WATCHDOG^
MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEARClubit Clubbed
my CPU
Six months ago I did a
complete upgrade on my
PC, including the addition
of a Core 2 Quad Q
and GeForce 8800 GTX.
Fast-forward to now. My
machine started freezing
and I isolated the issue to
the CPU.
Now here’s the problem:
PC Club/Clubit.com appar-
ently went out of business.
I have tried to get an RMA
countless times, without
luck. The website does not
work: There’s a dead link for
account info. What’s weird
is that I can still access
Clubit.com and it looks like
the site is still selling parts.
Intel does not offer warran-
ty support for OEM CPUs, so
what do I do?
—Juan EhringerJuan, you’re right. After 16
years, PC Club boarded the
night train to the big adios. It
filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
in May and all of its retail
stores were shut down two
months later. It’s likely that
early on someone forgot to
pull the plug on the website;
now the site takes you to a
placeholder. It’s not like the
company had been doing well.
Before PC Club shut down, the
Los Angeles Better Business
Bureau gave it an F rating.
As you know, OEM CPUsare supposed to be directly
supported by the store or PC
maker the parts were pur-
chased from. How long are
OEM CPU warranties? Ask
the store where you bought
the part, says Intel. Intel
technically washes its hands
of all OEM CPU support. That
doesn’t always mean you’re
screwed though.
While Intel discourages
end users from seeking war-
ranty support on OEM CPUs,
the company isn’t totally heart-
less. The Dog recommends
that you contact Intel support
with the circumstances of
your story—PC Club did go
out of business, after all—and
see if you can get assistance.
If you’re respectful, and the
person reviewing your case
has a big heart, maybe you can
get a lifeline. CPU failures are
actually few and far betweenunder normal usage, so you
might be able to catch a break.
Retail boxed CPUs are
covered by a three-year war-
ranty, but even those users
should remember to save all
the packaging and the original
heatsink that came with the
CPU, in case they ever need
warranty support.P45 Mobo: Licensed
for Sound
Since when do I need to
“license” my PC in order
to install a soundcard?
Since now, I guess. I just
bought an Asus Maximus
II Formula P45 mobo that
happened to come bundled
with Creative’s Sound
Blaster X-Fi audio riser
card. I thought, great, now
I don’t have to purchase a
soundcard.
But when it came to
installing the software to run
the board, I had to provide a
computer fingerprint, similar
to what you get when you
install Vista. Not only did Ihave to do that—which in
retrospect, I wish I hadn’t,
because I shouldn’t have
to license drivers and
software that work only
with a specific piece of
hardware—but I also ended
up with a Sound Blaster X-Fi
MB Licensing Service run-
ning on my machine. Why
should I have to burden my
machine with this service if
I own the hardware?
Is it just me or is this
getting out of hand? I want
to run a soundcard with-
out having these types of
services installed. Can you
help me out?
—JohnEMAIL THE WATCHDOG If you feel you’ve gotten a raw deal and need assistance
setting a vendor straight, email the Dog at [email protected]. Please
include a detailed explanation of your problem as well as any correspondence you
have sent concerning the issue.Our consumer advocate investigates...
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WATCHDOG^
MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEAR20 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| HOLIDAY 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
“I WANT TO RUN A SOUNDCARD
WITHOUT HAVING THESE
TYPES OF SERVICES INSTALLED.” Onboard X-Fi Support
Onboard X-Fi Support
Onboard X-Fi Support
OEM Troubles
Onboard X-Fi Support
OEM Troubles
Onboard X-Fi Support
Warranties for OEM,
or “bare,” chips are offered only
through the store where the chips were
purchased and are much shorter than retail warranties.