GPU Riser Cables

im4gine3

im4gine3

im4gine3

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May be an odd question, but what is the *safe* bend radius of a GPU Riser Cable? as i'm sure you can't just fold a 15cm cable in half otherwise the contacts inside the ribbon breaks/snaps.

Reason i ask, is because i'm still not satisfied with my new build and, i have been pondering of the idea of mounting my GPU vertically (so the ports face the top of the case.. basically where my reservoir is placed at the moment) and attaching a 30-50cm riser extension. This will involve multiple bends of the riser cable to make sure it loops from the back of the case to the front

pic for reference
https://i.imgur.com/Y5iw9fN.jpg

Any help appreciated.. as this would also help me with the length of cable needed.
 
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They're quite stiff cables, not sure how much bending you can get out of them but they do definitely have some flex in them. You can get them with a 'straight' connector or a '90 degree' connector if that helps at all.
I'm sure I've also read that you can plug one riser cable into another without getting much trouble but I've never tried that - if you can then perhaps it'll make things easier for you in terms of weaving it about your case.

Take note that most riser cables are PCIE-3. You can get PCIE-4 as well (only ones I've seen though are from a brand named Linkup), though they are more expensive. Some people have also reported that using a riser cable leads to instability but I've not experienced this first hand
 
Think PCIe 3.0 should be okay with some bending but with PCIe 4.0 I think it's a no.
Those cases which use risers (mostly Dan A4 copies I guess), don't go crazy with bending.
If bending or using a riser more than a few centimetres, I would try and see if you can get some kind of bandwidth CRC program to test stability.
 
The cables I have been looking at are the Linkup brands.. have one in my other build and they are fine. I’m running a 6800xt and looking at differences between pcie3 and 4 are pretty negligible in terms of FPS in games so a pcie3 is doable. I can’t find any pce4 in 30cm/50cm lengths anyways. It’s kinda hard planning it out in my head but feel the 90degree version may suit it better... hard without spending the money on one first hand, and as pricey as they are, prefer to get the right one first time.

as you mentioned, I have heard of instability issues especially if using longer than 20cm, but as long as the company accepts RMA, that shouldn’t matter too much.

taking a while but I am making custom cables for my build too.. just difficult looking for closed cable combs for 16awg wire, most if not all closed types fit the skinny 18awg such as the one pictured in my build. In a way I prefer the closed types as they look much cleaner but each to their own. I heard from a member on here that it’s best using 16awg on the 24pin and eps but seems most like Corsair is using 18awg, is there much difference? If not, I do have a reel of both types and have enough to cable as much as 4 PSU lol.
 
When it comes to Riser cables, get individually shielded strands, they are more reliable.

If you are looking to bend them, get one longer than you need.

PCIE4 is not reliable for riser, so you have to stick with pcie3
 
Spiritwolf said:
When it comes to Riser cables, get individually shielded strands, they are more reliable.

If you are looking to bend them, get one longer than you need.

PCIE4 is not reliable for riser, so you have to stick with pcie3
Click to expand...


Thanks for the heads-up. I'll look into purchasing a 50cm pcie3 right connector riser. Now just need to figure out how i would mount the GPU. With no CNC at hand i'll need to get creative.

Can i ask why pcie4 not reliable? Looking on Linkup's site they are releasing a pcie4 in April with:

LINKUP - Ultra PCIe 4.0 X16 Riser Cable [RTX3090 x570 B550 RX6900XT Tested] Shielded High-Speed Vertical Mount Gaming PCI Express Gen4 2021┃Universal 90 Degree Socket┃White {50cm} 3.0 Gen3 Compatible
 
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Have you seen the vertical mount bracket I made for my 011D mini in my build thread?

I’m planning on using a phanteks riser cable from the bracket that I used in my old case.
 
im4gine3 said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I'll look into purchasing a 50cm pcie3 right connector riser. Now just need to figure out how i would mount the GPU. With no CNC at hand i'll need to get creative.

Can i ask why pcie4 not reliable? Looking on Linkup's site they are releasing a pcie4 in April with:

LINKUP - Ultra PCIe 4.0 X16 Riser Cable [RTX3090 x570 B550 RX6900XT Tested] Shielded High-Speed Vertical Mount Gaming PCI Express Gen4 2021┃Universal 90 Degree Socket┃White {50cm} 3.0 Gen3 Compatible
Click to expand...


Because of interference, PCIe 4 have much tighter tolerance for cross talk interference, as well as external ones, most of the motherboard traces has to be designed around PCIE4 in the same way for DDR4 memory. Risers with 4.0 may perform a lot worse than 3.0 due to error recovery rates, or simply not work at all.
 
Spiritwolf said:
Because of interference, PCIe 4 have much tighter tolerance for cross talk interference, as well as external ones, most of the motherboard traces has to be designed around PCIE4 in the same way for DDR4 memory. Risers with 4.0 may perform a lot worse than 3.0 due to error recovery rates, or simply not work at all.
Click to expand...

There should be no performance loss at all if everything is working ok, I use as linkup PCIE 4.0 riser on a 3090 with an X570 board and there is zero difference compared to what they are when the GPU is plugged directly into the motherboard.
 
D4N said:
Have you seen the vertical mount bracket I made for my 011D mini in my build thread?

I’m planning on using a phanteks riser cable from the bracket that I used in my old case.
Click to expand...

Yeah i am monitoring your build and you have made very good progress so far :D

May see if you can make a custom bracket for me ;) as my plan for the Mini is not using the traditional vertical mount on the base of the rig, but actually have the GPU mounted/hung where the reservoir is.. That way you get to see all the computer parts as intended rather than have some covered by the GPU block in front. So i need a bracket made where the pcie slots cat fit into and bolted to the current mounting holes, then a pcie riser cable would be attached to it, routing behind the mobo tray to the front (follow pink dotted line).

Idea in pic

O3m4PHBl.jpg


I came across soemone who did the GPU mod before but can't remember if it was i nthe same case etc, since it was a while ago, and not come across anyone who has tried it since.

Though a bracket *may* not be necessary. Assuming the back GPU plate screw holes line up with the mounting holes where the res is, i can just get longer m2 screws with a few nylon spacers and attach them together.

I also have a Lian Li Anti-sag bracket on the way, so that will help prop the card in position with a bit of modding
 
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