My Thermaltake RMA Experience

[Sphere]

As some of you may know, I've had a*buzzing* issue with my Toughpower 750, contacted T.T. about getting a replacement with no problems.

Psu just arrived, and I must say I'm pretty pissed off to say the least. I open the box to find the first thing that jumps out at me is the sleeving from one of the cables is tore away from the heatshrink......I dunno if there is more or not, haven't taken the rubberband off the bunch.

Onto the unit itself, scratched in a few differen't spots and looks worn. The SATA connectors are worn to the point of them being gray and scratched up. The label on the side that say's * Thermaltake ToughPower 750 is peeling off from both sides top and bottom, looks nice and dilapitated.

I have never had an experience where I've had an item from RMA that was not in great shape, this is the first time. I payed over $170.00 for this unit, and it starts buzzing to beat hell and I get this one in return......you've got to be shitting me. I feel I should be getting a psu that's in excellent condition, not one that shows wear and tear.(mine was purchased 9/18/06) and in pristine condition.

If you guys/girls feel that I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, by all means let me know your opinion, but to me......this is unacceptable...and I do plan to raise holy hell to TT about this.

I'll have grab my camera and get some pics posted of mine and the one they sent to replace it.

Sphere

[davidhammock200]

Please post pics & we will get TT Rep to try to explain this mess! :rant: :rant:

[GalvanizedYankee]

Damn! Yes, please post pics, Plus email pics to Tt Tech.
PM me for his name. His location: City of Industry, CA.

[Sphere]

Here's the pics

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshko73/album?.dir=/d525re2&.src=ph

IMG 21 is a bit blurry, but you can get the picture, this is the SATA connectors that you can see are clearly gray/discolored from wear....

IMG 24&25 you can see the *silver* those are the scratches...they're deep enough that if you run your fingernail over it, it'll *snag* in the indents.

The other two are pretty clear.

Opinions anyone?

Sphere

[GalvanizedYankee]

PM sent.
You need a camera with a macro setting :)

I think it's either an RMAed unit that tested OK or a reviewed unit that was sent back in that condition.
I can make out a few of the gouges and the sleeving pulled from the shrink but the others are too blurry.
If your cell offers free calling, ring him up at work and ask for him by name ;)
BE NICE! Someone else sent you that unit, not Tt Tech.
Thier phone number is listed at thier home page.

Hassles are such a PITA. Good luck Spere :cool:

[Sphere]

Thanks... Tt is the one who took care of getting me this RMA. I'll have a look on TT's site for their number.

I know, there are a few pics that are kinda blurry close up, was so pissed when I opened the box, it was the first camera saw.

Either way, it shows a psu that probably shouldn't have been sent out to a customer as a replacement.

I'll give them the opportunity to make this right, out of being fair.

Sphere

[madmat]

just to straighten the label thing out, that's a protective sticker over the label peeling off, not the label itself. I peeled that thing off mine the day I unpacked it.

[Sphere]

Regardless, it damn sure shouldn't be peeling and doesn't discount the other issues.

My psu is just over 5 weeks old and is in the immaculate shape, the same way it came out of the box, not a blemish on it, unlike the one I received.

I didn't pay decent $ to have a beat up housing, hell....... aesthetics does matter to me and I'm sure part of the price was for that nice glossy finish.

Sphere

[davidhammock200]

Looks like it was rolled down a flight of concrete stairs while being reviewed by a group of apes! :(

No excuse for sending this to a customer. :crazy: :rant:

[madmat]

To be honest you should use this as an object lesson. Most MFG's will send out refurbed/recertified units as an RMA replacement. I know ASUS does, ABIT does and Chaintech does just out of personal dealings with them. When you send a used piece of equipment in to be replaced you get a used one back whereas a store gets new stock in return or credit.

My point here is that if it hurts your feelings so much to play the game the way that the MFG's play it then I'd suggest that you RMA to the retailer that you bought it from in the future.

[jonnyGURU]

Uggh! That's not cool. :(

It does look like they sent you a refurb, though. Which I'm afraid is fairly typical.

If you don't get this resolved with Tt, drop me a PM and I'll switch my review unit with yours. Mine's only going to end up as a giveaway page anyways, so it makes little difference to me.

[kimandsally]

I'm surprised they do that it's not good for returning customers, I know for sure I wouldn't buy a Thermaltake just because of whats happened here I think it's disgracefull, they have sold him a brand new faulty component so he posts it back which costs him money and he has no power supply whilst waiting for it to return then he cops for a second hand one.
If Thermaltake looked at it from his side I'm sure he wouldn't have been sent it. In effect his replacement second hand unit has cost him more than a perfect brand new one because of time and postage, I would return it claim a refund and then buy from a manufacturer who cares about it's customers like OCZ or PCP&C.
I feel for you mate and hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction.

[Sphere]

Thanks for the opinions everyone.

Jonny: I really appreciate your offer and will take you up on it if Tt can not rectify the issue.

Madmat:Over the years I've had every part of a computer RMA'd at one time or another, and never have I once had an item come back to me in the condition that psu is, hence the reason for my irritation.

I'll continue to keep this thread updated as to the status, as well as to keep potential consumers aware of how Thermaltake handles RMA's...be the outcome good or bad.

Direct email sent to Ian on 10/31/06 8:52pm
Voicemail left @ 4pm 11/1/06

Sphere

[Sphere]

Okay folks, just finished up a conversation with tech support from T.T.

I'll be shipped another psu that is in the same condition as the one that's *buzzing* if the condition is undesireable, then he said to call back so we can work something out.

A return shipping tag will also be sent with this other psu so I don't have to pay shipping....stay tuned I will keep you updated.

Sphere

[madmat]

I've had ASUS send me a board that had a dead bios chip in it, Chaintech also sent me a board with a bios chip that kept resetting the voltages to default. On the other hand I had newegg screw me out of about $200 on an RMA for an ASUS card that went south on me.

You places your bets, you spins the wheel and you takes your chances. Sadly nothing is foolproof.

[davidhammock200]

Okay folks, just finished up a conversation with tech support from T.T.

I'll be shipped another psu that is in the same condition as the one that's *buzzing* if the condition is undesireable, then he said to call back so we can work something out.

A return shipping tag will also be sent with this other psu so I don't have to pay shipping....stay tuned I will keep you updated.

SphereThat sound better.

[Sphere]

Agreed, I'll be posting more pics when this unit arrives for comparison.

Sphere

[Sphere]

Today my replacement for my replacement arrived. I must say that I am pleased with the outcome. I don't see any blemishes on the unit at all, and I'm good to go. Will be hooking it up tomorrow...update then.

[jonnyGURU]

I GOT POOP IN A BAG!!!!!

Oh wait... different RMA...

Glad to hear it worked out for you! :D

[madmat]

You got a bag? You are teh suck!

[jonnyGURU]

POOP: People Order Our Power-supplies.

(Spongebob fans will understand.)

[Oklahoma Wolf]

What are they putting into the air in Florida, and where can I get some? :p

[CAD4466HK]

What are they putting into the air in Florida, and where can I get some? :p

Use to be able to find it on any corner, now thanks to Jeb Bush, It's not so easy anymore;)

[Sphere]

Replacement Toughpower installed.....under a load, it's the same buzzing that the initial psu had :wall:

[JEDIYoda]

To be honest you should use this as an object lesson. Most MFG's will send out refurbed/recertified units as an RMA replacement. I know ASUS does, ABIT does and Chaintech does just out of personal dealings with them. When you send a used piece of equipment in to be replaced you get a used one back whereas a store gets new stock in return or credit.

My point here is that if it hurts your feelings so much to play the game the way that the MFG's play it then I'd suggest that you RMA to the retailer that you bought it from in the future.

I have always had real good luck with ASUS!!
I had to RMA a mobo and they actually sent me the deluxe version of what i was using!!

I had to RMA a video card and again because they didn`t have my card in stock they sent me the next card up from what I had!!

[madmat]

You're lucky. I bought an A7V333 based on the box saying it would support the new Barton cores coming out at that time and it wouldn't then the bios died so I sent it in and the RMA tech told me they'd send back a board that would indeed support the Barton core, I got another board exactly the same as my old one and it's bios died.

I RMA'd it and got another board even older than the first (lower rev.) and it had a dead bios. ASUS has not impressed me at all.

[jonnyGURU]

Ok...

The 1st one buzzed.

The old one, when put back into the build, did not buzz.

The newest one (third one) buzzes.

Did the second one (with the half peeled label) buzz too?

[Sphere]

I installed the one with the peeling label, and it too will buzz, albeit a little quieter than the rest. It takes about 5 minutes into gaming before it starts *buzzing* up.

It's been mentioned that it won't adversely affect the psu, just my sanity, so if that's the case, I'll take my chances.

[BryaN.sG]

Hi all, I just purchased a Thermaltake 750W today. And i too am experiencing a buzzing noise from the PSU. It seems more pronounced whenever i scroll in windows. It was driving me crazy. Gone back to my trusty old Seasonic S12 for the time being. Waiting for the local distro(SG) to reply. :(

[JEDIYoda]

well just think how loud the TT 750 would be without the 120 mm fan....
almost as loud as one of my PC Power & Cooling 510`s....or the 1k.....lol

[jonnyGURU]

I'm curious if there's some sort of compatibility issue here.

Too low of a +5VSB load, or too high. Something of the sort.

Sphere, you're using an Abit KN8. What are you using Bryan?

[Sphere]

Yup, KN8, and also on the MSI K8N Neo 4...the only similiarities are the chipset....NF4. 3 psu's and 3 differen't decibles of buzzing.

The issue BryaN.sG is having, is just like the first 2 I have...they would buzz louder when scrolling on a menu...for me, it was anytime the BF menu would be pulling up servers..it would sync with the new servers as they came onto the screen.

[BryaN.sG]

Updated my sig with rig specs.
My buzz starts off periodic, sounding a little like crickets from a distance.
It changes from a short buzz every second to a constant buzz whenever i scroll with my mouse wheel or keyboard.

[Sphere]

It changes from a short buzz every second to a constant buzz whenever i scroll with my mouse wheel or keyboard.

Same issue when scrolling with my first 2, the 3rd just buzzes when under a load.

[chubbyfatazn]

POOP: People Order Our Power-supplies.

(Spongebob fans will understand.)

lmao people order our patties

i love spongebob...

[Sphere]

I think it's time that I quit pissing around and see what kind of reception I get when requesting a refund.

My thought was that I could*tolerate* the buzzing, but, I don't believe it's going to go away on it's own, and I don't remember reading anywhere that this was a feature with this psu.....as you can tell this is starting to get under my skin a bit.....I knew I should have taken the Corsair.

[JEDIYoda]

There could be some sort of a burn in period......before it becomes silent....

[chubbyfatazn]

I would highly doubt that there's a "burn in period" for a PSU.

PSUs don't "burn in." Just plug'em in and go.

Sounds like Thermaltake is still on the list of crappy PSUs. Two times in a row for Sphere... sounds like TT's got some QC issues.

Sorry to hear about your issues. Nice 8800GTX :p

[jonnyGURU]

Hmm... In the past, any kind of buzzing I've heard that corrsponded with a mouse scroll, etc. was usually a motherboard issue.

Sometimes I would find a toroidal coil back in the neighborhood of the I/O, behind the CPU, touching up against something else.

It may sound like a pain in the butt. Butt have either of you guys bench run the PC to see if the buzzing goes away?

In other words, PSU on table, motherboard on something non-conductive like the mobo box? I'd really be interested to see if the buzz was coming from the PSU itself or near the PSU.

[BryaN.sG]

I've tried running the same system using a Seasonic S12-600. No buzz.
And i just recieved a replacement for the Toughpower 750W. The new one has an almost non existant buzz, until i start scrolling in windows again.
The high pitch drives me nuts.

[Sphere]

The high pitch drives me nuts.

Agreed.

JEDIYoda-it's fine until I get off the desktop.

chubbyfatazn-This is #3 for me and #2 for the other fella.

Jonny I'm glad you brought up that point

My old case was a Chieftech Dragon (full tower, psu mounted on the top inside)......my current case, the psu is on the bottom and no matter where the psu was, that's where the sound comes from.

I had my fiancee do the ear check as well for all 3 psu's, just to make sure it was indeed coming from said *irritator* without telling her where It was coming from. She traced it to the psu everytime.

[GalvanizedYankee]

From my study over at badcaps: It could be a loosely wound coil or a improperly speced capacitor that servers the coil.
On mainboards, some folks bond noisey coils to the board with hot glue.

I find it odd that it happens when scrolling in Windows. *confused*

[Sphere]

Just did a little experiment:

I took all 3 psu (I hate unplugging and pluggin the plugs back in by the way!) Now that the psu's are not in the case......nothing has changed sound wise, still the same.

Sphere

[BryaN.sG]

Its really quite amazing that the TT#2 makes a synchronised buzz with my scroll wheel. It sounds fine idle, but when i run stuff/just scroll in windows, it sounds like there are mini-crickets in the PSU.

[madmat]

I'd send you mine but my roomate is using it in his PC. It was quiet as hell. Sucks that you're having troubles though.

[Sphere]

Thanks Mat...

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'll be more than happy to hear them out....I'd like to get this sorted, but after 3 units, I'm having a real hard time believing that #4 will be the answer.

I'm also pretty sure this will probably wind up being settled by the BBB if TT is unwilling to give a refund.......

[madmat]

Tt won't give you a refund, Tt did not sell it to you. They're a MFG and if you read their warranty you'll find that they're exempt from anything but a replacement of a faulty unit. They're not even culpable if it kills everything you own.

If you want a refund then take it up with your retailer/e-tailer as they're the ones that that you can point to and say "That beyotch has my money!" followed by the whole pimp scene that goes with that.

The BBB won't do shit for you. Been there, done that, rode the ride, bought the t-shirt. I hate to be so negative but I'm just trying to save you some hassle.

[Sphere]

Mat..

I understand what your saying, but at the same time, lets look at what you have with automobiles...it's called the Lemon Law...if you have issues with a brand new vehicle within a specific amount of time, you get a new vehicle.....I know, this happend with my dad 2 years ago on his 04 Tacoma.

So,even though the situation is somewhat differen't, it still does not change the fact that I have 3 psu's sitting here that all make noises they are not supposed to, now your going to tell me there is nothing I can do to get my $ back, that this is a situation I have to live with.......I *think* that you may be wrong, but I will be finding out since their work week is just around the corner.

Also, I can't send it back to the etailer, it specifically states after 30 days it goes to the mfgr.

EDIT: If I can't make any headway then I will contact the BBB, and will be more than happy to post what rights us *consumers* have.

Sphere

[madmat]

Yes and you get that car from the dealer not directly from the automaker. You're confusing things here, the seller is ultimately responsible for any refunds as they took your money not the maker. Period.

Let me explain this in a way you can grasp better. I sell a PSU to Jonny, Jonny sells it to Spectre and Spectre sells it to you. It dies and since I'm a stand up guy I give you a replacement because it was my PSU, that's about all I can do. You decide you want your money back and come to me for it I'll tell you to get lost, I didn't sell you shit and I don't have your money. It's the truth, Spectre has it and as such Spectre is responsible for a refund. Ask the BBB, the one you bought it from is the one you have a legitimite beef with, Tt has bent over backwards sending you 2 more PSU's (Without charging you apparently) so you have 3 PSU's and you paid for one.

[Sphere]

I see what your saying. As for having 3 psu's....there is a hold on my cc for two of them ;)

Bend over backwards, I sure shit don't think so, they sent me 3 defective psu's, and by the looks of things, BryaN.sG can vouch for their *quality* builds as well since he's going on number 3 himself.

What I'm not understanding, and the $1000000 question being........me as a consumer, getting 3 defective units means that I have to keep taking them until one works properly? I've always thought that consumers were protected.

I also have no faith or confidence that TT can deliver another psu that will not exibit the same problems the first 3 had.....TT had 3 chances...........for the love of god, how many chances must they get?.....(no CAD, I don't believe I'll be giving them 4 :D )

Sphere

[madmat]

I'm not so sure that there's really anything wrong with your PSU's nor BryaN's either. Seeing as all three of yours and both of his exhibited the same issues I'm thinking that there's something between the mobos and the PSU's that isn't agreeing. Kind of like the Antec NEO HE and ASUS A8N series issues only not nearly as bad. Jonny and I have both had that PSU and Jonny loaded his to the point of OCP kicking in and had nothing like what you're experiencing. I crossloaded mine with a system that wasn't touching 2 of the 4 rails and I had no issues either. There's more going on IMHO. It'd be nice if Tt could replicate your build and BryaN's and see what results they get.

[Sphere]

I agree, I'd like to know too. 2 differen't cases, 2 differen't mobo's. The Antec TP 550 I have and replaced for the TT doesn't buzz, tried it earlier.

[JEDIYoda]

I see what your saying. As for having 3 psu's....there is a hold on my cc for two of them ;)

Bend over backwards, I sure shit don't think so, they sent me 3 defective psu's, and by the looks of things, BryaN.sG can vouch for their *quality* builds as well since he's going on number 3 himself.

What I'm not understanding, and the $1000000 question being........me as a consumer, getting 3 defective units means that I have to keep taking them until one works properly? I've always thought that consumers were protected.

I also have no faith or confidence that TT can deliver another psu that will not exibit the same problems the first 3 had.....TT had 3 chances...........for the love of god, how many chances must they get?.....(no CAD, I don't believe I'll be giving them 4 :D )

Sphere

where Tt tech???

[BryaN.sG]

Bend over backwards, I sure shit don't think so, they sent me 3 defective psu's, and by the looks of things, BryaN.sG can vouch for their *quality* builds as well since he's going on number 3 himself.

Sphere

Well I'm going down to the local distro(here in sunny Singapore) later to have them check out the PSU. The buzz on #2 isn't as bad as #1, but there shouldn't even be this issue to start with. I'm gonna have the distro test and get me one that doesn't buzz. Hopefully I won't have to go through #4,5,6,7,...

After all, thermaltake did include note claiming silent operation in the package. Unless there's a note somewhere on the packaging that states that the PSU hisses during operation, I think me and Sphere both have a claim here.

Tt tech, I hope you're looking into this.

[BryaN.sG]

I just got back from the local distro for Tt. They tested my PSU on an MSI 975X Plat Powerup ed. and it didn't make any hissing noise.

The load on their system was some what similar. E6300, 1stick of DDR2 Corsair Valeram, 1 SATA2 HDD, 1 IDE HDD, 1 IDE DVDROM, a 7900GT from MSI. There wasn't any hissing observed.

I tried the same PSU on an E6300/DS3 system and.. no buzz/hiss.

Could this be some compatibilty issue? I should be recieving an EVGA 680i this weekend, will try the PSU on that. For the time being, I've moved the casing away from my table so the buzz isn't so obvious.

[madmat]

As I've been saying all along (as has Jonny) it's not a sure sign that the PSU is bad when this happens. Electronics are funny things man, they'll vex the hell out of you for no apparent reason. I'd say that the chances are good the new mobo will fix your issues BryaN.

[BryaN.sG]

As I've been saying all along (as has Jonny) it's not a sure sign that the PSU is bad when this happens. Electronics are funny things man, they'll vex the hell out of you for no apparent reason. I'd say that the chances are good the new mobo will fix your issues BryaN.


Thanks mat, I'll see if the problem still persists when my 680i comes.

Do you think its advisable to topup and upgrade to a Tt Toughpower 850W (top USD ~40) / Silverstone Strider/Zeus 750 (top USD ~60)?

Thanks.

[Tt Tech]

Looks like it's beyond my control here...

Let me escalate this to our HQ asap.

Sphere, I got your email, but I don't know how to respond to it as of yet.

From the comments from Bryan, so far it sounds like a bizzare compatibility issue of some kind....

[madmat]

Thanks mat, I'll see if the problem still persists when my 680i comes.

Do you think its advisable to topup and upgrade to a Tt Toughpower 850W (top USD ~40) / Silverstone Strider/Zeus 750 (top USD ~60)?

Thanks.

Will you need it? I personally like the Tt better than the strider due to the Strider's size and the Zeus isn't modular. I'm just fussy though ;)

[JEDIYoda]

Tt won't give you a refund, Tt did not sell it to you. They're a MFG and if you read their warranty you'll find that they're exempt from anything but a replacement of a faulty unit. They're not even culpable if it kills everything you own.

If you want a refund then take it up with your retailer/e-tailer as they're the ones that that you can point to and say "That beyotch has my money!" followed by the whole pimp scene that goes with that.

The BBB won't do shit for you. Been there, done that, rode the ride, bought the t-shirt. I hate to be so negative but I'm just trying to save you some hassle.

Yes there warranty is quite explicit but....I have known people who have had TT PSU`s do damage who sent the damaged items with the PSU to TT and TT has replaced those damamaged items!!

Usually stuff like that is on an individual case by case basis!!

Good Luck!!

[GalvanizedYankee]

Yes there warranty is quite explicit but....I have known peoplewho have had TT PSU`s do damage who sent the damaged items with the PSU to TT and TT has replaced those damamaged items!!

Usually stuff like that is on an individual case by case basis!!

Good Luck!!

Links please or paste the emails of the ppl that have recieved this service from Tt.
Only once at Anand's has it been posted that Seasonic replaced damaged hardware :p

[jonnyGURU]

It really does happen. Usually depends on how loud the person bitches, but usually it's not a huge deal if the customer can provide the "damamaged" (to quote JEDI) hardware.

I've been in situations where the customer says, "your PSU damaged my motherboard, CPU, RAM....." but when the customer is asked to provide the motherboard, CPU and RAM for inspection, the story goes, "I sent the motherboard back to Asus, I threw the CPU in the garbage and I sold the RAM to a friend so he could make a necklace, so I expect you guys to just pay me $500 cash for what the parts are worth."

I kid you not. Remember... Almost 10 years of RMA/RTV over here. ;)

[Tt Tech]

It happens.
Happens at Antec, happens at Enermax. happens at Cooler Master, happens everywhere.

Trust me, Tt's post-sales service is far better than the majority of the companies out there.

[BryaN.sG]

Do you think its advisable to topup and upgrade to a Tt Toughpower 850W (top USD ~40) / Silverstone Strider/Zeus 750 (top USD ~60)?

Thanks.

Any help on this?

[jonnyGURU]

Any help on this?

Sorry about that....

I certainly don't see how getting "more power" is going to help you. The buzzing isn't occuring due to an overload or crossload condition. And since the 850W is also built by CWT, if you have some sort of weird compatibility issue, I don't see why it wouldn't buzz too.

The Strider is a good PSU too.

[BryaN.sG]

Thanks Jonny, I was just looking at alternatives in case the PSU still gives me problems with a new motherboard.