Refurbished video cards?
marionet
Registered Users Posts: 382 Major grins
A computer repairman told me that even Apple's replacement video cards are 90% refurbished cards. Does anyone know if this is true or/and can suggest a computer-centric website where I can post the question?
My machine went weird so I took it in to the shop. They said it was the video card and would put in a new one for about $250. Figuring it would save a little bit of hassle, I agreed. It took a week, which was a bigger hassle than if I'd gotten one and put it in myself. The replacement started going bad after 3 days so I took it back in; this time it took 2 weeks. Seemed pretty strange that it'd start to go after only three days, so I asked if the card were a refurb- the guy said he had no idea but that 9 out of 10 cards even from apple were refurbs.
Another guy there said that when video cards go bad, it's usually a blown capacitor but with mine, RAM had gone bad.
My machine went weird so I took it in to the shop. They said it was the video card and would put in a new one for about $250. Figuring it would save a little bit of hassle, I agreed. It took a week, which was a bigger hassle than if I'd gotten one and put it in myself. The replacement started going bad after 3 days so I took it back in; this time it took 2 weeks. Seemed pretty strange that it'd start to go after only three days, so I asked if the card were a refurb- the guy said he had no idea but that 9 out of 10 cards even from apple were refurbs.
Another guy there said that when video cards go bad, it's usually a blown capacitor but with mine, RAM had gone bad.
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For 'official' replacement cards, I'd believe him since Apple is not gonna just toss out cards if they can fix them and make more profit off of that.
Plus, 1-2 weeks for something that literally takes 5 minutes to change from start to finish doesn't seem too proficient (unless he had to order a card) If I had my own repair shop and a 5 minute $250 job came by it'd be one of the first things done. That little Apple logo lets you charge like royalty!
And, yep, the guy said he got this one because Apple's was about $600. They didn't have them on site so they ordered it and are apparently kind of at the mercy of the seller ,shipping-wise, who, he said, makes these cards for Apple. So, he made this decision to get this card without telling me what my options would be. If I had known that what they were planning to order was probably refurbished and would take a week to install, I would've ordered and installed one myself.
In my awareness, "used" and "refurbished" are clearly noted for electronics; "reconditioned" is clear in mechanical things. I don't know much about computers but if a video card can fail from a blown capacitor and also from dysfunctional video RAM, then there's a potential for failure from other problems. Apparently age and use create stresses leading to failure (not surprising!) but I definitely feel I should have been informed of my options and I definitely feel it's sort of funky drawers that computer parts are sold without noting their condition.
I felt a little uneasy about this shop after the first week, when I got the machine back the first time, so I asked the guy who brought it out (I'm pretty sure he was the owner) about his bona-fides, and he pretty much blew me away with his presentation of experience and knowledge. He's in business and wants to make money. My sense of the shop now is that they're basically honest and abide by the prevailing ethics of the computer repair trade.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that the prevailing ethics of the (entire) computer repair trade suck. Somehow, I can't even come close to believing that I should not have been told that the replacement was probably a refurb and that delivery times were so extended.
2. Something, such as a film or story, that is clearly imitative of or based on something else.
3. A theft.
4. An act of exploitation.
5. See: Apple
Apple[ap-uhl]: The name which is put in front of the same cheap hardware as any other machine in order to validate an overcharge to the unbeknownst
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nvidia-Geforce-7300GT-7300-GT-PCIe-256MB-DVI-VGA-HDTV-Video-Card-7300GT-256MD3-/250951190750#vi-content
And, with that card, you could get 32GB of RAM while you're at it and still come under $250. Or some new backup HDDs. Or a cheap IPS monitor. Or whatever. If I worked in a computer repair shop simply upgrading and replacing parts I could make a ridiculous amount of profit... hmm I wonder... lol