Can a lose graphics card retainer on a PCI-E slot cause problems?

[KatanaDV20]

Hey OcUK..

Thought Id better clean out the gaming PC so I took the case apart, removed graphics card and all that. Cleaned out the fans etc. There was a lot of dust so Im glad Ive cleaned things up.

Anyways while seating the gfx card back into its PCI-E slot I used a bit too much force to push the retainer away in order for the card to fit properly into the slot. By retainer I mean the flexible bit of hinged plastic that snaps tight once the card is in place.

Heres a diagram of what Im on about. The drawings in the 3 large circles show the hinged retainer on the end.

Its not REALLY a hinge its just a thin bit of plastic holding it to the slot. Anyway its this bit that Ive kinda done over and its still attached to the slot but there is no tension anymore and it will not snap tight over the bit of the card that juts out. I didnt use THAT much force and so Im annoyed that they design in such a weak feature onto this MOBO You could have the worlds most powerful card sitting in there and be defeated by a lose retainer?

Since Ive done this the PC crashes ever 30-40 mins. BSOD with atikmpag.sys error so its definitely display-related.

Any ideas Ive scrubbed out all the AMD drivers and disabled the card and so far no problems...no crashes.

Would be grateful for any thoughts although Im guessing such a thing cannot be fixed...why dont they build em out of metal and hinge them!

 

[Martini1991]

I've broken off one of them on a board before, didn't cause me any problems.

It was an MSI too

 

[Marky]

I would imagine the problem stems from the graphics card not being held in properly

Unfortunately, that clip is fairly important in holding the card in place. Sometimes you can get away with it... I wonder if you placed your case horizontally, and let mavity hold the card in place, it would make a difference?

 

[KatanaDV20]

I've broken off one of them on a board before, didn't cause me any problems.

It was an MSI too

Ahh thanks mate thats good to know, I forgot to mention I opened the case again before posting this thread and reseated the card to make sure its snug. The two screws on the backplate are holding it down well and Ive made sure the other end where the retainer is is sitting properly.

Im gonna run the PC with the card disabled for another few hrs to make sure no BSODs. But hey thanks for the reply ...feel a bit better lol. Will jump back on here later once Ive installed the latest display drivers.

 

[Freddie1980]

Well you said the card is seated correctly so it's of no consequence that your getting crashes.

The PCI-E hook should require any kind of force in order for it work, just gently moving it up and down with your thumb and index finger is enough. If I were you I would take the card out and start again.

BTW sorry to add to your woes but the admins don't like us hotlinking images. You should re host that picture onto imageshack or Photobucket.

 

[KatanaDV20]

Well you said the card is seated correctly so it's of no consequence that your getting crashes.

The PCI-E hook should require any kind of force in order for it work, just gently moving it up and down with your thumb and index finger is enough. If I were you I would take the card out and start again.

BTW sorry to add to your woes but the admins don't like us hotlinking images. You should re host that picture onto imageshack or Photobucket.

Thanks dude I have reseated the card and I think Im now ready to enable it and install the latest drivers.

Oh and thanks for the reminder about hotlinking, I had forgotten. I just fixed it and the image is now on Photobucket