Be careful on using Googlegear. I bought a model# XF9700-C3-P Bulk EVIL COMMANDO 2 which is listed as an ATI 9700 Pro video card at Googlegear for $275. It had a link to the PowerColor web page that showed it as a full speed 9700 Pro.

But when I received it I noticed that my core clock speed was running at 297 Mhz which is not the normal clock speed for a 9700 Pro, it should be 325 Mhz.

I contacted the manufacturer of the card to question this and was told that this is a 9700 Pro "lite". No where in Googlegear’s adveritisement was this card advertised as a "lite" version and I certainly would not have purchased it had it been advertised as such. I just used Googlegear to purchase my computer system ($815.98 ) . I do not think that I should have been held to the 15% restocking fee if I returned it.

Powercolor has no reference of a "lite" 297 MHZ version of this card on their website They only have one EVIL COMMANDO 2 9700 PRO card and it is a full speed card.

I contacted Googlegear about this and explained the situation and they said they would investigate. The next day they said their advertisement was accurate and they would not waive the restocking fee. Although, on the day they investigated they completely changed the advertisement on this card. They removed the link to the Powercolor website that stated "Powered by the revolutionary AGP 8X RADEON 9700 PRO (A13 stepping) Visual Processing Unit (VPU) with core engine @325Mhz clock speed".

Googlegear also changed their avertisement to include Clock Speed: 297MHz in big bold red letters at the top of the advertisement.

Also note that they changed the description in the advertisement from "is the worlds fastest and most advanced graphics board, featuring ATI RADEON 9700 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)" to " is a most advanced graphics board, featuring ATI RADEON 9700 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)".

I spoke with several customer support people and a manager and was told they would not waive the restocking fee and they didn’t care if I told others of my experience and reported my experience with rating companies for internet retailers because “people would still buy from them”.

I know that the card that I got is not terrible or anything but I did not get what was advertised and Googlegear sure does not seem to care about their customers. Just wanted to share my experience with this company, you can make your own choice on whether to use them or not.

All of powercolors cards are the "lite" version. I have a Powercolor GeForce 2 Pro. The pro was supposed to mean 200mhz core clock and 400mhz ddr but it turned out to be 200mhz core and 325mhz ddr. The only reason they called it pro was because of the 64mb of onboard ram. I could easily overclock it beyond 400mhz and I bought it used so it didnt bother me at the time.

if you paid online with a credit card you should be able to report them to your your credit card company as a scam.

Actually, Powercolor only advertises the regular speed 9700 Pro (which is where the link on Googlegear took you).

http://www.cptech.com.tw/powercolor/web/product_inside.asp?prd_id=RADEON9700PRO

Google hasn't the original adverticing cached by any chance?

If so, take a screenpic/save it, and email it to googlegear...
If they still doesn't waive the restocking fee, call whatever part of lawenforcment who handles fraud...!

No, I don't have the original screenprint but I have emails from them in which they say that the info on their website (before they changed it) was supplied by Powercolor so it was not false advertising on Googlegear's part.

Nice logic...

I think I bought one of those cards too. I got mine from http://www.gameve.com

When I installed it and ran PowerStrip, I noticed that my timings also seemed to be a little low. I also noticed that the RAM on the card appeared to be 3.3ns RAM, not the 2.8ns RAM that most reviewed Radeon 9700's I have read about.

I figured that there had to be a reason why the card was $278... not that I am complaining. It still kicks butt, and it is still a Radeon 9700 Pro, after all...

Brian

Actually... I was able to find the cached page...

The original page listed it as a 300MHz card:

http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cach... evil commando 9700 googlegear&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

However... the link to the manufacturer showed a 325MHz card... and the add does say it is the "fastest". So it still isn't right. If it was, why the heck would they need to change it all of a sudden?

Put a hold on the credit card charge. I had to do that twice with Circuit City. Told them I wold keep the product and fight the charge as long as I could and they caved in.

report them to the better business bureau

I sent them the following email:

I will not be returning the video card as I should not have to lose the $40 restocking fee because of your misleading ad.

I have however logged my complaint with the Better Business Bureau and they will be contacting you. I also have logged my experience with your company at www.resellerratings.com .

I have posted my experience on seven different websites to share this story and let people make up there own minds about using Googlegear. I have also linked your companies BBB rating in each of these posts so that people can see that it is not just me who has had problems with your company.

I have also sent MaximumPC's WatchDog my story.

Just since I have placed my posts last night there have been dozens of people that thanked me because they were either considering or ready to make purchases with your company but would never consider using you after learning of how you treat your customers.

It should never have come to this over a $40 restocking fee when you know your advertising was misleading (proven by your changing your advertisement after I complained).

After I logged my complaint with your company you even emailed a reply that included a link that you told me to go to because it had the details to my card that I should have seen on your advertisement page and the link is to the product on Powercolor's website which is the full powered video card!
Powercolor doesn't even have a listing for the card I bought on their website.

If you valued your customers then you should have had a complaint with how Powercolor advertised this product.

I will continue to keep my posts going so that people can decide on there own whether to use your company or not."

:approve: Right on Merlin! Googlegear shouldnt get away with such, glad your stickin' up. I bought all my computer parts off of googlegear and it went fine, other than the "2 Day Air" took 4 days =/ But o'well, it was free/$.50/$1, so what can I say, most the time ground will be $5 and take longer. They were good for me, but I will defently be cautious next time buying parts.:hotouch:

2 Day Air means that the time that it leaves their warehouse and the time it arrives on your doorstep is 2 days. They still need time to verify your credit card and billing address. And if you ordered it on a weekend, they only work on working days

But, anyway, good story Merlin. You should not be subject to the $40 restocking fee. That's ludicrous. I'm proud of you for filing your complaint in all those ways, and I will never say or think that it was too much. The bottom line is that Googlegear was falsely advertising and misleading their customers. Nothing beyond that. It may have been Powercolor's fault, but Googlegear should have had the good sense to figure it out beforehand. When you had the box, what did it say on it? Did it say it was the full card? If so than it's Googlegear's fault for not finding out sooner.

No box. It is oem. Anyways, I am just gonna sell it on Ebay and take a loss.

Now I just have to decide if I want a true 9700 Pro or just get a 9500 Pro and save some cash.