pawelblyskal

ZeroBANG
(i love being quoted while i'm editing ;P )  

Piers123
 It only happened a couple of times in Fallout 4 - no other game that I tried. 

it just needs to happen once to know that you got one of the lucky 3 - 4% of cards from that bad batch of VRMs.  

3 - 4 % thats a joke. The issue is across all units.

The "black screen + 100% fan" issue was caused by faulty VRM IC chips used in early production (before Sept-2016), and EVGA stated that 3-4% of the IC chips were out-of-spec. 
 
Emphasis:  NOT 3-4% of cards, but 3-4% of the IC chips.  There are (12) of those chips on a 1080FTW.


Only EVGA knows the actual percentage of CARDS affected, but suffice to say -- if 3-4% of the IC's were bad, and there are (12) of them on the card, the chance of having at least (1) bad chip was much more than 3-4%. 

ZeroBANG
It is VERY interesting that you had the black screen + fan at 100% speed issue already and THEN the VRM exploded.  
 
you should read this, a user quoted a EVGA support email a while ago where they say that they had a bad batch of VRMs that run out of spec and this entire black screen issue is a "Over Current Protection" mechanism:  
 http://forums.evga.com/1080-FTW-owner-Am-I-the-only-one-thinking-that-all-this-is-a-bad-joke-m2574912.aspx#2575115  
 
so far there has been no proof of a connection between the black screen issue and the exploding VRMs.  
you just delivered a very interesting puzzle piece.  
i think we now know what happens when this OCP mechanism fails... POOF.  

I was told the same thing when I requested an RMA of my previous GTX 1080 FTW which started exhibiting the black screen/100% fan issue randomly in games after two months of owning it. While I waited for the replacement to arrive, I switched from the default fan profile (the one that spins the fan above 65 C on the GPU) to a custom one and never saw the black screen issue again on that card. Of course, since then EVGA have released an updated BIOS which is supposed to cool the card better and the black screen issue was caused by something different but it does seem an odd coincidence that my ramping up to a more aggressive fan profile that was always spinning that I "fixed" the issue on my old card.
 
I have not seen the issue on my new card and since the BIOS update temperatures have been much lower (it is, of course, late autumn here in the UK so it is cooler) with the highest being 67 degrees C. I have not had this card two months yet so it remains to be seen if the issue really is fixed. I am trying to stay positive but with that issue and the whole thermal pad fiasco my faith in EVGA has been shattered somewhat and I certainly won't be considering them first any more for my next graphics card upgrade.

UPDATE 18-11-2016
An man came to collect the item, but did not bring suitable packaging (a bag and label, as I understood he would) so the collection has been delayed until Jan is able to re-arrange it.
 
I will continue to post updates for those interested.

I got my Advance RMA yesterday after 2 weeks+ of waiting, still curious about the FTW card with the thermal pads installed and new bios which will have a louder fan noise. I have a similar issue like you but not as bad as u mentioned, here's the pic I took 
 One of the VRMs has been fried and had a blackscreen..
 
After dealing with their delayed email and non response phone call from the EU department, I finally got an approval from their RMA, paid the amount they requested and the card is coming from Germany next Tuesday. I'm not sure how much I'm going to pay for the return tho, do I get the delivery payment back or they will call it problem solved? :S
 
The reason I purchase the FTW verison is because I wanted to have a quieter fan noise along with the performance... 

I'm sure they'll replace the 970 if anything happens to it on their advice.
It's also highly unlikely to be the slots. Especially if it works fine in another one. They are all hooked up to the same power source.

And it's a 'no' - it doesn't appear to work in the same slot the 1080 was in.

sharkims

Piers123
And it's a 'no' - it doesn't appear to work in the same slot the 1080 was in.

Shot a surge back through the slot?  Hopefully that didn't damage the CPU.
 
I'm glad they are working to help you.  Personally I believe how they deal with this is how they can directly comfort the scared and nervous masses.  If their cards blow something up, they will take care of you.

So far, Jan from EVGA has been very helpful. As previously stated, I'm keeping this post and the reddit thread updated. I always provide feedback, whether negative or positive, and will make sure EVGA's response is explained and given credit - if applicable. Equally, I will also make sure negative updates are posted if due.

MSim

Piers123

sharkims

Piers123
And it's a 'no' - it doesn't appear to work in the same slot the 1080 was in.

Shot a surge back through the slot?  Hopefully that didn't damage the CPU.
 
I'm glad they are working to help you.  Personally I believe how they deal with this is how they can directly comfort the scared and nervous masses.  If their cards blow something up, they will take care of you.

So far, Jan from EVGA has been very helpful. As previously stated, I'm keeping this post and the reddit thread updated. I always provide feedback, whether negative or positive, and will make sure EVGA's response is explained and given credit - if applicable. Equally, I will also make sure negative updates are posted if due.

What reddit did you post it on?

 
It's here.

GHOSTCAMP
hello guys so i had an evga 1080 ftw and it had some problems black screen and crashing so they replaced it and i had to pay 230$ dollars for the shipping... that was like almost a month ago so now my RMA card died like 2 days ago vrm blew up and im still awaiting evga to contact me.
 
anyone knows what will happen next ? will my card get replaced ? and the new card will it have have thermal pads applied to it ?
 
 

 
$230 for postage? Where do you live?

GHOSTCAMP
I'm located in kuwait sent the card to germany via dhl i really got mad about the price mentioned it to evga that its not the consumer's bad to get a bad card and also have to pay for the shipping coasts guess what they didn't do Vulgar Language Removed :3
 
http://forums.evga.com/EVGA-Forums-Terms-of-Use-m4682.aspx Please read the terms of service.

That seems rather unfair to me.

hobib_ali
hey OP
 
can you keep us in the know to your situation and and how EVGA are rectifying this issue for you? or if its been sorted already and how they did it.
Its a shame this has happened to you especially losing your motherboard through no fault of your own, everything must be replaced by a physical replacement or a cash payment to cover the costs of the loss damage and inconvenience,I am sure other forum members will agree.
 
Did you have a Asus X99 board by the way?

 
Hey. I'm updating the first first in this thread as well as reddit in order to keep people updated. So far, EVGA has been helpful regarding the card - but not the damage to other components. I'll have to talk with Jan on Monday to see what can be done. I don't use the X99 platform, I use the Z170.
 
Edit: Another FTW had a similar issue, this time a 1070 model: https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/5dwc1v/another_evga_gtx_1070_ftw_caught_on_fire/
 
EVGA, what's happened to this generation's FTW range?

MSim

Piers123

hobib_ali
hey OP
 
can you keep us in the know to your situation and and how EVGA are rectifying this issue for you? or if its been sorted already and how they did it.
Its a shame this has happened to you especially losing your motherboard through no fault of your own, everything must be replaced by a physical replacement or a cash payment to cover the costs of the loss damage and inconvenience,I am sure other forum members will agree.
 
Did you have a Asus X99 board by the way?

 
Hey. I'm updating the first first in this thread as well as reddit in order to keep people updated. So far, EVGA has been helpful regarding the card - but not the damage to other components. I'll have to talk with Jan on Monday to see what can be done. I don't use the X99 platform, I use the Z170.
 
Edit: Another FTW had a similar issue, this time a 1070 model: https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/5dwc1v/another_evga_gtx_1070_ftw_caught_on_fire/
 
EVGA, what's happened to this generation's FTW range?

 
Is Jan the head manager for UK/EU office? I would let him know you don't think it's right that evga is refusing to help with replace hardware it's faulty product damaged.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Not refusing so far, but it seems the approach is to skirt around the issue.

Scott_W

pawelblyskal

ZeroBANG
(i love being quoted while i'm editing ;P )  

Piers123
 It only happened a couple of times in Fallout 4 - no other game that I tried. 

it just needs to happen once to know that you got one of the lucky 3 - 4% of cards from that bad batch of VRMs.  

3 - 4 % thats a joke. The issue is across all units.

The "black screen + 100% fan" issue was caused by faulty VRM IC chips used in early production (before Sept-2016), and EVGA stated that 3-4% of the IC chips were out-of-spec. 
 
Emphasis:  NOT 3-4% of cards, but 3-4% of the IC chips.  There are (12) of those chips on a 1080FTW.


Only EVGA knows the actual percentage of CARDS affected, but suffice to say -- if 3-4% of the IC's were bad, and there are (12) of them on the card, the chance of having at least (1) bad chip was much more than 3-4%. 

I wonder if it was a special batch that were affected. My first 1080 FTW was affected by this issue but came in a nice foam case with a stenciled EVGA logo cutout foam cover that fits snugly into the foam case.
I bought the card around September with a PC build.
 
The RMA card I received came in a plastic case inside the usual EVGA box, with a rectangular piece of foam that doesn't fit snugly over the plastic card acting as cover. The quality of the packaging is significantly less than my original card.  Which I assume was the versions reviewers and early adopters got, and the RMA card was the mass produced versions.

Update - 30-11-2016
No update from EVGA and wrong GPU sent out as a replacement, meaning I now have to send the incorrect GPU back and continue to wait. Jan sent an email last night at 9PM and was supposed to call today but did not.
 
Rating has dropped down to 5/10. "Legendary" customer support is a myth - it shouldn't take two weeks.

Update #2 - 30-11-2016
Jan has now called 20 minutes after posting the first update. The incorrect GPU will be collected and I will receive the placement once it's in stock - probably within a week.
 
The motherboard will need to be returned to EVGA for inspection before a replacement is allowed (this is fair). I explained that I require a second person to help with larger or more complicated part removal due to personal circumstances. The deadline is 'probably' the end of this year after which "it will be hard to say what caused the failure, if there is one."
 
The doubt by EVGA is expected but still leaves a bitter taste.
 
Overall experience rating: 6/10. The hardware industry offers mediocre support at best, EVGA's support is not "legendary" as claimed, but is the customer service expected from a multinational company. I've returned very few items in the last 20 years - One PSU and one DOA H100i. I had a faulty MSI GTX 970 but no phone number and a complicated RMA process meant I threw out the old one and purchased a new one, so that technically doesn't count as a return.