Aesthetic GPU placement

[SpartanAmy107]

This isn't a problem most people have, I know I'm weird, the fact I'm talking about this on Christmas Day further proves that point...

 

Anyway, on modern motherboards your GPU is placed at the bottom of the board, meaning in vertically mounted cases all you see of it are the copper heat pipes, in horizontally mounted board like what I plan next, you see the nicest part of the card, but not much else... which leads me to my aesthetically pleasing dilemma....

 

Personally I'd like to look through my window and see my my CPU tower block along with the RAM on the sweet motherboard and my large GPU filling the backdrop with it's gorgeous fans, obviously this isn't remotely possible without a riser cable and some extensive case modding.

 

But I can't help but feel that this is a problem with the current ATX-ITX form factors, they were designed in a time when computers were bland, beige, hulks of gank, sorry, I have not-so-fond memories of my first personally bought PC (A windows ME from Tiny Computers) but now that systems have internal components that make it obvious that they are meant to be seen, I can't help but wonder if we'll ever have a motherboard placement that allows it all to be.

 

I think I've rambled on long enough about something most people wouldn't even think about.

 

Happy Life Day to you all. Amy

[WoodenMarker]

Not all system internals are meant to be seen. Things are the way they are for compatibility. 

I don't see how a practical motherboard layout could accommodate for that. The card would either cover up the board or extend out to the side and take up more space than necessary and cooling for the back of the card would be worse.

I don't see how a riser cable is such a big issue if you care so much about aesthetics. 

[SpartanAmy107]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

Not all system internals are meant to be seen. Things are the way they are for compatibility. 

I don't see how a practical motherboard layout could accommodate for that. The card would either cover up the board or extend out to the side and take up more space than necessary and cooling for the back of the card would be worse.

I don't see how a riser cable is such a big issue if you care so much about aesthetics. 

 

Wow, I definitely wasn't expecting a reply today, the riser card itself isn't the problem, it's the having to mod the case to get the rear IO for the graphics card, unless I just fed a Display Port cable through one of the rubber grommets usually used for water cooling solutions, sorry thinking about this on the fly. ideas are a flowing again.

[8-Bit Ninja]

14 minutes ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

This isn't a problem most people have, I know I'm weird, the fact I'm talking about this on Christmas Day further proves that point...

 

Anyway, on modern motherboards your GPU is placed at the bottom of the board, meaning in vertically mounted cases all you see of it are the copper heat pipes, in horizontally mounted board like what I plan next, you see the nicest part of the card, but not much else... which leads me to my aesthetically pleasing dilemma....

 

Personally I'd like to look through my window and see my my CPU tower block along with the RAM on the sweet motherboard and my large GPU filling the backdrop with it's gorgeous fans, obviously this isn't remotely possible without a riser cable and some extensive case modding.

 

But I can't help but feel that this is a problem with the current ATX-ITX form factors, they were designed in a time when computers were bland, beige, hulks of gank, sorry, I have not-so-fond memories of my first personally bought PC (A windows ME from Tiny Computers) but now that systems have internal components that make it obvious that they are meant to be seen, I can't help but wonder if we'll ever have a motherboard placement that allows it all to be.

 

I think I've rambled on long enough about something most people wouldn't even think about.

 

Happy Life Day to you all. Amy

I you could mod the case to support it, and i assume your talking about something like this?  

[SpartanAmy107]

Just now, 8-Bit Ninja said:

I you could mod the case to support it, and i assume your talking about something like this?  

 

No, I was imagining the GPU where your top mounted radiator is, and the whole thing being mounted horizontally. That is a nice looking setup you have though.

[WoodenMarker]

6 minutes ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

Wow, I definitely wasn't expecting a reply today, the riser card itself isn't the problem, it's the having to mod the case to get the rear IO for the graphics card, unless I just fed a Display Port cable through one of the rubber grommets usually used for water cooling solutions, sorry thinking about this on the fly. ideas are a flowing again.

There are some cases with rotated pci slots like the View 27. http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002942

That being said, modding will usually be required if you're looking to get a case and want a non-stock feature.

2 minutes ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

No, I was imagining the GPU where your top mounted radiator is, and the whole thing being mounted horizontally. That is a nice looking setup you have though.

I'm not sure what you mean.. could use an illustration.

[8-Bit Ninja]

1 minute ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

No, I was imagining the GPU where your top mounted radiator is, and the whole thing being mounted horizontally. That is a nice looking setup you have though.

not mine . So something like this? 

[RollinLower]

you could just flip the mobo tray around 180 degrees and have the cables route through the back of your case and out the side panel or something. this way you would still be looking at the back of the GPU though.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

there are cases that put the GPU on display. theres one where the motherboard is upside down and mounted on the left side of the case so the GPU sticks out the top.

[SpartanAmy107]

Just now, WoodenMarker said:

There are some cases with rotated pci slots like the View 27. http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002942

That being said, modding will usually be required if you're looking to get a case and want a non-stock feature.

 

I'm actually looking at the Thermaltake V21, for the massive 200mm front fan and lots of room for stuff like my silly aesthetic design choices and cable management, it has interchangeable panels too, so you can have a windowed side and top panels which almost solves my problem, but not quite.

[SpartanAmy107]

1 minute ago, SCHISCHKA said:

there are cases that put the GPU on display. theres one where the motherboard is upside down and mounted on the left side of the case so the GPU sticks out the top.

 

That is rather futuristic, does make me wonder how the motherboard IO fitted.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

Just now, SpartanAmy107 said:

That is rather futuristic, does make me wonder how the motherboard IO fitted.

upside down and on the opposite side from normal

[Litargirio]

What about reverse ATX?

 

In reverse ATX cases the mobo is mounted "upside down", so you get to see the gorgeous top of the graphics card instead of the ugly backplate. The side panel would obviously be on the opposite side too.

 

All Caselabs cases can be assembled in reverse orientation; some other manufacturers do that too, though I don't know any specific ones.

 

I have my PC set up like that, as shown below. Though it doesn't look nearly as ugly through the window with the side panel on.

 

[DELTAprime]

35 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

~snip~

I keep meaning to rewatch the unbuild log of that PC, it's a rather cool design.

[SpartanAmy107]

3 minutes ago, Litargirio said:

What about reverse ATX?

 

In reverse ATX cases the mobo is mounted "upside down", so you get to see the gorgeous top of the graphics card instead of the ugly backplate. The side panel would obviously be on the opposite side too.

 

All Caselabs cases can be assembled in reverse orientation; some other manufacturers do that too, though I don't know any specific ones.

 

I have my PC set up like that, as shown below. Though it doesn't look nearly as ugly through the window with the side panel on.

 

 

That looks closer to what I was envisioning. Are those reverse board only in ATX, or are Reverse Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX boards a thing too. Failing that I could the ATX size board here... Is the motherboard IO still in the same place? I'll still need to mod a case to get this to work on a normal case.

[SpartanAmy107]

2 minutes ago, DELTAprime said:

I keep meaning to rewatch the unbuild log of that PC, it's a rather cool design.

watching now, it does look cool, it might offer suggestions and inspiration.

[Litargirio]

5 minutes ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

Are those reverse board only in ATX, or are Reverse Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX boards a thing too. Failing that I could the ATX size board here... Is the motherboard IO still in the same place?

It all comes down to the case. There are no reverse ATX boards that I know of, but all boards fit inside a reverse ATX case, since it's the case that's built around the board, not the other way around.

 

Just imagine taking any regular mobo and flipping it upside down, then making a case around it. The IO is still at the back, but further down; below the PCIe slots rather than above them.

 

If you find a flipped m-ITX case, you can put any combination of regular hardware inside of it.

[SpartanAmy107]

1 minute ago, Litargirio said:

It all comes down to the case. There are no reverse ATX boards that I know of, but all boards fit inside a reverse ATX case, since it's the case that's built around the board, not the other way around.

 

Just imagine taking any regular mobo and flipping it upside down, then making a case around it. The IO is still at the back, but further down; below the PCIe slots rather than above them.

 

If you find a flipped m-ITX case, you can put any combination of regular hardware inside of it.

 

Hmmm, I think the solution I'm going to go with is just getting a PCIe riser cable for the 1050Ti or 1060 (depending on which I end up going for and attaching it to the right side of the case behind the rest of the motherboard and running my display port cable through the water cooling holes at the back of the case, the V21 has loads of extra space.

[SpartanAmy107]

2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

 

 

How long can a riser cable be? Because if I remember correctly there are limits on USB 2.0 and 3.0 on how long they can be before data loss and power problems? And a PCIe 16x slot has more data and power, so would that be an issue as I have to have a riser cable at least a bit longer than the motherboard for this design idea.

[WoodenMarker]

4 hours ago, SpartanAmy107 said:

How long can a riser cable be? Because if I remember correctly there are limits on USB 2.0 and 3.0 on how long they can be before data loss and power problems? And a PCIe 16x slot has more data and power, so would that be an issue as I have to have a riser cable at least a bit longer than the motherboard for this design idea.

The length seems to make a negligible impact on performance within a reasonable length. Just check out reviews on whatever riser you're looking at to make sure that others aren't having any issues with it.