DeepCool Dracula VGA Cooler: Buyer Beware! It's irreversible&#

[WookinPaNub]

UPDATE:

It took about 2 months, but DeepCool (China, NOT USA) reviewed my issue and compensated me for the problem. While an inconvenience, It speaks well that the company was willing to stand behind their product and attempt to make things right.

/UPDATE:

 

 

And if the install does go south, don't expect any support or contact from DeepCool.

Recently I decided I wanted more cooling for my Radeon 7970. After looking at a number of options I decided on this German made cooler. Prior to buying I called tech support to ensure that it would work with my card. We discussed the GPU hole measurements and they indicated that it would fit. Excitedly I ordered the cooler.

When I received it I went through the instructions, which were pretty sparse and a poor 'port' translation at best. To be safe I called DeepCool support again to confirm the proper install steps and most importantly application of the thermal grease / adhesive. And this is where it gets important.

In the package there are three thermal grease / adhesives supplied:
1) Syringe: Thermal grease to be used on the GPU
2) Tape: To be used for the thin heat sinks in tight spots
3) Toothpaste type tube: Used for all other areas to adhere the heatsinks

That last one is not a thermal grease, it is a tight bonding thermal adhesive and it does not pull away or dissolve with alcohol. This is key later on.

Following the steps I put on the cooler and immediately couldn't fire up the PC. After extensive troubleshooting I was able to confirm it was the cooler / VGA interface. I added more grease and tightened it down further to ensure as good a contact as possible. Now it booted but the idle temps were 10C higher than the stock cooler and stress testing immediately forced the card to shut down.

Pulling it back apart I noted the extremely large base of the cooler was not only contacting the GPU face, but also a surrounding 'wall' circling around the GPU. Unlike the stock cooler that had a raised face to ensure contacting the GPU only, this cooler did not and as such it wasn't getting the contact needed on the GPU.

I took pictures and discussed with DeepCool support. They reviewed and confirmed that indeed this cooler would NOT work with my card. And given that I couldn't even run my machine with it on at that point I had to remove that cooler to put the stock one back on. Here's where the fun started.

I was able to dissamble the cooler, remove the thermal grease from the GPU, and pull up the thermal tape. However, once I started into the thermal adhesive on the rest of the heat sinks it took a LOT of prying to get that to release, and again alcohol was ineffective at dissolving the bond. Sure enough, when working on the taller 'registers' where some of the heatsinks were attached it snapped one of those registers clean off. That bricked the card.

I then called DeepCool again and calmly explained what had happended. The rep then basically said that the thermal adhesive isn't really intended to be removed, and that once the installation was done it wasn't designed to come off.

So I summarized what had happened to this point with him:
1) A DeepCool rep had confirmed this was the proper cooler for my card
2) Prior to installation a DeepCool rep had confirmed what thermal grease / adhesive to use where
3) After my issues a DeepCool rep then confirmed it was NOT the proper cooler for my card, and given I could no longer use my card with it on I was forced to remove it
4) The thermal adhesive ended up causing damage to the card in the removal
5) Lastly, a DeepCool rep confirmed that the thermal adhesive isn't designed to be removed

I then asked to talk to a supervisor (as it wasn't the tech's issue at this point) as given I had followed the direction and guidance of the DeepCool reps to a 'T' I wanted DeepCool to support the issues with my card. Here is where the DeepCool support promptly stopped. I was told that I could not speak directly to a supervisor, that he would forward on any communications I wanted to send to him, and that he doubted DeepCool would take any responsibility even given the unusual circumstance above. Subsequent emails to the 'supervisor' went completely unanswered, and they have not bothered to contact me since.

So as it stands I am now footing the replacement of my card based on the improper guidance and instruction ofDeepCool - and a 7970 is not cheap. I don;t want someone else to make this same mistake or have the poor experience I had with DeepCool - so be warned, even if DeepCool says it should fit and it doesn't it will not come apart easily and you may end up with a brick for a card, and you will be on your own. Here's hoping others have better experiences!

Edited March 18, 2013 by WookinPaNub

[Puck]

I honestly doubt they will do much more then a refund for the cooler itself. Although it was their mistake in saying it would fit, the broken card was due to your removal of the cooler, not the cooler itself. That is very important, since they can technically place the blame on how you removed everything and not directly due to the cooler. I know it sucks, but thats probably how it will work.

 

Do you have the part that fell off? Take a GOOD picture of what fell off, and where on the board it came from. If its just a MOSFET or something you can solder it back on, cross your fingers, and hope the card still works.

[WookinPaNub]

I honestly doubt they will do much more then a refund for the cooler itself. Although it was their mistake in saying it would fit, the broken card was due to your removal of the cooler, not the cooler itself. That is very important, since they can technically place the blame on how you removed everything and not directly due to the cooler. I know it sucks, but thats probably how it will work.

 

Do you have the part that fell off? Take a GOOD picture of what fell off, and where on the board it came from. If its just a MOSFET or something you can solder it back on, cross your fingers, and hope the card still works.

 

Under normal circumstances, with a third party add on, I would tend to agree with you. But in this instance everything was confirmed with a DeepCool rep at numerous steps along the way including the use of that thermal adhesive. And if the cooler (worst case) would have provided the same cooling as the stock one (not improved on it) I could have lived with it - but when it actually allowed the card to run hotter / shut down I didn't have much of a choice. It's either attempt to remove the cooler or not use the card. Little did I know that given the adhesive the end result would be the same

 

I'm working the card portion of it, that piece I'll figure out - what I was more concerned with is making sure others knew the ramifications if the cooler doesn't fit their card, that you won't be able to easily back out the changes as you often can.....

[My_Inner_Fred]

Is it possible to get a RMA on your card itself?

[WookinPaNub]

Is it possible to get a RMA on your card itself?

 

It is an option. But I don't like (call it a principle thing) that I'm effectively asking the card manufacturer to be responsbile for an issue with the cooler manufacturer's product and instruction. I would prefer the responsible party to take that responsibility, not simply attempt to ignore the situation. But before I digress too much further, it is an option but one I have a dilema pursuing (if that makes sense....)

[Shurman292]

You are taking this issue very well. I am glad to see that you are not going on an endless rant about how you dislike the company that screwed you over, etc. Very professional

 

Anyway, if you keep pursuing the issue someone at DeepCool will give in to your requests. It just takes enough patience and verbal tact. In your case, you have a pretty strong case built up against them. I, for one, will be certain to stay away from DeepCool in the future.

[Waco]

Keep pushing for them to replace the card. Their product destroyed it. If you had actually run it with the cooler mounted as it was it wouldn't have taken long to brick the card anyway due to the poor contact on the core...

[Erosannin]

Waco is right, that cooler would have definitely ruined the card over time as there is poor contact so very poor cooling efficiency. Just continue using all your tact and you will get results at the end.

[Puck]

Keep pushing for them to replace the card. Their product destroyed it. If you had actually run it with the cooler mounted as it was it wouldn't have taken long to brick the card anyway due to the poor contact on the core...

As much as I hope they replace it for him, their product didn't break anything technically...him removing it did. "Could of's" and "would of's" don't mean anything to a company, only what actually happened.

 

I see them refunding the cooler at most, and I suggest he identify and resolder the component that broke off if possible.

 

Again though, hopefully they step up and give him a new card .

[Bosco]

And if the install does go south, don't expect any support or contact from DeepCool.

 

Recently I decided I wanted more cooling for my Radeon 7970. After looking at a number of options I decided on this German made cooler. Prior to buying I called tech support to ensure that it would work with my card. We discussed the GPU hole measurements and they indicated that it would fit. Excitedly I ordered the cooler.

 

When I received it I went through the instructions, which were pretty sparse and a poor 'port' translation at best. To be safe I called DeepCool support again to confirm the proper install steps and most importantly application of the thermal grease / adhesive. And this is where it gets important.

 

In the package there are three thermal grease / adhesives supplied:

1) Syringe: Thermal grease to be used on the GPU

2) Tape: To be used for the thin heat sinks in tight spots

3) Toothpaste type tube: Used for all other areas to adhere the heatsinks

 

That last one is not a thermal grease, it is a tight bonding thermal adhesive and it does not pull away or dissolve with alcohol. This is key later on.

 

Following the steps I put on the cooler and immediately couldn't fire up the PC. After extensive troubleshooting I was able to confirm it was the cooler / VGA interface. I added more grease and tightened it down further to ensure as good a contact as possible. Now it booted but the idle temps were 10C higher than the stock cooler and stress testing immediately forced the card to shut down.

 

Pulling it back apart I noted the extremely large base of the cooler was not only contacting the GPU face, but also a surrounding 'wall' circling around the GPU. Unlike the stock cooler that had a raised face to ensure contacting the GPU only, this cooler did not and as such it wasn't getting the contact needed on the GPU.

 

I took pictures and discussed with DeepCool support. They reviewed and confirmed that indeed this cooler would NOT work with my card. And given that I couldn't even run my machine with it on at that point I had to remove that cooler to put the stock one back on. Here's where the fun started.

 

I was able to dissamble the cooler, remove the thermal grease from the GPU, and pull up the thermal tape. However, once I started into the thermal adhesive on the rest of the heat sinks it took a LOT of prying to get that to release, and again alcohol was ineffective at dissolving the bond. Sure enough, when working on the taller 'registers' where some of the heatsinks were attached it snapped one of those registers clean off. That bricked the card.

 

I then called DeepCool again and calmly explained what had happended. The rep then basically said that the thermal adhesive isn't really intended to be removed, and that once the installation was done it wasn't designed to come off.

 

So I summarized what had happened to this point with him:

1) A DeepCool rep had confirmed this was the proper cooler for my card

2) Prior to installation a DeepCool rep had confirmed what thermal grease / adhesive to use where

3) After my issues a DeepCool rep then confirmed it was NOT the proper cooler for my card, and given I could no longer use my card with it on I was forced to remove it

4) The thermal adhesive ended up causing damage to the card in the removal

5) Lastly, a DeepCool rep confirmed that the thermal adhesive isn't designed to be removed

 

I then asked to talk to a supervisor (as it wasn't the tech's issue at this point) as given I had followed the direction and guidance of the DeepCool reps to a 'T' I wanted DeepCool to support the issues with my card. Here is where the DeepCool support promptly stopped. I was told that I could not speak directly to a supervisor, that he would forward on any communications I wanted to send to him, and that he doubted DeepCool would take any responsibility even given the unusual circumstance above. Subsequent emails to the 'supervisor' went completely unanswered, and they have not bothered to contact me since.

 

So as it stands I am now footing the replacement of my card based on the improper guidance and instruction ofDeepCool - and a 7970 is not cheap. I don;t want someone else to make this same mistake or have the poor experience I had with DeepCool - so be warned, even if DeepCool says it should fit and it doesn't it will not come apart easily and you may end up with a brick for a card, and you will be on your own. Here's hoping others have better experiences!

 

Would you like me to step in on your behalf?

[ir_cow]

why would they give you thermal adhesive rather than screws to hold to heatsink on. I could only see bad things happening having a adhesive hold everything in place.

 

sorry about your broken card but now we all know, and if they don't replace your card i suggest going to every forum you can and telling the same story. that will put them right out of business.

[WookinPaNub]

Would you like me to step in on your behalf?

 

Any ideas are certainly appreciated - perhaps we can discuss via PM?