Asus has been having some trouble with its high-end gaming motherboards. As the newest graphics cards launched, reviewers noticed some scratches and chips on motherboards with the Q-Release Slim system, which lets you pull a card out of its PCIe slot without using latches or buttons. Based on some retail photos, the latest Asus motherboards seem to have revised the problematic slots.
Update, March 26th: An Asus representative confirmed to Dutch site Tweakers.net that the Q-Release Slim ports have been redesigned. Machine-translated quote:
Yes, a change has been made to the Q-Release Slim system for new X870 motherboards. Based on user feedback, we have modified the PCIe slot for the Q-Release Slim system, including removing a metal component to reduce the possibility of damage to the video card. In addition, stickers have been added to the system to inform users about ‘correct system usage.’
The original story from March 14th continues below.
Twitter/X account Uniko’s Hardware spotted a visibly distinct latch mechanism on the Asus X870E Apex motherboard, which is now up for pre-order on Newegg. They speculate that the bracket between the initial retention peg (that first cutout section on the slot of the GPU itself) and the x16 pin area removed a metal bar. It looks like it’s either plastic or a much different, thinner metal construction now.
We’re talking about tiny revisions of a fairly involved design here, but as VideoCardz.com notes, it makes sense that Asus would want to get the design right on its most expensive motherboards. Q-Release Slim is a feature on only a few Asus motherboards, with the intended function being the ability to remove a heavy GPU with one hand and a slight pulling motion from the front but not the middle.
Q-Release (sans Slim) offers a more straightforward option, an extended lever and button that essentially moves the hard-to-reach retention clip to a far more accessible spot on the motherboard. PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray, who’s probably built more PCs than he’s had hot meals at this point, prefers this one. After years of being careful with the sometimes-finicky process of installing and removing GPUs, it feels unnatural to simply grab and yank one out without some secondary protection.
Once again, I’ll point out that the scratching issues on Q-Release Slim motherboards have only been noticed by professional graphics cards testers and reviewers, who plug in and remove cards way more frequently than most at-home desktop PC builders. And even among that small batch of reports, damage to the GPU connections has been entirely cosmetic with no functional issues.
But if I were spending two grand (or more) on a new graphics card and another several hundred dollars on a top-of-the-line motherboard to go along with it, I wouldn’t want the latter to scratch up the former. Asus seems to have acknowledged this, if only fleetingly with some official statements. But yeah, it’s probably worth a little more R&D if they want to keep this feature alive for future motherboard designs.
The adjusted slots are only on pre-order pages so far, so we’ll have to wait for reviews to see if the new Q-Release Slim mechanism is improved.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.