The repair company Northridge Fix has a on their YouTube channel Video uploaded, in which a common defect in Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 graphics cards that are overloaded is discussed. A customer sent in 19 models from Asus and Gigabyte, most of which had a cracked circuit board near the retaining bracket on the PCI Express x16 connector.
Such submissions from other customers are also not uncommon; along with overheated 12VHPWR plugs, they are one of the most common sources of errors. While the power plug only affects high-end models with high power consumption, heavy heat sinks can quickly cause damage to other graphics cards too.
Many manufacturers therefore include a support with their graphics cards, which is used to hold the installed graphics card at the rear end and thus distribute the load evenly. Such devices are also available as accessories from most retailers. The graphics card manufacturers and companies like Northridge Fix also recommend using these accessories. However, although these are explained in installation instructions, a prominent reference to the importance of the supports is almost always missing.
Be careful when transporting
Basically, almost all graphics cards are designed to be able to support their own weight. It becomes particularly dangerous when additional stress occurs. A tightly laid power cable, for example, can bend the circuit board further. You should be particularly careful when transporting the PC.
Computers should always be transported in the car lying on the side of the mainboard so that the CPU cooler and graphics card are put under little strain. When shipping, the graphics card must also be fixed on the back in both directions. Traders often bet on this Foam packaging a. Our partner Dubaro, who… Golem PCs builds, computers are usually shipped with the graphics card removed in order to generally rule out this source of error.
If you are shipping or transporting an entire PC at Christmas time, you should also think about removing particularly heavy components such as the graphics card or a large CPU cooler and transporting them separately. Shipping service providers are generally not liable for damage caused by components that are not adequately secured.