Billy Young's Blog - Posts Tagged "xfx"

My graphics card failed spectacularly this week. I had just headed for bed on Wednesday when Magz called up to me to ask if I had switched off the computer. So I headed back down stairs to have a look to see what was going on as I had left it on. At first the system refused to power up so fear that something very serious was wrong filled me with dread. After a couple of minutes it did finally power up but as it booted into windows I heard the crackle of electricity and smelled that unmistakeable smell of burning PCB. I quickly killed the power. After removing the now defunct graphics card I checked the rest of the computers innards finding nothing towards. I powered up no problems using my I7 for a picture to my screen to find everything else was working as it should. Sadly my new XFX HD7970 showed the clear sign of a complete melt down. Sadly I can’t just send it back to the retailers to be replaced as sending it back to the USA is just a little too expensive. I have been trying to contact the manufacturer but have heard nothing back from them. The weekend I will try to get their phone number maybe calling them might give results. I would hate to think that I am now stuck with a useless waste of cash on my hands but at the moment that is exactly what I have.
Calum had a spare card that he has lent me so that I don’t need to rely on my CPU to deliver the display. Unfortunately it has meant that I can’t mine any coins at the moment. This is when I wish I had the ASIC miner that I have pre-ordered from Butterfly Labs. That though is still going through testing with only a limited number so far shipping. So it could be some time before I get mine. I expected that though when I placed the order so can’t complain. I’m just very disappointed about XFX’s product which I had high hopes for.

I still haven't managed to get a response from XFX yet. I did get a phone number but they only redirected me back to their web site. I am now waiting for them to contact me after finally, with the help of my son, registering the fail graphics card and getting a ticket number. I asked where I could send the card to get it replaced with a working unit in the UK as I couldn't afford to send it back to the USA. Now though the wait to see if they will help. If I can't get them to replace it then I am stuck with a defunct HD7970 which isn't something I will be very happy with. I do hope though that they will replace the card as it is only been in my possession for less than a month and that isn't a good advert for the company. Lets hope then.
I have a long weekend this week so I have been out in the garden planting seeds. The seedlings I had indoors have sadly mostly died off. For this reason with the help of my daughter Tammy I planted more out side. Carrots, basil, coriander, cos lettuce, iceberg lettuce, parsnips, cauliflower, corn and broccoli are all now planted. After planting I feed my strawberries as well as all the other plants that have decided to grow happily outside so far. When I say "I" really it was Tammy who did the feeding. I only mixed up the potash feed. Later in the season I still have to plant some brussel sprouts but that will be at least a month away as I want them to be ready come winter. The nearer Christmas the better really as then they can be used for the festive season. Later planting I hope will give me what I am looking for.

I have finally made headway concerning my XFX HD7970 graphics card after two weeks of trying. They have emailed me the address to send the card to in the Netherlands so they can have a look at it and once they have send me a replacement. All I have to do now is post them the card then wait for them to do their thing in checking it which can take two weeks or there about. At least I have made progress and will have things sorted within a month or so, fingers crossed.
At work there was some discord today. I did some overtime on Wednesday and was told I would be paid for it. The usual action recently has been for us to take the time back but this time there was an inspection from one of the supermarkets we supply so they need some people to work on to get things ship-shape. Well I agreed under the understanding we would be paid this time as I said only today our supervisor said that we were to just take the time back. I was of course unhappy at this and told him I wouldn't be working on to see to the retort today. I was then called to the office and got an assurance from the office head that I was to be paid for Wednesday's overtime. At the same time they requested that I cover the retort today as they would be running over the usual time to fill an urgent order. I was reasonable so said I would as I had been told I would receive my due for my commitment to the company. Alls well that ends well, lets hope I have my extra two hours in next weeks wages.

Magz posted the graphics card back to XFX yesterday. We had to wait till I got paid naturally but at least it is away now. Sadly it won't be till the end of the month before I get a replacement. That is if XFX hold up to their side of things and replace the faulty card. They should though that doesn't always mean that a company will up hold their obligations when it comes to these sorts of things. Time will tell.
My garden is certainly spring into life now. Most of the seeds I planted have now shown their heads. The recent sunny spell has help a lot. Don't ask which have come through yet as I haven't marked them so I'm not sure what is in which pot. My potatoes still haven't sprung forth yet but I'm sure that in the next few days that should change. Well with the expected hot weather over the coming weekend that is expected they should. My corn has still not come to anything and my tomatoes look as if they may fail as well. That might mean another trip to the garden centre over the summer holiday which is only a couple of weeks away. That is something to look forward to.
I also got my overtime that I worked the other week. As you know that was last weeks little crisis. Well it all worked out for the best so that good. Magz has already spent the extra earnings getting me a new keyboard for my birthday which is tomorrow. Well it is actually from her and Tammy. Calum got me an new modular PSU for my computer. I've wanted one for ages but never had the money and with my recent graphics failure it is a good idea to replace the one I had. So that was a good gift. The new keyboard is also great. It's a Microsoft Sidewinder X4.

Still not heard anything back from XFX yet. They should have received the graphics card by now so I just have to wait. That is easier than said though as you know. I will give them another week before contacting them again. That way I feel I have given them time to receive the package and for them to have looked at it. Hopefully I don't have to get in touch with them again and I will get an email telling me that a replacement has been sent. Maybe that is too much to hope for though. Time will tell as they say.
Not had much time to check on my garden this week. I was out on Wednesday after work and was pleased at how things are coming on. Though a cat has been digging in at my potato sacks again this year. I had the same problem last year as you may remember. Nothing worked in trying to stop the blighter that was doing it. In the end I think the rain drove it off more than anything I did. Of course I don't want to see that much rain this year. Sadly the weather man is forecasting some of the wet stuff over the next few days along with some windy conditions. You wouldn't think that last week we were in what seemed the height of summer with the sun splitting the sky. Well it did give me a chance to get my hedges trimmed along with the grass. I also got the ever vital weeding around the strawberries done. So at least I got to use the good weather for some good before we returned to the drab.

The local wildlife has had its way with my seedlings. Yes my coriander, basil, and carrots were eaten by birds this week. I discovered it on Wednesday so was out replanting what seeds I had of the coriander and carrots. Luckily I have basil growing indoors still, which needs re-potting this weekend. I was hoping to get some weeding done over the next couple of days off of work but sadly the weather reports look like rain. My strawberries are needing cleared of the pesky wild plants. I did some last weekend but more have sprung up with the great sunshine we have had this week.
Of course work has been torture because of the heat. That is one downside of working next to giant pressure cookers, at least during the summer. Though it is a lot better in the winter. Adding to the extra heat has been that we have been very busy this week as next week we go on holiday. As usual I have some days when I have to be in. This year it is three days all of which are at the end of the first week of the two weeks we have off. Well that still leave me one full week to recharge and that is something I really feel I need after this week.
I contacted XFX over the graphics card. They are waiting for it to be sent to them from their warehouse in Holland. I'll give them another week or so before contacting them again.

After contacting XFX over my graphics card I got an email. Though it was short it did admit that my card had failed but since then I have heard nothing. They didn't say if they were replacing the defective product so I have contacted them again asking when and now await their response. It has been over a month now and I was hopeful that I would have had this problem resolved by now. Sadly I am still in limbo. You would have thought that any company would have been more than happy to replace a faulty product to save themselves from any bad publicity. That should be even more important given the fact that modern communications allow customers more of a voice. I doubt I will need to resort to twitter in the hope of getting them to take me more seriously. I think I have been more than patient so far.
I'm on holiday till next Wednesday so today was a lazy day sitting around doing nothing. I haven't even checked on my garden. I know my potatoes still haven't begun to grow and I am now thinking that I won't have any luck with them this year. It seems that most of my efforts this year have been wasted after last weeks bird raid. Even though I replanted as soon as I discovered the disaster I haven't noticed anything growing in the tubs. Yes I know give it time but with the long winter I'm eager to see my vegetables up and growing. I have netting over most things including my cherry trees. Maybe this year Magz will get to enjoy some home grown cherries. My cooking apples are doing well though there aren't many eating apples. I think that is due to the fungal infection from last year, which reminds me that I may need to spray it again so it may give more fruit next year. If the weather dries up over the next few days I might get the chance

I finally got my replacement graphics card from XFX. It is working great but not for mining bitcoins as it is now to slow. With difficulty increases over the past few months with the advent of ASIC miners coming online graphics card mining has become far too slow to be worthwhile. As for my order from Butterfly Labs, well that is still some way off. I might get it for Christmas if I am luck. Though BFL are sending out pre-orders they aren't really catching up on all the back order very quickly. What does that mean for me? Probably by the time I get mine I might see my investment returned in a year as the difficulty will have risen to make my ASIC as slow at mining as my graphics card is now. Slowly but surely bitcoin mining is becoming the reserve of those with the money to invest in the equipment of the future squeezing out the little guy like me. Well it was bound to happen as it became more successful.
While I was unable to mine I have been play the speculative game through MountGox.com. Though I did make early gains those are now slowly being eaten into over the past week or so. That is the danger of gambling and that is what speculating is really. My reason was that I had some spare coin left from mining but not enough to buy anything with. So I thought what the heck. I didn't take all of what I had left though just in case. Well you never know the price may rise to make what is left a good longer term investment. It is always wise not to have all your eggs in the one basket as they say.
My garden has been yielding strawberries all week. Magz has enough now to make some jam. Not sure when she plans to do so. I have also been harvesting one or two small baby lettuces as well as some coriander. The coriander makes great mayo. You chop the coriander, soak it in some lemon juice for about half an hour, and then just add the mayonnaise. It is great in wraps or on a sandwich. Remember to leave the mix to rest for about an hour before use. My family love it as do I.