- Nov 19, 2007
- 447
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- 18,790
I know there are probably a number of people that have gotten a good card from BFG Tech. I'm not going to structure this post in the form of a rant, but I nevertheless feel as though I should pose a warning to prospective purchasers, given my horribly negative experiences, which is in addition to multiple posts from others highlighting the unreliable nature of BFG products and services. I will recount this odyssey exactly how it unfolded...
For starters, I ordered a 7900 GT from them a while back, when it was the hot card. I paid something like $260ish for it. I was getting occasional artifacts, then it eventually died (within the warranty period). I did not OC it, and it was in a cool case. BFG agreed, after testing the card, that it was defective from the factory.
Okay, fair enough. I RMA it and they send out an 8600 GTS as a replacement. I didn't even need to install it to know it was defective. The metal plate that goes on the back, which houses the DVI ports, was grossly bent and contorted. In fact, as soon as I removed the plastic sandwich-style container from the shipping box, it shot open, because the card was so bent that it didn't fit in the precut hole. Whoever was at the factory had to literally jam the card into the plastic, force it shut, and hold it shut while they packaged it in the shipping box. And before you say it, there was no way it could have been damaged in shipping, as there were no marks on the box itself, and we're talking bent metal here. Even extreme temperatures couldn't have done it, as the temps required to bend metal in this fashion would have ignited the box.
That aside, I don't know what the warranty policy of other graphics manufacturers is, and this may just be the nature of the beast, but I was expecting a modern equivalent of the card I purchased. When I bought the 7900GT, it was at $250 MSRP, and was at the forefront of technology. Given the down time I had, and also considering that I was using a defective card the entire time, I was expecting to get a card that is at the forefront of technology, and MSRPs for $250. Instead, they send a $150 dollar card that is at the bottom of the range.
So I ask them, "You mean to tell me that I paid $250 for a card that was at the forefront of technology, it was broken from the factory, and you send me a card that is worth $150?" Of course, they cite the performance comparison. I mentioned the fact that I was suffering decreased performance the entire time I had the card. Given that the 7900 GT has been discontinued, I set up an analogy for them, so they could grasp what I was trying to say: "What if I bought a $60,000 Audi that had 400 horse power, and the car was so grossly defective that the manufacturer had to take it back and replace it. And what if Audi then said 'Well, we no longer make that model, but we have a lesser model with 400 horse power that goes for $40,000.' Would that fly," I ask them. They respond "No," and couldn't think of a valid line of BS to come back at me with. Indeed, if this happened in real life, Audi (or insurance) would replace the car with one of equal value, and of equal or better performance.
This went back and fourth for a while, and finally the woman on the phone cut me off and said "Look, all we can do is send you out another 8600 GTS." I respond by saying I want to talk to her supervisor. She informs me in a very curt fashion that "He doesn't generally take calls." I try to explain to her that this is not a general situation, and I need to talk to someone that understands the intricacies of warranty procedure, so that I could at least get a reasonable validation for what was occurring. She said "No," flat out, and went on "either return the new defective card for a replacement, or keep it. One or the other. That's our policy, no way around it." ::End of Call::
Well, that took the cake. I was explaining to them in a calm and logical way my side of the story, and they could not provide a valid retort. Every time I provided them with a completely lucid chain of reasoning, they could only respond with "Uhhh," and "Ahhh." And then I said "Even if you can't accept what I'm telling you, don't you think there should be some compensation for the time I haven't had a card, and the zero for two record I've experienced with BFG?" "No," was the answer.
Appalling. If you've read all this, and you still want a BFG card, I suppose there is nothing I can say to dissuade you. Maybe you're a long time user and you've had nothing but good luck. If that's the case, then I encourage you to stick with your brand. However, if you're a first time buyer and you need to sort through all the information, take what I've said here into consideration, and read some of the other posts with people experiencing trouble with their BFG cards/service/warranty.
For starters, I ordered a 7900 GT from them a while back, when it was the hot card. I paid something like $260ish for it. I was getting occasional artifacts, then it eventually died (within the warranty period). I did not OC it, and it was in a cool case. BFG agreed, after testing the card, that it was defective from the factory.
Okay, fair enough. I RMA it and they send out an 8600 GTS as a replacement. I didn't even need to install it to know it was defective. The metal plate that goes on the back, which houses the DVI ports, was grossly bent and contorted. In fact, as soon as I removed the plastic sandwich-style container from the shipping box, it shot open, because the card was so bent that it didn't fit in the precut hole. Whoever was at the factory had to literally jam the card into the plastic, force it shut, and hold it shut while they packaged it in the shipping box. And before you say it, there was no way it could have been damaged in shipping, as there were no marks on the box itself, and we're talking bent metal here. Even extreme temperatures couldn't have done it, as the temps required to bend metal in this fashion would have ignited the box.
That aside, I don't know what the warranty policy of other graphics manufacturers is, and this may just be the nature of the beast, but I was expecting a modern equivalent of the card I purchased. When I bought the 7900GT, it was at $250 MSRP, and was at the forefront of technology. Given the down time I had, and also considering that I was using a defective card the entire time, I was expecting to get a card that is at the forefront of technology, and MSRPs for $250. Instead, they send a $150 dollar card that is at the bottom of the range.
So I ask them, "You mean to tell me that I paid $250 for a card that was at the forefront of technology, it was broken from the factory, and you send me a card that is worth $150?" Of course, they cite the performance comparison. I mentioned the fact that I was suffering decreased performance the entire time I had the card. Given that the 7900 GT has been discontinued, I set up an analogy for them, so they could grasp what I was trying to say: "What if I bought a $60,000 Audi that had 400 horse power, and the car was so grossly defective that the manufacturer had to take it back and replace it. And what if Audi then said 'Well, we no longer make that model, but we have a lesser model with 400 horse power that goes for $40,000.' Would that fly," I ask them. They respond "No," and couldn't think of a valid line of BS to come back at me with. Indeed, if this happened in real life, Audi (or insurance) would replace the car with one of equal value, and of equal or better performance.
This went back and fourth for a while, and finally the woman on the phone cut me off and said "Look, all we can do is send you out another 8600 GTS." I respond by saying I want to talk to her supervisor. She informs me in a very curt fashion that "He doesn't generally take calls." I try to explain to her that this is not a general situation, and I need to talk to someone that understands the intricacies of warranty procedure, so that I could at least get a reasonable validation for what was occurring. She said "No," flat out, and went on "either return the new defective card for a replacement, or keep it. One or the other. That's our policy, no way around it." ::End of Call::
Well, that took the cake. I was explaining to them in a calm and logical way my side of the story, and they could not provide a valid retort. Every time I provided them with a completely lucid chain of reasoning, they could only respond with "Uhhh," and "Ahhh." And then I said "Even if you can't accept what I'm telling you, don't you think there should be some compensation for the time I haven't had a card, and the zero for two record I've experienced with BFG?" "No," was the answer.
Appalling. If you've read all this, and you still want a BFG card, I suppose there is nothing I can say to dissuade you. Maybe you're a long time user and you've had nothing but good luck. If that's the case, then I encourage you to stick with your brand. However, if you're a first time buyer and you need to sort through all the information, take what I've said here into consideration, and read some of the other posts with people experiencing trouble with their BFG cards/service/warranty.
I prefer evga though but at $249 the price was right on the BFG's.
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