Graphics card install question

[Mac Kiwi]

I have been fascinated by watching videos of people installing graphics cards ( Macpro 3/1 and earlier ) where some point at a clip to release the older card, some just pull and others seem to think there is a clip elsewhere on the logic board. My question is though, is there a clip on the logic board holding the card into the PCIe slot on older Macpros, which needs to be released to remove the card that is, or not?

Tia

 

[VAGDesign]

Yes it is the same type of clip on cMP 1,1/2,1 on all PCI slots.

 

[nigelbb]

There is no clip on the motherboard but there is a clip on the card. These clips often get broken if a card has been roughly removed. It seems to make no difference to functionality or reliability whether the clip is present or not. Probably the videos you have seen where they just pull out the card without releasing the clip the clip has been broken during a previous extraction.

 

[pastrychef]

On the Mac Pro 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1, there are clips that hold the video card in. These clips should be pushed back when pulling out a video card or you run the risk of snapping them.

On the Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1, there is a mechanism that holds the video card. It is located on top of the PCI-e fan and can be released by pressing a button and sliding it forward.

 

[Mac Kiwi]

Cheers

I thought it must have been on the card. Although one guy was actually pressing on the logic board PCIE slot itself to release his card. But his clip was probably broken and he thought that was releasing it. Anyway I thought I better confirm that was the wrong process with you guys because I had never seen it before.

 

[pastrychef]

I found these pictures on the internet:

This is not a Mac Pro motherboard but the 1,1-3,1 has a clip similar to this one.

The following is a picture of the mechanism from Mac Pro 4,1-5,1. (Ignore the C arrow)

 

[Mac Kiwi]

I found these pictures on the internet:

This is not a Mac Pro motherboard but the 1,1-3,1 has a clip similar to this one.
View attachment 596274



The following is a picture of the mechanism from Mac Pro 4,1-5,1. (Ignore the C arrow)
View attachment 596275

Thanks.

That is pretty much what I saw the guy do. So the 3/1 has the PCI lever / clip to press up and the graphics card itself has a clip for release. I was quite surprised it was hard to find info on this, or maybe I was using the wrong key words.