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SCAN announces vendor swap-out scheme for Intel Sandy Bridge boards

by Scott Bicheno on 2 February 2011, 18:10

Tags: SCAN

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If you just can't wait...

It looks like Shelley Raja, MD of Bolton tech e-tailer SCAN, has had a busy 24 hours. Following his exclusive interview with HEXUS yesterday, in which he revealed the effect on the UK channel of the design flaw in Intel's Cougar Point chipset, Raja spoke once more to us this afternoon, having only just completed negotiations designed to soften the blow to SCAN's customers.

Raja has come to an agreement with Intel, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI, to provide its customers with an alternative to having to wait months for a Sandy Bridge system. You can now buy a board, bundle or system with the Cougar Point chipset from SCAN if you want to, and the vendors guarantee they will replace it with a new one, once they're available. "All the vendors will swap-out," said Raja.

Of course it will be up to the customer to decide whether or not to buy a product with a known issue. But, given that the issue affects the durability of the product, and probably a minority of them, there's every chance that a system containing this chip will function perfectly normally until the replacement arrives.

Whether people will want the hassle of dismantling their system and replacing the motherboards, however, is another matter.

We understand that shipping will be covered by the vendor, although the precise logistics of how this will occur have yet to be revealed. And while this arrangement came as a direct result of SCAN's negotiations with the vendors, it's safe to assume they'll extend the facility to other e-tailers and parts of the channel.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 10 Comments

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Well done Scan. They have really bent over backwards to help and I think this deserves a lot of credit. I really appreciate the up to date information and the fact that they are being proactive in arranging a resolution.

Well done..
Wow this is bigger than I thought. Maybe these vendors will be thinking twice about how reliant they are on intel in future.
This just goes to show that Scan really are one of the best, if not the best, retailer for computer components. They have gone out of their way to make sure that the customer is still getting the best service that they can get. Hats off to them, and I'm even more happy to be a Scan customer!
GageC
This just goes to show that Scan really are one of the best, if not the best, retailer for computer components. They have gone out of their way to make sure that the customer is still getting the best service that they can get. Hats off to them, and I'm even more happy to be a Scan customer!
+1 on this, and it's stuff like this that I guess pretty much guarantees them yet another “Best Online Retailer” award for this year. :rolleyes:

I'd certainly be happy to nominate them for that, given the way that they managed to put a rocket up the a** of DPD to get my much delayed deliveries in December pushed out.

Got to say that if I was in the market for a Sandy-Bridge upgrade (and was considering it for my daughter's old AMD-based box) then Scan would be first - and second place - that I'd check. Of course, getting the free next-day delivery (thanks to Hexus!) is a big plus too… :iloveyou:
Some input from a real Scan customer of an Asus P8H67-M PRO…….

It's good that Intel, Asus and Scan have all moved so quickly and honestly on this problem, and agreed a course of action to satisfy their customers (as far as possible) in this difficult situation. However, I am still short of information on how the exchange will be handled by Scan, and cannot find the information on their website.

  1. What action does the customer need to take, and when, to get an exchange board?

  2. How will the exchange work? The board I purchased has been built into a system that has been delivered to my customer, who cannot be without his system for more than a working day. I hope the replacement will be dispatched before the faulty board is returned. If necessary credit card details could be provided so that if the old board is not received back in, say, 3 weeks the credit card will be debited with the full cost of the board. This will keep the system down-time to an absolute minimum.

  3. I would also expect the carriage costs in both directions to be covered by Intel/Asus/Scan.