Is it fine not to secure the graphics card?

[Noor_awsome]

I'm trying to secure my graphics card with a screw from one of the brackets I taken off. However, it's not going in. Is it fine if I skip that step?

 

[volkgren]

No, not really. Without the screw the GPU can wiggle around and damage the GPU or the motherboard's PCIe slot. It's not required to function, but you really need to secure it.

 

[Dugimodo]

It's better if it's attached, you could just use a zip tie in a pinch. You could probably use it ok without attaching it, but too much movement could cause some damage to the pcie slot over time.

Are you sure it's the right screw? PC cases usually have 2 types, a fine threaded one for optical drives and SSDs and a coarser thread for the sides and expansion slots etc. Sometimes the manufacturer does thing differently but the coarse thread is the more common one for this.

 

[pete_101]

The screw prevents the card from putting sideways pressure on the expansion slot. Without it, there is a lot of leverage on your card and it could possibly lead to the connection breaking off.

 

[Noor_awsome]

I realized I didn't fully inserted my graphics card. It was just half way out of the slot.