MSI RMA - What a load of bull!

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jb0nez

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May 31, 2012
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I bought an MSI z77a-g45 1.5 years ago for use with an intel i5-3570k. Recently started rebooting itself over and over, then went to not POSTing from there, with just one CPU Phase LED on.

After hours of component testing, narrowed it down to the motherboard (the one with "Military class" components and a "3 year warranty")

So I filed an RMA and shipped it off ($17 UPS ground, I live in the tropics).

A week later, they respond -- offering me $53 for it!!!

Man, I am FURIOUS. I responded NO, I won't take $53, if you don't have z77a-g45 available then give me a comparable replacement.

Do they really not have any Z77 chipset motherboards available in the RMA department?? That's a fraction of what I paid NEW for this motherboard! Gimme a break... :fou: ... Subtract the cost of shipping and I have $36 for a new motherboard. And I'm NOT in the market for a new mobo/CPU esp with the next generation around the corner.

Only ones I can find new now is a $144 AsRock. I'm never buying another MSI product again if they don't make right by their warranty. And I will raise a stink on every forum I'm on!
 


Better yet POST this on MSI own forums. so that the issue can be solved. (or resolve)
 
I need an LGA 1155, so Z87 and Z97 won't work. I'm not in the market for a CPU upgrade right now: I have a perfectly good i5-3570k gathering dust, Haswell would be a moderate but expensive upgrade, and we have Broadwell/Skylake coming soon.

That AsRock you linked is indeed the cheapest replacement I could find. Fortunately it's not an MSI, though I don't know anything about AsRock quality. Frustrating though to be buying a new motherboard to replace a 1.5 year old mobo; would rather just buy newer generation if I'm going motherboard shopping. But I don't have the money for a cpu, and the performance difference doesn't justify it with the Haswell vs. Ivy Bridge difference (for me). If Skylake/Broadwell were available, I'd just by a Z97.
 
Actually I just called MSI. Got a live person on the phone quickly and they were very nice. They then offered me a z77ma-g45. I'm not sure what the difference is between the z77a and z77ma. They appear identical. Which would be fine! But before I jump on it need to determine what the difference is.
 
Thank you! I guess I'll get it, I only have a single r9 280x and no plans to crossfire (I'll just get a Fury X or the like when upgrade time comes). Side question in case anyone knows - can I use either of the pcie 3.0 slots for my gfx card or do I have to use the top one (airflow issues in my case)
 
Make sure your case is set to handle a micro ATX mobo, would be interesting to know why, on a mobo that was released 3 years ago, and has a 3 year warranty, they have no replacement mobos. Or if they have say a MSI z77a-gd65 full ATX.
 


Oh thank you for that, I will check. It's a Rosewill Challenger-U3.

They mentioned that Z77 is old and not in life anymore - I pointed out that I can name off the top of my head at least 5 different MSI Z77 models, and you're telling me NONE of those are available?
They checked and said the z77ma was the only one, but they also said inventory is low, it should be restocked next week Monday or Tuesday. They couldn't tell me if any Z77's would be restocked, but I could wait until then and find out. Oh they did say they had a GD65 but it was being sent out for someone else. So it sounded like, after I called and expressed my concerns (politely), they are willing to be flexible. Getting a downgraded mobo is not ideal, and I miss my computer, but I think I'll hold out for next week now.

I already have heat issues in my system, the mATX form factor pushes everything closer together. I think
 
Yep, and from appearances that have stopped manufacturing them period, interesting that they 'offer' a three year warranty, yet have nothing available as the board was just released a couple months beyond 3 years ago - how can they expect to support or replace any of the boards sold in the last year or two when they go bad, from the sounds of it, by offering a bit of money far below the cost of the board - which leaves folks stuck with a CPU and needing a mobo. If not living up to the warranty - I'd push for a full refund, seems like they never planned to support them
 
Their response about the $53 is that's the fair market value of the mobo.

That defies logic. I get a mobo with a 3 year warranty of defects, meaning either comparable replacement, or refund of what I spent, at least that'd be the morally correct approach. Haven't read the fine print. They were VERY friendly on the phone, easy to get to, and I got to talk to the RMA person who was handling my mobo directly.
The problem I was having seems common to MSI mobos though....turns on for a few seconds then reboots.

If It weren't for the need to spread my vid card out due to heat/fan placement (and I've been though abiout 8 fans in all variety of push pull, my r9 280x just runs too damn hot, I can burn my finger touching the backside PCB.) Wish I knew about water cooling. But still, my Ivy Bridge OC'd to 4.5ghz is a beast, and I don't want to let it go with the new gens coming Real Soon.

Heck Maybe I just get the z77ma, throw my card in, and hope it holds up a few months so I can get Broadwell/Skylake, larger case (airflow), bigger PSU, and component out the system in sales (selling the whole system would be wrong as I have to run it case open with a floor flan blowing in to cool the card, not a cool trick to play on someone).
 
I agree, they wer selling these brand new over the last year, still with a 3 year warranty but basically appear to be saying, "Yes we and the retailers will take your $140 right now happily, and if any problems we'll offer you $50 back on it, no we won't replace it, won't fix it, but we enjoyed spending the extra you paid" - this is just one of the reasons I won't build on their mobos. they've had poor QC for years from cutting corners, and have been cutting corners on warranty work and warranty replacements for awhile also. Had one guy with a brand new 1150 mobo, died after about 2 months, they sent a refurnb replacement that was DOA, sent another refurb and it died like 6 weeks later.
 
Hopefully they get it sorted soon for you. In the future if you do plan to build a new system it might be worth looking into asus or gigabyte boards. They're usually not a whole lot more expensive (if any) and tend to be a bit better quality from what I've dealt with them. It's not uncommon sometimes for parts to be out of production, the gpu card I had that died there was no replacement for so I got an upgraded model. However it's a bit different with gpu's, a motherboard is limited by socket so an 'upgrade' does little good (aka z87/97 for z77).
 

_______________________

+1

One would think though since they have a rather full lineup of 1155 mobos and been selling them right up to a few months ago (with a 3 year warranty) that they should have a selection of good 1155 mobo available for warranty replacement. Where does this leave all the people that have purchased in the last year, year and a half, two years? They took MSI at it's word for a three year warranty and not only purchased their mobo, but a CPU to run in the socket, and now MSI is offering little to nothing on their board that went bad, and is under warranty. Apparently the same is happening with all the 1155 mobos that they have sold and profited from over the 2 + years
 
Thank you all for your input. I definitely won't ever buy MSI again. Yes it's bizarre that a motherboard that was still available new until recently would have a 3 year warranty that they can't support.

I just called MSI again, they don't know yet what inventory has come in. I was very polite but did inform that that if this is not handled appropriately, (as in providing me with a suitable replacement motherboard), I will most definitely be letting the Interwebz know about my fury.

I suppose I could instead ask that they replace with an X97 chipset or something and just eat the cost on a new cpu and sell my i5-3570k. Despite its age that CPU is a beast when OC'd and still has a lot of life left.
 
They said they'd call me back but didn't.
So I called and emailed. Got through to the RMA lady Grace after a few tries. At least with MSI it's very easy and quick to get a live person on the phone! That's a huge plus.

Anyway I was informed they got a large amount of inventory in, including z77a-g45s. One will be shipped by UPS ground later this week. (I live in hawaii so that's another week without a working computer). I asked if it would be new or refurb; she said almost definitely refurb. My warranty from my original mobo will carry on with this one. Here's to hoping the new one isn't DOA!
Just thought I should update this thread.
 
Glad to hear they are doing something, check it closely when you get it, have had people even video tape the opening of the package and box (glad they did 😉 ) to find bent pins in the CPU socket, without the video, be up the creek. As is, they called told about the bent pins, and the response was that those are checked thoroughly and if it has bent pins they did it
 


Wow, THANK YOU for this suggestion!!! I would have never thought of it. I will definitely video the unboxing and then do a closeup inspection of the board. Are bent pins visible to the naked eye or do you need a magnifying glass? Also would bent pins be visible on the video?
 
Opening the package also, most mobo boxes aren't sealed, and yes can zoom in on the socket 😉 I do this with all mobos, and seem to be a lot going out with bent pins in the socket and the E-tailers and manufacturers just seem to automatically deny a RMA and blame the buyer
 
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