Well Im not sure how to say it except to say it... Im not quiet happy with one of my new EVGA GF GTX480-SC's...

But lets start at the beginning...
I ordered my GTX480's on 29th at a shop in Germany and they arrived last Saturday...

At first I was verry happy ofc beeing one of the few getting them, but that slowly changed
after inspecting them at close. For one thing they didn't came with a protection sleeve
on the cooler, as seen in Trubtitar's unwrapping video...

Trubritar's Unwrapping video (EVGA GTX480)

Usually I wouldn't care - but in this case it resulted in many scratches on the polished plastic parts of the cooler,
probably from the ESD-Bag... On both my cards I might add... In addition the cards were literally
covered with fingerprints - hardly a reason to RMA them
but still I think I should mention this - bcs It doesn't really made a good impression.

Other differences (just to mention them, bcs they might not be unusual or unwanted) from things I have seen in the video:
Different ESD-Bag (no evga Branding) and no sticker mentioning anything about letting them cool down after operation.
No case-badge, no bumper-sticker.

Final I get to the point that might actually be a reason for RMA.
When I first put one in my pc, I saw one of the screws was loose. After inspecting and trying to tighten it, I noticed
that the screw thread in the baseplate was totally ruined! As if someone forcefully tried to tighten the screw at all cost.
Its so damaged that it is impossible to tighten the screw at all...


         Position of the mentioned screw...

Since to my knowledge this screw it part of the cards grounding to the case, it may be a minor part / defect, though
it is definitely no decoration...
And at a price of 549€ ~ 740US$ I simply believe that I can expect a product without
fingerprints, scratches or defects of any kind...

Unfortunately - since It is not possible to request replacement parts - which to my thought would be the easiest thing,
an RMA seems to be my only option if I want those defects corrected...

I would really appreciate a statement from the Moderators concerning these Issues.

And as always, comments welcome!

Mind posting where you got it from so we can avoid ordering from there?  Sorry to hear, that sucks, sounds like somebody had it apart, are there any marks on the other screws?

Leekay07

In the USA the cards do not come with ESD bags they come in a Plastic shell. Also the coolers are covered in a Plastic film you need to remove.  From what you are stating yours have not been handled correctly.  Probably by the Seller rather than EVGA.  I think your beef is with the wrong company. 

Not true.. the GTX 480-SC's came in black foam, not the normal plastic packaging.   The 470-SC's however have the plastic packaging.   I've got both.

Leekay07

In the USA the cards do not come with ESD bags they come in a Plastic shell. Also the coolers are covered in a Plastic film you need to remove.  From what you are stating yours have not been handled correctly.  Probably by the Seller rather than EVGA.  I think your beef is with the wrong company. 

ugh, erm, i dunno what to say here...

the pics of 480 unboxing I posted in these forums on April 8, 2010 clearly show GTX 480s in foam with the card wrapped in an EVGA branded ESD bag and a cooling warning sticker with plastic over the glossy parts of the shroud and the fan.

my question is: when you opened the box -- were both end sealed with the EVGA QA stickers?

if the box was properly sealed -- i'd RMA that joker in a heartbeat -- EVGA would WANT it back with full details to try to figure out how that happened so it doesn't in the future.

mwparrish

Leekay07

In the USA the cards do not come with ESD bags they come in a Plastic shell. Also the coolers are covered in a Plastic film you need to remove.  From what you are stating yours have not been handled correctly.  Probably by the Seller rather than EVGA.  I think your beef is with the wrong company. 

ugh, erm, i dunno what to say here...

the pics of 480 unboxing I posted in these forums on April 8, 2010 clearly show GTX 480s in foam with the card wrapped in an EVGA branded ESD bag and a cooling warning sticker with plastic over the glossy parts of the shroud and the fan.

my question is: when you opened the box -- were both end sealed with the EVGA QA stickers?

if the box was properly sealed -- i'd RMA that joker in a heartbeat -- EVGA would WANT it back with full details to try to figure out how that happened so it doesn't in the future.

Well that's what I was expecting as well after having a look at photos here in the forum and Trubritars video on yt...
Though In my case, it was somewhat different - not sure though why, maybe they reinspect them here
to insure they are in working order... So as I said no Evga Branded ESD-bag, just a standard one.
ESD waring sticker yes, but not the one referring to letting them cool down after operation.
And no cover on the cooler - so its not hard to guess why they are both scratchy...

As to the Box it was sealed with QA stickers - opened, and resealed with QA-Evga stickers -
so I don't suspect tampering by unauthorised ppl. The box was in shrinking foil as you would expect...

sormaz

The forum moderators aren't really the guys that you need help from. Did you try giving EVGA a call? Not sure about in the UK or Germany, but in the US there is 24/7 support, and they are really helpful.

Yes I thought about it, and will surely do - I was just interested to get some input by the mods and you guys b4 I sent one or both back...
Especially if there is the possibility to end up the same way...

And since they are hard to get (ofc u know ) I hesitate to take action prematurely...

yeah... if they opened and resealed it -- it sounds like you may have accidentally gotten one of the reviewer cards or something that was used by accident... i say by accident because i'd like to that that's exactly what it was.

mwparrish

yeah... if they opened and resealed it -- it sounds like you may have accidentally gotten one of the reviewer cards or something that was used by accident... i say by accident because i'd like to that that's exactly what it was.

I hope too, that this is not the standard EVGA Europe works like.

When I got my 8800GT-KO back in 08' I was verry happy with it. No scratches, damage, what so ever. All perfecly wrapped up...
And it still does a great job in my old PC - That's why I decided for EVGA again. Hope it wasnt a mistake...

nordicjedi

I've passed this on to EVGA, so the OP should hear from them soon.  If not, please send me a PM and I'll stay on it.

Cool! Thx for your help - I really appreciate it!

EVGA_Marketing

DragonX1979,

Please email me a copy of your invoice and a few photos so I can try to assist you directly.

Thank you and I will be looking for your email.

Joe Darwin
jdarwin@evga.com

I'll Do. Thank you for your assistance!