MSi R9 390X with a Corsair Air 240

[AiiR]

I've just had to reluctantly replace my MSi GTX 970 as it was pressed against the side panel of my Corsair Air 240 and began to crack the side window.

Now I really liked the styling of the msi card, and feel like adding some extra pennies ontop of the refund amount to upgrade to a 390x (Also been having gamma issues with nvidia cards).

My question is has anyone had experience with fitting one in this case? The heatpipes of the 970 was what made the fit really awkward, however these are absent on the 390x. I've read that the XFX model definitely fits, however I much prefer the aesthetics of the msi!

 

[CapitalOne]

Hi

I have almost done exactly this. Air 240, Maximus Gene and an MSI390 (non x).

I did get it to fit, but the MSI cards have a 90 degree steel bar on the corner (think corner that will be at the back window side). I had to "persuade" the Air 240 chassis to make this fit and then "bend it back". It worked but it wasn't a pleasant experience. If you are prepared for this you should be ok, but do be careful! If not thinner card or wider case!.

Hope this helps and good luck

ETA: offending item can be seen in image 1 top left on this page:
http://www.bjorn3d.com/2015/06/msi-r9-390-gaming-8g-amd-300-series-with-a-custom-kick-from-msi/2/
I checked and it's also on the X see image 1 here
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r9_390x_gaming_8g_review,1.html

 

[AiiR]

Hi

I have almost done exactly this. Air 240, Maximus Gene and an MSI390 (non x).

I did get it to fit, but the MSI cards have a 90 degree steel bar on the corner (think corner that will be at the back window side). I had to "persuade" the Air 240 chassis to make this fit and then "bend it back". It worked but it wasn't a pleasant experience. If you are prepared for this you should be ok, but do be careful! If not thinner card or wider case!.

Hope this helps and good luck

ETA: offending item can be seen in image 1 top left on this page:
http://www.bjorn3d.com/2015/06/msi-r9-390-gaming-8g-amd-300-series-with-a-custom-kick-from-msi/2/
I checked and it's also on the X see image 1 here
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r9_390x_gaming_8g_review,1.html

Thanks, I've managed to fit it.

However, under load its reaching 94c on Heaven Benchmark and as a result the fans are pretty loud. Is it typical for these to run this hot? The Msi 970 I had previously ran at around 70c under full load.

 

[CapitalOne]

Hmm that sounds a little hot to me. IIRC my son's runs no more that 70c under benchmarking.

Have you maxed out the fans and is the inside fairly tidy?

 

[Dave2150]

Thanks, I've managed to fit it.

However, under load its reaching 94c on Heaven Benchmark and as a result the fans are pretty loud. Is it typical for these to run this hot? The Msi 970 I had previously ran at around 70c under full load.

How many exhaust fans do you have in your case? If it's not exhausting enough hot air, that may be the reason.

Try running heaven with the side window off, and see what the temperatures are like. If there is little change, then reapplying the thermal compound might be an idea. If the temperatures drop drastically with the side window off, then it's just your case not exhausting enough hot air.

 

[AiiR]

Tried with the side window off, slight improvement but it still got to 80c under load. It actually felt like a small heater.

The fan config I have for my case is 2 120mm intake fans at the front mounted on a Rajintek Triton cooler (So 240mm rad) and then a 120mm exhaust mounted at the top. Due to my matx board, I can't have any fans at the bottom so I really only have extra space for x2 80mm fans that can be mounted at the rear.

 

[Dave2150]

Tried with the side window off, slight improvement but it still got to 80c under load. It actually felt like a small heater.

The fan config I have for my case is 2 120mm intake fans at the front mounted on a Rajintek Triton cooler (So 240mm rad) and then a 120mm exhaust mounted at the top. Due to my matx board, I can't have any fans at the bottom so I really only have extra space for x2 80mm fans that can be mounted at the rear.

Only one 120mm exhaust fan is most likely the issue. The 390X produces a lot of heat, over double of what your CPU produces, for example.

You could try and have one 120mm intake, and have the 2x120mm fans on your radiator as exhaust - this will raise your CPU temperature, but should allow the 390X to run cooler.

Or you could try and apply new thermal paste to the 390X - as with every GPU, occasionally one will leave the factory with a sub par thermal paste application. MSI allow you to remove the cooler without voiding warranty, as long as you don't damage the card etc.

 

[AiiR]

Not sure if I want to start taking a brand new card apart, I might just send it back as its clearly not right or its just not made for small form factor cases where cooling isn't quite as optimal. 94c after playing Battlefront is woeful compared to the 70c of the MSI 970 I had (Just a shame it doesn't fit my case).