Then they'd not screw into a case properly if they were any thicker?

 

It wont fit in all cases is my guess.

 

Narrow cases.

 

Due to the way they're placed I'd imagine if they got too thick the weight could break off the connectors.

 

Any case that can hold long cards, can uaslly hold tall heatsinks. And case that can hold tall heat sinks, have like 2 1/2 - 3 inches of clearance form the top of the GPU to the side panel.

They are getting taller, Sort-of.. Check out the Asus Mars. Zotac GTX260 + Premium

 

"thicker" cards you say? That would make cards not fit 80% of the cases out there. No point in doing that when atx is working so well...

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolonger Due to the way they're placed I'd imagine if they got too thick the weight could break off the connectors.

Making the cards longer puts weight on the connector too.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blameless Making the cards longer puts weight on the connector too.

Yes, but the connectors are placed horizontally, so making the card longer doesn't stress the connectors as much as making it thicker.

Stress is put on the extremity opposite to the connector. You have the full 16 lanes supporting the video card the long way, but only the width of the PCB to support its width.

 

the cases is the main problem, most aren't much wider than a PCI brackets.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackeyjoe the cases is the main problem, most aren't much wider than a PCI brackets.

I actually disagree with this. Most cases I've seen are at least 5cm wider than the PCI bracket.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolonger I actually disagree with this. Most cases I've seen are at least 5cm wider than the PCI bracket.

Agreed.

Almost EVERY case I've used, (Well over 50) have AT LEAST 2cm of clearance, and almost every gaming case having about 5.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane1244 Agreed. Almost EVERY case I've used, (Well over 50) have AT LEAST 2cm of clearance, and almost every gaming case having about 5.

Like I said before, Any case that can fit a aftermarket CPU cooler, can fit a thicker GPU.

 

Also, the motherboard is that large when it comes to multiple GPUs.

 

Because somewhere along the line, someone said they need to make the cards bigger. Then these people decided rather than making the cards taller so everyone has to get fat cases, they made them longer.

(really though, video cards have always been long. in fact, they used to be longer. I could get some pics of 13"+ video cards from some old isa machines. so really, it comes down to what they've always been. and the standards dictate height, but not length)

 

there are specifications for the standard dimensions for these cards. This insures that everybody plays well together. Some manufacturers push the boundaries by going little longer, wider, thicker. then we get all pissed off when things don't fit in our case, etc.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by cc3d there are specifications for the standard dimensions for these cards. This insures that everybody plays well together. Some manufacturers push the boundaries by going little longer, wider, thicker. then we get all pissed off when things don't fit in our case, etc.

Yup, it's the card standard.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by darksideleader "thicker" cards you say? That would make cards not fit 80% of the cases out there. No point in doing that when atx is working so well...

In what way does it make it not fit?

If the case can handle a tower such as a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (Or even a smaller tower like my S963), it has plenty of space for a slightly thicker card. Heck, even my GENERIC case has roughly 7cm of unused space.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cc3d there are specifications for the standard dimensions for these cards. This insures that everybody plays well together. Some manufacturers push the boundaries by going little longer, wider, thicker. then we get all pissed off when things don't fit in our case, etc.

Well why not change it a bit? It seriously seems like wasted space to me.
I mean, it doesn't even have to be as extreme as 7cm thicker. Maybe even just 3cm thicker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolonger Yes, but the connectors are placed horizontally, so making the card longer doesn't stress the connectors as much as making it thicker. Stress is put on the extremity opposite to the connector. You have the full 16 lanes supporting the video card the long way, but only the width of the PCB to support its width.

The weight is fine. (Which is why you see huge passive cards and triple slot coolers)

 

triple slot coolers have the advantage of screwing on 3 spots, taking a large part of the load off the card

 

I have hard time imagine a user that buys the meanest high-end card that would've been thicker to use one of these crap cases.

 

hey I built an SLI system for a cousin in one of those cases. modified the side panel to take 2 80mm fans, damn thing runs very cool

 

Trouble is that nearly all cases with a lower hard drive cage (which is more common I believe) won't fit a long gaphics card, but that doesn't stop them.

In fact I'd think it would be easier to find a wider case than a longer case.

 

yeah, I hear you there. my 7900GT leaves no room to remove ram (clips tight against card) and the hard drive cage is an inch and a half away from the card, and of course the PCIe power cord is at the very end, so its kinda tight

 

Wouldnt it cause it to warp badly?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Master Chief Wouldnt it cause it to warp badly?

Just because it is wider doesn't mean that the case screw is going to work any less or better.

I've thought about this a lot. Air flow goes front to back more than up and down so a wider card would have little effect on air flow.

Since the power plug is at the "front" of the card it would mean less circut lane length.

Less distance to the rear of the case so the heat would travel less.

Less of the motherboard would be blocked

And like I said, more options for cases

So i am sure there must be a sound engineering reason for it. It just makes more sense to make them wider. If not...well then they are compensating for something else that is short.

 

you know, since my 7900 is much longer then my old 6600, it sort of "chambered" the heat in my case. due to teh way I setup my fans, it actually made my chipset temps go down a few degrees, thought the gpu runs a bit warm, at 46 idle and 78 load

my 6600 with the modded heatsink and fan was idling 32-35 and loading at 64-66