Cracked PCIE Slot on Gigabyte EX58 UD5 - HELP!!

[Mackeral_Fillet]

Hi All,

I've had a EX58-UD5 since Jan this year and my machine stopped working last week. I discovered that it was the PCIE slot - I had a ATI 5870 in it and it seems the weight of the card has actually split the PCI slot! You can visibly see where the plastic has cracked under the pressure!

So, has anyone else experienced this, and also, I need to make a warranty claim as it was not fit for purpose! The card was installed as perfectly and has been working fine, just the motherboard decided that it could not handle it and the plastic PCIE slot cracked rendering the board useless!

Help!!

[Dark Mantis]

This is the second one that I know of on this forum. I think these cards are getting so heavy that they are putting an undue pressure on the slot. They really could do with some sort of auxilliary bracket to relieve the strain.

[Peteruk]

They really could do with some sort of auxilliary bracket to relieve the strain.

Or start having ceramic slots ...  

[Lsdmeasap]

There is these to help prevent the issue, and another wire type by another company but I can't think of it right now.
http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_Accessories_features.asp?id=1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999028

http://www.linkecomputer.com/products/1010519/POWER%20JACK/PowerColor/

Not sure who, if anyone, should honor a RMA for you?   I feel it's not your fault though.

[1Day]

If the card is installed correctly and the appropriate number of screws used to hold the card in place then one can reasonably expect the PCI-e slot to not crack.

The only time I saw a PCI-e crack or break was when a lad tried to pull his card out without first releasing the latch. When it got stuck he gave it a healthy twist and that was that. But most of the time they will not crack.

One thing to note is that it might not be the weight of the cards being the cause, as I suspect the heat that the cards are generating might be the part of the cause. Just guessing here but I do know that both my HD5870 and my 480GTX cards really warm up the room when I use them.

My advise is start the RMA process - I assume that the motherboard is still within the RMA period.

[Dark Mantis]

But most of the time they will not crack.

Agreed "most" of the time. The cards are getting heavier though and as the links that Lsdmeasap posted prove there is a need for some sort of support on the larger ones.

You are right about getting it RMAed though. No good as it is and it could be argued in law that it wasn't "fit for purpose". So I think you have every right in  getting it changed.