News Gigabyte RTX 30, RTX 40 Series GPU PCBs Are Reportedly Cracking

[Admin]

Repair technician and YouTuber Louis Rossmann exposes cases of Gigabyte GeForce RTX 30-series and RTX 40-series graphics cards suffering from PCB cracking.

Gigabyte RTX 30, RTX 40 Series GPU PCBs Are Reportedly Cracking : Read more

 

[InvalidError]

I'd call that a design defect: don't put traces near a high-stress structural point.

Gigabytes knows about their design flaw, which is how they know to look there for the most minute crack to use as an excuse to deny repair/replacement.

Wonder how many other brand GPUs may have a similar latent issue partly caused by their ridiculously large HSFs.

 

[digitalgriffin]

I see this becoming ASUS Gate 2.0

But to be honest Gigabyte is well known to have the worst warranty in the biz when it comes to RMA. I've seen horror story after horror story.

People have yelled about it for years. Seems they only gotten worse.

 

[-Fran-]

Let's be positive here! At least they're not fire hazards!

I think...

Welp, in any case, I hope all people affected get a happy ending with this. It's really quite bad to keep on reading that Gigabyte is still being as crappy as ever with catastrophic/nefarious situations as these.

Regards,

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Well there's goes my next choice for GPU manufacturer. With EVGA out and Gigabyte out, and MSI never a consideration, doesn't leave many choices left...

 

[Phaaze88]

Big * gpu air coolers: part of PCB cracks
Meanwhile, big cpu air coolers:
After all the flak some folks give cpu air coolers... what was that about weight again?

If anyone's seen Buildzoid's video, he talks about shipping/transport damage.

 

[Viking2121]

Big * gpu air coolers: part of PCB cracks
Meanwhile, big ass cpu air coolers:
After all the flak some folks give cpu air coolers... what was that about weight again?

If anyone's seen Buildzoid's video, he talks about shipping/transport damage.

Idk, I've had many dual GPU cards, custom coolers on cards that add a bunch of weight, never seen a PCB crack, Warped and bend yes, Should of seen my 5850 back then, Heck even my 3090ti, Weight isn't the full culprit here, but does aid in the design flaw as most of these GPU's were not shipped in systems.

Most PCB's can handle a shockingly amount of bending before cracking, heck some don't even start to crack until forcibly bent at nearly 45 degrees, This is clearly a design/Manufacturing flaw in the PCB or just cheaping out on the PCB material itself which is gigabyte so doesn't surprise me.

Gigabyte making cards this heavy also should support the cards in a better way, if that means adding in more mount point to the cooler, so be it, Other Manufactures are not having this problem, and will not have this problem and have heaver cards.

 

[bit_user]

Welp, in any case, I hope all people affected get a happy ending with this.

Unless they file a class action lawsuit, how is any "happy ending" even possible? RMAs were denied, leaving them no other recourse. This is just, plain bad.

 

[bit_user]

If anyone's seen Buildzoid's video, he talks about shipping/transport damage.

Once upon a time, cases used to have slots that would engage the other end of full-length cards. I've also seen over-the-top braces that would hold the edge opposite the motherboard, offering support for cards too short to reach the end slots. I wonder if either of those solutions will return.

I think GPU backplates have made the industry too complacent about GPU weight issues.

Most PCB's can handle a shockingly amount of bending before cracking, heck some don't even start to crack until forcibly bent at nearly 45 degrees, This is clearly a design/Manufacturing flaw in the PCB or just cheaping out on the PCB material itself which is gigabyte so doesn't surprise me.

Bending is different than a mechanical shock to a PCB under tension. If the motherboard isn't perfectly positioned, relative to the back of the case, there can be a lot of tension created by screwing the card into it. This tension makes the PCB more susceptible to mechanical shocks applied in the perpendicular direction, such as when the shipping box containing a prebuilt machine is dropped onto the floor.

 

[InvalidError]

Big * gpu air coolers: part of PCB cracks
Meanwhile, big ass cpu air coolers:
After all the flak some folks give cpu air coolers... what was that about weight again?

Large CPU coolers usually screw into a backplate to distribute the pressure across the PCB instead of putting all of the load directly on the mounting holes. The retention tab on GPUs has to bear all of the pull-out forces that may occur during a pre-built's shipping on its own when no additional bracing is provided to pick up that load.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

I'd call that a design defect: don't put traces near a high-stress structural point.

But to be honest Gigabyte is well known to have the worst warranty in the biz when it comes to RMA. I've seen horror story after horror story.

Let's be positive here! At least they're not fire hazards!

Well there's goes my next choice for GPU manufacturer. With EVGA out and Gigabyte out, and MSI never a consideration, doesn't leave many choices left...

Big * gpu air coolers: part of PCB cracks

Gigabyte making cards this heavy also should support the cards in a better way, if that means adding in more mount point to the cooler, so be it, Other Manufactures are not having this problem, and will not have this problem and have heaver cards.

I think GPU backplates have made the industry too complacent about GPU weight issues.

In response to all of the quoted posts I'll just say I don't work for Gigabyte nor am I a shareholder... but I am quite happy with their card.

This is the first non-EVGA card I've had... and I went with it because a) it was white and b) I got a 4th year of warranty for registering the card.

I have absolutely 0 complaints thusfar.

The card does sag a good 1/8 of an inch and did come with an anti-sag bracket (see the 3 installation holes on the right side) but I didn't like the looks of it in the case so I decided to use the Force instead.

 

[InvalidError]

Let's be positive here! At least they're not fire hazards!

I think...

According to a wiki on how to repair those cracked cards, it seems some of the traces actually carry power and the success rate is only about 10% because power shorting to something else while the card is running usually kills other stuff.

Wherever power shorts to something, there is at least a small possibility of fire if you put enough lint on top.

 

[bit_user]

In response to all of the quoted posts I'll just say I don't work for Gigabyte nor am I a shareholder... but I am quite happy with their card.

This is the first non-EVGA card I've had... and I went with it because a) it was white and b) I got a 4th year of warranty for registering the card.

At work, we bought a Gigabyte GTX 1080, after former contributor Igor Wallossek (current proprietor of igorslab.de) rated it among the best-designed of a dozen or so he examined. It was also very reasonably priced. It held up fine to our deep learning 24/7 workloads, while we still used it for that.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Card Roundup

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Of course, that was so long ago it has essentially no bearing on the 3000 and 4000-series Gigabyte cards mentioned by the article.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

Of course, that was so long ago it has essentially no bearing on the Gigabyte cards of mentioned by the article.

Yeah if I ever have any issues these forums will most likely be the first to know... much like was the case with the exploding Ryzen back in April. As of today though I'm all good and I believe I've done my part to prevent issues. I think card sag has a lot to do with these problems and that's an issue with all 30 and 40 series cards pretty much.

I do think the 5000 series cards will require a separate case.

 

[hotaru251]

My biggest issue with upgrading my GPU has never been price..its not knowing what company to trust.
I still run an EVGA gpu because their support was best in industry. I knew if something happened it'd be taken care of.

This sucks for people having (allegedly) damaged gpu at no fault of their own.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

This entire GPU generation has been one GIANT clustertruck. Melting PCB power connectors, insane power draw, insane physical dimensions, melting CPU's (AMD). No thanks, i'm sitting this generation on the sideline. I'll just keep trucking with my 2070 Super and RTX 3080.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

This entire GPU generation has been one GIANT clustertruck. Melting PCB power connectors, insane power draw, insane physical dimensions, melting CPU's (AMD). No thanks, i'm sitting this generation on the sideline. I'll just keep trucking with my 2070 Super and RTX 3080.

AMD's CPU issue has been resolved... and I'm guessing your Intel CPU draws a good bit of power because that's how Intel rolls.

As for the GPUs... it's only gonna get worse.

 

[bit_user]

This sucks for people having (allegedly) damaged gpu at no fault of their own.

Well, the warranty claim got denied because physical damage suggests it's not the manufacturer's fault. You'd probably find most manufacturers would react the same way.

Unless there's an obvious manufacturing defect present, it's hard to argue there wasn't some form of mistreatment that happened after it left the factory. Even if a poor design made the product more susceptible to damage.

 

[bit_user]

This entire GPU generation has been one GIANT clustertruck. ... melting CPU's (AMD).

What the heck? Let's try and keep this on-topic.

 

[InvalidError]

Well, the warranty claim got denied because physical damage suggests it's not the manufacturer's fault. You'd probably find most manufacturers would react the same way.

The manufacturer is the one who decided to route essential traces near the board edge where they would be likely to get damaged by stress on the PCIe retention tab. The manufacturer is also responsible for picking the materials used to make the PCB and according to Jayz', it seems Gigabytes makes its PCBs from less rigid PCB material than other brands. Extra flex would also contribute to higher probability of breaking traces that pass close to a high stress point.

 

[-Fran-]

According to a wiki on how to repair those cracked cards, it seems some of the traces actually carry power and the success rate is only about 10% because power shorting to something else while the card is running usually kills other stuff.

Wherever power shorts to something, there is at least a small possibility of fire if you put enough lint on top.

Well, I'll try to remember people with Gigabyte cards to not put small sticks inside their PCs anymore. Shame... I thought it would become a trend.

Heh.

The manufacturer is the one who decided to route essential traces near the board edge where they would be likely to get damaged by stress on the PCIe retention tab. The manufacturer is also responsible for picking the materials used to make the PCB and according to Jayz', it seems Gigabytes makes its PCBs from less rigid PCB material than other brands. Extra flex would also contribute to higher probability of breaking traces that pass close to a high stress point.

Even if Gigabyte wasn't the one making them, they're still slapping their name on the full product, so they need to pony up. I hope this online pressure (to call it something?) does the trick for the affected peeps.

These GPUs were not cheap for them and it sucks donkey marbles having to eat the cost in full for a replacement. Plus, Gigabyte already has a history here. Recent even. They'll need to react and do something; hopefully positive for the affected people.

Regards.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

AMD's CPU issue has been resolved... and I'm guessing your Intel CPU draws a good bit of power because that's how Intel rolls.

As for the GPUs... it's only gonna get worse.

Which is why I have switched to gaming consoles for my gaming needs. Most if not all the games I play have been designed for the latest consoles and when I compare those games they all look and play good enough in 4K. I'm not going to encourage Nvidia and AMD with thses BS designs. Pretty soon you're going to need a personal mini power station to power these devices.

 

[RedBear87]

Well, the warranty claim got denied because physical damage suggests it's not the manufacturer's fault. You'd probably find most manufacturers would react the same way.

Unless there's an obvious manufacturing defect present, it's hard to argue there wasn't some form of mistreatment that happened after it left the factory. Even if a poor design made the product more susceptible to damage.

Looking at the whole 16-pin power connector debacle, I would say that it's not necessarily the case. Gigabyte is being stingy, hoping that GPU buyers have short memories or that they don't read outlets like this one at all. They should have RMAed those cards, perhaps taking the chance to educate people about the risks that come with the oversized triple fans, 3-4+ slots thick, GPUs that are becoming common nowadays, and the steps that can be taken to alleviate them.

EDIT: For the record, to an extent this is hardly an isolated incident, but it seems to affect even fairly new GPUs if it concerns RTX 4000 GPUs as well.

 

[bit_user]

The manufacturer is the one who decided to route essential traces near the board edge where they would be likely to get damaged by stress on the PCIe retention tab. The manufacturer is also responsible for picking the materials used to make the PCB and according to Jayz', it seems Gigabytes makes its PCBs from less rigid PCB material than other brands.

Those are all arguments you could make in court, if it gets that far.

I'm just saying that standard warranty policies absolve the manufacturer, in the event that physical damage is evident. That's what's so pernicious about this issue.

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

In response to all of the quoted posts I'll just say I don't work for Gigabyte nor am I a shareholder... but I am quite happy with their card.

This is the first non-EVGA card I've had... and I went with it because a) it was white and b) I got a 4th year of warranty for registering the card.

I have absolutely 0 complaints thusfar.

The card does sag a good 1/8 of an inch and did come with an anti-sag bracket (see the 3 installation holes on the right side) but I didn't like the looks of it in the case so I decided to use the Force instead.

Nice system, that is one mega massive looking heat sink fin rack