XFX warranties HD 6990 4GB overclock switch
Use of the Antilles switch isn't covered by AMD's warranty as standard.
However, XFX's UK sales manager Gavin Pitt has confirmed to us that XFX will honour the use of the switch, which enables the card to use a second overclocked BIOS, under its standard warranty.
Speaking to bit-tech, Pitt said 'I'm proud to say that, as part of our going support and dedication to both AMD and the gaming consumer, XFX will warranty the 880MHz OC usage as per our usual RMA terms, as long as there is no consumer induced damage etc, as per our usual terms and process for RMAs.
'XFX strongly believes that if you add a performance-enhancing switch that allows the end user to enhance the card's performance, then it's only right to warranty this benefit.'
Being the first AMD board partner to cover the use of the unlock switch is something of a coup for XFX, and this decision also leaves the door open for other AMD board partners to similarly extend their warranties.
AMD has previously stuck to its guns regarding the Antilles overclocking switch, shipping all Radeon HD 6990 4GB cards with a yellow sticker over the Dual-BIOS switch, which advises owners that enabling the overclock will void their card's warranty. The overclock itself amounts to a fairly minor GPU core frequency increase of 50MHz, along with an extra 0.055V added to the vcore of each GPU.
Should AMD's warranty have covered the Antilles switch as standard, or are you just pleased that AMD's board partners are stepping up to cover cards regardless. Let us know in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyI doubt they are unsure of anything and would contend that they have a very good idea of how the overclock feature effects the life of the card. I believe that simply stated the cards MTBF would drop to a point where AMD's accountants decided they cannot cost effectively honour warranties on them, however the accountants of the board partners may feel different. Like the man said XFX will be boasting sales on the back of this news.
That's probably why they said they'd warranty it. If they never honour their warranties then it doesn't matter if they extend it to the use of the second bios.
Disclaimer - Never owned XFX gear so going on your comments only
As is they tend not to be worth the paper they are written on on and adding one more thing to the list they are supposed to do is just a box ticking exercise for free press.
Yes had an XFX card once and never again.
Still, I suppose one can use afterburner on the default mode, right?
That will increase the producing number of the 6990 and more revenue since the Antilles switch now has warranty.
They provide the card with the switch out of the factory, therefore, it should be covered under warranty - and if they're not prepared to cover it, remove the switch and the hardcore overclockers can just flash their own BIOS as has always been the case.
And to put my spin on the XFX bashing... I'm now on my 3rd XFX card in my time building PCs. Only one of those needed RMAing, an 8800GT, and was dealt with immediately. I even received my new card from them before they got my old one due to the superb customer service phone contact throughout.
I appreciate people have bad experiences with certain manufacturers or retailers, but I can't stand it when people jump on the bandwagon. By all means, heed warnings or recommendations from friends or forum users, but don't slander companies based on the experiences of others. It's not cricket.
Since AMD does not know what your set up is going to be you might just cook the card if you used the switch in an unvented case. Their tech probably know how much cooling the card would need to keep the thing cool with the switch on but cost would have pushed it to beyond what they calculated as a reasonable cost.
It's like including a button that says "warning do not press or card will burst into flames"
If you can't warranty it then for gods sake don't include it !!!
Hahahahaha;)
It like a sign tell you to use the elevators in case of fire to go down quickly, but if you die it's your fault!