Graphics card won't fit in case

Stubbsy · 13 Nov 2018 at 13:44

Bought a 'for parts' SAPPHIRE RADEON TRI-X R9 390 8GB GPU from a certain bidding website, on the off chance that it might work.
Got it today... it is so big it doesn't fit in my case. Drive bay gets in the way. :rolleyes:

So what do I do? I don't really want to buy a new case just to see if this card works.

Thekwango · 13 Nov 2018 at 13:47

Pcie riser or dremel the case.

P.s. why the hell would you spend money on a card advertised as parts only and hope it works??

Stubbsy · 13 Nov 2018 at 13:55

Well the seller had a 'job lot' of 12 cards and didn't seem to have tested them so... I didn't pay a lot and if it doesn't work I'll re-list it in the same way I guess.
Perhaps I'll have to quickly take the MB out of the case so I can have it running out of the box?

Thekwango · 13 Nov 2018 at 13:58

Stubbsy said:
Well the seller had a 'job lot' of 12 cards and didn't seem to have tested them so... I didn't pay a lot and if it doesn't work I'll re-list it in the same way I guess.
Perhaps I'll have to quickly take the MB out of the case so I can have it running out of the box?

how does anyone have a job lot of busted gpu's!? and how do you know he didn't seem to have tested them all, did they make some reference in the for sale add about limited testing?

and yea you can take the mobo out and test it outside the case. seems like a lot of grief for something that's almost 100% certain not to work.

Stubbsy · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:01

I'm surprised you think it won't work. What could possibly have broken about it? Nothing really breaks these days.
I might be brave enough to take the MB out but from what i remember there is a screw underneath the giant CPU heatsink so might never bother. :/
Yes the advert said "oh I've got some cards, i turn 'it' on and the fan spins but nothing else"... but it said the exact same on all 12 so I thought he probably hasn't actually done anything.

Thekwango · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:03

Stubbsy said:
'm surprised you think it won't work. What could possibly have broken about it? Nothing really breaks these days.

with all due respect you clearly don't know much about gpu's then. there are a multitude of things that can go wrong with them and 'break' but good luck with your endeavour.

Armageus · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:15

You could unscrew the motherboard etc from the case and just run it all outside the case for testing purposes (make sure to sit the motherboard on something none conductive though e.g. Motherboard box or similar is ideal) - you may need to short the power switch pins on the motherboard together if the power switch cable doesn't reach.

I wouldn't have much faith in the GPU - a lot of people sell "untested" items when they have already been tested and found not working or otherwise faulty - as they are listed as "for parts only", then you wouldn't be able to get a refund.

GPUs can fail for any number of reasons (overheating/fan failure, overclocked/overvolted, solder failure e.g. due to thermal stress, static shock), all of which can be exacerbated by e.g. cryptomining

200sols · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:29

They usually advertise as untested if they have tested the item and it doesn’t work.

Stubbsy · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:51

Maybe it will be easier to buy a cheap PC, like if someone is selling an old(ish) PC, and test it with that. I don't particularly want to take all my stuff out of the case. It just needs PCIE and ATX power right?

Yadda · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:57

Are you sure it won't fit? Looking at the picture, the drive bay side seems to sit considerably higher than the ledge where you screw the card's bracket. Providing there are no other cards, drives, cables etc in the way, can't you manoeuvre the new card in, so the end sits inside the drive bay area? (You might have to connect the pcie power cables before fully installing it).

Figo · 13 Nov 2018 at 14:58

new case i'd say...

Stubbsy · 13 Nov 2018 at 15:04

Yadda said:
Are you sure it won't fit? .

No chance I'm afraid. The drive bays are set nearer to the 'top' (left) side of the case than the right, which means that the rear edge of the drive bay is about in line with the PCIE slot.

Yadda · 13 Nov 2018 at 15:10

Stubbsy said:
No chance I'm afraid. The drive bays are set nearer to the 'top' (left) side of the case than the right, which means that the rear edge of the drive bay is about in line with the PCIE slot.

Fair enough.

Easiest solution then is to whip the board out and test it "bare bones" as already suggested.

It's not a big job - you can keep the CPU, cooler and RAM in situ throughout - and shouldn't take long, 10-20 minutes?

KarolW92 · 13 Nov 2018 at 15:26

Stubbsy said:
No chance I'm afraid. The drive bays are set nearer to the 'top' (left) side of the case than the right, which means that the rear edge of the drive bay is about in line with the PCIE slot.

In the time it took you to write this post you could have already took the MB out and tested it... No offence.
Also if something is usually listed "For Parts" it more than likely means there is a fault somewhere

PiKe · 13 Nov 2018 at 15:34

Seller clearly stated in the listing that it doesn't produce a picture on the screen and with no warranty to speak of, I feel like you're SOL.

something daft already!! · 13 Nov 2018 at 15:43

My card encroaches upon my drive bays. I just had to wiggle it, just a little bit, to get it in there. Like the song goes. Maybe remove an HDD.

Stubbsy · 14 Nov 2018 at 07:20

PiKe said:
Seller clearly stated in the listing that it doesn't produce a picture on the screen and with no warranty to speak of, I feel like you're SOL.

Slightly creepy that you found the listing, but good detective work. I like to think that the seller didn't know what he's doing. He didn't write "i'm a computer expert and I can't get it to work", so maybe he just did something wrong

Armageus · 14 Nov 2018 at 07:33

Stubbsy said:
Slightly creepy that you found the listing, but good detective work. I like to think that the seller didn't know what he's doing. He didn't write "i'm a computer expert and I can't get it to work", so maybe he just did something wrong

I doubt he didn't know what he's doing, a "no display" is 99% a dead card (only other possibility is bios incompatiblity e.g. with newer card on older motherboard).

You could try a "reflow" with a hot air gun or in the oven, but don't fancy your chances.

Imo the only cards worth a go are ones described with obvious faults e.g. broken fan, or "crashes after a while" (i.e. could be overheating).

Steveocee · 14 Nov 2018 at 11:49

Stubbsy said:
Slightly creepy that you found the listing, but good detective work. I like to think that the seller didn't know what he's doing. He didn't write "i'm a computer expert and I can't get it to work", so maybe he just did something wrong

Don't worry about it though. "Nothing really breaks these days." :rolleyes:

KarolW92 · 14 Nov 2018 at 12:02

Steveocee said:
Don't worry about it though. "Nothing really breaks these days."

Wish I knew this when my hoover broke... Would have had a decent legal case against Vax!