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Anyone adding a GPU support for cards?

R1031
Level 7
I just upgraded my G10AC's GTX760 to a GTX980 Ti DC3OC STRIX 6GB and after removing the 760 really wanted to use the GPU support bracket seen no room for it. I looked and never really found anything so I ordered a GPS mount for a quadcopter to mod and use as a support post. I'll probably use the screw holes from the other mount in the floor of the case and double sided foam tape between the card and mount plate, looks like there should be clearance between the fans and no much pressure on the shroud. Does anyone know of a alterative? I seen the one that mounts on the back where the expansion card backplate mounts but the G10AC uses a kind of single screw clamp and I'm not sure it would support the card.
Thanks
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7 REPLIES 7

Ntwlf
Level 12
Hi R1031,

Like you, I wanted good support for the GPU's, so I have made support brackets/braces for my Strix 980 Ti's (SLI).

I'll explain...[Spoiler] This will be in my next build log update [ROG "Red Scorpion"] Chapter 2 Mods, coming soon.

In the pics below, the 1st image shows the fabricated bracket made from 1/8" (thick) X 1" (wide) aluminum flat bar (purchased at a hardware store). The larger (offset) round hole is a counter sink tapered hole to better match the tapered shape of the end of the "heat pipe" of the gpu heatsink, as shown in the second image circled in green. This hole was initially drilled with a 1/4" drill bit, then tapered with a 45 degree counter-sink bit (note: this step (counter-sink) was saved until the very last to set the pressure applied to the gpu). The red circle in second image, shows the brace attached to a case structural support with (2) screws. The amount of pressure the brace presses on to the gpu (pushing the gpu towards mobo) is very slight. As in, if a shim was made from a "business card" and placed under the bracket at the location circled in red, the brace would just (barely) make contact with the gpu at the location circled in green. It had taken me a few tries to get the bends in the flat bar just right, and that was starting over with a new piece each try, because the aluminum flat bar is weakened at where the bend was after straightening back to flat. The bends were made clamped in a bench vise and then hammered over to form the bend. This bracket requires no alteration or modification of the gpu whatsoever, only a couple of holes drilled into the case. Also the bracket only makes contact with the tapered part of the heat pipe, it doesn't touch the heatsink fins or the plastic fan shroud. When I tighten the bracket into place, I have the case laying on it's side so that the gpu is standing straight up on the mobo. This way it won't be sagging one way or another when the bracket is tightened down, as I have the screw holes in the bracket slightly oversized for the (2) mounting screws so the bracket can be slightly rotated to center onto the gpu heatpipe without tilting the gpu.

56648

Fabricating a bracket like this requires some mechanical skills, tools (drill, an assortment of drill bits, hacksaw, bench-vise, hammer, etc.), and above all - some patience and of course "safety". So it may not be an easy task for just anyone.

Since every different gpu and case combination is going to require a differently formed bracket/brace, there is no single solution. So I hope I have given you (and others) some new ideas to fabricate your own support bracket/brace that is fitting to your specific application.

I like the bracket.

I looked through my hobby supply's and came up with some carbon fiber tubes and solid rod, this is supported both top and bottom and has a rubber tube between the heat sink tube end and carbon fiber tube for a snug fit.
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Ntwlf
Level 12
That looks great, it is creativity at it's finest.

Daddy_arcanjo
Level 7
Been looking for ideas since i bought myself 2 strix 980 ti those beasts are heavy, you guys kinda sort it out 😄

cheers

daddy

quark54
Level 8
Surely though, just as big tower CPU coolers are designed to be safe once mounted, big graphics cards must be designed to be safe attached to a PCIe slot.

Asus or whichever manufacturer you choose will have considered this in the products design.

Are you seeing any evidence of an issue, for example sagging, strain of any kind?

Ntwlf
Level 12
Well,actually it is....... "piece of mind". If you know what I mean.

Take any current gpu and hold it in both hands at the same points and orientation in which it is held in a PC. I suggest doing this over a bed or large pillow in case you drop it, and use a cloth of some sort to protect the PCI contact strip from your bare fingers. Now... some what jerk it up and down an inch or two. Notice how hard it is to hold in your fingers? Imagine the stress put onto the PCI strip of the gpu, noting how little it engages into the PCI slot of the motherboard. The motherboard slot has to hold the card too. Now imagine what it is doing when you move your PC.

The PCI slot came into existence when gpu's weighed a fraction of what they "weigh" these days. So the PCI slot is a concern as well.
There's no easy fix by manufacturers, as the PCI Express is an industry standard. When/if the time comes that this gets changed, there will be no compatibility with previous/older hardware. Thus it is why the standard is still used.

Anyways, here's a simple test to tell if it sags. Lay the PC on it's side, tape one end of a straightened paper clip to the case frame near the unsupported end of the gpu and adjust/bend the other end of the paperclip so that it is lined up with a reference point you chose on the gpu (but not touching it). Now stand the case back up and see if the gpu reference point is still inline with the paperclip. Did it stay in the same place? Or how much did the gpu move (sag)?

Heavy CPU coolers are a concern too, (the same test applies here as well). Fortunately they can have additional support made for them as well.

Some of us think about these things more than others, so for us... it's "piece of mind" in knowing we did something about it.

I'll end with this quote... Benjamin Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Well,actually it is....... "piece of mind". If you know what I mean.


Fair enough, if it gives you piece of mind. But I have no doubt that graphics card manufacturers and motherboard manufacturers have carried out the necessary stress tests to ensure all is well.
If you'd rather be safe than sorry, fair enough though.


Heavy CPU coolers are a concern too, (the same test applies here as well). Fortunately they can have additional support made for them as well.


Not really to be honest. For example, my cooler, the NH-D15S, has a dynamic load that is lower than Intel's recommended maximum. Static load is higher, but that's deliberate to improve cooling and not an issue.

The only issue there's ever been, as a result of the weight of a NH-D14/15, is as a result of silly people shipping them half way across the US with cooler in place. Noctua's Secufirm2 mounting mechanism is superb, and designed to fully support the cooler.

I too was concerned about weight, and designed a support bracket. When my old NH-D14 arrived, it quickly became apparent the support bracket wasn't required and I binned it. Since then, I've had my NH-D14 installed for years, and no issues, and now the D15S.

There has been an issue recently with Skylake and Scythe coolers. Some have found that the excessive pressure of some Scythe coolers, that exceeds Intel's static and dynamic mounting pressure directive, was actually crushing the CPU into the socket pins. Scythe responded to this by quickly making available replacement mounting kits.


The bottom line is that as long as a CPU cooler has a spring mounting system, like Noctua coolkers, then the maximum dynamic load isn't exceeded and there is no issue.