This Asus motherboard feature could damage your GPU, but the company denies it

Asus’ new Q-Release Slim system for quickly removing graphics cards is damaging graphics cards and other PCIe cards, according to new reports. Q-Release Slim is designed to be an easier way to remove PCIe devices, such as graphics cards, from Asus motherboards by removing the need to press a lock release button – you just pull the card straight out – but it appears to be harming the cards in the process. However, Asus has been quick to respond, releasing a statement playing down the severity of the situation.

With Asus motherboards featuring the new quick card release system now being out in the wild, reports are coming in of the new motherboards scratching the printed circuit board (PCB) when being disconnected. This is understandably a major concern for any graphics card user, but especially those looking to buy one of the new best graphics card options such as the $2,000 RTX 5090. That’s if you manage to work out where to buy an RTX 5090, of course.

A video, shown below, demonstrates the issue, with this user continually slotting in then removing the card and it clearly showing signs of scratches and damage after just a few of these cycles. The inside of the quick-release system has metal grips to support the card, which is suspected to be the reason for the scratches.

Meanwhile, one of the complaints comes from Andreas Schilling, the editor of HardwareLuxx. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said that after removing the card “a few dozen times”, it would “very often” get stuck in the PCIe slot. He also attached an image of a small chip near the connector of the PCB.

Chinese users have also shown damage in a similar spot. The post gained enough traction to summon Asus’ Chinese general manager, Tony Yu, saying that he’d reach out to solve the issue.

However, Asus has reacted quickly to these initial reports. In a press release, the company states that “the new design performs similarly to traditional PCIe slots, leaving only usage marks under normal usage frequency.”

The company goes on to say that, “in our internal testing and evaluation of the extremely small number of cases reported, we found no damage to the motherboard or graphics card that would affect functionality and/or performance.” It also points out that “any type of PCIe add-in card will exhibit signs of usage and wear marking after 60 continuous insertions and removals.”

This isn’t the most comprehensive denial of the problem, as while it’s true that most users don’t repeatedly insert and remove graphics cards that often, there certainly are scenarios where a motherboard might be used for hundreds of graphics card swaps – such as in our own graphics card test systems.

As to the correct method of insertion and removal, Asus’ instructions show the user inserting a GPU at a 2-degree angle, from back to front. If you plan on picking up one of Asus’ new quick-release gaming motherboards, you might want to consider following its instructions carefully.

Asus has also announced the pricing for its liquid-cooled RTX 5090, which comes in at $1,000 more expensive than Nvidia’s pricing for its flagship RTX 5000 graphics card.