How durable are graphics card PCB?

[driedupfish]

Does anyone know how durable is the PCB part of the graphics card that fits into the PCI express slot? I am talking about the part with the copper strips where you insert into the slot.

And how durable are the PCI-e slots?

I asked because I am worried that I might break of chip something whenever I remove or plug back the card into the PCI-e slot.

Let's say that something does get chipped or bent or damaged, how would I know? Would the graphics card simply not turn on? Would it affect performance?

I remember having the copper strip thingy on the gameboy cartridge came off after repeatedly plugging in and removing it from the gameboy. However, it still works.

 

[Rakehellion]

The fiberglass board is very durable, but the parts connected to it, not so much. Just hold it by the sides and don't insert or remove it unnecessarily and you should be fine.

If a part on the board is damaged, the card might not work at all, it might give you artifacts, or it might work just fine. Don't touch any of the components on the board and you shouldn't need to worry about damaging them.

 

[PowerYoga]

the part with the copper strips is one of the durable things on the board. You should be more weary of knocking off resistors, capacitors and whatever from the board itself instead.

 

[stahlhart]

The conductors in the PCIe slot connectors have insertion cycle durability that will far exceed the number of times you may add or remove a card over the motherboard's lifetime. The same could probably be said for the contacts on the graphics card's edge connector.

Where you'll more than likely run into trouble first is oxidation, dirt/dust or corrosion hampering the conductivity between the board and the socket, but this is usually remedied fairly easily by cleaning and/or reseating.

 

[Oyeve]

In my day I have removed and washed vid cards with soap and water all the time. I have also replaced caps and even retraced some circuit traces with solder and this wire. Cards should be pretty strong, of course this was over 7 years ago and my most recent card, a 5770, hasnt been touched since installed 3+ years ago.

 

[lessthanuthought]

how about the weight of the cards? I remember seeing people write about using floss to help support the weight so it doesn't warp the card or the motherboard.

 

[tweakboy]

Depends on the color of the PCB ? LOLOL givin my fans a little hollar. hehee

 

[Dankk]

how about the weight of the cards? I remember seeing people write about using floss to help support the weight so it doesn't warp the card or the motherboard.

Video cards can withstand a little bit of sag, but if you have a huge, high-end card that warps under it's own weight then I would consider using something to prop it up. I personally have zip ties attached to the end of my card to hold it up.

 

[sublime420ec]

ya or just lay the pc flat..... lol then sag is never a issue

looks oldschool but meh alot easier.....

 

[driedupfish]

ya or just lay the pc flat..... lol then sag is never a issue

looks oldschool but meh alot easier.....

I was thinking of doing that but I am not sure if it's safe. What if the PSU falls over and hit the mobo.

 

[Dankk]

I was thinking of doing that but I am not sure if it's safe. What if the PSU falls over and hit the mobo.

If your PSU is properly mounted, it won't.

 

[conorvansmack]

I was thinking of doing that but I am not sure if it's safe. What if the PSU falls over and hit the mobo.

If it's held in properly by 3 or 4 screws, that shouldn't be a concern.

 

[borderdeal]

or you can get a Silverstone Raven case and never worry about the Video card bending

http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/r-photo.php?model=RV02-E&area=en


http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/351/images/Image_44S.jpg

 

[tulx]

or you can get a Silverstone Raven case and never worry about the Video card bending

http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/r-photo.php?model=RV02-E&area=en


http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/351/images/Image_44S.jpg

Yes.

 

[lessthanuthought]

or you can get a Silverstone Raven case and never worry about the Video card bending

http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/r-photo.php?model=RV02-E&area=en


http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/351/images/Image_44S.jpg

That's a nice case. Fkn $200 is a bit pricey though.

100 posts

 

[flexy]

Seeing how much I myself mishandle my old PC, how often I remove components and other shenanigans...I am actually surprised how sturdy components are. (A lot of *** happened already, including metal shavings from the case falling on the PCB causing shorts which caused the entire PC act up until I found the piece etc...)

My case is kind of odd, PCI cards don't align right with the slot-openings, so when I screw some cards in tight they lift away from the sockets, eg. my old Audigy 2 card. When this happens the PC doesn't recognize the card correctly so I need to re-seat it and make sure it doesn't get bent or lifted from the slot. But I never had component failure from mechanical things...IF something fails then because of other issues, not mechanical...so PCBs and the slots seem rather sturdy.

 

[Lean L]

As an FYI, the connector is something that should not be worried about too much. It is not only durable, PCIe will just reduce the bus width if there is damage to the pins. I had a card that I cut off part of the connector to fit onto a server motherboard once. It ran at pci e 2.0 8x instead of 16x. Not that I cared since it was just a 9600GT.