Bavor 266 Share Posted November 3, 2016 In April 2016, I purchased a GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 6 (rev. 1.0) motherboard form Newegg. The motherboard was delivered on May 3rd 2016. The fan headers started dying on the motherboard less than 6 weeks after it was delivered from Newegg. Unfortunately it was outside of the Newegg.com 30 day return window, so I had to deal with Gigabyte's RMA process. When I eventually sent the motherboard in for RMA repair, Gigabyte's RMA facility employees damaged my motherboard and refused to repair it. I have a Corsair H75 water cooler for the CPU. I had the cooler's front 120mm radiator fan plugged into the CPU_OPT fan header. I have the rear radiator fan plugged into the SYS_FAN1 header. I noticed my CPU temperatures were very high(60C) at idle. I opened up the case and saw that the front radiator fan was not spinning. When I rebooted the PC, the front radiator fan started spinning then stopped after a short time. When I rebooted the PC again the front radiator fan never spun upon startup. I rebooted the computer several tiems and noticed that the fan would either not spin at all upon start up or woudl spin for a short time then stop. I checked my settings in the UEFI/BIOS and they had not changed. To troubleshoot, I shut down the PC and plugged the front radiator fan into the SYS_FAN3 fan header on the motherboard. When I rebooted, the front radiator fan was working properly and my CPU temperatures were normal. I also noticed at that time that the 120mm front case fans weren't spinning at all. I shut down the PC again and plugged the front case fans into a 4 pin Molex to 3 pin fan adapter. and rebooted. Upon reboot the front case fan was spinning. I originally requested a RMA, then found out Gigabyte ships UPS ground for return shipping and I was told that the RMA process with Gigabyte can take several weeks. So, I decided to wait until I had some other computer to use while my motherboard was away for RMA repair/replacement because I had no other computer to use at that time. While I was looking for a used/cheap socket 1151 motherboard to use while my motherboard was away for RMA repair, I ran into another issue. On September 8th, 2016 the computer wouldn't boot. The motherboard would display error code 35, which could either be a CPU problem or a motherboard problem. I've read that Intel CPUs rarely die under normal use and I suspected the motherboard, however I wasn't sure what the problem was and didn't have the spare parts to diagnose the issue. So I took my computer to a local computer shop that has a good reputation, many good reviews, and said they are a Gigabyte authorized retailer. Their $20 diagnostic fee is less than the cost of another socket 1151 CPU to test my computer. They used a different CPU and RAM in my motherboard and confirmed my motherboard is the issue. While my computer was there, several shop employees inspected my motherboard and saw no damage to the board or CPU socket or pins. I requested a RMA from Gigabyte and bought a cheap motherboard to use while my motherboard was in for repair. I sent the motherboard into Gigabyte for repair after getting a RMA. Before shipping, I took photos of the motherboard for insurance purposes just in case something happened in shipping. I've been taking photos of items I shipped for a while when shipping electronic components, including ones I sell on eBay and through forums. For a week the RMA stated BIOS corrupt repair/reflash necessary. On October 6th, 2016, after Gigabyte's RMA facility had my motherboard for over a week, Gigabyte emailed me and stated the motherboard is damaged, they are voiding my warranty, and returning the motherboard to me. Yet the motherboard was undamaged when they received it and they originally stated the BIOS needed a replacement for reflash. To determine the UEFI/BIOS was bad wouldn't Gigabyte's employees need to mount a CPU and CPU cooler to the motherboard? When the motherboard was returned to me, there was damage near one of the CPU cooler mounting holds that wasn't there when I sent the motherboard to Gigabyte for repair. Also Gigabyte didn't send the motherboard back in the anti-static bag I shipped it in. The motherboard was shipped in a box with a couple pieces of foam and let it bounce around in the box the entire time it was shipped back to me.. Because my motherboard was undamaged when I sent ti to Gigabyte, it appears someone at their RMA/repair facility damage the motherboard mounting or mounting a CPU cooler to test the motherboard then didn't want to get in trouble for it, so they said it was already damaged. After looking around on forums and reading consumer reviews of Gigabyte products, I noticed other people who complained about issues with the RMA process and being denied RMA repair for damage that wasn't there when the product was shipped to Gigabyte's RMA facility. Also, I found other consumer reviews of my motherboard stating that they had issues with the BIOS within the first month of ownership. The Better Business Bureau currently have Gigabyte listed as an F rating due to warranty/repair issues and problems with new products that they haven't fixed. Here are links to some hardware manufacturers and their BBB ratings: Gigabyte F rating ASUS A- rating EVGA A+ Rating ASRock F rating Zotac B- rating MSI A+ rating In summary, the motherboard didn't properly a few weeks after I bought it. Then it completely died. I received a RMA and sent it back to Gigabyte. After Gigabyte had the motherboard for a week they damaged it at their repair facility, then stated the warranty is void and will not be repairing it. They refuse to take the blame for damaging my motherboard. If you are considering buying a Gigabyte product in the future(Motherboard, Graphics card, Computer, etc...), remember they have a bad reputation with the Better business Bureau and have a history of RMA/Warranty issues reported by their customers. You are better off spending a little more and buying products form a company that doesn't have RMA/Warranty issues. Here is a photo comparing the motherboard the day it was shipped and after I received it back from Gigabyte. here is the high res version: High Res Photo Link to post Share on other sites
Fulcrous 2,073 Share Posted November 3, 2016 You will have RMA issues regardless of the vendor. Try speaking to a public rep on FB or some shit or even make a post about it - whilst being polite. SmirkingGerbil, Folterknecht, TheMarine0341 and 1 other 4 Link to post Share on other sites
SmirkingGerbil 110 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Sign up for NewEgg's premier program. I did this due to similar issues in the past. Once you are on the premier program, most of your hassles would disappear. Just tell them it broke, and they will replace, no questions asked. I think I pay about $50.00/year for it. I pay for it with returns etc. pretty quick, because I am always buying something from them. Sorry for your troubles, but the premier program will blunt a lot of that. It pays for itself quickly if you are a hobbyist. Link to post Share on other sites
Assassin7 4,353 Share Posted November 3, 2016 you can send in a complaint or something to someone can't you? Im sure you can Link to post Share on other sites
Bavor 266 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 At this point, the only thing that would make me a "happy" customer again is if Gigabyte refunded me the purchase price of the motherboard and the cost of shipping the motherboard to them for the RMA. I can always contact them on twitter or some other social media and see what happens. I'm never buying one of their products again. Link to post Share on other sites
TheLovePanda 264 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Put them on blast on Twitter. Works every time. Medjed, Deus__Ex__Machina and Toxic_Turtles690 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Folterknecht 2,257 Share Posted November 3, 2016 How to force backup BIOS on GB Dual-Bios mobos Link to post Share on other sites
Folterknecht 2,257 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Please keep in mind that these BBB ratings seem to be North America centered. Though there is no point arguing that GB fucked up in this case. In europe for example ASUS RMA seems to have some problems, even certain reviewers have picked up on that one. If you buy in Europe/Germany I can highly recommend JZelectronic.de - the best service I 've ever seen by any PC shop. They arn't the cheapest, but that kind of service comes at a cost naturally. In the past they even went so far to create custom BIOSes for GPUs and worked with mainboard manufactures on BIOS improvements having visitors from Taiwan or going there. Link to post Share on other sites
Bavor 266 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 1 hour ago, Folterknecht said: How to force backup BIOS on GB Dual-Bios mobos I tried that before shipping it back for the RMA. So did the computer shop. The BIOS seems to be completely dead. Some of the customer reviews I've read of the motherboard report similar issues in the first month or two of ownership where the fans come on, but the computer never boots to the POST/Splash screen. I think it may be a common issue on this motherboard if other customers are reporting the same issue I had. Link to post Share on other sites
Folterknecht 2,257 Share Posted November 4, 2016 The board isn't even on the market anymore at least in germany and europe it seems. Link to post Share on other sites
Bavor 266 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 Just now, Folterknecht said: The board isn't even on the market anymore at least in germany and europe it seems. It was replaced with a newer revision in the US/Canada market. There is now a Revision 1.1 available that replaced revision 1.0. Their web site doesn't seem to explain what the differences are. Link to post Share on other sites
Devo 50 Share Posted November 4, 2016 It seems Gigabyte hasn't changed their shittastic customer service. Sadly that's a lesson I think most computer tinkerers have to learn. Great prices, nice specs, roll of the dice on if your gear works. Link to post Share on other sites
Folterknecht 2,257 Share Posted November 4, 2016 An example from TPU forums - this time MSI (NA) https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/my-msi-experience-or-why-i-wont-buy-another-msi-product.227539/ @Bavor https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/members/neliz.1761/ - TPU Gigabyte Guy Link to post Share on other sites
JOC469 520 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Buy another board from local shop. Return old one saying it is broken. Ask for monies back. FreddBoy and rumpage 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bavor 266 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 10 hours ago, JOC469 said: Buy another board from local shop. Return old one saying it is broken. Ask for monies back. Not only is it fraud, the serial numbers won't match. The box has the motherboard serial number. My old box for the motherboard has the serial number cut off due to needing to send it in for a $10 rebate. Link to post Share on other sites
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