The expansion slot is designed to reach the edge of the motherboard.
The expansion slot is designed to reach the edge of the motherboard.
In the area where the PCIE expansion slot fits on my GPU and ethernet card slot, between the motherboard edge and the rear case panel, some covers barely touch the board. I assumed this was intentional, but now I’m concerned it might not be making proper contact there. The built-in steel slot for the Ethernet card only reaches the very edge of the motherboard, without touching any components.
I believe its role should be limited to providing one more point of contact on the ground, though I’m uncertain about the details.
The edge of a PCB without electrical contact won’t cause shorts when touching metal. I’d avoid placing it there just in case it damages over time, so bending it away is ideal. In practice, though, it’s unlikely to remove enough material to affect power planes or traces.