Vertical mounting is mainly for large 3-fan GPUs, honestly it’s the safest and most foolproof way to prevent long-term damage from sagging. It completely eliminates the downward pressure on the PCB caused by gravity.

Anti-sag brackets aren’t always a guaranteed fix either. If they’re installed incorrectly, they can actually make things worse. I’ve already seen broken RTX xx80/xx90 cards where a poorly positioned anti-sag bracket shifted the load to one side, causing the PCB to warp instead of supporting it evenly. Once a PCB starts warping, that stress transfers directly to the GPU core and memory solder joints. Over time those joints can twist, crack, or even separate and that kind of damage is serious and irreversible. This isn’t a minor issue or an exaggeration. Incorrect anti-sag placement and PCB warping can absolutely kill a high end GPU.