GPU card length - now and later

M

Momo

Gawd
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Mar 3, 2005
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So i am helping my brother in law out with a system refresh, and he needs a new case to house full length cards (greater than 275mm room he has) .. all well and good.

I cant help but notice that cases like the antec P280 and Corsair 550d support GPU card up to ~335mm in length.

So i went and had a look at some 7970's, and notice that they were actually the same length or 5mm shorter than the 6870 he's going with.

So ... has anyone on the [H] read anything about the next generation (HD8xxx and whatever comes after Kepler) of cards being even longer, and needing 320mm or more of room? or are they going to stay the same for a few years yet? or what?

Cheers :)
 
I would assume they would stay very similar to what they are now if not get a little smaller. Technology tends to decrease in size over time. Like the current products going for 40nm to 28nm chip size (something like that). The overall card size is the same but your just getting more power in the same size package.
 
I have an Asus DCII 6950 that is a 3-slot and around 295mm long iirc. I think the companies try to keep the reference design within the typical length of cards and it is usually the ones with more extreme cooling that are longer in length. No clue what is coming ahead as I don't stay in the loop (perfectly happy with what I have)
 
Sojuuk said:
after kepler = maxwell
Click to expand...

I thought of this as well, then wondered why graphics cards have simply gotten longer over the last decade, and not smaller.

This seems to point to larger cards.
 
i believe the ATX Standard maximium size is 305mm

any larger than that and its out of ATX Spec..
 
I don't think that case manufacturers have info that reaches that far into the future. I would guess that they just give you that headroom for the most extreme possibilities and to ensure the case last a long time and goes without the need for replacement.
 
kontact said:
I had to buy a new case after I bought a 5870 and found out my case was too small for it. Was really annoyed having to spend another $200.00 on a case for it so bought a case that allows me to use the full width of the case if need be. I bought the Antec Lanboy Air case which allows that so long as I don't put a HDD in front of it.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-LanBoy-Air-Case-Review/1099
Click to expand...

sorry, your bad on this one my man. Research ftw.

I didnt know there was an ATX standard for video card length. Great info!
 
I wish video cards were smaller, I can only fit 8 hard drives in my antec 1200 because they are so long. Perhaps one day I can have my cards and hard drives too.
 
Momo said:
sorry, your bad on this one my man. Research ftw.
Click to expand...

I did have another old Antec case I could use but it meant rebuilding the PC anyway so opted for the new Antec Air so didn't really have to spend another $200.00. I just said that for dramatic effect. :)
 
H-street said:
i believe the ATX Standard maximium size is 305mm

any larger than that and its out of ATX Spec..
Click to expand...
I've heard that 305mm (12 inches) figure before, but I have never seen any official documentation from PCISIG on that number. I think it comes from the dimensions of the AMD HD5970.
The only other number I've seen 311.83mm from this website...approximately 12.28 inches. Somewhere buried in this website is some specifications and standards, but I'm not sure if this pic is one of their products either.
PCIe-Card-Size-dimensions.png

http://www.interfacebus.com/PCIe_Card_Dimensions.html
 
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