EVGA 670 FTW Came with a magnet stuck to it??

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by rfglass

Maybe a "concerned" e-mail instead of an "angry" e-mail. You get more flies with honey than vinegar.

In some cases yes,

but you get more fish with Dynamite than Worms any day of the week :)

-ST

[Caldezar]

Email sent to Joe Darwin. I'm not sure what they'll come back with, or if there's even anything they can do outside offering me an RMA just in case. But I'm not really interested in going without a card for weeks as a preventative measure. I'm a lot more concerned about the SSD and possibly the 3TB HDD sitting just below it.

For anyone interested in following this to see how EVGA handles this, I'll post the correspondence here. I always give someone the benefit of the doubt and let them come back to me with a solution first. If they don't offer anything at all, or something I'm not satisfied with. (ie. a standard RMA 'just in case' that requires me to twiddle my thumbs for weeks without a PC) then I'll go back more firm.

Joe,

I have been directed to you by a moderator over at Hardware Canucks in regards to a startling experience with my most recent purchase.

At the end of last week, I ordered an EVGA GTX 670 FTW Ed. I received it just a couple days ago, and was extremely excited to get it installed and running. However, during the installation I noticed a small object stuck to the back of the i/o plate of the GPU. Imagine my surprise when, after a bit of scrutiny, I realized it was a broken chunk of a magnet! (It looks like it may have broken off a HDD magnet?) I took some time to get it out of the card, but in the process I accidentally dropped it right on to my SSD!

I've since installed the card, and it appears to work for the moment. And for now there's no issue with the SSD that I can see. I also have a 3TB HDD in the computer, very close to the SSD, and it appears to have no issue either, but only time will tell I suppose.

This kind of QC slip is way over the top and should never have happened. ESPECIALLY when considering that it's a $400 product. I'm honestly not even sure what to say about the issue, or how to proceed. The situation is so unorthodox, I can't imagine what the appropriate approach to the situation is. I can tell you for sure, though, that I expect someone to have a word with your QC team to see how this kind of thing could have happened, and ensure it doesn't again.

I've attached a picture of the magnet that was stuck to the card. If there are any questions or clarifications needed, please don't hesitate to email me in response, or contact me on my cell. (1 xxx xxx xxxx)

Thanks,

Nathan xxxxxxxx
- Product Serial (xxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

[Chareon]

As has been mentioned, a magnet won't hurt an SSD in the slightest. Magnetic fields have no real influence over solid state electronics. As for the 3TB HDD, magnetic drives are surprisingly resilient to outside magnetic fields. If you look at your average high density storage server, the drives are in quite close proximity and generate their own quite strong magnetic fields, yet they have no real impact on each other. As such I wouldn't worry about the magnet where it landed. (The GPU is another story. It shouldn't be raining magnets. )

[NyteOwl]

You're right that a small permanent won't harm an SSD but "Magnetic fields have no real influence over solid state electronics" is totally incorrect. You've obviously never seen that kind of a mess an EMP can make of solid state circuits.

[486]

Easter egg?

[TedShackley]

I wouldn't even worry about, no doubt from a factory machine, SSD shouldn't mind either, it would have to get hit hard and in lucky place to smash its chips together...

[Caldezar]

I received a response last week via email from the 'Assistant Product Manager' at EVGA (who was not on my original email at all, so I've already been sluffed off) who said to call him directly if any issues occured with the video card. No details past that, just a two sentance email. So I called him to discuss... twice. Both times I received a voicemail where I left a message with all my contact info. I've yet to hear anything back. I have to say that the lack of customer service is now starting to piss me off more than the magnet. So I started a thread on the EVGA forums. Not sure if those forums are monitored, as I've never posted there, but we'll see if I get a response.

Had they simply apologized and offered an advance RMA or something, I'd have dropped the subject. But now I'm choked at the lack of concern at the issue, and the fact that I feel like I've been dismissed out of hand. So I believe I'll make some noise until I'm appropriately responded to.

This thread is now their third strike. I'm all about giving a fair shot at customer service, but this is getting rediculous. It's their customer base that makes them a company. If they fail to respond to this thread or the last voicemail I left, then I'm going to go on a personal mission to remind them that customers come first...

EVGA Thread: My EVGA GTX 670 FTW Came with a magnet stuck to it!

[Eluder]

Looks like someone left you a reply there to call them back...

[Caldezar]

Yep, happy to report that EVGA finally got back to me and offered an advance RMA along with a small care package. (couple bits of EVGA advertizing swag) Truthfully, the advance RMA was all I ever wanted in the first place, and I'm glad they came through.

[akirez64]

Interesting... I have only ever heard about how good EVGA's customer service is. Has this jaded your opinion?