Matrix 980ti RMA experience. It never ends...

[Sol_Vector]

So after having to wait two weeks for the card to ship out, it finally arrived and obliterated anything I threw at it. This lasted about three weeks, and then I started having artifacts (white horizontal lines) even in bios. After a week of dealing with support they determine that it is indeed having an issue and needs to be RMA-ed.
So I ship it out and they receive/accept it the next day. It gets marked into "Repair" status an sits there for two week at which point I contact support for an update. They have no update to give me, so I wait another week of no update and get an email stating I will be receiving a replacement. Upon contacting support, as suggested by the email, they tell me I am supposed to reply to the automated email that explicitly states DO NOT REPLY... So today I receive an email stating that they're unable to give me a replacement, but I can have a Strix card instead! Accepting this would basically mean I paid $180 (including the extra tax and RMA shipping) extra for a Strix with the added benefit of having no graphics card for over a month.

The whole reason I bought the Matrix was to go in tandem with my Rampage IV Black, to take advantage of the VGA hotwire and possibly LN2 down the road if I decide not to resell this build, so the Strix doesn't even meet the basic requirements in place when I bought the card. Is this really the norm from ASUS nowadays?

EDIT: Before anyone can say I broke it with the VGA Hotwire/OC/LN2 etc... I was far to busy prepping for and running an event for Intel LANFest durring this time to do anything besides preset "Gaming Mode" within GPUTweak before the problems arose.

[Nate152]

Hi Sol_Vector

I'm not sure if you got the matrix platinum 980 Ti but if you did and they don't have a replacement I would ask for a 20th anniversary gold 980 Ti.

[Sol_Vector]

Sorry, stupid me... Yes the 980ti Matrix Platinum. For some reason I forgot there's others. Somehow I doubt they'd give a 20th anniversary as a replacement, but I can always ask next time sunshine responds. I have to be in Indiana for another event, thankfully not working this one, to represent Gamers Outreach Foundation. I'd love to have a functioning system for it.

[Nate152]

Yeah the next time you talk to sunshine ask about a 20th anniversary gold edition 980 Ti.

[Sol_Vector]

Well, I got a response to my email rejecting the offer to replace the Matrix with a Strix today which apologised and said that they were unaware that the Strix was a cheaper card and would attempt to replace with the same or better. I also received another email stating that they will be expediting my replacement by offering a Strix, which arrived just after the first...

[atra_stella]

Sol_Vector wrote:
Well, I got a response to my email rejecting the offer to replace the Matrix with a Strix today which apologised and said that they were unaware that the Strix was a cheaper card and would attempt to replace with the same or better. I also received another email stating that they will be expediting my replacement by offering a Strix, which arrived just after the first...

the strix is cheaper and the 20th anniversary is more expensive. i would suggest ask them the 20th anniversary edition but do not mention price, based on my experience strix is ok if your into light OC, but in medium OC and heavy not gonna get any more juice in it, also if you go with strix, you will have the dreaded GPU sagging issue not unless you have a bracket or gpu supporter.

[Sol_Vector]

That's another valid point. A friend of mine has the Strix cooler, which is awesome but huge. The Matrix is actually smaller than my old GTX680 though, as I had the ASUS triple slot variant.

In all honesty, the Matrix was not only the ideal card for feature set, but aside from the copper front piece was the perfect fit for shape/color also, as everything in my case is black or silver. I obviously couldn't really complain about an "upgrade" but I'd really just like what I paid for, and for it to last more than a few weeks... Amazon, Newegg, NCIX and a few others all have Matrix 980ti cards in stock, so it isn't like they've vanished off the face of the earth or anything. I was contemplating the PG348Q, but with all the stories I've seen of issues I'm afraid I'd have to start this over again.

[Nate152]

Yeah the 20th anniversary gold is the only better gpu, I wouldn't take anything less than a matrix platinum 980 Ti.

[Sol_Vector]

Update: Over 40 Days in now, and once again no response for a week...

Initial issue was the same as Eikonic's recent post, white artifacts in bios/limited resolution, and he had a new card seven days later. Meanwhile they already had my card 6 days before he even contacted them, and I still have have a nonfunctional system. RMA# USPC640826 if anyone would like to see the status for reference.

[Nate152]

Thank you

Since this seems to be dragging a bit I will suggest you send Bahz a PM and explain the situation, he may be able to help speed things along.