After buying a brand new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, one Redditor was left shocked when a small repair, only requested out of fears over future complications, came back quoted at almost $1,000 more than the card itself. This ordeal might be resolved for now, but it leaves Asus scrambling to explain how this happened in the first place.
As the best graphics card available right now, at least until the RTX 5090 shows up, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 costs a pretty penny regardless of where you live. In this case, the Asus ROG Strix White OC gaming edition card cost $2,799 CAD but to repair or replace a small plastic safety indent on the power connection, the cost was quoted at $3,758.23 CAD, a whopping 34% more than the card cost when purchased at retail.
Over on r/pcmasterrace, user Mulgoki told their story, providing proof that they paid for the graphics card back on April 20, 2024. Despite the card working just fine, the small plastic piece onto which the power cable locks was not present, having seemingly been either scratched or snapped off, and a repair was suggested. This was just in case it became another victim of the RTX 4090 melting debacle.
When getting the quote back from Asus, they were shocked to see the total repair cost would be $3,758.23 CAD. The reasoning given is that “the damage ultimately effects the functionality of the unit and is not covered under our standard warranty.”
Even so, how could such a repair cost more than buying a whole new card? Well, that’s the question that Mulgoki was left with, and thanks to the advice from the PCMR subreddit, they contacted the Asus CEO office to find a resolution.
A new customer service advisor was assigned to their case, and the situation started to head towards a resolution. A new GPU was requested but none were available, so Asus agreed to refund the card via a posted cheque.
While Mulgoki will get their money back, it doesn’t make up for the trouble caused in the meantime and certainly doesn’t explain how such a confusing quote was ever given in the first place.
Some commenters on the post speculate that Asus may be outsourcing its repairs and that the company involved is looking to make a quick buck by taking advantage of desperate customers. This is quite the leap given the lack of evidence, and Asus is yet to comment on what happened.
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