Ok I know this is probably a stupid question but I was wondering if it's ok to cut off the "retention tab" on a Graphics Card, by retention tab i mean the little yellowish tan tab that gets locked into place by the locks on most pci-e slots, the reason I ask is because I just found out my brand new gigabyte motherboard has excess plastic that is blocking the graphics card from going in because its far wider than the gap in the pcb on the graphics card and I could have sworn when I got my first graphics card a while ago that I read it's ok to cut or bend off that tab but I figured i'd ask here, to see what i'm talking about as far as the excess plastic check the picture in the thread below.
https://teksyndicate.com/forum/build-pc/need-help-really-quickly/192096
Yes, you can do that and it will work as long as you dont cut a trace or something, however youll lose your warrenty and you might accidentally damage some other part of the pcb.
If you really dont have the patience for a replacement I would try to file down the excess plastic first since its easier to work with and because the mobo is probably worth much less than your gpu.
Anyways, you could try contacting Gigabyte with pictures with the proof of purchase + pcie slot and tell them you dont have time to send it back, maybe theyll be so kind as to just send you a new one.
I can't file it down, its in such an awkward spot and its so thick theirs really no way of getting it out which is why i was resorting to this, I highly doubt they'd just send me a new one aswell, it would be nice but extremely unlikely, i would just DMA it and send it back but I already have everything put together and the having to take it all back apart and especially take out the cpu and cpu fan would be a problem since i'd likely have to get stuff to clean the thermal paste off and reapply new paste, although maybe I wouldn't since it hasn't been ran yet i'm not sure but regardless it's a huge hassel
If i do cut it off what would be the best way, probably heat a razor blade and cut it off that way? I really only have to cut out a notch into it and not the whole thing so hopefully if i used a hot knife it wouldnt crack or anything.
you could use a pci-e riser to get around it. but don't ask me how you'll get it to lay correctly on your case.