Because of their sometimes insane size, some graphics cards fall victim to damage. In fact, PCBs have been known to break under the weight of the card’s heatsink, which just goes to show how far things have gone. Gigabyte, but also ASUS, are experiencing the same phenomenon. In the case of Gigabyte, however, the brand is carrying out a minor overhaul of its PCBs, reinforcing them… but still not accepting RMAs.
Gigabyte: revised, stronger PCBs?
Clearly, the PCBs of the Taiwanese RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 have undergone a revision, 1.1. This latest revision not only features stronger VRMs, but also a reinforced PCB. As can be seen in the image above, the brand has added a piece of printed circuit board to the PCIe connector hook. We imagine that this will limit the risk of cracking.
For the record, on current versions, when the circuit breaks, it cuts a few tracks in the process. If we’re lucky, this can be repaired by exposing the tracks and reforming them by soldering copper wires over them. But sometimes it’s just not possible.
Worst of all, Gigabyte’s after-sales service declines to deal with the problem, considering it to be a handling error… But the brand is aware that this is a design problem, and has reinforced the PCB as proof.
In short, a matter to be followed up, it’s not impossible that this problem will be dealt with in the future. In the meantime, to avoid damage, use as much as possible the graphics card supports supplied with the CG or case… And if there aren’t any, try adding a few bucks to the equation and turn to a dedicated solution!
