Graphic Cards AMD Radeon HD 6990 Warranty Voided If OC BIOS 2 Mode is Activated

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Hades.

Galvanizer
Source: AMD Radeon HD 6990 Warranty Voided If OC BIOS 2 Mode is Activated - Softpedia

AMDs' Radeon HD 6990, the Antilles dual-GPU and “world's fastest†graphics card, has just been revealed, and it seems that a couple of problems related to it have already emerged, possibly threatening future sales of this card.

So, according to a report by Kitguru, it would seem that the AMD product warranty will not cover any overclocking attempts whatsoever, even when done via the company's own software or the Dual-BIOS function.

In other words, this move will more ore less render the BIOS 2 mode useless, especially for those users who're really keen on not voiding their card's warranty.

Of course, there's still no word on the warranty provided by AMD partners, but given the fact that the GPU manufacturer has adopted this policy, it's quite likely that they'll follow it.

While AMD's not officially commented anything on the reasons behind their decision, there might actually be several reasons why they've decided to void warranty for the OC mode, mostly related to the fact that, when in BIOS 2 mode, the card's TDP records a very serious bump up, one that might actually not be supported by most PSUs out there, as well as the fact that, while the Dual Vapor Chamber cooling system will work quite well in normal mode, long-term overclocking might affect it in a seriously adverse manner.

However, we really hope that AMDs issues an official response as to why they've decided to leave the OC mode out of the warranty, because, otherwise, quite a lot of potential Radeon HD 6990 buyers (most of which can be easily included in the “enthusiast†and “power-user†categories) will certainly be disappointed and perhaps decide to postpone their possible purchase (or who knows, perhaps cancel it altogether).

After all, paying 700 US dollars (or 600 or so Euro) for a card that's only “half†covered by the warranty is not exactly a pleasant thing, is it now?
 
It is obvious that damage won't be covered if done by overcloking. i don't think flipping the switch would make the card useless as the Dual BIOS switch is a part of product specification. :)
 
How will they be able to till the switch was flipped. Will some change happen to the BIOS(s) ; a flag or something..?
 
^^ The retail cards are supposed to have a seal over the switch. you have to tamper with the seal in order to flip the switch. If the seal is tampered, you loose warranty regardless of whether you flipped the switch or not.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
^^ The cards are supposed to have a seal over the switch. you have to tamper with the seal in order to flip the switch. If the seal is tampered, you loose warranty regardless of whether you flipped the switch or not.
Oh okay. Never knew it would be integral. Thanks..!

:)
 
Why bother giving that switch in the first place if its supposed to void your warrant? LOL!

On a serious note, but question mark over its potential now. I hope the tuned cards from MSI etc. will provide full warranty (they obviously carry better cooling).
 
^^ Why shouldn't they, overclocking traditionally voids warranty, but they don't completely lock down overclocking in the stock cards now do they? They still let you overclock the card after suitably warning you. There are also always a bunch of people who would go to even more extremes like meddling with the voltages, volt modding etc to get more performance. With 6990 series overclocking is not just a matter of cooling the card properly, as you are also going dangerously above the PCIe spec power limits. While they are giving the facility to unlock the card to an overclocked mode with the flip of a switch, they don't necessarily need to support it with warranty. Its for people who know what they are dealing with and are ready to take the risk. Just imagine the case where they supported it with warranty and people powering these cards with crappy power supplies and blowing up their PC's and suing AMD. I think not giving warranty would be a sensible move. No one should be unlocking these cards in a half assed manner. They should be aware what is involved and voiding warranty is a good way to ensure that.
 
Wow that is weird, so its basically flip the switch and bye bye 700$ thats quite ridiculous, methinks this card is going to die a lot so AMD are warning ppl before hand.
 
I think the card would be fine as long as you are using it at the default settings. Its the overclocked setting and the higher power requirements that would pose a serious threat.
 
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