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Enough extension slots?

Valfrik
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1 hour ago, mariushm said:

If the cooler on the card is THICK / TALL enough, you won't be able to plug another card in the slot right next to the video card's slot because the video card cooler will block it.

The new video card may have a much taller cooler on it, which makes it impossible or not recommended to put cards in the 2 slots right next to the video card... therefore it says requires 3 extension slots .... only one slot is used, the other two slots will be blocked by the cooler on the video card.

 

That makes sense, thanks a lot =)

Posted

Sorry for such an inane question but I'm not great at this. I'm thinking of upgrading my GPU and I notice the new model requires an an extra extension slot on the motherboard compared to the previous GPU. This has given me a headache. The spec including the new GPU will be:

 

GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT NITRO+ 12GB GDDR6 Ray-Tracing Graphics Card, 3456 Str

CPU: Ryzen 5 2600

RAM: 16GB

Motherboard: B450 Tomahawk Max

PSU: Corsair CX500M ATX

1.5TB SSD (Two units)

 

So my question is, do I have enough expansion slots to make this work? Also if you have any comments about the build in general that's always appreciated as I know it needs improving. Thanks in advance.

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13 minutes ago, Valfrik said:

Sorry for such an inane question but I'm not great at this. I'm thinking of upgrading my GPU and I notice the new model requires an an extra extension slot on the motherboard compared to the previous GPU. This has given me a headache. The spec including the new GPU will be:

 

GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT NITRO+ 12GB GDDR6 Ray-Tracing Graphics Card, 3456 Str

CPU: Ryzen 5 2600

RAM: 16GB

Motherboard: B450 Tomahawk Max

PSU: Corsair CX500M ATX

1.5TB SSD (Two units)

 

So my question is, do I have enough expansion slots to make this work? Also if you have any comments about the build in general that's always appreciated as I know it needs improving. Thanks in advance.

Are you talking about the width of the GPU (the number of slots it is taking up or the distance from the back plate to the top of the cooler)?

 

What GPU are you running presently?

 

Have you got any other PCIe cards in your system?

 

All GPUs use the same PCIe x16 slot on the motherboard (some GPUs are x8 but will still use the same slot) and don't require anything extra.
If the card fits in the case then it will be compatiable. It might block other PCIe slots on the motherboard, but it won't plug into them or use them.

I might be experienced, but I'm human and I do make mistakes. Trust but Verify! I edit my messages after sending them alot, please refresh before posting your reply. Please try to be clear and specific, you'll get a better answer. Please remember to mark solutions once you have the information you need. Expand this signature for common PC building advice, a short bio and a list of my components.

 

Common build advice:

1) Buy the cheapest (well reviewed) motherboard that has the features you need. Paying more typically only gets you features you won’t use. 2) only get as much RAM as you need, getting more won’t (typically) make your PC faster. 3) While I recommend getting an NVMe drive, you don’t need to splurge for an expensive drive with DRam cache, DRamless drives are fine for gamers. 4) paying for looks is fine, just don’t break the bank. 5) Tower coolers are usually good enough, unless you go top tier Intel or plan on OCing. 6) OCing is a dead meme, you probably shouldn’t bother. 7) "Bottlenecks" rarely matter and "Future-proofing" is a myth. 8) AIOs don't noticeably improve performance past 240mm and don't improve at all past 360mm. 9) RTFM.

 

Useful Websites:

https://www.productchart.com - helps compare monitors, https://uk.pcpartpicker.com - makes designing a PC easier.

 

Bio:

He/Him - I'm a PhD student working in the fields of reinforcement learning and traffic control. PCs are one of my hobbies and I've built many PCs and performed upgrades on a few laptops (for myself, friends and family). My personal computers include 4 windows (10/11) machines and a TrueNAS server (and I'm looking to move to dual booting Linux Mint on my main machine in future). Aside from computers, I also dabble in modding/homebrew retro consoles, support Southampton FC, and enjoy Scuba Diving and Skiing.

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1) When I was 3 years old my favourite toy was a scientific calculator. 2) My father is a British Champion ploughman in the Vintage Hydraulic Class. 3) On Speedrun.com, I'm the world record holder for the Dream Bobsleigh event on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games 2010.

 

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Hi, thanks for that. I'm not too worried about physical space, I was just thrown off by an article on a comparison site which states the new GPU 'requires 3 extension slots' where as my current one says 2. The current one is a Sapphire Radeon RX 580. You think there won't be an issue? 

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No, what they said was that the GPU needs 3 "bays" while the old one only uses 2 "bays". Each "bay" used to cover a PCI/PCIe slot, but most mainboards account for the extra size of present day GPU's so don't have a physical slot associated with that "bay". These "bays" are the metal brackets at the rear of the case, where the GPU slots into the mainboard.

"You don't need eyes to see, you need vision"

 

(Faithless, 'Reverence' from the 1996 Reverence album)

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8 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

No, what they said was that the GPU needs 3 "bays" while the old one only uses 2 "bays". Each "bay" used to cover a PCI/PCIe slot, but most mainboards account for the extra size of present day GPU's so don't have a physical slot associated with that "bay". These "bays" are the metal brackets at the rear of the case, where the GPU slots into the mainboard.

 

No, they did not. I'm directly quoting from the article when I say "requires 3 extension slots", but thank you for your input...

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If the cooler on the card is THICK / TALL enough, you won't be able to plug another card in the slot right next to the video card's slot because the video card cooler will block it.

The new video card may have a much taller cooler on it, which makes it impossible or not recommended to put cards in the 2 slots right next to the video card... therefore it says requires 3 extension slots .... only one slot is used, the other two slots will be blocked by the cooler on the video card.

 

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1 hour ago, mariushm said:

If the cooler on the card is THICK / TALL enough, you won't be able to plug another card in the slot right next to the video card's slot because the video card cooler will block it.

The new video card may have a much taller cooler on it, which makes it impossible or not recommended to put cards in the 2 slots right next to the video card... therefore it says requires 3 extension slots .... only one slot is used, the other two slots will be blocked by the cooler on the video card.

 

That makes sense, thanks a lot =)

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14 hours ago, mariushm said:

If the cooler on the card is THICK / TALL enough, you won't be able to plug another card in the slot right next to the video card's slot because the video card cooler will block it.

The new video card may have a much taller cooler on it, which makes it impossible or not recommended to put cards in the 2 slots right next to the video card... therefore it says requires 3 extension slots .... only one slot is used, the other two slots will be blocked by the cooler on the video card.

 

Ok, thank you for that. There is a difference in size so I will measure the space within my case. 

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3 hours ago, Valfrik said:

literally copied and pasted the wording

Reading consists of more then just regurgitating words or even letters in the right order. Understanding what's been said is even more important. You obviously didn't, hence, you asked :old-eyeroll:

"You don't need eyes to see, you need vision"

 

(Faithless, 'Reverence' from the 1996 Reverence album)

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1 hour ago, Dutch_Master said:

Reading consists of more then just regurgitating words or even letters in the right order. Understanding what's been said is even more important. You obviously didn't, hence, you asked :old-eyeroll:

I can't imagine what life has dealt you if you take pleasure in condescending to strangers on the internet. You have added nothing to this thread so please stop spamming.

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