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Gigabyte RTX 30 and RTX 40 GPUs Vulnerable to PCB Cracks

winjer

Gold Member






These cracks are attributed to a design flaw near the PCIe slot, resulting in ruptures within the circuit board. Although primarily observed in the RTX 30 series, incidents of PCB tearing have also been reported in the RTX 40 lineup.

Prominent YouTubers Louis Rossmann and JayzTwoCents have raised concerns about a prevalent issue with Gigabyte RTX 30 and RTX 40 GPUs—PCB cracks.Such cracks can lead to power supply disruption, rendering the GPU unable to transfer data and effectively useless. Unfortunately, this damage is not covered under warranty, leaving users with broken video cards. However, the tech-repair community has shared a repair manual on repair.wiki to address these issues, although success rates are relatively low. Caution is advised when attempting repairs, as horizontal use of the GPUs may no longer be safe. Astonishingly, even minor impacts can cause the circuit board to rupture.

The consequences of PCB cracks are severe. Once the rupture occurs, the GPU components are deprived of power supply, leading to the inability to transfer data effectively, rendering the graphics card unusable. Regrettably, this damage is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty, leaving users with broken video cards and no official means of repair. Consequently, numerous Gigabyte GPUs with this defect have surfaced on online platforms like eBay.

Reports from various users have substantiated the presence of physical damage in Gigabyte graphics cards, all indicating a design flaw leading to cracks in the same area near the PCI interface. Once the PCB cracks, the PCIe lanes are irreparably damaged, rendering the graphics card incapable of transferring data.

Nothing To See Here GIF by Giphy QA
 
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Soodanim

Gold Member
I used to be under the impression that Gigabyte was good because they have expensive cards with triple cooler set ups when everyone else was doing dual as well as having decent RMA.

Am I mistaken in thinking this isn't the first time Gigabyte have had bad press in recent years?
 

winjer

Gold Member
Every company has some issues with their designs, once in a while. It just happens.
But refusing to fix the issue is really bad policy. I can only hope this will create a backlash against Gigabyte so bad, it forces them to do the right thing and fix these GPUs.

And if anyone of planning on buying a used GPU, that happens to be from Gigabyte, better check the PCI-e slot for damage.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Looks like most PC component manufactures have some huge problems nowadays.
That's because the old style of pc architecture get's stretched out and out and out.
-We still use the 90s standard for motehrboard and atx power supplies. Onyl expand on it.
-The cards go into slots, the slots don't change.
-These slots were not built for this weight and size of add on cards. CPU slots also.

I would kinda love to see a total reinvention of PC. Something totally new. Maybe no more motherboards, or we plug stuff into gpus, or anything
 

winjer

Gold Member
-We still use the 90s standard for motehrboard and atx power supplies. Onyl expand on it.

Not really. The ATX standard has been continually updated and has received a lot of changes over the years.
We are already on ATX 3.0 and every revision is so different, it's impossible to use a PSU from the 90's on a modern PC and vice-versa.

-The cards go into slots, the slots don't change.

Again, slots have changed a lot. The PCI from the 90's has nothing to do with the current PCie standard. Completely different tech.

-These slots were not built for this weight and size of add on cards. CPU slots also.

Almost every other generation of CPUs from Intel has a new socket. And from AMD 3 or 4 generations.
Things are constantly being changed on the CPU space. Even more than any other PC standard.

The issues with these GPUs are not due to old standards. It's due to bad PCB design.
 

hinch7

Member
If I had to guess.. they cheapened out on the PCB. But also these GPU's are huge, heavy with overbuilt coolers. So I wouldn't be surprised if the weight is causing this along side wear and tear.

Probably a good idea to use a GPU support bracket anyways.
 

GHG

Member
Man Gigabyte and Asus really have been slipping of late.

It's funny because all of the AIBs have just come off a period where they've make the most money they might ever make but yet with the way they've been behaving and the standard of their products of late you'd think they are struggling.
 
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flying_sq

Member
Have an EVGA with the Micro Center warranty. Not sweating it. I'm guessing this is caused by the weight of cards today.
 

GHG

Member
EVGA here... so I am safe? Then again the way my GPU is mounted stuff like this would never happen.

Depends on whats causing it to be honest. The gigabyte ones might be going for now but others might fail down the line if its due to weight/sag.

People need to either mount their GPU's vertically or if horizontal make sure there's some kind of anti-sag/support bracket in place.

I've always found it strange that manufacters will say that some sag is "normal" or words to that effect. Playing with fire.
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
I used to be under the impression that Gigabyte was good because they have expensive cards with triple cooler set ups when everyone else was doing dual as well as having decent RMA.

Am I mistaken in thinking this isn't the first time Gigabyte have had bad press in recent years?
If they denied warranty support for this then yes, you are mistaken. Their warranty is so fucking weasely I am kind of glad this is blowing up for them. These assholes explicitly deny warranty coverage if you bought the card on eBay. If you bought a new, unopened card from a scalper and it fails because of shit engineering you are screwed. Other brands don't care. They know that very few people have issues with their products and stand by their product regardless of how people bought it. So many of these 30 series cards were bought on ebay. I hope the people have receipts from the scalper's purchase and that they eventually win this.

edit. LOL at the end. "That's something Gigabyte would do"
 
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Loope

Member
Depends on whats causing it to be honest. The gigabyte ones might be going for now but others might fail down the line if its due to weight/sag.

People need to either mount their GPU's vertically or if horizontal make sure there's some kind of anti-sag/support bracket in place.

I've always found it strange that manufacters will say that some sag is "normal" or words to that effect. Playing with fire.
The support brackets work in any case?
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Depends on whats causing it to be honest. The gigabyte ones might be going for now but others might fail down the line if its due to weight/sag.

People need to either mount their GPU's vertically or if horizontal make sure there's some kind of anti-sag/support bracket in place.

I've always found it strange that manufacters will say that some sag is "normal" or words to that effect. Playing with fire.
Yh... My GPU is mounted vertically... well whatever the mounting system is in the NZXT H1.
 
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nemiroff

Gold Member
Me reading this with a Gigabyte 3060 installed.

Nervous Key And Peele GIF
At the end of the day you are more than most likely not going to experience any problem whatsoever. It's probably the same as with the connector drama; there were many times more youtube videos made about it than there were people experiencing it.. I think this is more about Gigabyte's terms, because they just need to own the problem and give their customers a free fix or a refund.

If you keep being worried you can always take five minutes of your time to stiffen up the card with brackets etc.

edit:
The support brackets work in any case?
Edit: I misread. You can buy brackets that works for any case, yes (mostly because standards)
 
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GHG

Member
I've been laying my PC down for years just to take the stress off the GPU. All the parts are happier that way.

Yeh my previous case was a HAF XB which is basically setup like a testbench in a case, so never needed to worry about it before. But in my current case I decided to get a universal bracket and mount the GPU vertically to take the stress off, especially since the 4090 is such a behemoth.
 
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winjer

Gold Member
Between exploding PSUs, motherboards with backdoors and cracking GPUs, Gigabyte sure is doing a lot not to earn consumer's trust.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Not really. The ATX standard has been continually updated and has received a lot of changes over the years.
We are already on ATX 3.0 and every revision is so different, it's impossible to use a PSU from the 90's on a modern PC and vice-versa.



Again, slots have changed a lot. The PCI from the 90's has nothing to do with the current PCie standard. Completely different tech.



Almost every other generation of CPUs from Intel has a new socket. And from AMD 3 or 4 generations.
Things are constantly being changed on the CPU space. Even more than any other PC standard.

The issues with these GPUs are not due to old standards. It's due to bad PCB design.
You are not listening to what I am saying.
I've said that it is continually updated. but it is not changed. It is built upon the same principle.
The cpu slot is still the cpu slot and pci express is still the long slot. Name it agp, pci or pcie....
 

Skifi28

Member
Laughs in Asus.

Whatever my card's defect is, at least it's not known yet. Can't worry about what you don't know!
 
If you bought a Gigabyte 4090, it came with a bracket to attach it to the motherboard. The one supplied didn’t work for mine so I bought a bracket off Amazon. Considering how huge the card is and the weight distribution compared to where you slot it, common sense would tell you it needed support.
 

winjer

Gold Member
You are not listening to what I am saying.
I've said that it is continually updated. but it is not changed. It is built upon the same principle.
The cpu slot is still the cpu slot and pci express is still the long slot. Name it agp, pci or pcie....

No change? have you even seen the gigantic list of changes for the ATX power supply?


Have you seen a CPU from the 90's? This is a Pentium II. And it looks like a game cartridge.
It has nothing to do with modern CPU sockets.

gLGBVO6.jpg
 

demigod

Member
Every company has some issues with their designs, once in a while. It just happens.
But refusing to fix the issue is really bad policy. I can only hope this will create a backlash against Gigabyte so bad, it forces them to do the right thing and fix these GPUs.

And if anyone of planning on buying a used GPU, that happens to be from Gigabyte, better check the PCI-e slot for damage.
This is stupid. I have 3090 and 4090 cards from Gigabyte, no issues. I would place the blame on nvidia for making these cards bulky as hell and putting the tab there. They are flimsy and having to press down on the motherboard to get the cards out are already a pita.
That's because the old style of pc architecture get's stretched out and out and out.
-We still use the 90s standard for motehrboard and atx power supplies. Onyl expand on it.
-The cards go into slots, the slots don't change.
-These slots were not built for this weight and size of add on cards. CPU slots also.

I would kinda love to see a total reinvention of PC. Something totally new. Maybe no more motherboards, or we plug stuff into gpus, or anything
Exactly
 

winjer

Gold Member
This is stupid. I have 3090 and 4090 cards from Gigabyte, no issues. I would place the blame on nvidia for making these cards bulky as hell and putting the tab there. They are flimsy and having to press down on the motherboard to get the cards out are already a pita.

Isn't it funny how this issue is only happening with Gigabyte cards?
 

demigod

Member
No change? have you even seen the gigantic list of changes for the ATX power supply?


Have you seen a CPU from the 90's? This is a Pentium II. And it looks like a game cartridge.
It has nothing to do with modern CPU sockets.

gLGBVO6.jpg
There has been no change on pci, agp, pci-e the way they are slotted.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
No change? have you even seen the gigantic list of changes for the ATX power supply?


Have you seen a CPU from the 90's? This is a Pentium II. And it looks like a game cartridge.
It has nothing to do with modern CPU sockets.

gLGBVO6.jpg
yes. I have slot pentium 2 in my basement too...
Power supplies have changed and improved but it's still a box with cables. Molex replaced with sata and so on.
But it's all still essetially the same. If you put a 90s person and ask to assemble a computer, he will have no problem doing so. It's still the same form factor.
Moherboard, pwoer supply, add in cards.
I can mix and match current pc with parts from early 2000s no problem. There was no FUNDAMENTAL change
 
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winjer

Gold Member
There has been no change on pci, agp, pci-e the way they are slotted.

Just because they are slots and have a similar name, does not mean they are the same.
Many modern PCIe slots even have reinforcements around them.

Do YOU have a gigabyte with this issue?

Fortunately not. :messenger_beaming:
But that doesn't change the fact that there are many people with issues with Gigabyte cards.
 

winjer

Gold Member
yes. I have slot pentium 2 in my basement too...
Power supplies have changed and improved but it's still a box with cables. Molex replaced with sata and so on.
But it's all still essetially the same. If you put a 90s person and ask to assemble a computer, he will have no problem doing so. It's still the same form factor.
Moherboard, pwoer supply, add in cards.
I can mix and match current pc with parts from early 2000s no problem. There was no FUNDAMENTAL change

That's like saying we are using the same electric appliances from a century ago, because we still use DC power in our houses.
 

demigod

Member
Just because they are slots and have a similar name, does not mean they are the same.
Many modern PCIe slots even have reinforcements around them.



Fortunately not. :messenger_beaming:
But that doesn't change the fact that there are many people with issues with Gigabyte cards.
They are the same and they have the same shitty tabs sticking out. The reinforcements are not that much better stop making excuses.

I have inserted and removed my cards quite a few times. I am betting it is user error not knowing how to push the tab and yanking it out on accident.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
That's like saying we are using the same electric appliances from a century ago, because we still use DC power in our houses.
You are missing the point.
With these huge graphics cards and huge power draw from cpus... you would think there would be a good time for a form factor change.
Fucking think outside the box
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
As always Gigabyte sucks, don't give them money. They have shoddy products, never had a good experience with them. Being GPUs or motherboards. Go with Asrock, Asus (don't install beta bios, well beta anything) or MSI.

Gigabyte was caught with the same issue as Asus (burning Ryzens 7), but they denied it.
 

winjer

Gold Member
You are missing the point.
With these huge graphics cards and huge power draw from cpus... you would think there would be a good time for a form factor change.
Fucking think outside the box

There has already been BTX and the industry and consumers ignored it. Why, because there really isn't much of a reason, as long as companies follow the standard and make decent designs.
And even with ATX, anyone can put a GPU on the vertical. Be it with a ribbon cable, or a horizontal case.
 

Loope

Member
As always Gigabyte sucks, don't give them money. They have shoddy products, never had a good experience with them. Being GPUs or motherboards. Go with Asrock, Asus (don't install beta bios, well beta anything) or MSI.

Gigabyte was caught with the same issue as Asus (burning Ryzens 7), but they denied it.
i didn't know this. Shit.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
I have the Gaming OC 4090, it's propped up with a brace but as consumer I pay attention to this.

Card is a performer that OC's very well BUT my brand loyalty doesn't run that deep much like the ASUS MB issue with x670.

When the 5090 comes, it will sway me into another AIB card.
 
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