Asus has quietly revamped its Q-Release Slim mechanism on the newly launched ROG Crosshair X870E Apex motherboard, addressing concerns regarding potential damage to high-end GPUs. This unannounced update involves removing a metal bracket that was previously implicated in scratching the PCIe connectors of graphics cards.

The change first noticed by Uniko’s Hardware comes after months of mounting complaints from enthusiasts who reported cosmetic damage to their GPUs after repeated use of the quick-release feature. The controversy surfaced earlier this year and gained traction as users shared photographic evidence of scratched PCIe pins on social media.

Image credit: Uniko’s Hardware

Asus’s response to the issue varied significantly across different regions. While Asus US downplayed the potential for functional damage, Asus China offered compensation to affected users, including motherboard replacements and store credits. The latter also noted that a hardware revision was underway.

Competitors have seized the opportunity to capitalise on the situation, with Gigabyte publicly challenging Asus with a 100-cycle stress test of their EZ Latch Plus mechanism, demonstrating no GPU damage.

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KitGuru says: Do you own an Asus motherboard with the old Q-Release Slim mechanism? Have you ever encountered any problems with it?

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