~F3sv Owner's Lounge~

How exactly do you "disable the video card"? Does the system work when connected to an external source?

 

I'm also not sure what you mean by "disable the graphic card". Not many laptops have dual (integrated+dedicated) GPU, and the F3Sv is certainly not one of those that have it.

If you mean that it works on an external screen, then the problem is not the graphic card, but the LCD itself, or the connecting cables or plugs.

As to buying a card, if it's removable, it may be possible; check theFAQ on the Info Booth (link in my sig) for some possibilities of buying ASUS parts.

 

I was going to post this in the ASUS F3SV owner`s lounge but it appears to be closed, so I hope that starting a new thread is ok.

I have read through much of the Asus G1s forum and all of the problems that people have had with their NVIDIA GPU`s dying early and often, and the difficulty that they have sometimes had getting Asus to own up to the issues and make things right for them. I have also read through much of the F3SV forum as well and see that many people have had similar problems to my own. I have also seen that some people did receive satisfactory customer service from Asus eventually. I am hoping that I can get some advice, and perhaps even some direct help from Asus customer service, who I see has directly contacted some ASUS owners in the past on these forums about their problems, so that I too may have my situation resolved in a satisfactory manner.

Here is my situation: I originally purchased my ASUS F3SV-B1 (beautiful screen resolution and angles) back in September of 2007, and less than a year later I experienced the typical problems with overheating and finally gpu failure. After learning about the problems that were related to the defective line of GPU`s that Nvidia had manufactured and which Asus had used in their notebooks, I requested that Asus not repair my notebook with what I believed would be another defective gpu, but Asus would not own up to the fact that these gpu`s were defective (possible fraudulent concealment) and sent me back my laptop repaired without offering me any other options nor listening to my protestations that I did not want the laptop to be repaired with another defective part only to have it fail once it was out of warranty. I`m sure you can guess the rest.

My gpu failed once again this past December 2011. After pleading my case and trying unsuccessfully to get Asus to make me an offer beyond sending them my laptop again at my expense so that they could quote me a charge for repairs now that it was out of warranty, I finally sent them my laptop last week when I was provided with free shipping to the repair facility in Ontario. As many of you have experienced, when I have talked with Asus customer service on the phone, Supervisors are not available or I get cut off while on hold, and although promises are made that a Supervisor will definitely contact me within 48 hours, it never happens.

I`ve been dealing with a George Lu at the repair facility since then. George doesn`t seem very flexible about dealing with my issues, although he has acknowledged that it was the Nvidia GPU which was the cause of the latest failure as well, but I can`t seem to get anyone from Asus management to call me back that cares about what crappy customer service I am receiving. As far as I am concerned, the fact that my laptop is no longer under warranty is not really pertinent to the situation because Asus repaired my laptop with known defective parts while it was under warranty and provided me with a laptop which has been defective from the beginning. Now they are asking me to pay $300 for the repairs with only a 90 day warranty on the defective parts which they expect me to accept once again. I paid almost $2000 for this laptop and expected it to last me for a very long time and do not want to have my laptop repaired again with the same defective gpu as before. I should have been supplied with a repair or replacement or refund, the first time it failed, instead of ASUS merely using defective parts for the temporary repair, which they knew would likely fail prematurely, and which it did. This time I am not willing to accept the same shoddy service and have my laptop repaired with a known defective part which will likely fail prematurely again and I will have to go through this hassle again, not to mention adding insult to injury by charging me $300.

This is where it stands, I want an alternative to having my $2000 laptop repaired again with the same defective parts at my further expense and Asus is saying that they can`t offer me anything different because the last time they repaired it with defective parts brought it outside of the warranty period and so according to them they don`t feel any responsibility for having to make things right now. The most they are willing to do is repair it at my expense for $300 with defective parts again. Do you believe this crap?

Under consumer protection laws here in British Columbia I should be able to expect my laptop to last a reasonable amount of time before it becomes unable to function, and as the operating system is still being supported by Microsoft (Windows VISTA) and a reasonable person would expect that a $2000. laptop should function for more than a few years, it is reasonable to expect that my laptop should still be working properly. Instead, ASUS and NCIX Computers, where I purchased this laptop, sold me a defective piece of merchandise and ASUS went on to knowingly repair my laptop while under warranty with another defective part when they should have at that time offered to refund my money or provided me with another laptop which was not affected by this ongoing defect problem. Instead, ASUS chose to repair the laptop knowing that the parts used were defective and likely to fail again outside of warranty as any reasonable person would expect since NVIDIA had already acknowledged that the same series of GPU`s used in my F3SV model were part of the defective model series.

Any advice? Can anyone offer me any assistance with this situation? George at Asus repair center is threatening to send my laptop back to me unrepaired unless I fax the credit card authorization form back to them by Monday April 9th 2012, as they claim that they will only allow unrepaired items 2 business days in their repair facility for lack of space, so I am being extorted while under the pressure of a time deadline and I feel wholly unsatisfied with the way that Asus is handling this whole fiasco with Nvidia` defective GPU`s.

I have threatened to take this to small claims court and I will if I have to, on principal alone, because I am so disgusted with this whole situation and how poorly I have been treated by ASUS and their denial of a problem that they are well aware of but are failing to address in a responsible and fair way. I also see that there is a new class action lawsuit in Canada after the successful class action against NVIDIA in the USA. Its about time!

Thanks for reading and any help that can be offered. My laptop is the most valuable thing I own and although it is no longer new, I can`t afford the added expense, Vancouver is an expensive city to try and survive in, especially as a poor student.

Here`s the link to the NVIDIA GPU class action lawsuit in Canada:

NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units Class Action | Harrison Pensa


I figure more than a few of you will be interested. Please distribute far and wide!

 

I got my F3SV when it first came out as well. Loved the computer even with the price tag. Thankfully my video card was fine and didnt die on me. You are already lucky that you got 3 years out of that card, you should go try the lottery or something =). But yeah, the problem is nvidia, ASUS will just tell you they are following policy, you need to take this problem with ASUS to nvidia man, they will settle with you.