Hi Wiggo,

I tried cutting one of those fan shrouds down to try and miss my GPU's.. dismal failure it was:-(

With my GPU's the aux power cables are right where that damn shroud goes..so it fouls them, and the GPU's wont work without them..
Could also be a mobo thing pcie slots are so spaced out that even with 4 x16 slots on my Sabertooth [don't all work at x16 tho..] its awkward getting even the 2 slots that do work x16 populated without fouling inbetween devices, like a syber 4 port sata card:-/

As you might guess I have a slew of HDD's in the case, 12 if an optical drive is included..
Which is why I tend to be a tad paranoid about device temps.. Cooling can be a problem. And 2 dead CPU's left me out of pocket last year.

Regards,

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Cliff,
Been there, Done that, Still no damm T shirt!

Hi Zalster,

What brand of 980's do you have? I'd have thought most brands would have the backplane as standard on a high end GPU.

I'll certainly steer clear of any manuf that's to tight to fit a backplane as standard..


Hell even my old 760's had backplanes on em:-)

Best of luck with the newegg kit, and yup whatever works it is:-) Even a couple or so plastic coat hangers [the bottom part that actually holds the clothes] cut em off the hanger and case dependant they could make good GPU props:-)

Regards,

Hey Cliff,

I use only EVGA. What I liked to use. I should know tomorrow if they get here or not. If so, I'll put them in and see how it goes.

Zalster

Hi Zalster,

Heard of EVGA, but never used any of their kit:-/ If their cards don't come pre fitted with a backplane I probably never will:-) Anyway its horses for courses.

If you have any plastic coat hangers. preferably NOT to bog standard ones that come with off the rack clothes, but the kind you can buy made of round plastic pipe bent to coat hanger shape, then you can hacksaw some props for GPU cards out of one or two, since they're plastic there isn't a short circuit risk and plastic can be bent and shaped with a small amount of heat:-)

Depends on the distance between the bottom of your GPU and the bottom of the case of course.

Regards,

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Cliff,
Been there, Done that, Still no damm T shirt!

Why not just lay the tower computer on its side? No need for expensive contraptions or rigged solutions. Simply let gravity do its job.

Don't think I haven't thought of that.

The issue becomes all the fans mounted on the case.

I have it set up to remove all the excess heat from the cards and how the cool air comes in.

Turning it on it's side would mean having to change the direction of a majority of the fans.

Not that I couldn't do that but also the position of the case off the ground on the stands to keep them off the ground.

Last is the 200mm fan I have jury rigged to where the left panel used to be. As it is now, it's held in place with wire pushing air over the 4 cards.

If I rotate the case, now I have to change the orientation, not a big thing, but suspending the fan over the MoBo and 4 cards becomes the issue and things falling into the computer.

That is my greatest concern.

Maybe Cardkeeper?
Tom's Hardware review w/pics.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Hey Mark,

I had looked at that earlier when someone posted about them. They look like they were made for single slot cards. Some are for half height , some full. The ones for full size GPUs all seem to cover the SLI and auxillary 6,8 pin locations in front. I'd have to modify those pieces to try and get them to work.

Thanks

Zalster

Maybe this, then?
modDIY adjustable support pole.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Mark you are a GENIUS!!

Thank you. I think that is exactly what I need.

Zalster

Oh, gosh...it's not like I INVENTED it or anything...LOL.

Hope it does the trick...

You have me interested now. I have a couple of cases with 'no tool' card retention clip thingys that really do not lock the GPUs into place very good and they tend to sag down as well.

EDIT...
And now that I have perused their site a bit, modDIY has some interesting and unusual bits available...now bookmarked here.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

I would bet some red/black/blue shoe polish would do wonders for how that white plastic pole looks inside a nice case :D

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Well, if one is picky about the appearance, model builder's spray paint comes in a variety of colors as well.

I hope it is sturdy enough. Hard to tell from the pictures how well made it is, although the price would hopefully indicate that it is not TOO flimsy.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Well, if one is picky about the appearance, model builder's spray paint comes in a variety of colors as well.

I hope it is sturdy enough. Hard to tell from the pictures how well made it is, although the price would hopefully indicate that it is not TOO flimsy.

While it may look like a small adjustable curtain rod I would hope it is must stronger for the $40.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

Well, if one is picky about the appearance, model builder's spray paint comes in a variety of colors as well.

I hope it is sturdy enough. Hard to tell from the pictures how well made it is, although the price would hopefully indicate that it is not TOO flimsy.

While it may look like a small adjustable curtain rod I would hope it is must stronger for the $40.

Hopefully so, although part of the price is no doubt due to the fact that it is a rather unique item and perhaps not produced in large quantities.

I suppose we shall get a report from Zalster, assuming he does order one.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Yes, I was thinking a curtain/closet rod too - spring loaded for width (now height).

I think the "supports" are actually water pipe hangers clamped onto the rod. They typically have 1/4" threaded holes to put rods into for hanging water lines - which are now sideways.

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I did order one. Will see how it does.

It shouldn't have to support the entire weight but just some to help prevent the drooping.

I think it's a bit funny that we are building Zalster's computer before he even gets cards :) But it's good he's thinking ahead and knows if sag is an issue with these cards to have a plan ahead of time.

@Mark and Zal
I think 'tinting' the rod with color it much better than painting it. It you move a clamp you scarp the paint off. Tint is there for the most part, and can paint later if it doesn't work. Paint first and you get to live with scratches from setup.

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Hey Brent,

I already have the cards. 4 of them stacked inside of my current computer but I'm thinking toward the future so I don't one day walk in and see them sagging.

I also ordered the back plates for them, should have them Monday. (fingers crossed)

Once I get that support rod will see how it goes.

Thanks everyone

Zalster

My cards came with backplates but they do make the card thicker. This caused a collision with my cpu heatsink so I rotated it to blow up instead of back. This is not a problem since you have a water cooler. My thick cards ended up being so close it was hard to keep fans from rubbing and there was no breathing room so I don't run four in one box anymore, your cards might be narrower and hopefully you have the reference design. I thought the string idea was good.

On a heat related issue ...

Does anyone know if running 2 fans off 1 case fan motherboard power is OK?

yea I know I can put it 12v and run full speed, but would like to run 2 at regulated temp, so it's not screaming away. Only 1 MB fan connector.

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