need advice on buying case

[seekermeister]

Ah ha! I guess I got my wires crossed, because I must have been thinking about another thread while posting in this one. I know next to nothing about Intel systems, but I thought that Intel processors had a different kind of contact point...not exactly pins.

 

[fireberd]

I have sent an inquiry to ASRock. If I'm not successful there I will dispute the charge with Visa and see what happens. I see one person who had the bent pin problem with newegg disputed the charge with paypal and got it resolved. With others having the same "bent pin" problems it would appear to be a standard tactic by newegg. The board was working, except for the two bad memory slots, it wasn't like the CPU was the problem.

This has gotten to be a big hassle as I'm limping along with my recording studio schedule on a backup computer.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Tbh, I'm not sure if it's newegg or the board makers themselves issuing edicts about using bent pins as an excuse to get out of offering replacements.


The 'bent pin' excuse is popular with some popular Australian retailers too.

You may be on to something, eyeball.

It may be a situation of board makers exerting pressure on Newegg to deny a certain percentage of RMAs in order to make up for their poor quality control and manufacturing processes.

In that scenario, Newegg may have made a calculated decision to play ball with the board makers, even if that means losing a certain number of retail buyers forever.

If that is true, you have to wonder if it's the right decision from a purely business viewpoint---given that the tactic would be deceitful in any case. If enough customers hear about the tactic, it could become a contagion and cause a mass defection to other retailers---well beyond whatever Newegg may have anticipated.

 

[pparks1]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that in some cases, I'd be willing to bet that the bent pins are caused by "user error". With respect to the people here on this forum, I'm not passing judgement or second guessing you...I'm just saying that i think a large % of what you find on the web might indeed be user error. And it's quite possible these people honestly don't even realize they might have had an issue. I'll explain in more detail why I feel this way.

When i read reviews and such on NewEgg, I often wonder why so many people seem to have so many problems. Buyers saying that 1 in 4 motherboards are defective from NewEgg (even though i have bought at least 15 mobos from them over the years and never had a bad one). I see people who review hard drives and say I bought 5 drives and 3 of them were DOA. I've purchased at least 30 hard drives from NewEgg over the years and haven't had a single one DOA. Am I just lucky? Are these other people unlucky? Do they have power problems in their home/apartments? Is it my UPS that I always use that is providing me with consistent stable power and thus eliminating these issues? Who knows.

With respect to bent pins in a mobo, these pins are tiny and there are lots of them. The Intel boards I have used all have the plastic cover over the socket. You take that off wrong and slip a bit with it and you can easily bend a pin. And with the pins being as small as what they are, you could probably easily bend one and not even know it. If somebody removes that plastic cover and doesn't immediately install the CPU could easily have a cable from a power supply fall onto the socket and bend a pin while they are working on building their PC and getting the wire management planned.

I just hope my luck continues with NewEgg as I use them to buy/build quite a number of computers.

 

[fireberd]

I won't argue that there are "self inflicted" problems. I've worked as a computer tech since before PC's and even worked at a NASA circuit board module repair depot. I've worked on everything from IBM mainframes down to IBM PS/2's, Microsoft OS PC's and Novell file servers, along with NASA Telemetry Processors.

This was not my first home built PC. In my case there was no "user caused" problems.

 

[fireberd]

ASRock has come through, partially. They will replace the board but it will cost their standard $50 fee for "out of warranty" replacement. This is not really acceptable but I'm going to do it as that is better than being out the entire cost of the motherboard. Newegg is returning the motherboard and I'll ship it off to ASRock when I get it.

(and no more purchases from newegg.com).

 

[seekermeister]

Personally, I would add ASRock to that no buy list also. That fee is not acceptable on a problem with a brand new motherboard.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I myself have had good success with all of my mobo purchases and even some returns for issues later determined to be mine or nobody's fault. But recently I purchased two 32gb SD cards and they had a 10.00 MIR on each. Only after filing the first was I told by the system that it was a one per household rebate. Went all the way back into NewEgg and nowhere was that indicated. Not the end of the world but in trying to reach NewEgg (total joke) to ask about this I gave up and it's a shame that they have lost a customer over having a totally useless customer service system !

 

[Phone Man]

I myself have had good success with all of my mobo purchases and even some returns for issues later determined to be mine or nobody's fault. But recently I purchased two 32gb SD cards and they had a 10.00 MIR on each. Only after filing the first was I told by the system that it was a one per household rebate. Went all the way back into NewEgg and nowhere was that indicated. Not the end of the world but in trying to reach NewEgg (total joke) to ask about this I gave up and it's a shame that they have lost a customer over having a totally useless customer service system !

All the rebates I have used (a bunch) over the years were one per household. You have to read the rebate form to see all the restrictions. And always make copies of what you send them in case it gets lost in the mail. I had that happen once and a phone call and the copies got me the rebate.

Jim

 

[fireberd]

seekermeister, I have added ASRock to my "no buy" list.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Yeah I too always make copies of all the paperwork for each MIR but normally the vendor has a disclaimer as to the qty. limit and it was a 2 day sale with this MIR. Like I say not the end of the world but when I wanted to call and speak to someone....that's where it got interesting? I hate not having the ability to call with questions and speak to a live person so from now on NewEgg is relegated to those non essential blow out don't really care items.

 

[pparks1]

Only after filing the first was I told by the system that it was a one per household rebate.

I don't think I have "EVER" purchased anything with a rebate that allowed more than 1 per household. I understand your beef about it not being explicitly mentioned. I would almost expect a huge big bold statement "IF multiple rebates were actually allowed".

Not the end of the world but in trying to reach NewEgg (total joke) to ask about this I gave up and it's a shame that they have lost a customer over having a totally useless customer service system !

You have discovered the reason that NewEgg can often offer lower prices on most items than anybody else. You have to cut corners to make it happen. While there were lots of places previously where you could buy parts, many have gone out of business as they didn't do enough sales as people only want to pay the lowest prices. We are not reeping what we have sewn.

 

[fireberd]

I'm about 65 miles away from either Orlando or Tampa. Both have CompUSA stores. Although I have to pay sales tax, they have fairly good stocks of computer parts. I built a PC right after Tiger Direct bought CompUSA and reopened the stores. Never had a problem with any of the hardware that I got from them. Its time to give them another shot.

 

[Phone Man]

I'm about 65 miles away from either Orlando or Tampa. Both have CompUSA stores. Although I have to pay sales tax, they have fairly good stocks of computer parts. I built a PC right after Tiger Direct bought CompUSA and reopened the stores. Never had a problem with any of the hardware that I got from them. Its time to give them another shot.

I used to get lots of things from our local CompUSA but they never reopened so I started buying online. We also had a nice local store that shipped all over and was bought by Insight many years ago and closed their store. Then there was Circuit City which also went away. Just Best Buy, Office Depot and Radio Shack left. I also noticed Newegg's price are questionable. They always have a list price then a discount price. I have gone to the manufacturers site and found their MSRP was the same as the discount price. Mark it up and then give you a "discount"

Jim

 

[fireberd]

CompUSA went belly up and had "going out of business" sales. Tiger Direct came in and bought the name and some stores. As Tiger Direct's HQ is in Florida we got many of the Florida CompUSA stores opened back up. They have gotten into HDTV's and they don't have as much computer stock as the old CompUSA had, but they still have a fair amount. The last time I was in one they had about 20 different cases on display.

Tiger Direct also bought the Circuit City name.

 

[smarteyeball]

It may be a situation of board makers exerting pressure on Newegg to deny a certain percentage of RMAs in order to make up for their poor quality control and manufacturing processes.

They have had their fair share of QC issues - both Asus and Asrock.

I know of one member here who went through 4 RMA's to get a working Asus board. Another took a few RMAS to get a working Asrock. Both went through newegg. Iirc, both got the 'bent pin excuse' at one point or another. Both sounded like a case of bad batches due to poor QC.

Admittedly there are some users who cause some damage, but it's highly suspicious and doubtful that the majority seem to 'bending pins' left, right and centre.

In that scenario, Newegg may have made a calculated decision to play ball with the board makers, even if that means losing a certain number of retail buyers forever.

If that is true, you have to wonder if it's the right decision from a purely business viewpoint---given that the tactic would be deceitful in any case. If enough customers hear about the tactic, it could become a contagion and cause a mass defection to other retailers---well beyond whatever Newegg may have anticipated.

It is a deceitful loophole. Some retailers may be using this excuse on their own volition to avoid losses, hassle etc - but it's not out of the realms of possibility that a large retailer such as newegg would have an 'understanding' with larger board manufacturers. If such understandings do exist, it makes you wonder how many others have a similar 'understanding'.

It would be interesting to trawl through some of the other board makers like Gigabyte and Evga etc to see if the 'bent pin' issue is as prevalent with them too. So far I've mostly heard anecdotal evidence about Asus and Asrock.

(Both from newegg buyers and from local users in Australia).

I have been buying almost exclusively from Newegg for the 12 years and this issue posted on another forum worries me.
Newegg RMA Technicians Are Breaking My Returns - [H]ard|Forum

Hmm, didn't notice that before. Very interesting.

ASRock has come through, partially. They will replace the board but it will cost their standard $50 fee for "out of warranty" replacement.

For a new board??? Disgraceful.

 

[seekermeister]

Newegg has no inhibitions about losing a few customers, regardless of the reason. They simply rely on their prices as being sufficient bait to keep the fish biting.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Big +1 on the Tiger and I even have my own customer service rep that I place my orders with and if they can shop the already discounted numbers a bit they will and let you know !

 

[fireberd]

Finally a postive. The new motherboard, a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H has been installed and the PC is powered up and loading all the device drivers now. I'll dress the cables, etc (and a picture) after I'm sure everything is working properly.

The differences in motherboards, both the 8 pin and 24 pin power cables were routed on the back and reach the motherboard connectors without the need for cable extenders (which were needed on the ASRock).

The ASRock (replacement) will be kept for a spare or I may build another PC with it. My daughter has thrown several hints that their old Gateway is on the last leg.

 

[fireberd]

More progress. I'm typing this in from the new PC.

I'll run it for a couple of days before I lace up the cables and close the case.

Jack