@TheOriginalAHol
I believe there was a misunderstanding in translation regarding the backplate. I looked at the email, and I think my colleague understood you to be referring to the full-size backplate from the air cooler — the one that typically covers the entire card — and that this one cannot be used, and instead you have to use the one that comes with the water block. He wasn’t referring to the small black X-shaped GPU mounting bracket.
It’s a bit tricky to explain, because technically both parts are referred to as a "backplate."
I hope that clarifies what I meant.
The situation with this cooler is as follows:
We only found out later that the MSI Ventus uses the reference design. Originally, only Inno3D used that reference design — or rather, they currently define it on behalf of Nvidia.
No one expected MSI to use different screws for that small, cross-shaped GPU mounting bracket than Inno3D. We also didn’t receive any information about that. That’s why this issue only affects the MSI Ventus model in combination with this cooler.
As for the shipping:
Small parts like this are always sent via Maxi Letter, that’s a general rule for all spare parts we ship. Otherwise, the shipping costs would simply be too high. A small package to countries like the USA, Australia, or Japan, just for a few screws, is incredibly expensive. When serving a global customer base, sending such items by parcel would result in significant additional costs — costs that would ultimately have to be factored into product pricing.
Of course, in individual cases like this one, it’s frustrating — I totally understand that. But we have to draw a line somewhere.
