rx 5700 xt, nh-d15s, and 8 or 16 lanes wonders of life.

[Barnabey]

Hello everyone ! 

So I've got a CPU cooler nh-d15s that is mounted vertically (vertical setup / airflow). 

The motherboard is a ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING and the GPU is the nitro rx 5700 xt 8gb.

Here is my problem : 

Because of how close the GPU sits on the first slot next to the CPU cooler that is installed for vertical cooling (fans at bottom and top..) I would love to place it on the second slot so there is much more clearance for airflow (it's REALLY close to the cooler, i know, as long as it doesn't touch..)

Anyway my question is : 

Using the 2nd slot which is most likely 8 lanes only on the Asus rog strict z390-e , I'm having a really hard time figure it out what difference it's really going to make (bandwidth...) and how much i'd notice it.

So the final question is : 

If it was you, would you stuck that Sapphire Nitro+ 5700XT super close to the NH-D15s on the first slot, (probably creating more heat) but having the 16 lanes, or would you put it on the second slot giving plenty of room but then eventually less performant ? 

Is there a way to really make the best decision ? :p

Many thanks ! 

 

On the horrible picture you get an idea of how close the GPU will sit next to the cooler if i put it on the first (optimal) slot ! (i exagerate slightly, it won't touch but yeah). 

[Letgomyleghoe]

What case? As bluescope said most likely just want to change the orientation of your cooler

[Barnabey]

Thank you for your quick answer,

 

Is there anyway to know if there will be any noticeable difference ? (3D renders etc ?)

 

I agree for the CPU cooler, it was not really intended to be bottom to top airflow, but in addition to the 3 factory fractal design R6 fans (2 front, one back) there is one noctua wings 2 on the bottom and 2 noctua wins 2 on top (which made it so difficult (impossible) to have horizontal CPU cooler without removing the motherboard and almost starting all over