Optimal placement of GPU and M.2 PCIe card for airflow

[Etheles]

Hey folks,

 

I just learned that there are LTT forums from one of the videos, and thought to drop by and ask a question about my new build.

Would the placement of the RTX 3080 and M.2 PCIe card have any impact on temperature, considering the case’s airflow? The motherboard has two realistic positions for the GPU to go into (circled in red in image 1), as the Meshify 2 Compact can’t accommodate its size in the third PCIe slot. There are currently three 120mm intake fans on the front, two 140mm exhaust fans on top, and one 120mm exhaust on the back. There’s no bottom 120mm intake because it’s crowded with cables in the PSU shroud.

 

Would it make an appreciable difference to shift the GPU upwards, considering slot 1 is closer to the case fans doing work, and that the PCIe card currently in slot 1 might obstruct airflow?

 

Thanks!

[leclod]

Nice case.

I think the gpu would be better off in pciex16_1.

Why the M.2 PCIe card ?

[Etheles]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I have three m.2 drives, and the motherboard only has two slots.

[Chris Pratt]

The top slot is where the GPU is supposed to go, so no, no issues with that 

[Etheles]

The GPU’s currently on the middle slot. You also think it’ll work better to swap them?

[leclod]

4 minutes ago, Etheles said:

Thanks for the advice.

 

I have three m.2 drives, and the motherboard only has two slots.

I'd get rid of one m.2

Anyway it seems to me that small M.2 PCIe card won't block airflow nearly as much as that black desktop bottom.

[Etheles]

4 minutes ago, leclod said:

I'd get rid of one m.2

Anyway it seems to me that M.2 PCIe card won't block airflow nearly as much as that black desktop bottom.

Honestly, it’s not a bad idea, since the system drive is only 500 GB. But due to some bad (past) experiences I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping C drive and more important files physically separate (not via partitions). For now I’ll keep all three; I value the peace of mind of being able to format or nuke the OS drive without any concerns about re-downloading games, apps, and whatever.

[leclod]

3 minutes ago, Etheles said:

I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping C drive and my important files physically separate (not via partitions)

I keep my important files doubled on 2 drives (system ssd+hdd) and you have 3 drives. You don't have so much important stuff, have you ?

[leclod]

8 minutes ago, Etheles said:

Honestly,

Ohhhh,

I did miscalculate a little.

That m.2 pcie card ends up awfully close to the gpu, right ?

[Etheles]

It’s close, as you can see. I assume it’s getting some of the heat from the GPU exhaust.

[leclod]

8 minutes ago, Etheles said:

It’s close, as you can see. I assume it’s getting some of the heat from the GPU exhaust.

I meant awfully close if you swap.

It won't even fit.

[Etheles]

Not necessarily. The PCIe card fits in slot 3; I tested it.

[leclod]

3 minutes ago, Etheles said:

Not necessarily. The PCIe card fits in slot 3; I tested it.

Ok, forgot n°3. But then why the whole trouble ?

[Ralf]

1 hour ago, Etheles said:

I value the peace of mind

In that case I would insert the gpu in the 1st slot and the PCIe card in slot3, because now the gpu runs at x8 instead of x16

[Etheles]

55 minutes ago, Ralf said:

In that case I would insert the gpu in the 1st slot and the PCIe card in slot3, because now the gpu runs at x8 instead of x16

The CPU cooler and the GPU come uncomfortably close, but don’t touch, in this configuration.

Could you clarify what you mean about x8 v. x16? I was under the impression that slots 1 and 2 both go directly to the CPU, and only PCIe slot 3 goes through the chipset. Slot 3 would only get x8 as you said, since presumably it shares bandwidth with the second M.2 slot.

 

Maybe I should connect the second M.2 drive to the PCIe card?

 

 

[leclod]

3 hours ago, Etheles said:

The CPU cooler and the GPU come uncomfortably close, but don’t touch, in this configuration.

That's the way