Some of Asus’s new AMD 800-series motherboards feature a brilliant new graphics card retention system that makes it easier than ever before to remove a graphics card. The new Asus Q-Release Slim feature uses an automatic release system such that there’s no need to press a button to unhook your graphics card.
The new Asus feature will be coming to its AMD-based best motherboard contenders in the near future and will make it a breeze to swap out your gaming GPU. While such a swap for actual graphics card upgrades might be relatively rare for most gamers, the need to remove a card for other system upgrades or maintenance – such as cleaning your PC – is a relatively frequent occurrence. This new system could save time and reduce the risk of a damaged graphics card, motherboard, or grazed knuckles.
The mechanism, which is demonstrated in the video above, looks like it uses a standard graphics card retention clip, just with a wide, easy-to-push plastic section on its end. However, this clip is spring-loaded such that it’s always open by default, only closing around the retention point on your GPU once the card is pushed into place.
With the card seated in the motherboard, it’s now securely held so that if it’s pulled directly upwards or from the front edge of the card (the part without the IO bracket and where the power cables generally go) the clip will hold on tight. However, if you pull from the IO bracket end of the card, the clip lets the card pull free.
Crucially, it’s this IO bracket end of the card that is where you secure the card to your PC case, so, in theory, as long as the card is screwed down, it will be held secure. I do have a slight worry that there could be some situations where removing these screws could allow a card to swing loose, but the merest bit of support from your hand should seemingly mitigate this.
The new mechanism was showcased by Asus at the Gamescom convention that’s taking place this week, with other big gaming PC hardware announcements including Nvidia G-Sync being changed forever and the reveal of a full Secretlab white desk and accessories lineup.
