Is my GPU anti-bending set up safe?

Luka Dautovic

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Aug 1, 2015
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Recently I have noticed that my Gigabyte R9 380 GPU is bending slightly, so I thought of a way to fix it, but I am unsure if it's safe one.

I used a copper wire to tie my GPU to the top of my case. On the GPU side of the copper wire I tied it around the heatpipe as there is nothing else to tie it to.

Images:
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Not sure how clearly it can be seen but here is a simplified version I drew:
gpu.png


I want to know if it's safe because I tied a copper wire to the copper heatpipe. The reason why I put a paper between the copper wire and GPU is an aditional safety measure.

The entire set up is pretty phisically stable now, the GPU is now standing firmly in its place and I am fairly certain it isn't bending anymore.

Is this set up safe? Is it safe to tie the copper wire to the heatpipe? Could this cause any heating issues? Does power go through the heatpipe, if so should I remove the copper wire? Is the paper nessecary?

Note that the copper wire is touching the plastic of the gpu all the way, hope it can be seen well in the images. Any help is appreciated.
 
Solution
If you're going to use anything to assist in the load of a PCB based component, copper is by far the worst material to use. The vibration against any edges can cause it to shred itself easily (copper is easily manipulated). And if any portion hits a PCB, it can bridge a circuit, frying what it touches. Google tin whisker for an interesting read on the effects of stray conductive materials.

A better solution would be something that's plastic, nylon or rubber. And don't use a heatpipe to attach. Very dangerous location. If you don't care too much on warranty, drill a small hole in the plastic shroud.

Anarkie13

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Jun 30, 2015
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If you're going to use anything to assist in the load of a PCB based component, copper is by far the worst material to use. The vibration against any edges can cause it to shred itself easily (copper is easily manipulated). And if any portion hits a PCB, it can bridge a circuit, frying what it touches. Google tin whisker for an interesting read on the effects of stray conductive materials.

A better solution would be something that's plastic, nylon or rubber. And don't use a heatpipe to attach. Very dangerous location. If you don't care too much on warranty, drill a small hole in the plastic shroud.
 
Solution

Luka Dautovic

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I see, thank you. I have a steel wire which is sorrounded by plastic, is that safe to use? Its like a plastic with a steel wire inside.
Is plastic safe to use? Wont it warp/melt cause of heat?

Also, I do care about my warranty, so drilling is not an option, however there are holes built on the backplate, I guess I could pull the wire through that? Is that safe? If the backplate is nicely secured I don't think it could be a problem.

So plastic wire through the backplate?
 

Luka Dautovic

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Aug 1, 2015
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My solution, final thoughts?

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I used the plastic zip ties to tie it on one end to the case and the other to the backplate. As you can see the black zip tie goes around the backplate and the others are connected to it. I think this is a pretty safe set up, and the GPU is sitting pretty straight now. Can I safely use it now?
 
Agree with RobCrezz: you are worrying too much, big cards like that do bend slightly, it is because the circuit board is usually made of glassfibre, a naturally flexible material, and is nothing to be worried about.
The only time you should be worried about the card is if you need to transport the entire computer-in which case it's usually a good idea to remove heavy items from the case and pack them separately.
 

Luka Dautovic

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Aug 1, 2015
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As long as it works fine I really dont care how it looks like. I know it isn't really a big deal if it sags a little, but now that I already tied it with the cable ties I think I'll just leave it like that. I mean, it's safe and the card isn't bending so why not?

Thank you all for the help!