Sound Card with Vertical Mounted GPU - Problem

Freegrazer · 24 Sep 2020 at 21:30

Hey guys. I'm planning a whole new build with an custom loop water cooling setup, and I want to mount my GPU vertically. This runs into the problem of not being able to fit my sound card in.

I was originally planning to just upgrade my existing PC but a whole fresh build is the better choice by far. The only part I'll be recycling into the new build is the sound card - Soundblaster Zxr.

This particular sound card plugs into a PCIe slot on the motherboard, while it's daughtercard just mounts into a blanking plate slot on the case.

Is it possible to vertically mount the GPU in such a way as to leave access to the bottom PCIe slot on an motherboard (ATX)?

Or alternatively, could I perhaps vertically mount the GPU closer to the glass side panel of the case and then also vertically mount the sound card (and daughtercard) behind it using a second PCIe extension cable? Worried this option may leave me short of room for wc tubing into the GPU block.

Case is a Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL, so there's plenty of room but just not sure. And I know the GPU size is a factor here too. Note that I've already got the case but haven't bought a GPU or anything yet.

Anyone else mounted a GPU vertically and been able to fit their audio card in too?

andy_mk3 · 24 Sep 2020 at 21:32

Vertical mount GPU wont interfere with the regular PCIe slots, it sits in front of them. As long as your PCIe cards aren't any higher than the slot you will be ok.

Freegrazer · 24 Sep 2020 at 22:03

For reals? Is that a general thing or specific to the O11 D XL case?

And if the vertical GPU is far enough in front of the slots to put aPCIe card in behind it, do I still have room in front of the GPU for tubing?

andy_mk3 · 24 Sep 2020 at 22:08

Fairly general thing, the vertical PCIe slots are generally only a few mm in front of the horizontal ones. Which is enough for the majority of expansion cards out there.

And yes there's room for tubing still.

Freegrazer · 24 Sep 2020 at 22:57

Looking at the below screenshot from a review video, it looks like the GPU can slide forward or backward on the vertical mounting bracket accessory. Am I right in thinking that the GPU would need to be pushed all the way forward to allow full access to the PCIe slots behind it?

Hard to judge from the picture if that really would leave room for cooling tubes. Not that I don't believe you mate LOL, just I have buyers anxiety and afraid to buy stuff in case something doesn't fit. Still sore from my first build where I'd bought an big awesome CPU cooler block and then discovered during the building that my RAM was in the way!! Had to go get low profile ram and had to wait a week to finish my build :-D

GilesGuthrie · 25 Sep 2020 at 14:09

Your best bet would be to mount the sound card between the GPU and the motherboard, in the vertical bracket. You'll need a second PCI riser cable, which will likely cost you more than the vertical mount itself. You'll have enough room for the pipes to come in, either in front of, or behind the GPU, although I would recommend you use a 90-deg connector so that your pipe routing is broadly in alignment with the GPU. Alternatively, depending on the PCB height of your sound card you could potentially route the pipes in on the back (mobo side) of the GPU).

You will need to think about your riser cable routing. On my system, the PCIE slot that the GPU connects to is about level with the water connectors on the GPU block, between the 1st and 2nd horizontal slots. You'll need to be able to route the riser cable over the top of your sound card, so if the PCB on the sound card is the same height as the slot, then you may have a routing issue. Also, at the GPU end, the bend on the riser cable takes up a full slot width. I suspect you would need to bring the GPU 2 slots forward, not one, which would make front-entry of the pipework doable but tight. You'd want those 90 deg fittings to be nice & low-profile. My EK fittings turn the configuration into effectively a 2.5 slot card.

If instead you put the sound card on the outside of the GPU (i.e. between the GPU and the glass), you would run your second riser cable under the GPU bracket. If you run a 25mm rad and 25mm fans in the bottom, you'll have a clearance issue for the second riser cable, as there's only a 1-2mm gap between the bottom of the mounting bracket and the rad/fan combo. You will not be able to run the riser cable here without fouling the fan blades, so you would either need to use a slim radiator, slim fans (or both), or mount your fans under the radiator.

In short, it's doable, but it would be easier to mount your cards horizontally. You'd also save around £130

Freegrazer · 25 Sep 2020 at 14:51

Thanks man, great detailed info there!

I think I'll have to just wait until I have the GPU and the vertical mounting bracket and then have a fiddle around with them in the case and see what I can and can't do before I start planning the tube routing. That way I can physically see what will work and what won't before I go buy riser cables and the tube fittings.

Can't plan everything ahead of time I guess!

Definitely wouldn't want the soundcard in front of the GPU, but if I can get it in behind it using a second riser cable tricky as it might be that'd do nicely.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the guidance. Will try remember to follow up with an update several weeks from now if/when I manage to complete the build.

clone · 28 Sep 2020 at 07:01

When I vertically mounted my card I had a nightmare trying to get my AE-5 to fit and gave up and sold the sound card.
My case is phantek evolv x.

Freegrazer · 2 Oct 2020 at 21:26

clone said:
When I vertically mounted my card I had a nightmare trying to get my AE-5 to fit and gave up and sold the sound card.
My case is phantek evolv x.

If I have to I'll go with horizontal mounted GPU as I wouldn't want to get rid of the sound card, but I'll explore every avenue for vertical if I can first.

clone · 2 Oct 2020 at 21:28

I had no choice in the end as my 2080 was in the way of the res but I'm fine with it as the on board sound is good on my maximus xii formula.
And if phantek had made a riser cable 300mm I would have been OK.

Freegrazer · 2 Oct 2020 at 21:37

Yeah I would do the same only I record music using the inputs on the ZxR, and the quality of the audio with ZxR is unmatched. On board audio has come a long way in recent times for gaming but still doesn't quite compare for music use cases.

I saw a YouTube video where a guy modded his GPU vertical bracket so he could fit his AE-5 into his case, he just about got enough space for it but it worked. Not sure I'd try modding the case or anything, but I'll certainly let you know how I get on once I complete the new build..