Question Scratched motherboard resulting in complete failure

[nakedtons]

The symptoms are mild at first. I first noticed something was not right when I upgraded my processor. The new processor failed to power up. Switched back to the old working processor and still could not power up. Waited for a few hours before trying my luck again and it finally booted. However, a month later, I started experiencing display issues. I first thought it was due to the Lian Li extension cables which was not. PC was able to power up but there was no display whenever I reseat my gpu. Took me about 2 or 3 tries before getting a boot. There wasn't any problem after the first successful boot. I then reseat the gpu again after cleaning the gpu. The problem got worse. This time, it took me about 5 to 8 tries before getting a boot with display. I thought I was still able to live with it until another month later when my motherboard totally failed to power up despite not doing anything to my gpu. Tested the PSU on another PC and it worked. I narrowed it down to the motherboard after I tested different GPU, RAM, extension cables and monitors.

Took my motherboard to the ASUS distribution center for RMA and was promptly rejected for scratches on my motherboard's gpu circuitry. The guy accurately described the symptoms I was experiencing with my PC without me telling him anything and then pointed out the severed circuitry around the display area. I was told that it was one of the common mistakes with customers with failed motherboards. I should not force my gpu into the slot as the metal back end of the gpu would damage the tracers over time. I should take my time to make sure everything is properly aligned before pushing in my gpu into the pcie express slot. My warranty was immediately void and I had to get a new motherboard.

 

[Lutfij]

If you're working with a small case and large innards, that would probably warrant you to angle the GPU into your build and cause the PCIe bracket to run across the PCB's surface. I'm also certain that you could send the board to someone like NorthRidgeFix and he could apply a UV mask on the PCB, repair the traces on the board, but it's a guess, not a guarantee from my end. I just follow his work on his YT channel.