Lab Report: ASUS Q-Release PCIe Mechanism Damage & Claims Leave a comment
Below follows the analysis write-up to recap the subject because it stands at the moment.
Research
Uniko’s Hardware Article & Testing Video:
Uniko’s Hardware uploaded a video plugging and unplugging an ASUS PRIME RTX 4060 Ti OC 8GB right into a ROG STRIX X870-A GAMING WIFI 60 instances. These are the earlier than and after outcomes:
Uniko’s Hardware stories: “After the 60th time, the graphics card still works normally without any faults. After the 60th time, the right corner of the PEG power supply part of the PCB (corresponding to the metal spring in the ASUS special slot) is slightly worn, showing white spots, and the inner side shows black spots.”
This was the consequence after 3 installs/removals. It could also be troublesome to acknowledge, but it surely appears each single plug/unplug cycle might trigger extraordinarily minor beauty harm to the within nook of the PEG energy provide, which usually isn’t obvious till round 60 or so removals.
Uniko’s Hardware wasn’t additional cautious when unplugging the cardboard, however they did appear to principally comply with ASUS’ pointers for unplugging the cardboard, nonetheless they won’t have exaggerated the “slight tilt” as a lot as ASUS would have most well-liked.
Source: https://unikoshardware.com/2025/01/test-asus-pcie-q-release-slim.html and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TdYEknfHgM&t=83s
ASUS’ Press Release Statement
ASUS posted a press launch on January thirty first that included detailed directions on the right way to use the Q-release Slim mechanism, together with these illustrations.
ASUS acknowledged:
“In our internal testing and evaluation of the extremely small number of cases reported we found no damage to the motherboard or graphics card that would affect functionality or performance. However, it is important to emphasize that any type of PCIe add-in card will exhibit signs of usage and wear marking after 60 continuous insertions and removals.”
In the questions part of their webpage, ASUS requested itself “Is ASUS working on design revision/change?” ASUS replied, “If the graphics card is inserted and removed following the manufacturer’s recommended installation methods, there should be no issues.”
ASUS famous, possible in response to the Uniko’s Hardware take a look at video, “60 insertions with incorrect methods caused additional wear, making usage marks more apparent. Incorrect angles and excessive force can cause further scratches but do not affect the functionality of the graphics card or motherboard.”
ASUS famous there have been no reported points on the unique Q-Release (non-slim) mechanism, making it look like they presumably overcomplicated issues by making an attempt to advance the design.
In a touch upon the Intel subreddit that ASUS posted this assertion on, ASUS was requested if these beauty marks would trigger ASUS to disclaim guarantee claims, to which an ASUS (North America) consultant identified:
“First, we note that if there is an issue caused by the Q-Release Slim slot, we’ll take care of end-users in the North America region. I make that distinction because I cover only the NA region.
Second, despite the visual damage you could see that were posted on social media, both cards were unaffected when tested for performance and functionality.
Third, and this is based on many years that I’ve done customer service previously at a competitor, it’s not uncommon to see some signs of usage or wear and tear on the gold fingers just through normal use. In addition to some level of wear by inserting and removing the card, you can also slightly scratch the gold fingers when you miss the slot or set it down on a rough surface, etc. But this kind of wear doesn’t typically damage the card in a way that prevents it from normal operation, and purely cosmetic scratches shouldn’t void warranty.
Lastly, the type of damage you see on the PCIe connector that will void warranty typically involves severe scratches to the connector that exposes metal and/or damage that looks like the card was dropped and made contact with the ground. In these cases, it’s usually apparent that the damage is no longer cosmetic and the card probably won’t function at all.”
Because it’s the video playing cards which are broken, and never the motherboard, we marvel how a lot authority ASUS has for talking on warranties for different producers.
Source: https://www.asus.com/us/information/ya8rt06hmk6xthtq/
Affected Motherboards
ASUS’ motherboard product web page lists 16 SKUs of motherboards with a Q-Release Slim mechanism (listed beneath). These product traces that might characteristic the Q-Release Slim embody: ROG STRIX Z890/B850/X870, ROG MAXIMUS Z890/Z790, TUF GAMING Z890 (just one), and a Pro WS WRX90E (just one).
- Important be aware – not each motherboard from the above product traces characteristic the Q-release Slim, typically this characteristic is dependent upon the SKU from that product line.
- ROG STRIX Z890-H GAMING WIFI
- ROG MAXIMUS Z890 HERO BTF
- ROG STRIX B850-I GAMING WIFI
- ROG STRIX Z890-I GAMING WIFI
- ROG MAXIMUS Z890 APEX
- ROG STRIX Z890-F GAMING WIFI
- ROG STRIX Z890-E GAMING WIFI
- ROG MAXIMUS Z890 HERO
- ROG MAXIMUS Z890 EXTREME
- ROG STRIX Z890-A GAMING WIFI
- TUF GAMING Z890-PRO WIFI
- ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI
- ROG STRIX X870-A GAMING WIFI
- ROG STRIX X870E-E GAMING WIFI
- ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF
- Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE
ASUS Manual Documentation
ASUS’ documentation for utilizing the Q-Release Slim is proven above, stating:
“To release an expansion card on a Q-Release Slim PCIe slot: Pull the front end of the expansion card upwards, this should release the expansion card from the Q-Release Slim PCIe slot, allowing you to remove the expansion card from the Q-Release Slim PCIe slot,” together with a reference illustration. In their most up-to-date press launch, Asus famous a “2 degree angle” in an illustration.
Brief History of Q-Release Slim
ASUS first launched the Q-Release Slim model on August twentieth, 2024, and showcased it at Gamescon 2024, making it a comparatively new characteristic. This got here after their unique Q-Release mechanism that they unveiled in 2021.
Source:
https://press.asus.com/information/press-releases/asus-x870e-x870-motherboards-ryzen-9000/
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/asus-and-msi-debut-motherboards-with-gpu-quick-release-for-easy-upgrades
Issues with Slight Angle
Found by way of PCWorld, Andreas Schilling of HardwareLuxx posted on Bluesky saying, “I have made a schematic drawing of what the problem is in my case. It is not always possible to create the necessary angle because of the back of the case,” together with this image (beneath).
At the time of penning this, ASUS has not responded to points with creating the required angle to make use of the Q-Release Slim mechanism.
In a February 5 tweet, Uniko’s Hardware showcased an instance of extra noteworthy harm to a consumer’s video card. The tweet reads: “we further dig in the photos provided by affected asus users. about the extreme cases reported, actually not just the peg part are damaged but also the corner of the x16 part. we all know the metal piece of q release slim is at the peg side only so the scratches that happened on the x16 part make zero sense. thus we are now suspect the root cause of the problem is the metal between x16 and peg which is intended to be soldered to PCB for smt slot rigidity. our initial test of 60 times plugging and removal shows almost no damage on the x16 part of the PCB, so if you follow tight the asus official guide, the extent of the damage could be minimized.”
It included this picture:
Source:
https://bsky.app/profile/aschilling.bsky.social/put up/3lgwux6ikb22j
https://x.com/unikoshardware/standing/1887113682200707194/picture/1
Simple Recap
- ASUS’ Q-Release Slim mechanism seems to be inflicting harm to the GPU’s PCIe-connector.
- ASUS at present lists 16 SKUs of motherboards that use Q-Release Slim. This characteristic got here out on the finish of August 2024.
- Ultimately, it’s fairly arduous to note the harm triggered, till round 60 or so installs/removals (as highlighted by Uniko’s Hardware testing video). However, you might be able to discover extraordinarily minor harm to the within nook of the PEG energy connector after each removing.
- It is extraordinarily arduous to inform if Uniko’s Hardware completely adopted ASUS’ pointers for removing, but it surely additionally shouldn’t be a requirement to completely comply with the exact angle to the diploma. We suppose that eradicating a video card is a typical course of that ought to not require new care only for this mechanism. ASUS documentation says: “To release an expansion card on a Q-Release Slim PCIe slot: Pull the front end of the expansion card upwards, this should release the expansion card from the Q-Release Slim PCIe slot, allowing you to remove the expansion card from the Q-Release Slim PCIe slot,” which Uniko’s Hardware did comply with, nonetheless of their most up-to-date launch, ASUS highlighted a 2 diploma angle, which we’re unsure if Uniko’s Hardware did on each removing. But this additionally shouldn’t matter.
- ASUS’ most up-to-date press launch acknowledges the problem, however claims that is solely beauty harm to the GPU PCIe-connector (motherboard unaffected) that won’t influence the efficiency or card performance.
- When requested about guarantee claims, the ASUS consultant stated this shouldn’t have an effect on guarantee protection.
- “We note that if there is an issue caused by the Q-Release Slim slot, we’ll take care of end-users in the North America region. I make that distinction because I cover only the NA region,” and “In addition to some level of wear by inserting and removing the card, you can also slightly scratch the gold fingers when you miss the slot or set it down on a rough surface, etc. But this kind of wear doesn’t typically damage the card in a way that prevents it from normal operation, and purely cosmetic scratches shouldn’t void warranty.”
- Because it’s the GPUs which are broken, and never the motherboard, we marvel how a lot authority ASUS has for talking on warranties for different producers.
- “We note that if there is an issue caused by the Q-Release Slim slot, we’ll take care of end-users in the North America region. I make that distinction because I cover only the NA region,” and “In addition to some level of wear by inserting and removing the card, you can also slightly scratch the gold fingers when you miss the slot or set it down on a rough surface, etc. But this kind of wear doesn’t typically damage the card in a way that prevents it from normal operation, and purely cosmetic scratches shouldn’t void warranty.”
- ASUS famous there have been no reported points on the unique Q-Release (non-slim) mechanism, making it look like they presumably overcomplicated issues by making an attempt to advance the design.
- Andreas Schilling of HardwareLuxx posted on Bluesky saying, “I have made a schematic drawing of what the problem is in my case. It is not always possible to create the necessary angle because of the back of the case,” together with an image illustrating the angle challenge.
- Ultimately, evidently this isn’t a big challenge as a result of it solely causes minor beauty harm that won’t have an effect on efficiency of the cardboard and shouldn’t have an effect on the guarantee. Our largest concern is that if ASUS rejects warranties. We’d even be involved if a video card dies for some unrelated cause, then the consumer will get rejected for PCIe harm brought on by ASUS. This is one thing we are able to’t account for till it occurs.
- As a bonus, most finish customers will possible not set up/take away their card 60 instances anyway. This is probably going a a lot larger challenge for reviewers/testers.