NZXT Bait & Switch on PCIe Riser Replacement: Just Do the Right Thing
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Date: 2021-05-10
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Comments and reviews: 9
MrBullyrammer
Thanks GN for continuing to highlight the shady crap this mob do. Sadly this whole riser debacle isn't their only failing of customers. They've also been screwing people over with their CAM software and a bug in it for the last 6-9 months and STILL are yet to properly acknowledge it, downplaying who it actually affects. There's a 20 page topic on LTT Forums of people with multiple hardware configs, AMD and Intel, experiencing freezes requiring a hard power off when using CAM, but, more than six months after it was first reported, NZXT acknowledge in last release notes only that they are working on an issue a number of Ryzen users are facing. Very little feedback on that either with an NZXT rep once a month or so promising it's their top priority. Meanwhile liquidctl and the like are controlling Kraken's and smart devices with no issue, so it's definitely some wankery in CAM itself but those who haven't/don't want to set up a 3rd party solution are left with the worry of closing or uninstalling CAM and letting their coolers run on whatever default setting it reverts to. Such a shame that a company that makes such good products (when they haven't effed something up) are so crap at owning and fixing issues. My NZXT eco system will be my last. For anyone who is suffering this and maybe didn't even realize the culprit and/or hasn't been following the LTT and reddit threads, liquidctl works brilliantly once configured and a number of users have also experienced a massive improvement by just disabling global c-state in bios.
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Thanks GN for continuing to highlight the shady crap this mob do. Sadly this whole riser debacle isn't their only failing of customers. They've also been screwing people over with their CAM software and a bug in it for the last 6-9 months and STILL are yet to properly acknowledge it, downplaying who it actually affects. There's a 20 page topic on LTT Forums of people with multiple hardware configs, AMD and Intel, experiencing freezes requiring a hard power off when using CAM, but, more than six months after it was first reported, NZXT acknowledge in last release notes only that they are working on an issue a number of Ryzen users are facing. Very little feedback on that either with an NZXT rep once a month or so promising it's their top priority. Meanwhile liquidctl and the like are controlling Kraken's and smart devices with no issue, so it's definitely some wankery in CAM itself but those who haven't/don't want to set up a 3rd party solution are left with the worry of closing or uninstalling CAM and letting their coolers run on whatever default setting it reverts to. Such a shame that a company that makes such good products (when they haven't effed something up) are so crap at owning and fixing issues. My NZXT eco system will be my last. For anyone who is suffering this and maybe didn't even realize the culprit and/or hasn't been following the LTT and reddit threads, liquidctl works brilliantly once configured and a number of users have also experienced a massive improvement by just disabling global c-state in bios.
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Snotnarok
This reads as false advertising to me, they're sending you 1 cable to review, 'wow look at how great this is' but then they ....go and put out a cruddy version to send out?
This is a very odd choice to do since companies like them are the one place you can get a complete gaming PC build easily vs trying to hunt down your own parts. They're in a spot to prove they care and are doing good on a mistake. Especially when a lot of people who have been building for themselves now need to rely on companies like them
Now? Who is going to trust them? I don't.
They were the ones I was going to recommend to 2 friends since they're not savvy with tech and wanted to get a new full upgrade.
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This reads as false advertising to me, they're sending you 1 cable to review, 'wow look at how great this is' but then they ....go and put out a cruddy version to send out?
This is a very odd choice to do since companies like them are the one place you can get a complete gaming PC build easily vs trying to hunt down your own parts. They're in a spot to prove they care and are doing good on a mistake. Especially when a lot of people who have been building for themselves now need to rely on companies like them
Now? Who is going to trust them? I don't.
They were the ones I was going to recommend to 2 friends since they're not savvy with tech and wanted to get a new full upgrade.
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H0lyDiv3r
After watching this whole saga unfold, I was giving NZXT the benefit of the doubt and assuming the previous shadiness was due to shitty communication between the PR staff and the management, but someone had to have greenlit ordering an inferior product and shipping it to people without disclosure at the very least. I'm not willing to even consider buying an NZXT product again after they tried pulling this shit. Companies that disrespect their customers enough to pull a bait and switch like this don't deserve sympathy from them.
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After watching this whole saga unfold, I was giving NZXT the benefit of the doubt and assuming the previous shadiness was due to shitty communication between the PR staff and the management, but someone had to have greenlit ordering an inferior product and shipping it to people without disclosure at the very least. I'm not willing to even consider buying an NZXT product again after they tried pulling this shit. Companies that disrespect their customers enough to pull a bait and switch like this don't deserve sympathy from them.
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Graham
I hadn't heard of NZXT until fairly recently (haven't really been as engaged with PC component market as I used to be), but from what I've seen in recent product coverage, even where they produce something half decent, it's on the back of a history of working with poor manufacturers, and not really doing due diligence in making sure their products are fit for purpose. I've never purchased an NZXT product, but on this basis I can't see why I ever would - even if they release something that gets positive coverage.
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I hadn't heard of NZXT until fairly recently (haven't really been as engaged with PC component market as I used to be), but from what I've seen in recent product coverage, even where they produce something half decent, it's on the back of a history of working with poor manufacturers, and not really doing due diligence in making sure their products are fit for purpose. I've never purchased an NZXT product, but on this basis I can't see why I ever would - even if they release something that gets positive coverage.
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ivo215
If that is the same PCB, then the power plane still extends to the hole for the screw. Any metal screw can still contact that +12V power plane and short it to the chassis. That PCB is flawed in it's design, and no amount of nylon screws can fix that. Also, if they plated it through, that plating could contact the power plane too. And what's up with the 5-or-so extra holes drilled through it? It suggests that it was a repurposed PCB from the start, found in the reject bin, where it should have stayed.
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If that is the same PCB, then the power plane still extends to the hole for the screw. Any metal screw can still contact that +12V power plane and short it to the chassis. That PCB is flawed in it's design, and no amount of nylon screws can fix that. Also, if they plated it through, that plating could contact the power plane too. And what's up with the 5-or-so extra holes drilled through it? It suggests that it was a repurposed PCB from the start, found in the reject bin, where it should have stayed.
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Nate's
Having been through a design flaw that was similar in seriousness once long ago, we destroyed every bad device and no thought was even given to doing a rework of the bad ones. Every customer got a redesign that was better in multiple ways at our cost, which was considerable.
What the reworked one tells me is that engineers weren t in control of the process to fix it, bean counters were. And that s all I need to know to avoid NZXT products forever.
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Having been through a design flaw that was similar in seriousness once long ago, we destroyed every bad device and no thought was even given to doing a rework of the bad ones. Every customer got a redesign that was better in multiple ways at our cost, which was considerable.
What the reworked one tells me is that engineers weren t in control of the process to fix it, bean counters were. And that s all I need to know to avoid NZXT products forever.
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michaelange727
Bottom line build your own system. Time and time again I see these OEM's and SI's always cutting corners and this time in this instance it was dangerous. Prebuilts of any kind are garbage, at least thats what it seems. I bought a prebuilt that went in 2 months and now they want me to ship it out on my dime ( heres talking to you ASUS). I just built my own system and putting them side by side I can see how sad the prebuilt is. Theyre garbage.
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Bottom line build your own system. Time and time again I see these OEM's and SI's always cutting corners and this time in this instance it was dangerous. Prebuilts of any kind are garbage, at least thats what it seems. I bought a prebuilt that went in 2 months and now they want me to ship it out on my dime ( heres talking to you ASUS). I just built my own system and putting them side by side I can see how sad the prebuilt is. Theyre garbage.
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Nagrenol
it just goes to show how profit comes over trust & safety with companies like NZXT. You can't 'ooops' your way out of stuff like this. I mean they clearly hoped your follow up review would green light them to pull this hoping no one would notice. Hope you guys don't give anymore review time to them going forward other than to highlight avoiding them.
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it just goes to show how profit comes over trust & safety with companies like NZXT. You can't 'ooops' your way out of stuff like this. I mean they clearly hoped your follow up review would green light them to pull this hoping no one would notice. Hope you guys don't give anymore review time to them going forward other than to highlight avoiding them.
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sartsj
Interestingly enough, I have yet to receive a new riser. It took NZXT 2(!!) months to send me the nylon screw kit, which I received last month. And there is no sign of a riser yet. Thanks for this video, I have now told them that they don't need to bother sending a riser if they're not sending the 'original new riser', then I'll just take a refund.
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Interestingly enough, I have yet to receive a new riser. It took NZXT 2(!!) months to send me the nylon screw kit, which I received last month. And there is no sign of a riser yet. Thanks for this video, I have now told them that they don't need to bother sending a riser if they're not sending the 'original new riser', then I'll just take a refund.
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