1. #1

    GFX Cards and a problemo

    Ok, I am very computer savy so don't just be like "ur a noob, just plug it in"

    I had to recently sell my amazing gaming computer to pay for some college classes that I NEEDED and ended up sufficing with just some little computer..

    Ok, basically it came with a GeForce 9100GT, and I was fine with that for awhile, it can run pretty much any game on lowest to mid range settings, and it runs WoW on max with shadows all the way down.

    I need to upgrade badly.

    BUT, here is my problem. My motherboard is really small and compact.

    I upgraded the power supply and everything and am going to be getting a new GFX card.

    But, the high level of graphics card I am looking to get is in the length range from 9-12 inches. I have about 2 inches past the back end of the PCI-e bus till it hits my heatsink for my processor, but it offset to the right a little bit, so an actual card itself(2-3mm), could find past it to an extent of over a foot.

    Basically what I am asking, is it safe to remove the plastic cover's from GFX's(like the GTX 285, or the 9800GTX+)? I don't have one to test it, but my ventilation is extremely well, so I don't think I would be having any cooling problems.

    And, if I did remove the plastic cover, the fan of most higher output cards, would be hovering slightly above or back behind the heatsink, is this a bad idea?

    No, I don't have the money to custom make my own computer. I am saving up as we speak, hopefully give myself a nice holiday gift

  2. #2
    The plastic pieces are there to shape the airflow. Removing those is extremely bad idea, especially if the air shaper is made so that it pushes hot air through the back panel of 2 slot wide card.

    It might be doable if you can put few powerful case fans blowing straight into/over/through the heatsink once it's been stripped and you watch how temperatures go, but there are no guarantees it will work.

    Also if you try to run high power older Nvidia card in really cramped case you'll have serious heat problems even if it's fine now. GTX 270/280/290 and 9800 series cards are designed to run really hot, somewhere around 80-90C on full load. If you put card like that with insufficient cooling next to CPU, something's gonna fry in few hours tops.

    Pick up smaller and cooler card, like Radeon 56xx series, and you might avoid burning down the computer.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  3. #3
    The GTX2xx and the 9800GTX plastic shrouds are part of the cooler as a whole. You can take a dremel to the end by the fan (if you need a few MM for something in the PC) but to remove the shroud you'll have to dismantle the card entirely, and then remove the shroud from the heatsink. Unlike the GTX460, 465 and 470, the top of the shroud is not easily removable.

    Should have said as well that the shroud is required for the cooling system on the reference coolers, it will not work properly if you remove the shroud directing the airflow.

    You can replace the cooler with a third party one, perhaps.
    Last edited by FlawlessSoul; 2010-09-12 at 06:51 PM.
    5800X | XFX 7900XTX | Prime X570 Pro | 32GB | 990Pro + SN850 2TB | Define 7

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Shuckless View Post
    Ok, I am very computer savy so don't just be like "ur a noob, just plug it in"

    I had to recently sell my amazing gaming computer to pay for some college classes that I NEEDED and ended up sufficing with just some little computer..

    Ok, basically it came with a GeForce 9100GT, and I was fine with that for awhile, it can run pretty much any game on lowest to mid range settings, and it runs WoW on max with shadows all the way down.

    I need to upgrade badly.

    BUT, here is my problem. My motherboard is really small and compact.

    I upgraded the power supply and everything and am going to be getting a new GFX card.

    But, the high level of graphics card I am looking to get is in the length range from 9-12 inches. I have about 2 inches past the back end of the PCI-e bus till it hits my heatsink for my processor, but it offset to the right a little bit, so an actual card itself(2-3mm), could find past it to an extent of over a foot.

    Basically what I am asking, is it safe to remove the plastic cover's from GFX's(like the GTX 285, or the 9800GTX+)? I don't have one to test it, but my ventilation is extremely well, so I don't think I would be having any cooling problems.

    And, if I did remove the plastic cover, the fan of most higher output cards, would be hovering slightly above or back behind the heatsink, is this a bad idea?

    No, I don't have the money to custom make my own computer. I am saving up as we speak, hopefully give myself a nice holiday gift

    You are replacing the video card for what reason exactly? Your problem with running WoW is most likely your processor speed and has nothing to do with your current Video card and upgrading the old video card will net almost no difference to fps. What is your current processor?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •