Hi all,
 
So last night while playing Duke Nukem Forever of all games, my 3090 FTW3 Ultra Hybrid decided the join the Red Light club. After a little bit of a research, it looks like I have an expensive brick in my hands now. This was the second 3090 Hybrid I received from EVGA after RMA'ing the original due to loud pump noise issues. And this card was nice and quiet. Decent performance too. Then after 5 months of usage, it decided to kick the bucket. Lasting 5 months without issues actually may be a record among people who have had this issue. So I'm a little proud of my brick now.
 
Anyway. Now waiting for the customer support to respond to my ticket. 
 
Speaking of customer support, I would like to thank Daniel (or was it David?) in the technical support department. Since I'm without a computer now, in the scarcity of GPU supplies, no Micro Center nearby, I contacted EVGA support via phone. Wait time was zero minutes. Clear menu options. So thanks for that. I called because it sounded like some customers had some luck getting their issues solved a little more quickly this way. But aforementioned support person was quick to shut me down, without even letting me complete my sentence, claiming this would double their work so I just needed to wait 24-48 hours. So like I said. Thanks Daniel or David. 
 
I know I sound bitter but as you can guess, receiving a faulty product twice + a rude customer service agent isn't really the best combo. I wasn't even going to create a post until I spoke to customer service. Because in the past I had nothing but good experiences with them. But here I am now.
 
Thanks for reading my rant.
 
Thanks EVGA for creating a top of the line GPU that bricks for a lot of people.
Here's the beautiful shade of red that I now see. With the lens flares, it's nothing short of a scene from a JJ Abrams movie: 

 
Edit: For extra but possibly pertinent information
Never overclocked.
Using EVGA T2 1000W power supply.
3 separate 8 pin cables, no daisy chain.
Flipping the onboard BIOS switch did not help.

Its actually called "The Red Light District" ;)

I'm in the same boat, I've always boasted about EVGA's product with their customer service quality to back that up to all of my friends and community. But this was my 2nd 3090 to hit the red light district...After spending 150 dollars to ship it back to them (shipping cost + insurance for a 2k item), because I forgot the radiator fans the RMA was denied. I thought to myself, they have been able to work with me in the past...maybe someone can forgive my blunder and let me just ship the fans separately so I can get back to gaming quicker. Nope! CSR told me that they are unable to hold the card and will be shipping that back to me, and I'll need to spend another ~150 dollars to ship it back to them along with 2 $30 radiator fans. At this point, this 3090 has costed me 2500 USD. I really should have bought a 3080...

I made it 10 months before RLOD.  so 5 months is nowhere near a record.  

Wow, that's terrible. Is this an issue with the XC3 Hybrid as well? With this, memory temp issues, cost of extended warranty and cost of getting a future claim settled... I'm starting to think I should have held my 1080ti for a little longer...

I didn't have red lights, but waiting on an RMA. Hope the best for you good sir. 

bltran

canhusrefoglu
I'm sort of on the same boat when it comes to the fan situation. For performance and RGB reasons, I don't use the stock fans that come with the FTW3 Hybrid. And unfortunately, I couldn't foresee issues happening and that I would need to RMA so I gave away the stock fans of my first 3090 hybrid. Now, to not get my RMA rejected, I'm stuck with paying an absurd amount of money for cross-shipping RMA. That way I can remove the new(ly refurbished) card's fans, put them on my brick of a video card's radiator and send that back to EVGA. Worked the first time. Hopefully will work this time too.
 
Btw, I'm now on the tail end of the 48 hours. No response from CS yet.
 
You know what's funny and sad? This is actually my 3rd 3090. First one ever was an Asus ROG OC. It was nice and all but had an annoying coil whine. So I wanted to get a hybrid from EVGA because of great experiences with my 1080 Ti (pronounced TIE) hybrid back in the day. I deeply regret that decision now. I wish I had either kept the Asus 3090 or scalped it. Sold it at the MSRP like a shmuck
(half-kidding, I'll never scalp GPUs or consoles)

Oh man, if you do the cross ship, they're just going to keep your collateral, pretty much the same as buying another gpu. Can you get your fans back, as per the email and the CSR I spoke to, you need to ship back exactly what the card came with? But I've had other CSRs tell me in the past that i dont need to worry about screws or cables. 

Yeah I know, I already did that once. After you send the problematic card back to them, they release the collateral though so that's fine. Just a temporary annoyance. Can't really get the old fans back because I didn't give them to someone I know. Just a random dude who needed fans. Like you said, screws and cables, they don't care. But fans they do. I had asked this to CS when I went through the process for the first time. The answer was that I needed to send the original fans. Which btw feels petty to me. They care about $30-40 fans on a $2000+ graphics card?
 
Btw if all goes well, the card that I'll receive after RMA will either be my backup (what a luxury) or I'll just sell it. My intention is to get a ROG 3080 Ti Hybrid or a ROG 3090 from Denver MC. Flying there just for this at the end of the month. If I can also get a 20 (or even 10) series card, I'll sell the EVGA 3090 Hybrid. If not, EVGA will be the backup. It'll put a dent in my bank account for sure but honestly it's better than having to deal with this over and over again with no backup.

ty_ger07

canhusrefoglu
Btw if all goes well, the card that I'll receive after RMA will either be my backup (what a luxury) or I'll just sell it.

You are going to sell a "$2000" card without fans (and thus no warranty)? Who is going to buy an unreliable EVGA 3090 FTW3 that has no warranty for $2000?

It will have fans. Just not the originals. Actually I have Noctua fans on the radiator so that's even better than the EVGA's own fans. (cooling performance-wise)
As for who is going to buy an unreliable card with no warranty? I have no idea. And if no one buys it, I'm also fine with that. The point is, one way or another that won't be my primary card anymore.

volcom0903
I didn’t believe the threads I’ve read based on 3090’s from EVGA failing. Then I come here to be surprised! This is insane to spend that amount of money on a GPU and have it fail. I’m still rockin a 1080ti SC2 HC but I want the 3080ti. . Now I’m scared the QC has gone down due to the overwhelming shortages between materials and staff that I’ll more than likely have an issue. . This sucks

1080ti SC2 HC was my previous card and it had been rock solid for years. The definition of "old reliable."
Sold it before upgrading to 3090. Now I wish I had kept it.

rblaes_99

canhusrefoglu

volcom0903
I didn’t believe the threads I’ve read based on 3090’s from EVGA failing. Then I come here to be surprised! This is insane to spend that amount of money on a GPU and have it fail. I’m still rockin a 1080ti SC2 HC but I want the 3080ti. . Now I’m scared the QC has gone down due to the overwhelming shortages between materials and staff that I’ll more than likely have an issue. . This sucks

1080ti SC2 HC was my previous card and it's been rock solid for years. The definition of "old reliable."
Sold it before upgrading to 3090. Now I wish I had kept it.

don't forget your "old reliable" is a Ti.... a refresh of an prior existing product that some early adapters suffered through initially as well.   I guess I have learned to expect these problems on a new cutting edge tech (regardless of price) and the folks that wait for the "Ti" refresh benefit.   My founders 1080 was a POS too.  my SLI pair of 1080Ti was great.  

Good point! Hopefully 3090 Ti owners will be happier than 3090 owners.

ty_ger07

canhusrefoglu

ty_ger07

canhusrefoglu
Btw if all goes well, the card that I'll receive after RMA will either be my backup (what a luxury) or I'll just sell it.

You are going to sell a "$2000" card without fans (and thus no warranty)? Who is going to buy an unreliable EVGA 3090 FTW3 that has no warranty for $2000?

It will have fans. Just not the originals.

Yes, duh. I meant the fans that are required for warranty; which is the reason you are currently going through the process you ranted about, yeah?
If you sell it, please make sure you educate your buyer about this issue and the required workaround.

Well yes, obviously I'll be forthcoming about warranty the situation. Not trying to make a quick buck over the card.
 
But let me ask you something at the expense of making myself look like a jerk. What's the purpose of this? Obviously you're free to say anything you like but you come to an annoyed person's rant. Whom you don't know at all. You offer no sympathy. Nothing constructive. No positive sentiments. Instead, you start to question the person. Insinuate that nobody's going to buy the replacement card and that I should not cheat people with the card's warranty situation as if you know I'm a cheater.
 
Do you think if I was a dishonest person, and intended to scam people (which I don't), I would openly declare this just because somebody in a forum asked me about it?
Or if I choose to sell the replacement card in the future, do you really think it won't have any takers? Because my gut feeling is, in this scarcity, I can even sell it at a higher price if I want to (which I won't).
 
So seriously, what are you trying to achieve?

EVGA should get their engineers to fix the power delivery problem. It is technically not their fault, but they are on the receiving end. It will come to bite them even worse in the future.

canhusrefoglu
Update: RMA is still not approved. Here are the 2 responses I received so far:
 
Response #1
Hi,

I am sorry to hear this and the red LED can indicate a few things. To confirm, are you getting video from the card or is it just the light on? If you have not done so re-seat the card in the system and the power connections on the card. It is hard to tell from the photo however if you are running two power cables to power the three power connections on the card try running three power cables. If it is possible also try the card in another system to see if it follows the card.

Please contact us back with the results and info. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards,
EVGA
 
Response #2
Hi
We are sorry to hear about your display issue. 
Please try the following troubleshooting steps.
Reset the CMOS
Please try a different video cable, port on the GPU and monitor to verify if they are the cause of the issue.
If applicable, please test without using any riser or power extension cables/adapters. 
If possible, try testing the card in a different PCIe slot on the motherboard.
If possible, please swap in a similar powered known good graphics card for verification. 
Please let us know the results of your troubleshooting.

Regards,
EVGA
 
What happened to the EVGA's customer service? This is a well-known issue. And it sure isn't a "display issue". Why drag this any longer?

Forwarded to EVGA

rjohnson11

canhusrefoglu
Update: RMA is still not approved. Here are the 2 responses I received so far:
 
Response #1
Hi,

I am sorry to hear this and the red LED can indicate a few things. To confirm, are you getting video from the card or is it just the light on? If you have not done so re-seat the card in the system and the power connections on the card. It is hard to tell from the photo however if you are running two power cables to power the three power connections on the card try running three power cables. If it is possible also try the card in another system to see if it follows the card.

Please contact us back with the results and info. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards,
EVGA
 
Response #2
Hi
We are sorry to hear about your display issue. 
Please try the following troubleshooting steps.
Reset the CMOS
Please try a different video cable, port on the GPU and monitor to verify if they are the cause of the issue.
If applicable, please test without using any riser or power extension cables/adapters. 
If possible, try testing the card in a different PCIe slot on the motherboard.
If possible, please swap in a similar powered known good graphics card for verification. 
Please let us know the results of your troubleshooting.

Regards,
EVGA
 
What happened to the EVGA's customer service? This is a well-known issue. And it sure isn't a "display issue". Why drag this any longer?

Forwarded to EVGA

Thanks a lot!

EVGATech_MatthewC
Hello canhusrefoglu.

I've replied to your most recent support ticket so we can get an RMA started for you. The red LED above the power connectors usually indicates some sort of power issue, sometimes this is caused by a faulty power supply or motherboard, but often is caused by a fault in the graphics card. I apologize for any inconvenience in getting the RMA set up for you in a timely fashion, but we'd always prefer to get the card up and running through troubleshooting rather than putting you through a lengthy RMA process.

It is a design fault with the graphics card. The problem lies in the design recommended by NVIDIA and EVGA is not really the one to blame here.
If you can get someone from the engineering department here we can discuss ways to mitigate the problem. Then EVGA can go into damage control mode before the issue spreads into more cards (ie: when NVIDIA releases series 4000).