Crossfire wont fit :(

[Jahnkeanater]

I recently bought myself a used motherboard and 2 new visiontek radeon hd 6850 cards so I could crossfire them. After I got all my parts I realized that the Pci slots on the motherboard are only 2 slots apart. So the heat sink on the card covers up the second slot. I thought about liquid cooling but I cant afford that. Right now my second card is sitting in the box. Is there an after market heat sink that is slimmer? I thought about modifying the heatsink so the heat pipes bend around above the card. Im open to any suggestions cause I have kinda given up at this point till I have the time and money to invest into it.

 

[seumasbeathan]

I dont think you will be able to get any coolers that will be 1 slot, watercooling would also be pointless for 6850's

 

[Feronix]

Best thing you could do is send those 6850's back if you still can. Otherwise try to sell them for as much as possible on the internet. Then buy a single card like 7850/7870 maybe

 

[Jahnkeanater]

I know water cooling would only make the cards slimmer. I had one and the second one was a gift. Its been over a month so I don't think I can return them anymore.

 

[alienware]

What motherboard is it because the one in your sig has plenty of spacing.

 

[Jahnkeanater]

The problem is that the current heat sink takes up 3 slots. I bought an ASUS board that they fit in but I had to return It cause the board wouldn't post. Im having trouble finding a motherboard that supports all of my current parts. I don't want to spend $300 for an outdated am2+ socket motherboard. :/

 

[Jahnkeanater]

I had to return the ASUS M2R32-MVP cause it wouldn't post and I ended up getting an ASROCK AM2XLI-esataii which I regret. But it was $30 or something like that.

 

[alienware]

I used a similar Asrock board for nearly two years. The spacing sucked but I got it for £30 brand new.

It's a very old board and was designed for the 38xx Radeons which had single slot coolers. I did use a pair of 5770s on mine and it was fine but the top card got pretty warm.

 

[Jahnkeanater]

I think Im going to attempt to modify the Heat pipes so the heat sink is on top of the card. Im not sure how much less efficient it it would be but its worth a shot. Its not like that card is doing anything right now and worst case scenario Im forced to buy a new heat sink.

 

[iBeInspire]

I strongly doubt that even if you do put in the second card your framerate will be affected much... a 6400+ will hardly keep up with a single 6850 in most games, not to mention two.
I would leave the card in a box instead of ruining it and once you've done a CPU/Mobo/RAM upgrade (Doable for £100 or less these days) I'd stick it back in...
Just my thoughts, hopefully you don't destroy the card mate, good luck

 

[Jahnkeanater]

Yea I was planning on building a new computer and using the cards. I figured since I have them I would try to use them for now. But the real reason Im keeping them is cause I plan to build a new rig.

 

[alienware]

Then I would wait because modifying them will void your warranty and you don't even know if they are supported in that board.

I had to email Asrock to get them to add support for the 5770 in CFX so there's a possibility that board won't even work any way.

 

[tinytomlogan]

The best way is to sell the mobo and get one with a better layout. I wouldnt mess with the cards.

 

[andrewmchugh]

As a temporary fix you could have a look at pci+e extension ribbons.[1] You might have to mod your io plate to fit it in the case again. For the price its worth a go. I doubt there would be any latency to worry about.

1. http://www.amazon.co.uk/HOTER-PCI-E...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363302603&sr=1-10

 

[alienware]

I wouldn't risk that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B005DD8TAC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

They don't work.

I bought one before but never used it because it looked completely shoddy.

 

[andrewmchugh]

I wouldn't risk that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B005DD8TAC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

They don't work.

I bought one before but never used it because it looked completely shoddy.

You're an idiot or bought a shit one or both.

People use them in servers so they can fit consumer priced hardware in 2U racks all the time.

i.e http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18448094&postcount=1

 

[alienware]

You're an idiot or bought a shit one or both.

People use them in servers so they can fit consumer priced hardware in 2U racks all the time.

i.e http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18448094&postcount=1

First of all thanks for the insult. Nice to see we're all grown and mature around here.

Secondly the card he wants to use draws much more power than the one you have linked to and thirdly the ribbon used in that rig is FAR higher quality than the one you have linked to on Amazon (that going by both of the existing reviews on Amazon does not work).

What you seem to be forgetting is that the 6850 needs a six pin meaning it draws quite a bit of power. More power than a thin ribbon cable can provide and thus you really ought to be using one of these.

But I guess you knew that too, right?

As I said earlier I have one of the ones you linked to and it didn't work with a GTX 275. It didn't work because the card could simply not get the power it needed through that tiny thin ribbon cable.

I also said earlier that there's a huge chance that the board he is running won't even support the 6850 in Crossfire given it's about six years old and was designed to run 38xx cards with an external Crossfire link.

So I maintain - don't bother. If he wants to take stupid risks? his prerogative I guess.

Edit. Then there's the issue that once you plug the card into the ribbon the socket will hit his motherboard and he won't be able to even fix the card in.

Seriously, it's got fail written all over it.

 

[andrewmchugh]

First of all thanks for the insult. Nice to see we're all grown and mature around here.

Secondly the card he wants to use draws much more power than the one you have linked to and thirdly the ribbon used in that rig is FAR higher quality than the one you have linked to on Amazon (that going by both of the existing reviews on Amazon does not work).

What you seem to be forgetting is that the 6850 needs a six pin meaning it draws quite a bit of power. More power than a thin ribbon cable can provide and thus you really ought to be using one of these.

But I guess you knew that too, right?

As I said earlier I have one of the ones you linked to and it didn't work with a GTX 275. It didn't work because the card could simply not get the power it needed through that tiny thin ribbon cable.

I also said earlier that there's a huge chance that the board he is running won't even support the 6850 in Crossfire given it's about six years old and was designed to run 38xx cards with an external Crossfire link.

So I maintain - don't bother. If he wants to take stupid risks? his prerogative I guess.

Edit. Then there's the issue that once you plug the card into the ribbon the socket will hit his motherboard and he won't be able to even fix the card in.

Seriously, it's got fail written all over it.

Sorry I snapped. I didnt read anything about the cards from this posts at all. I only looked at the slot problem.

 

[nepas]

You're an idiot or bought a shit one or both.

Way to be a complete idiot.This is not OCN where the mods have gone to sleep,you should be slapped for insulting without reading a bloody thread.