisting that I will have to pay for repair including labor since I was out of warranty. Any suggestions?

 

Was that their technical support rep or repair rep? I figure it's worth the 20-40 for shipping to find out how much it's going to cost from the repair rep rather then the technical support rep.

 

I think it was a technical support rep. I just put a RMA request online so I will see what happens going that route. I do see on their site that they have a Notebook Authorized Service Provider not far from me so I am wondering if I just took it there for service.

 

If you take it there, you're guaranteed to pay for the repair.

If you send it in, there's a chance you'll get it for free, even out of warranty. They seem to feel bad about the GPU issue and just kind of slide the fee under the rug.

 

Thanks, I'll give them another call tomorrow and hope to get a better rep.

 

If it makes you feel any better, they told me that I'd have to pay as well when I acquired my RMA number. I believe they said the same to Kricket.

If it really is the GPU, it looks like they're now just replacing it and sending it along for free.

 

Thanks, probally will waste my lunch trying to get through to them. What options should I use when calling, RMA or Tech Support?

 

Did you receive your RMA number yet? If not, tell them you've done all the stuff online, then when they asked if you've tried to solve it using "XX" method and "YY" method, etc, tell them you've tried everything and you know the GPU has an inherent flaw.

If you've got your RMA number, send it in. It's worth the shipping cost to have a tech crack it open, find the GPU problems, and potentially fix it for "free".

 

if u call a rep and they say they dont believe its a gpu problem, just try again with another rep. some of them seem to insist u have a virus issue or something like that. just tell them straight that ur computer wont start, u see glitches, etc. thats how i got a rep that finally gave me no hassle and gave me an rma.

they ask you to write a letter detailing the problem. i wrote a very long letter complaining about the bad quality of the laptop, how it failed so quickly right after warranty, how i had to wait forever last time to get the mobo replaced, and how that didnt fix anything. i think that helped because in the end they decided to replace my laptop with a g50 for no charge, although at first they said there might be a charge because i was out of warranty. i also called them a lot to bug them and ask why this and that was taking so long and insisted that i not get another defective g1s mobo.

they emailed me about 5 days after receiving the laptop that they wanted to give me a replacement. then it takes a week or two to get that authorized and sent to you.

some of the asus support staff may sometimes be a bit inexperienced, but if you bug them enough, they seem to listen to you. also ship via fedex ground, for me in southern california, it was just 10 bucks to send it to them.

 

The GPU in my G1 also fried on me, actually twice. Both times I called Asus they sent me an RMA and replaced the board, sent it back to me. All this within 4 business days of sending it out. Sent it out Monday, get it back Thursday.

You are asking why would I get another Asus after having a notebook with GPU frying twice? The above, the service was amazing. Ordered a new notebook since it's been a year since my 3 year warranty has run out. Same GPU as the above so time to get rid of it. Been waiting for ATi card all this time. I've been calling XoticPC once in while for long time now to see if they have an Asus with a high performance ATi, dream come true!

 

just a note to everyone calling in with a gpu problem - if its out of warranty, they will tell you you need to pay for the repair - HOWEVER - once they receive it, if it really is a gpu issue, they will repair it and ship it back free of charge

this is what happened to me - each of the 3 times i had to send it in...

 

On the contrary...

I just received an e-mail stating that "due to non-availability of the replacement parts up to this time, we would like to offer you a comparable unit as a replacement".

I'm faxing in my form to receive a G50Vt-X5 this afternoon. I really did think I was going to be receiving it back, much like Kricket has, but it seems the well has dried up again. No matter, as I'll gladly pay the $250 for the G50.

 

nice, its a good laptop. typing on it right now. Runs games on high settings no problem. Huge improvement over G1S, only problem is the screen resolution (1366x768) and the angle of viewing. ME2, MW2, Empire total war all run on high settings no problem.

Expect to wait 3 weeks until it arrives.

 

^ that was one of my concerns - if they offered me a replacement laptop, i would want one with at least the same screen resolution (that was one of my deciding factors in getting the g1s)

so i suppose, for me at least, that the replacement mb was the better option - provided the thing works longer than 2-3 more months...

 

see if you can pull some consumer rights thing and say I want a same price laptop not a same spec. You paid $2000 dollars for a $2000 laptop not one that cost $750. I was too lazy to look up consumer rights in Canada but you might be able to get your money back or a G51J if you heckle them. I had to take it cause I needed it for exams and didn't have a backup laptop.

 

been reading this thread. and wish instead of hardware moding my laptop i would have tried sending it in . Course i have a g1s motherboard i put in a G1 chassis. so that might throw them off. as well as the big hole on the bottom. where the gpu is. to aid in cooling. lol.
freakin wish they would have recalled these chips

 

They claimed that the new one would be at my doorstep in 5 business days. I'll let you know how that goes.

Yeah, the resolution isn't as much of a sticking point now as it was when I originally purchased the G1S, so I'm okay with it...especially if it extends my expected life out of a purchased laptop.

 

Great thread. Im having the GPU issue similar to all of you.

I ordered my Asus G1s in May of 2007 right as they were being released. In August of 2008 I had the issue with the black screen, obvious GPU failure. I spoke to Asus, obtained a RMA number, sent in and received it back repaired. All was well until now.

Im experiencing the exact same problem. It seems they simply replaced the faulty GPU with another one. I stumbled upon this thread, among others, and thought it would be easy to get this resolved despite my notebook being outside of warranty. However, despite all this information I had to speak to several CS agents, none of whom admitted any sort of failure in any of their units. I was able to obtain a second RMA number from an agent who said she would note my concerns but that the repair centers have never acknowledged this sort of failure. I started off not bothered, hoping this would go quick, but due to what seems to be such large quantities of dissatisfaction across this as well as other forums makes me wonder how no one on their end could have heard of this. Anyhow, just wanted to check in and see if it was even worth the second RMA, I suppose Ill give it a shot.



Adam