[SOLVED] Is Gigabtye's RMA Service Reliable?

[jaimison]

Hi,

I've been having issues with my build. About 2 months ago now, I have had my new build for a couple months when I started getting an error tone from my BIOS speaker. The long tone indicated a memory error after being idle for hours. Eventually, the PC would not turn on. Not even any MOBO LED reaction to turning on the PSU, I only mention that because they used to. After many emails and troubleshooting with Corsair (memory) and Gigabyte (Motherboard) eventually got RMA to send back both. Corsair had determined that the RAM was defective and sent a new set. Gigabyte claimed that there is nothing wrong with the motherboard and worked with "No trouble found after tests with multiple configurations". Installed everything, trusting that it was just the RAM now that caused the issue. And still no joy. It's the same as the before I had initiated emails with both companies.

I bought another PSU just to double-rule-out that that's the issue, and no change. I'm pretty defeated at the moment as I have been without a computer for more than two months and I hate conducting personal business on a phone or at this really old laptop at work(which freezes constantly), which I have barely much time to do as I am at work.

I'm by no means an expert on PCs, but I feel like Gigabyte may have just futzed the inspection and just sent it back. I'm only basing this on the terrible grammar/spelling in the support ticket chain. Is that possible?

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Specs:

CPU: i7 8700k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro (not on QVL but support said that it is compatible with the Motherboard)
MOBO: Gigabyte z390 Aorus Pro
PSU: Corsair RM 750x
GPU: Gigabtye 1070
Misc: Gigabtye Titan Ridge (Thunderbolt Option Card)
SSD: Samung 970 PRO
SSD: Crucial MX500 2.5"
SSD: T-Force Delta

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Barty1884]

The person responding to your ticket/email is not going to be the person who reviewed/tested the unit, so the language barrier is not going to be a reflection on the quality of the support overall.

In my one experience with Gigabyte's RMA service, they were not the fastest, but they were reliable.


Out of curiosity, when your beep codes suggest a memory error, and Corsairs memory was 0/1.... why did you replace the PSU?
If you wanted to troubleshoot, I would've picked up a kit of memory that appears on Gigabyte's QVL for the motherboard..... Not saying you need to switch out the memory, but when Corsair ruled one kit defective and a motherboard that has been tested/verified (supposedly), the natural place to look would be the memory....

Unless you can verify the board does not work with X nor Y memory, it's going to be tough to plead your case with Gigabyte.



Another thought though...... Gigabyte clearly only had the board to test. They installed their own CPU..... Perhaps you've bent a pin in the socket while installing the CPU? And, unluckily, you damaged a pin that corresponds to the DIMM slots? Worth checking anyway.

 

[jaimison]

...Out of curiosity, when your beep codes suggest a memory error, and Corsairs memory was 0/1.... why did you replace the PSU?
If you wanted to troubleshoot, I would've picked up a kit of memory that appears on Gigabyte's QVL for the motherboard..... Not saying you need to switch out the memory, but when Corsair ruled one kit defective and a motherboard that has been tested/verified (supposedly), the natural place to look would be the memory....

Unless you can verify the board does not work with X nor Y memory, it's going to be tough to plead your case with Gigabyte.



Another thought though...... Gigabyte clearly only had the board to test. They installed their own CPU..... Perhaps you've bent a pin in the socket while installing the CPU? And, unluckily, you damaged a pin that corresponds to the DIMM slots? Worth checking anyway.

Sorry I wasn't as thorough in detailing my troubleshooting process.

Originally, before sending both components to their respective manufacturer for the RMA testing, I had:
-Paperclip tested the PSU: No Change
-Switched RAM to different slots: No Change
-Tried 2 sticks (the kit is 4): No Change
-Tried 1 stick: No Change
-Tried different memory (as you suggested): No Change
-Removed CMOS battery: No Change
-Checked the socket and CPU contacts/"pins": ... looks ok*
-Tried to run memtest on the RAM on a friend's z390 which would not post and granted the RMA# from Corsair for the RAM

Trying different RAM with no change is what caused my suspicion of the MOBO along with the problem RAM. I only bought another PSU after the RMA returns just to be thorough, seeings how I'm new to this and the paper clip test doesn't exactly "feel" thorough.

I hadn't ruled out the CPU, but those I've reached out to told me that that shouldn't cause zero activity on the MOBO on PSU plug-in/power-up, so I pushed that down the line in troubleshooting. I haven't inspected the CPU again since before the initial troubleshooting pre-RMA. *I honestly don't know what subtle damage would look like short of what web searches show me and it looked fine to me. Maybe I should upload a picture of it when I get home tonight just to get a trained eye?

You're insight is much appreciated. I emailed Gigabyte this morning before posting on here and they suggest now that I install the bare minimum components outside the case and work from there to eliminate every peripheral. I won't be able to attempt that until maybe tomorrow night.

I'll keep you updated.

 

[Barty1884]

A defective CPU would almost certainly result in absolutely nothing happening on the MB after providing power. Depends on the scope of damage though, as typically CPUs are pretty robust, and the likelihood of one being damaged is pretty slim (yet not impossible).
The socket and a bent pin would be much, much more common - but if you've visually inspected, bent (or worse, snapped!) pins are fairly obvious.

Yes, definitely stand with a "breadboard" of the system. CPU + heatsink, 1x DIMM and relevant PSU connectors (8pin EPX, 24pin ATX) and nothing else - see if you get any progress at that point.


EDIT @jaimison ..... You do have a CPU cooler installed, right?

 

[jaimison]

EDIT @jaimison ..... You do have a CPU cooler installed, right?

I do. I have an AIO cooler from DeepCool

 

[jaimison]

We are up and running! I started with just the MOBO, 1 Stick, CPU w/ cooler and the newly bought PSU with it's stock cables. Changed back to the old PSU and it worked. Turns out the CPU power cable I got from CableMod was the culprit.

I ran some programs to max the load and then let it idle overnight (about 6 hours) and went to sleep as I had been up waaay to long. All I need to do now is go into BIOS and double check the AIO pump header settings. When I say back down at my PC to turn it off before leaving for work, the temp shot up to 90C as it had in the past when I first put it together. BIOS was the solution in that instance.

Thanks for the help!