Possible RMA issue. Need help if anyone can provide me some.

Cliff notes:

- Video cards and motherboard are messed up beyond all doubt.

- RMA department said that no parts will be replaced unless the errors can be reproduced.

- Errors Im having are completely random and CAN NOT be reproduced on command via stress testing or any other common method of stress testing and/or checking for problems.

- Want to make sure said parts WILL be replaced as to avoid further time wasted and possible continued damage to laptop from shipping and handling.

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Problem in depth if it helps.

So my Asus W90 has faulty video card (not TOO sure about which one it is, or if its both, but they definitely need replacement) as well as a faulty motherboard.

The video cards are messed up because RANDOMLY when gaming the screen will get distorted or Ill get a BSOD with driver error associated with the drivers (Ive reinstalled Windows 7 multiple times and have tried different versions of drivers to rule out possible bad drivers).

So I can 100% establish that the video cards are faulty.

The motherboard is also going out as I get random BSOD unrelated to the video cards and their drivers. I also CAN NOT overclock anymore AT ALL (and Im talking overclocking and even underclocking at various voltage levels) which leads me more to believe the motherboard is faulty as overclocking a month ago was not an issue and worked perfectly. Thinking it might be an issue with the RAM I ran Memtest86+ overnight and most of today (18 hours+) and the RAM came back as being OK...no errors, no issues.

Now my problem is that the person on the phone that was issuing my RMA told me that the parts I need replaced (GPUs and motherboard) will NOT be replaced if the RMA technicians do not find an issue with the reportedly bad hardware. The issue is that the problems are completely random. The video card issue has nothing to do with heat or stressing (I can run 3DMark Vantage for a couple hours with no issues) and the motherboard related BSOD can not be replicated on command either.

Is there anyway that I can guarantee that my parts will be replaced so I dont have to keep going back and forth with the RMA department and risk further damage from shipping it multiple times?

If anyone here works for Asus and can help me or someone has a more direct number I can call instead of some random RMA representative Id appreciate it!

 

31 views and no one has anything?

 

If they test it and don't see what you're talking about, there's not much that can be done.
If you can capture the problem on video or get pictures or something, perhaps you might have something usefull.

 

Contact Asus's rep here Gary Key to help you with your RMA.. send him your RMA number and he should be able to do something for you.

 

OK I PM'ed him...so hopefully I'll hear something back...

 

Gary Key refuses to answer my PM although he logged in yesterday and his current activity then was "In Private Messages"...way to go Asus support!!!

 

first thing that would come to my mind after reading your post is you may have damaged your system by overclocking (especially over volting). if that is the case then tracking it down and finding the issue is going to be difficult.

i'm not saying that is the issue but it is always a risk you take whenever you over clock and especially overvolt. (its one of the reasons i never even think about ocing my laptop)

If a component is going out i don't iknow if i'd suspect both, it is either the GPU or the motherboard. a bad motherboard or bad GPU coudl both show up as BSOD (unreleated to graphics hardware).

what kindof stress tests have you put it under? memtest is a good start but i'd look more to stress the CPU (did you furmark the gpu for a while?)

also what were the stop codes for the BSOD?

 

By your own admission, you overclocked your video card and now you're crying to Asus because you took the gamble and lost? Your warranty is done.

It's astonishing to me that someone overclocks their machine, is now experiencing stability problems, and expects Asus to replace it under warranty when the issue cannot even be duplicated. I'm usually not one to side against the user...but wow.

 

The GPUs are going bad too...and they've never been overclocked. Anything else smart to say???

 

You understood the risks of overclocking, did it anyway, and now there is something wrong with the motherboard. Despite this, you refuse to accept personal responsibility and are now trying to get Asus to pay for your gamble. On top of that, you're asking an Asus employee on this board to help you circumvent the normal RMA procedure, as you can't even duplicate the problem yourself. And though he did the right thing and just ignored your request, you're painting it as a failure in customer service.

This is hilarious to me.

 

yo you messed up, asus aint gonna cover your butt.

 

Just to elaborate, you have a notebook, known for its typically poor cooling, and dropped in a massively overclocked CPU. Then, judging by your post history and forum signature, spent a couple of months bragging about how high you could push it. Now, the effects of the overclock have caught up to you and, instead of accepting heat/overvolt-related hardware failure as a common side-effect of a poorly cooled OC, are now trying to get Asus to fix your mistake and are getting irate that they won't replace it without carefully inspecting it first. I love your sense of entitlement.

 

Ok ppl stop the flaming...PM him again android... he might be busy or not seen it.. from what i've read , he does reply to PMs..

 

I'll put in my 2 cents here.

Asus will NOT honor your (AndroidVageta) warranty for one of several reasons. The main and most important reason is that you have replaced your CPU which automatically voids all manufacture warranties. On top of that, you have an ES chip. So even before getting to your GPU issue, Asus has no reason to entertain you unless you're willing to pay for all parts and labor.

 

They should honor my warranty. There was no "VOID IF REMOVED" sticker on the CPU socket or anything...and Ive heard theyll RMA anyways as the problem isn't related to the CPU...they repaired my G72 that had a non-stock CPU...sooo...

Second of all, overclocking or not, they HAVE to repair it as I have a year of accidental damage warranty...so you guys are telling me that I can't get it RMA'ed because I overclocked but they'll RMA it if I accidentally spill soda all over my laptop? Think about that for a second. Plus, is TurboGear NOT an Asus utility?

Either case, I guess we'll see!

And yes, please stop the flaming, its not only unnecessary, but it makes those involved look very childish and unable to carry on a normal conversation. Makes me kinda feel sorry for you that you have nothing better to do...

 

RMA it. See what happens. Usually they do test the system with a custom suite of software that stresses the system to see if it has issues. Hopefully it comes up when they test yours.

 

I don't mean to come across as a pessimist, but am simply stating facts here.

First off, accidental damage warranty does not cover overclocking damage. It only covers spills, drops, electrical surges and fire. Since you never had any of these mishaps, your issue would fall under the standard hardware warranty. That said, TurboGear is an overclocking utility for the CPU only, not GPU. In addition, if I'm not mistaken, TurboGear doesn't increase any voltage settings. It simply increases the bus speed so your CPU can attain higher clock speeds.
If Asus had provided free warranty services even after you've swapped out the CPU and/or GPU, I would consider that extremely lucky as that is not usually the protocol for Asus. However, this isn't to say Gary (or other Asus service reps) may make an exception for you. So keep your fingers crosses, but at the same time don't get your hopes up to high.

 

GPUs have never been overclocked, so unless Im missing something how does that pertain to anything?

 

Because overclocking a CPU to the point of failure can and will have far reaching effects. This is coming from personal experience. A long time ago I pushed a cheapo Celeron to hell and back. Amazing speed for the price and since I was doing it on the cheap, I skimped on quality cooling. Eventually the chip became entirely unstable, even at marked clock speeds. And the first thing that happened? Random blue screens and hangs, often times from what appeared to be the display drivers.

The bottom line is that you probably fried your CPU and/or motherboard and it's starting to show its instability. This instability is causing random lock ups and blue screens that are misleadingly GPU-related. This is compounded by the fact that you massively overclocked a CPU... IN A NOTEBOOK with zero cooling.

Read Asus's RMA policy. Replacing a CPU voids it. Not to mention that it was obviously abused on your part through deliberate and prolonged overclocking. And to top it off, you pretty much state all of this in your help request to Asus. Are you seeing a problem here? Knowing this, trying to RMA this would be outright fraud. Even if Asus elects to somehow RMA this, you really weren't entitled to a replacement in any way, despite what you obviously think.

You're asking for help. Many people here, including me, are just stating the facts. Sorry.

Cliffs Notes: You replaced your CPU, voiding the warranty. You overclocked (with no additional cooling, no less), doubly voiding the warranty. And now you're PMing an Asus rep with all of this info. Any help you receive from Asus would be a gift.

 

From the FAQ section here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/122632-asus-info-booth-read-before-posting.html#upgrade1

The emphasis was not my own.

 

Dude, you've got like 11 posts...did you join just to hassle my thread?

 

I'm posting because you asked for help. I'm directly giving you information on Asus' RMA policies (you read the link and quote, right?). If you really want to have any shot of RMAing your OC-fried notebook, I'd recommend deleting this thread before you try to PM an Asus rep to circumvent the process.

My post count has no bearing on what you're trying to do here. Your warranty is done due to CPU replacement and blatant customer abuse. Don't shoot the messenger.

 

Well, Gary contacted me today, he said he was going to put me in touch with a specialist and what not...so hopefully something can be done!

Thanks all of you that had something good to contribute!