Are Pci/Gpu risers a bad idea?

[Ryan_1998]

Are GPU pci risers bad? I need to move my Gpu so I can use the only pci e slot on my motherboard for a wifi card. The gpu covers the entire pci e slot making it unable to be in use.
Could someone suggest a riser or a solution I need a network card as I am moving to university where there are no Ethernet sockets in rooms

[samcool55]

Afaik thermaltake or thermalright has high-quality risers. A 30cm one is probably more than enough.

[iRileyx]

Aslong as you buy a good quality one and not a cheapo one, they'll be fine.

 

Look at the ones linus used in this video -

 

[Eclypseon]

The golden word, I believe, is "Shielded". As you will see in the LTT video mentioned by @RKRiley.

[Ryan_1998]

I am a complete noob to this, if I do purchase one of these extenders how do I mount the GPU if its not mounted to case. You think I could bunk it down a few slots and keep the gpu mounted to the bottom expansion slot.

 

Pc with gpu plugged in

Pc without gpu plugged in


Wifi card pci was thinking that maybe this would fit under GPU however it says it works with only windows 7 and below.

 

[Ryan_1998]

16 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

Afaik thermaltake or thermalright has high-quality risers. A 30cm one is probably more than enough.

Shipping on this is £19.99 jeez https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812183053&ignorebbr=1

Guess I will have to find it on Amazon uk problems

[Eclypseon]

Hmmm... as far as how you mount it to the case... 

 

If the case wasn't made to have an off-mobo mounted graphics card, you might find yourself in the land of creative case modding. 

 

However, as I look at your case/mobo/WifiCard... does your graphics card obscure two or three PCI slots. It looks kinda like you might be able to mount your NIC on the third slot with your graphics in slot one and obscuring slot two. I realize the clearance will be tight. What graphics card do you have and what games are you using with it (it's *possible* that the thermals won't require a massive open space right below the card)

[Eclypseon]

Scratch my last... I see that third isn't a PCIe 

[Ryan_1998]

Think its time for a new mobo lol,  already cut the rails for hard drives out of the case to fit the GPu in the bloody case. Problem is I move to uni in 4 days and no time for it all

[Eclypseon]

There are parts like these: 

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999380&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Accessories+-+Case+%2F+Rackmount-_-N82E16811999380&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlea_5qme1gIVA7nACh1HXQASEAQYAiABEgJUuvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

However, I (or Google) can't find many that facilitate non-vertical off-motherboard mounting (obviously vertically mounting would get in the way of your Wifi card also).

 

If money wasn't a major force in the decision, and you're going to have to order a part anyway, think the New Mobo route is definitely your best bet. Might consider a new case to accommodate all that "school required" hardware while you're at it  

[Ryan_1998]

2 minutes ago, Eclypseon said:

There are parts like these: 

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999380&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Accessories+-+Case+%2F+Rackmount-_-N82E16811999380&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlea_5qme1gIVA7nACh1HXQASEAQYAiABEgJUuvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

However, I (or Google) can't find many that facilitate non-vertical off-motherboard mounting (obviously vertically mounting would get in the way of your Wifi card also).

 

If money wasn't a major force in the decision, and you're going to have to order a part anyway, think the New Mobo route is definitely your best bet. Might consider a new case to accommodate all that "school required" hardware while you're at it  

new mobo=new cpu=new case new pc rip £££

[Eclypseon]

1 minute ago, Ryan_1998 said:

new mobo=new cpu=new case new pc rip £££

Ahh... welcome to the community.

 #TooMuchWantNotEnoughWallet

 

[Ryan_1998]

Maybe a usb wifi adaptor could be a temp solution, just no clue if any are half decent 

[Colin Donoghue]

Mnpc tech makes pci mount for use on 120mm fans

 

All of the risers mentioned are pci EXPRESS risers and would not work for pci cards

[Eclypseon]

Just now, Ryan_1998 said:

Maybe a usb wifi adaptor could be a temp solution, just no clue if any are half decent 

That's probably the best option in the short term. If I had to guess... your bottleneck on net speed won't be your hardware. It's going to be the 500 other students all watching netflix at the same time. Get a high rated (there are a bunch) inexpensive usb adapter (3.0 if you want no bottlenecks on your system) and save for the big upgrade.

[Ryan_1998]

5 minutes ago, Colin Donoghue said:

Mnpc tech makes pci mount for use on 120mm fans

 

All of the risers mentioned are pci EXPRESS risers and would not work for pci cards

Complete noob talking but if I use a pci e x 16 extender to move my gpu away from the pci e x1 slot then I could then just purchase a normal wifi card which uses pci e x1 like this 

[Eclypseon]

I used this one for a year or so (before installing a wired network).

http://a.co/ekwp7bN

 

My review would put it at 3.5 out of 5. It was decent. Wouldn't heavy online game with it. It streamed well (my router and in-house net speed were very good). If I wanted to download a large game/update I'd set it to run overnight and it'd be done in the morning.

 

Here is a similar usb 3.0 dongle.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W5C42L3

 

Not sure of UK availability. But 20-30 USD is inexpensive enough to suffice in the short term.

 

Obviously, regardless of USB or PCIe... wifi pales compared to wired (if you can find it at your school).

[Eclypseon]

2 minutes ago, Ryan_1998 said:

Complete noob talking but if I use a pci e x 16 extender to move my gpu away from the pci e x1 slot then I could then just purchase a normal wifi card which uses pci e x1 

Afaik, yes. 

 

Although, that brings up another thought...

Can you use a PCIe 1x extender instead, and case-mod a spot for your wifi antennas?

 

Such as:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4SR1WU0441&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Accessories+-+Cable+Management-_-9SIA4SR1WU0441&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIguH0tq-e1gIVUbnACh2-dgcqEAQYASABEgLTXvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Eclypseon]

Much easier to mod-mount a small wifi board than a heavy graphics card. You'd have to accommodate for the antennas, but an SMA extension (http://a.co/53uMbOp) can help.

[Ryan_1998]

9 minutes ago, Eclypseon said:

Afaik, yes. 

 

Although, that brings up another thought...

Can you use a PCIe 1x extender instead, and case-mod a spot for your wifi antennas?

 

Such as:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4SR1WU0441&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Accessories+-+Cable+Management-_-9SIA4SR1WU0441&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIguH0tq-e1gIVUbnACh2-dgcqEAQYASABEgLTXvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

I dont think I could possibly even fit my hands behind the gpu how tight it is the gpu blocks the pci e entirely let alone the pci just below it. I Dont think that extension will fit, I read online that it sticks out an inch from the socket. 

[Eclypseon]

Just now, Ryan_1998 said:

I dont think I could possibly even fit my hands behind the gpu how tight it is the gpu blocks the pci e entirely let alone the pci just below it. I Dont think that extension will fit, I reas that it sticks out an inch from the socket. 

 Hmmm... If you could find a PCIe 1x extension with a 90 degree male connection (the part that connects to the board). My thought was that it might be able to connect to the 1x behind the GPU's heatsink/cooling manifold, then drop the extension ribbon straight down (or left according the manual diagram) and let you mount the wifi somewhere down there.

 

 

Barring that... I'm falling back on the USB dongle idea. 

[Ryan_1998]

Just now, Eclypseon said:

 Hmmm... If you could find a PCIe 1x extension with a 90 degree male connection (the part that connects to the board). My thought was that it might be able to connect to the 1x behind the GPU's heatsink/cooling manifold, then drop the extension ribbon straight down (or left according the manual diagram) and let you mount the wifi somewhere down there.

 

 

Barring that... I'm falling back on the USB dongle idea. 

its a hard life, "I just want bloody wireless internet" is something I thought I would never say after using a wired connection for many years

[Eclypseon]

Just now, Ryan_1998 said:

its a hard life, "I just want bloody wireless internet" is something I thought I would never say after using a wired connection for many years

Oh the first world problems we face.

 

#DoesNoOneLoveMeEnoughToGetMeHighSpeedInternet

[Ryan_1998]

If I get an email back tomorrow from the accommodation company saying that there is wired ethernet sockets everything will be resolved, but hearing what student accommodation is like I could be completely wrong.

[Eclypseon]

Here's hoping they have wired. But if you do go down the case-mod/riser config path, hop back on to the thread when you get it working with pictures. I'd love to see what ends up working.

 

All else failing... USB dongle to the rescue.