XFX support

Thought I would pass on a letter I just sent to the watchdog@maximumpc to highlight my experience with XFX support. Just as a warning to those out there that might care.

Dear Sir,

Well my story begins in the middle of August. My XFX 680i LT board just one day decided to up and stop posting on me after I had swapped a defective power supply. I tried everything I could think of to get it back up but no avail. So the next day at work I googled the board online and found this is not an unusual thing for the LT boards to do and there was nothing you could do but send it in for repairs.. Great.

So. On the 27th of August I phoned XFX support and that's when it all began. After almost a half hour wait, I finally got a person on the phone. Said person asked me my ticket number. I said parden? Again the tech asked what my ticket number was. I said I don't have a ticket number I just called you. "Oh", said the tech, "well you have to go online and create a ticket or I can't help you." and hung up on me. So, I'm thinking, my computer is down and to get support I need to fill out a ticket online?!?!?!?!?

Now we proceed to the next day. From work I go to the XFX website, already not too pleased, and begin creating a ticket. Which involve the usual create an account. Wait 3 hours for an e-mail, which will actually let me start a ticket. I then fill out all the information, but there is a single field that I found confusing, great. So after another 30 minute wait on the phone, I get a tech. I explain that I am creating a ticket for my motherboard but there was one field that I didn't quite understand, but that was all I needed, and would like to start the RMA process as quickly as possible after we fill it out. So, the tech proceeds to explain what they are expecting in that box and immediately hangs up. Wow.

Well fine. Against my better judgment I'll try doing this online. I fill out the single box (thanks for waiting .05 seconds tech) and wait. Surprisingly I receive a reply within half an hour and the tech does indeed start the RMA process. I am sent an e-mail with documents to sign and instructions on how to proceed. Well, I think, now we're getting somewhere. I read through the process, and according to the documents they want me to send the motherboard with the CPU still attached. Well that seems odd to me so, I log in and ask if this is really the case.

Fourteen hours latter I finally receive a reply: "Do not send anything but the motherboard. We do not want your CPU. Curtis". Which seems to imply, at least to me, that I'm an idiot for asking, despite that being exactly what it said in the instructions I was sent.

Well off I go the next day and PAY to send the motherboard to XFX (at international rates since I'm in Canada) so I can get a replacement. Ten days latter I receive a message on my ticket that they have received my board, tested it and it was indeed faulty. They will contact me shortly so they can send me a replacement. Ok I think I've been without a computer for two weeks now, but soon I'll be back in business. So, I wait and I wait and I wait and six days pass and still no contact... So I post on my ticket that I still have not been contacted. An hour later I receive a reply that the motherboard is on its way. OK....

Several days later (October 21st if your keeping score) I receive my board, but have to go away for work so I don't get a chance to install the board till the 28th. So I install the board and turn it on and nothing... sigh... well perhaps I didn't plug something in correctly. Go through all the connections, but no, everything seems right. After a full day of unplugging this, switching that, I find out that the board will refuse to post with a memory stick in slot 0. I try 4 different sticks in every configuration possible, but simply it will not post if there is a stick in slot 0. OMG I'm loosing my mind.

So off to the website I go and post just how pleased I am that I have not had a computer now for 2 months and receive a replacement that is a dud right out of the box. 2 WEEKS later they finally reply. The tech then informs me that they will send me another board immediately if I send them copies of my credit card, drivers license, first born child, etc, would I like to do that? I agree just out of desperation. Well it's been 10 days (November 21th) and I still have not received a reply.

And finally just to kick me in the balls for good measure, I receive a bill from Fedex for shipping charges pertaining to my first motherboard shipment. That is weird, I have never had to pay for warranty shipping in the past. So, I phone Fedex and am told by a Fedex representative that first of all, part of the charge is simply because XFX forgot to inform them that it was a warranty replacement, and there would be no charge on that portion if they had. And second that It was unusual for the company not to pick up any brokerage fees in cases such as these, but they didn't so they had to charge me.

I have been building systems since '87 and I have never experienced anything remotely as bad as this. So, I for no other reason I thought I would pass on my experience so you can warn others of how XFX does business.

I just wanted to post my support ticket details to show how it took them over a month to get a reply -

[ 11/20/2008 3:28:06 AM] I have an IDE Hard Drive + an IDE DVD Burner. I have tried the dvd burner on cable select jumper and the hard drive on master. I tried the dvd on CS and the hd on CS, I have tried the dvd on Slave and the HD on master, I have tried 3 different IDE Cables but the problem still exists. - Upon Boot, the DVD gives error ATAPI Not Compatible I have tried installing a SATA Drive with the DVD on Master and on the IDE CHannel. I have tried to load default settings, optimal settings but same result. Basically, I cannot install an OS because I cannot seem to get the DVD Rom Drive to work. I installed a different DVD RW Drive, Same result. I tried installing a CDRW and got same result. Can you please give me an idea of what may be wrong here?

[ 11/20/2008 9:58:12 PM] Can someone please help with this problem? I tried calling into the support and was put on hold for 20 minutes when your phone system simply disconnected me. Your support is extremely slow and very unprofessional and you may want to consider enhancing your support services if you want to continue increasing your sales.

[DANIEL_E 11/22/2008 1:06:14 AM] Hi, ensure you`re using an 80 wire 40pin ide cable. If you`re using a 40 wire 40pin cable it will not allow ata66 speeds and higher. Try resetting the bios by pressing the clear cmos button on the back of the board next to the usb ports. Are you able to get a ide dvd drive working just by itself with the drive set to master. If so see if the issue only occurs when the hard drive is in the mix. Depending on your hard drive it may have multiple settings for master, i.e. master w/ 15 heads, master w/ 16 heads, master 32gb clip, etc.. So depending on which master you set the jumper too if the motherboard doesn`t like it you will get issues. Daniel

[ 11/22/2008 1:13:04 AM] I did all of the above and no go. I am a computer expert, been in the business since 1985 and have never experienced anything like this. Possibly a bad mb? BTW, does it normally take 2 and 3 days to get back to your clients??? This is rediculous

[BRIAN 12/25/2008 1:11:37 AM] Hi Glen, we can take a look at the motherboard if you`d like. For proceeding with RMA service on this motherboard, please verify its serial number has been registered through our website. Indicate if you are using any features (if supported by your card) such as SLI. Please confirm that there have been no modifications to the card’s physical appearance or any unauthorized firmware/BIOS flashing. Also confirm that we have your full name, best shipping address for receiving a delivery with signature required (no PO Boxes allowed for our FedEx shipments) and telephone number posted in your Customer Profile online. Thanks, Brian.

[ 12/25/2008 9:17:34 AM] Forget it! I will never buy another XFX Product as your support is absolutely terrible! Over a month to get answered... I will be sure to post this ticket information to forums on the net to show your lack of support of your products. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT (OR LACK THEREOF)

XFX BUYERS BEWARE!

Scarey XFX product comments are all over the internet, this is a reply to just this one! I just bought in to a Tigerdirect bare bones bundle that included an FX 8200 MB , AMD processor, DDR memory, ... etc. While not an expert, I've probably put together 10 or 15 Tiger bare bones systems with little trouble. However, this one right out of the box will not even boot to an initial POST screen. The provided documentation for building the system is so poor that only an online search revealed that both the 24 and and 8 port power connections had to be connected to fire the MB. The bundled case power supply did not have an 8 port socket, only a 4 that had to be connected in a specific manner. Connecting the 4 port PS at least allows the MB to POST a cryptic P5 or PS code on the backpanel post display but I have yet to discover the meaning of this POST code. I suppose in 3 days the XFX support site I registered on to find out this simple tidbit of information will email something to me. After reading a few online postings, I think I'll just send this piece of Chinese junk right back to Tiger and avoid the headaches. The bundled XFX products (MB and some kind of video card that requires a power connection that is not even present within the bundled case) are however very nicely packaged. XFX should spend more $$ on technical details and less on packaging.

The fact that you all only have a post count of 1 suggests to me that you could be from a rival company. So I would advise anyone reading this to consider this possibility.