Asus quotes ridiculous $2,750 fee to replace chipped GPU power connector— docs back up claims of egregious repair pricing for $2,000 RTX 4090 GPU
A Canadian ASUS customer has shared his recent experience with Asus service, claiming the firm quoted an egregious amount — about $2,748.49 (CAD 3,758) — to repair an RTX 4090 GPU that needed its 16-pin power connector replaced. The price is exceptionally high, especially given that the graphics card, purchased two weeks prior, retails for $2,050 (CAD 2,799). Naturally, this raises doubts about the company's repair policies, particularly in light of other claimed abuses we'll cover below.
Reddit user 'Mulgoki' clarified that the issue was confined to a plastic clip that secures the connector — even though the card worked fine, the clip was chipped. Even when functioning properly, Nvidia's 16-pin power connections have had an ongoing melting issue that's spurred a seemingly unending wave of card failures, so Mulgoki followed the advice of both the retailer and Asus support and sent it off for repair.
The Redditor shared screenshots of the back-and-forth communication with ASUS. Nobody would expect a repair quote of $2,750 for replacing a power connector, AND ASUS made a peculiar offer of a 30% discount after the user requested a re-checked price quote. After further escalating the issue, Asus informed him the graphics card was not functional because of the damage and was not covered under warranty. The only solution Asus' service personnel offered was a replacement at a higher cost than its original retail price.
Based on the email responses, this Asus representative did not address the connector while forwarding a quote. Instead, the quotation support mentions, "However, please note that the damage ultimately affects the unit's functionality and is not covered under our standard warranty." The first email does not mention the irrepairability of the customer's graphic card. Had the graphic card been genuinely non-functional, that would have been naturally mentioned in the first email.
The user was assigned to another supervisor who offered a buyback only after further escalating the issue. While this would be seen as one of the preferable outcomes, not everyone seems to have this type of experience with ASUS support.
Not an isolated case with Asus
Unfortunately, it appears this sort of issue isn't isolated or limited to a particular region. A recent Gamers Nexus video also highlights a similar situation with a customer's ROG Ally, which had a drift issue with its thumbstick, a shortened battery lifespan within one year of use, and a malfunctioning MicroSD slot (a common problem with the ROG Ally Z1 that wasn't fixed with any of its updates).
Asus didn't address the drift stick issue, let alone any of the other issues. Instead, it mentions an alleged gap issue and some surface scratches on the Ally Z1's casing while attaching an image of the unit already opened by the technician, quoting almost $200 for a repair.
The video also highlights two other cases- one involving the 2022 Zephrus G15 notebook, which was initially sent for a display issue but seemingly received with a cracked chassis, and another involving a TUF series RTX 4090 with an instability issue, which was allegedly replaced with a refurbished GPU with a bent PCIe bracket and damage on the PCIe x16 interface.
We've contacted the company for comment on the wave of reports of repair malpractice. We'll update you if we get a response.
