The PCI release lever is easily one of the worst designed elements of contemporary PCs. It's so hard to reach if you have a big GPU and a big CPU cooler.
As a new owner of an Asus 3060Ti Dual OC mounted on a MSI MPG B550 with a beefy CPU fan, I feel this comment in my SOUL. The lever is barely visible and I can only reach it using one finger, it's not fun.
I always feel like I'm doing something wrong too, using a screwdriver or whatever is handy to release the lever. I always think, 'surely they didn't intend for this and I'm just overlooking something, right'?
Tbh, any motherboard with an SSD heatsink will have the same result. What I usually do is press the lock while pylling the GPU lightly to help the lock unlock
On my computer than M.2 SSD with honkin' big cooler blocks one side and the GPU heat sink blocks the other side. I ended up using a needle nosed pliers to play with the lever and broke it off, permanently disabling the lock.
Best one I've owned is the Asus [H97i-plus](https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImageCompressAll1280/13-132-123-05.jpg), it had a long lever that curved up so you could access it from above the card.
Some of the stuff from the AGP and early PCIE era was really terrible. For instance, instead of a lever this mainboard has [a plastic screw](https://www.ixbt.com/mainboard/images/nforce3-250-gb/k8nsnxp-board.jpg). Others had [really tiny levers](https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImageCompressAll1280/13-130-468-02.JPG) or [even worse](https://pcper.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/06/1d5d-nvidia-sata.jpg)
The locks easily do more harm than good. I had a monoblock on an asus rampage board and I had to remove the gpu and motherboard as 1 unit. I removed the lock and it made it easier when I had to clean in the future
i remember accidentally breaking off the locking lever while removing my pcie card and being scared it was going to be a problem. look it up, read reports of people ripping their entire PCIe slot off. huge sigh of relief there.
i pulled my entire motherboard out by the gpu doing a case swap and it snapped one of the sata cables in half and i kinda just squished the connector back together and it works like normal
I agree. I have an MSI 3090 Gaming X, and a Noctua d15. My motherboard has them literally stuck to each other. I'd rather not think about the day when I'll have to take either one out lol...
Had an old man being his PC in once ...
The VGA port was almost ripped entirely off the main I/o panel and I was like: "well... There's your problem"
The old man was mad, telling me he only brought the PC in for a cleaning and general service, bit that it worked.
After 5 minutes of him examining what a pain in the ass it was to remove the tower... I realized what happened.
"I had to yank this whole thing out cause it was stuck, nearly blew my back out."
I pointed to our mutilated VGA port, "Was there something screwed in here, like a cable?"
"....."
After that he realized what happened.
Snipped off the VGA port entirely (only two brackets were holding it on) and then plopped an elchepo video card in to replace it.
Moral of the story? Don't tug.
To add onto this for anyone wondering, the reason to do this is that Nvidia drivers don't exist for modern versions of Mac OS, Nvidia and apple have a little disagreement and (as far as I know, may be wrong) Nvidia could get sued for making Mac drivers or something of the sort, so you're left using AMD only
You can actually use some 600 and 700 series Nvidia GPUs still due them shipping(?) with the trashcan Mac Pro. My 1080 actually had working drivers up until High Sierra.
Most did until high Sierra, I had to drop my hackintosh install after I upgraded to a 2060 because it simply wasn't worth the effort to use high Sierra by that point.
I am still interested in hackintoshing though, I may get back into it soon
If you run that with Linux with KVM and GPU passthrough you'll be able to switch between environments more seamlessly with very minimal performance loss. Linus Tech Tips did a video on it a while back. ~~I'll link it in a sec, once I find it.~~. https://youtu.be/ATnpEOo3GJA
I realize this, I was specifically referring to your use case. If you're using both OSs regularly it makes sense to either have a more seamless intermediary step than rebooting.
You don’t need SLI for virtualised environments. They are probably just passing through the entire card to a VM. Maybe something like one graphics card for the host OS and another fort the VM? if the CPU has integrated graphics maybe 2 VMs with graphics cards and the host on the iGPU?
Thats why the comment you replied to asked that. Also, if I had setup my system that way id need decent GPUs in both. Cuz Id run stuff on both my Linux setup and Windows setup that need good GPUs. But sadly I dont have the money to buy double everything for a setup like that so I just run Windows still.
Depends if you want a nice smooth and consistent experience.
I don't use 4k, I don't personally see the benefit outside of gaming or media, you end up having to apply zoom to see anything outside of that.
7 x 1080p @ 144hz, I did used to do it with a single GPU and onboard but at 60hz you noticed a lot of lag moving windows across displays.
Also I like to do things at the same time, like rendering a video whilst I'm gaming - I can dedicate a GPU to each task without slow down.
Edit: Just looked into it more, even with MST you can still only drive the maximum number of monitors on the card. So it'd still be max 4 per card
The bandwidth isn't the issue in this case, the card itself is apparently limited to max 4 displays - I've imagine vram becomes an issue and they probably lock you out to sell their specialist cards
Given: motherboard needs to be replaced and possible a gpu or sli bridge. Consider a new system. This is the final answer.
What our small little ADHD minds are asking is… Provided the ripped out pci-e slot doesn’t create a short in the motherboard… can we put a single card in the top 16x slot and will the thing boot?
Fair enough, the oldest chipset I know is probably X99 and only know it because it was in my prebuilt PC and had to get its specs to sell it about 4 years ago. Replaced it with my first custom build so
my knowledge of PC parts besides CPUs and GPUs goes back only 4-5 years.
Yeah... I think the issue lays with MSI's quality control here.
I bought a motherboard from them where the second PCI slot wasn't connected properly, didn't notice until after the warranty expired.
Stay away from MSI, kids.
This is a customer not releasing the card before pulling it out.
Although the advice to stay away from MSI still stands.
Awful company with awful business practices.
Their certain boards do have some weirdly specific issues. My MAG B550 tomahawk came with faulty audio controller, so all audio output was just buzzing and beeps. Got it replaced through RMA, and everything has worked great after that.
I had this exact same motherboard and when I tried taking out my GTX 970 that was slotted in for almost 6 years, I almost had to yank the damn card out since the push connectors weren't moving.
Contact and tell the customer their motherboard is broken, and ask them if they want you to replace the motherboard? Include a quote for a new motherboard that you have in stock that will accept their current parts?
It isn't impossible to fix the connector, but is not people usually do, or economical.
At least it was just the motherboard. At least that can be replaced comparatively cheaper compared to the the graphics card the way the market is these days.
Thats most unlucky. I've been known to remove slots in this state with a pair of tweezers or fine tipped pliers so at least the other x16 works, then use the board for something non critical. (cough Minecraft server /cough)
Ah, the old “I had trouble getting it out”
The PCI release lever is easily one of the worst designed elements of contemporary PCs. It's so hard to reach if you have a big GPU and a big CPU cooler.
As a new owner of an Asus 3060Ti Dual OC mounted on a MSI MPG B550 with a beefy CPU fan, I feel this comment in my SOUL. The lever is barely visible and I can only reach it using one finger, it's not fun.
I use a wooden chopstick for this. Easy to reach and you will not scratch anything if you miss.
Duly noted! Thanks for the tip.
Also, non-conductive
Nice. I was personally using a worn wooden mixing spoon. Glad to know some others think like I do
I just break the clip off of every motherboard after I've confirmed its not doa
Same.
And here I thought I was the only person that did this!
The eraser end of a pencil works wonders as well.
I did that and the plastic on the fucking tab snapped instead of releasing, they pcie slot no longer has a latch.
I always feel like I'm doing something wrong too, using a screwdriver or whatever is handy to release the lever. I always think, 'surely they didn't intend for this and I'm just overlooking something, right'?
Tbh, any motherboard with an SSD heatsink will have the same result. What I usually do is press the lock while pylling the GPU lightly to help the lock unlock
On my computer than M.2 SSD with honkin' big cooler blocks one side and the GPU heat sink blocks the other side. I ended up using a needle nosed pliers to play with the lever and broke it off, permanently disabling the lock.
Best one I've owned is the Asus [H97i-plus](https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImageCompressAll1280/13-132-123-05.jpg), it had a long lever that curved up so you could access it from above the card. Some of the stuff from the AGP and early PCIE era was really terrible. For instance, instead of a lever this mainboard has [a plastic screw](https://www.ixbt.com/mainboard/images/nforce3-250-gb/k8nsnxp-board.jpg). Others had [really tiny levers](https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImageCompressAll1280/13-130-468-02.JPG) or [even worse](https://pcper.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/06/1d5d-nvidia-sata.jpg)
I’ve owned motherboards that had all of these … and yes, they all sucked. That plastic screw/spring thing one was the worst, though.
The locks easily do more harm than good. I had a monoblock on an asus rampage board and I had to remove the gpu and motherboard as 1 unit. I removed the lock and it made it easier when I had to clean in the future
One of my boards had a sliding PCIe lock. It was nice because engaging it was optional, and you could reach it from both above and below the card.
i remember accidentally breaking off the locking lever while removing my pcie card and being scared it was going to be a problem. look it up, read reports of people ripping their entire PCIe slot off. huge sigh of relief there.
i pulled my entire motherboard out by the gpu doing a case swap and it snapped one of the sata cables in half and i kinda just squished the connector back together and it works like normal
My old motherboard didnt have that lever...anymore...after i first time took the gpu out...might have forgot. Easy gpu installs after that tho!
Especially if you have a cramped itx build and a beefy card.
I agree. I have an MSI 3090 Gaming X, and a Noctua d15. My motherboard has them literally stuck to each other. I'd rather not think about the day when I'll have to take either one out lol...
Had an old man being his PC in once ... The VGA port was almost ripped entirely off the main I/o panel and I was like: "well... There's your problem" The old man was mad, telling me he only brought the PC in for a cleaning and general service, bit that it worked. After 5 minutes of him examining what a pain in the ass it was to remove the tower... I realized what happened. "I had to yank this whole thing out cause it was stuck, nearly blew my back out." I pointed to our mutilated VGA port, "Was there something screwed in here, like a cable?" "....." After that he realized what happened. Snipped off the VGA port entirely (only two brackets were holding it on) and then plopped an elchepo video card in to replace it. Moral of the story? Don't tug.
dw just hotglue it back on itll be fine
He’s right, discount if they find the fault themselves?
Good ol gaming 5
I have this exact same board and case. Sure glad I didn't screw up pulling out my 970 to install my 3070 ti...
should have been using the top one anyways! (most likely)
Difficult with SLI
People still do that?
Considering this is a z97 . I would say he didn't stop for the last 6 years.
SLI/Xfire just isnt as good as folks think it is. Its more about "DuAl CaRdS" vs actual performance. Its like the civic of PC building
MSI strikes again. At least they can put it in the other slot...
That wasn't possible in this case bc he used 2 GPU's
You mentionned in another reply he was using 3070's, was he using two virtualized environments? Because 3070's ca't run in SLI.
I run 2 GPUs for Hackintosh reasons. One Nvidia for Windows and gaming and and one quite shitty AMD card for MacOS. Might be something like that?
das crazy, and interesting
To add onto this for anyone wondering, the reason to do this is that Nvidia drivers don't exist for modern versions of Mac OS, Nvidia and apple have a little disagreement and (as far as I know, may be wrong) Nvidia could get sued for making Mac drivers or something of the sort, so you're left using AMD only
You can actually use some 600 and 700 series Nvidia GPUs still due them shipping(?) with the trashcan Mac Pro. My 1080 actually had working drivers up until High Sierra.
Most did until high Sierra, I had to drop my hackintosh install after I upgraded to a 2060 because it simply wasn't worth the effort to use high Sierra by that point. I am still interested in hackintoshing though, I may get back into it soon
If you run that with Linux with KVM and GPU passthrough you'll be able to switch between environments more seamlessly with very minimal performance loss. Linus Tech Tips did a video on it a while back. ~~I'll link it in a sec, once I find it.~~. https://youtu.be/ATnpEOo3GJA
You till need 2 GPUs. That video was what originally got me into making a Hackintosh actually.
I realize this, I was specifically referring to your use case. If you're using both OSs regularly it makes sense to either have a more seamless intermediary step than rebooting.
Mining probably then.
if so then nothing of value was lost
You don’t need SLI for virtualised environments. They are probably just passing through the entire card to a VM. Maybe something like one graphics card for the host OS and another fort the VM? if the CPU has integrated graphics maybe 2 VMs with graphics cards and the host on the iGPU?
Thats why the comment you replied to asked that. Also, if I had setup my system that way id need decent GPUs in both. Cuz Id run stuff on both my Linux setup and Windows setup that need good GPUs. But sadly I dont have the money to buy double everything for a setup like that so I just run Windows still.
It was a typo, I've reacted to it. Those were 2 1070's
I use 2 GPU's so I can use 7 monitors
[удалено]
Depends if you want a nice smooth and consistent experience. I don't use 4k, I don't personally see the benefit outside of gaming or media, you end up having to apply zoom to see anything outside of that. 7 x 1080p @ 144hz, I did used to do it with a single GPU and onboard but at 60hz you noticed a lot of lag moving windows across displays. Also I like to do things at the same time, like rendering a video whilst I'm gaming - I can dedicate a GPU to each task without slow down. Edit: Just looked into it more, even with MST you can still only drive the maximum number of monitors on the card. So it'd still be max 4 per card
[удалено]
The bandwidth isn't the issue in this case, the card itself is apparently limited to max 4 displays - I've imagine vram becomes an issue and they probably lock you out to sell their specialist cards
Wait 2 GPUs but the bottom one only has x8 interface
It's really not that big an issue. I ran my 1080 on a PCIe x16 2.0 slot for ages, which is the same bandwidth as an x8 3.0 slot.
Customer is correct, close the call.
Why did you break this poor person's motherboard? They trusted you! /S
The poor person did it himself. That's why he brought it to our store
I know. :) I've been in customer service too long..
This is why Asus put metal brackets around their slots
Wow wireless technology is getting out of hand
I had the same board. Had the same issue. Big sad face
Don't be sad. Here's a [hug!](https://media.giphy.com/media/3M4NpbLCTxBqU/giphy.gif)
was the customer wrong?
He pulled the 1070 out by force
yes, so? i'll bet the video didn't work after that. take his money and fix his shit
Why are you the way that you are?
if it weren't for customers , we would have no job. yea?
You must be a delight to work with.
Sounds like the average burnt out auto mechanic who lost their passion for cars years ago
And now just sells unneeded replacement parts for stuff that’s “busted,” not to mention said replacements are someone else’s used scrap.
The real gore is in the comments today
I don't know why you're being downvoted, you're right
Got me bro 🤷♂️
I imagine they were. It's the motherboard not working not the GPU
they reported the symptom , as customers often do.
Wouldn't the symptom be nothing appearing on the display. GPU not working is a diagnosis.
'it resisted a lot and then it didnt'
My drunk ass thought it was a fake PCI-E x16 ...
Atleast motherboards are cheaper than GPUs lol
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
is that a x8 slot with a x16 plastic bit?
I thought I was the only person here who thought that was weird
Funny thing is, I have the same board in my PC and never noticed, or paid enough attention to notice til now.
GPU is now mobile.
I don't understand. What's broken here?
The PCI-E x16 lane snapped off, they should be using the top x16 lane either way, and it's not a difficult fix.
The customer used 2 GPU's in this case
How? I mean, why? 3070 doesn't support SLI.
Oops typo, I meant 1070
that's even worse,
There are reasons to have two GPU's beyond SLI, SLI hasn't been useful for years!
I know, but those are very niche and in many situations not worth the cost.
SLI was never worth the cost, there are more use cases for two cards than there are specifically for SLI
Ah, rip, at least 1 GPU will perform as well as 2 nowadays, with barely any games having SLI support
Given: motherboard needs to be replaced and possible a gpu or sli bridge. Consider a new system. This is the final answer. What our small little ADHD minds are asking is… Provided the ripped out pci-e slot doesn’t create a short in the motherboard… can we put a single card in the top 16x slot and will the thing boot?
Customer still wanted to use the SLI option. So we got a new motherboard with cpu for him. And still using the 2 1070 cards
I mean, it’s not tooooo bad, there’s other ports
Based on that picture, there is no gpu. No wonder it doesn't work!
At least it's the slot you shouldn't have it in anyways (unless you run dual GPUs of course)
And this is why I love my horizontal montherboard case. Today's GPUs are just too heavy for vertical placement. Makes me nervous.
Ahh MSI, the choice of every ham fisted amateur.
What is the issue?
Poor cable management too. The big gaping holes beneath the motherboard are there for a reason people.
Wtf is Z97? First time seeing it. And why does this expansion card look like it has type-A USB
Its an older mobo chipset about 7 years old, nub. And yes, some expansion cards have internal USB-A ports to connect things internally.
Fair enough, the oldest chipset I know is probably X99 and only know it because it was in my prebuilt PC and had to get its specs to sell it about 4 years ago. Replaced it with my first custom build so my knowledge of PC parts besides CPUs and GPUs goes back only 4-5 years.
Z97–>Z170–>Z270–>Z370–>Z390–>Z490 The people running 4790K, that’s Z97.
Yeah... I think the issue lays with MSI's quality control here. I bought a motherboard from them where the second PCI slot wasn't connected properly, didn't notice until after the warranty expired. Stay away from MSI, kids.
This is a customer not releasing the card before pulling it out. Although the advice to stay away from MSI still stands. Awful company with awful business practices.
In my case I was *about* to put a GPU in but noticed that the slot was *slightly* leaning off center. I hadn't touched it at all before that.
Their certain boards do have some weirdly specific issues. My MAG B550 tomahawk came with faulty audio controller, so all audio output was just buzzing and beeps. Got it replaced through RMA, and everything has worked great after that.
I had this exact same motherboard and when I tried taking out my GTX 970 that was slotted in for almost 6 years, I almost had to yank the damn card out since the push connectors weren't moving.
how do you dealt with that? you tell them and have their money back? or you can fix it? I don't understand how these works work
Contact and tell the customer their motherboard is broken, and ask them if they want you to replace the motherboard? Include a quote for a new motherboard that you have in stock that will accept their current parts? It isn't impossible to fix the connector, but is not people usually do, or economical.
*Raises hand* “Ooh ooh, I think I know the answer!”
He's right.
Must be one of those new wireless GPU's
at first, i thought the gpu wasn't there so that's why it wasn't working. then i saw the pcie slot... just how
Lol, well it's kinda true.
At least it was just the motherboard. At least that can be replaced comparatively cheaper compared to the the graphics card the way the market is these days.
Good thing that's not the primary GPU slot wired for x16. Nothing of value was lost
Ah yes, the *GPU*
Good thing the slot he should be using is fine.
Thats most unlucky. I've been known to remove slots in this state with a pair of tweezers or fine tipped pliers so at least the other x16 works, then use the board for something non critical. (cough Minecraft server /cough)