I recently RMA’d a dead GTX 690, and was told that it was being replaced with a GTX 980. The GTX 980 performs worse than the GTX 690, so I sent this  :

 Hello my name is Karim ,
I recently called your customer support number about me getting replaced with a weaker GPU than the faulty one which goes against your policy which states that replacements will be a thoroughly tested recertified product of equal or greater performance. The product I sent in was a GTX 690 which I use to edit videos and render 3D models which requires lots of Cuda cores of which it has 3072 while the GTX 980 has 2048 cores and does not have any scaling issues. Comparing the two cards with modern benchmarks like I have here

you can see that the 690 gets a graphics score of over 15 thousand while the 980 only gets about 12 thousand, as you can see here in a benchmark conducted by Guru3d, which is very highly regarded
 
and 13 thousand when PCPerspective did their testing
.
A GTX 690 is dual 680s which have then been rebranded to a 770 which is generally regarded as being slightly more powerful than a 960. So a 960s in SLI would generally perform about the same as the 690 but taking up twice the space and twice the power connectors as shown here

with the 690 being just a bit more powerful. If you look at benchmarks the general gist of them is the 960s in SLI which I have shown to be close to a 690 generally outperforms the GTX 980 with properly optimized code.
I have been without a GPU for a month after being sent on a wild goose chase to obtain this RMA and being patient with EVGA while they were moving their servers and have continued to stick with EVGA products even after 4 RMAs because I knew I would be treated fairly, which is not what is going on here.
My RMA number xxxxxxx my phone number is xxx xxx xxxx if you choose to call me.
I believe that a GTX 980ti would be a much better candidate for a replacement GPU as the Firestrike score is nearly identical as evident here
and here

 even though it has less Cuda cores due to architectural differences.

I called back because I wanted to make sure the that GTX 980 was not sent before this mountain of information filled with benchmarks from reliable sources as well as my own testing (which shows that when an application properly utilizes multiple graphic cards the 690 is consistently superior.) I am told that the email has been read and that EVGA is waiting on a GTX 690 to pop up in their inventory. Thing is, the GTX 690 is a rare card and it could take months for another one to appear and they told me I could be waiting indefinitely. They also told me that the GTX 980 is an upgrade - even though it not only has over 1,000 less cuda cores. These  are a big deal to me. It is also slower in games that aren't considered "broken". The numbers show that a GTX 980ti has the same raw performance as a GTX 690, yet I am told that it is too big of an upgrade.
 
TLDR: I was lied to and told that a GTX 980 is an upgrade to my GTX 690 and then lied to again and told that a GTX 980ti is a huge upgrade and I could take a weaker GPU or wait months for them to refurbish the 690

Hi,
 
I am very sorry to hear of any confusion with this process.  I can confirm that we do exchange products in terms of overall performance and the GTX 980 card that you received is a newer model with equal or greater performance of your previous GTX 690 card.  
 
I can also confirm that we have offered that if you are still not satisfied with your replacement, then we are willing to assist with exchanging your product with another GTX 690 at no charge to you to assist.
 
Please let us know if you do wish to proceed with a RMA to go back to a GTX 690 and we will have this processed for you.
 
Phone: 1-888-881-3842 Option 1
Email: Support@evga.com 

bcavnaugh
I guess you could say that my 5 GTX 690 Graphics Cards are all still running very well, knock on wood.  
Also my newer GTX 980 Graphics Cards one set as 4-Way SLI and the other as 2-Way SLI / Solo card run circles around my GTX 690 Cards set as Quad-SLI. The biggest gain was the Power or Wattage usage with the GTX 980 Cards.
The GTX 980 take half or more power then the GTX 690 Graphics Cards do.
I would trade one for one if I needed to RMA my GTX 690 Cards.
I am sure that my GTX 690 Quad SLI Setup failed EVGA would provide two new GTX 980 or even two new GTX 980Ti to replace them. In the long run two GTX 980 in SLI would be a better combination than two GTX 690 Cards.
Remember that the GTX 690 only has 2GB per GPU for a total of 4GB while the GTX 980 have 4GB and the Ti 6GB. 

They are sending one 980 not two
power consumption is not an issue performance is
I am redoing the post because of the limitations of the forum which do not allow links

bcavnaugh

thekeemo

bcavnaugh
I guess you could say that my 5 GTX 690 Graphics Cards are all still running very well, knock on wood.  
Also my newer GTX 980 Graphics Cards one set as 4-Way SLI and the other as 2-Way SLI / Solo card run circles around my GTX 690 Cards set as Quad-SLI. The biggest gain was the Power or Wattage usage with the GTX 980 Cards.
The GTX 980 take half or more power then the GTX 690 Graphics Cards do.
I would trade one for one if I needed to RMA my GTX 690 Cards.
I am sure that my GTX 690 Quad SLI Setup failed EVGA would provide two new GTX 980 or even two new GTX 980Ti to replace them. In the long run two GTX 980 in SLI would be a better combination than two GTX 690 Cards.
Remember that the GTX 690 only has 2GB per GPU for a total of 4GB while the GTX 980 have 4GB and the Ti 6GB. 

They are sending one 980 not two
power consumption is not an issue performance is
I am redoing the post because of the limitations of the forum which do not allow links

Yes I know and I would take ONE Card as well for One of my Card, but when you RMA a SLI System EVGA works with their users to return their computer back to an SLI based configuration. I would run SLI with 2 GTX 980Ti any day over my Quad SLI GTX 690 computer is all I am really saying.

I would too but they are sending the 980 which is weaker take a look at the modified post

EVGATech_ChrisB
Hi,
 
I am very sorry to hear of any confusion with this process.  I can confirm that we do exchange products in terms of overall performance and the GTX 980 card that you received is a newer model with equal or greater performance of your previous GTX 690 card.  
 
I can also confirm that we have offered that if you are still not satisfied with your replacement, then we are willing to assist with exchanging your product with another GTX 690 at no charge to you to assist.
 
Please let us know if you do wish to proceed with a RMA to go back to a GTX 690 and we will have this processed for you.
 
Phone: 1-888-881-3842 Option 1
Email:  

Please take a look at the modified post

Dear thekeemo,
 
Yes, if you do wish to change back to a GTX 690 then this is a option available for you.
 
I have included a link to a performance chart for your reference below.
http://international.download.nvidia.com/webassets/en_US/shared/images/products/shared/lineup-full.png
 
 

Dear thekeemo,
 
I can confirm that the chart supplied is valid and accurate, but we will work with you since you do prefer a GTX 690. I have updated your request to be for a GTX 690 and this is expected to ship as soon as today to assist.

If they send you a 980 to hold you over until a 690 comes back in, then that would be a pretty decent deal. At least you wouldn't be completely out of gaming while you wait.

Scarlet-Tech
If they send you a 980 to hold you over until a 690 comes back in, then that would be a pretty decent deal. At least you wouldn't be completely out of gaming while you wait.

I use the card to render 3D models and video edit mainly.
By accepting the 980 I would basically allow them to hold off obtaining a 690 indefinitely.

mojman2001
So why don't you ask them if you want the 980 time that you would pay for the difference of it.. problem solved there

So I pay more money to get what I should be getting in the first place?

-snip-
 

Scarlet-Tech

thekeemo
I use the card to render 3D models and video edit mainly.
By accepting the 980 I would basically allow them to hold off obtaining a 690 indefinitely.

If they don't have the card you want, you will be on hold indefinitely anyway. Think about that.

They have 980TIs which are similar in performance
Not to mention they never gave me that offer.

bcavnaugh
thekeemo  PM me if you want to trade one of my GTX 690 Cards for your GTX 980 Card.
I have them with the Stock Blower or with the Hydro Copper Water Block.

Then I have to deal with customs and shipping which is a nightmare because I am in Canada.