GPU Backplate needed?

[carl]

How important is the back plate for a GPU? I read about card sag which can happen to the larger GPUs when fitted in a horizontal position but I didn't notice any sagging of my old MSI GTX 980 Gaming card.

GPUs like the Aero GTX 1080 Ti (link below) and a few others don't come with a back plate. Is it an issue? Mind you I'll be fitting it in a vertical position should I buy this one.

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeForce-GTX-1080-Ti-AERO-11G.html#hero-overview

I've also noticed that many of the other custom open air cooled 1080 Ti cards have grown thicker and take up to 2.5 slots spaces in the PCI-E slot area of the motherboard which why I'm considering the custom blower models (only 2 slots like the reference models). Space is a problem for me.

Thanks.

[Mossy Snake]

Back plates are there for cooling, aesthetics, and sometimes to help mount water loops. They're not needed for regular use.

[Big Boom Boom]

It's also there to protect the PCB. Some notoriously big air cooler like NH-D15 (non S) can scratch the fat card in 1st PCI-E slot and without the back plate they can destroy your card. People have to cut the heatsink fin to avoid this.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Only really matters with extra long cards that have three fans to prevent too much stress on PCB. When it comes to cooling then this is pretty much BS, backplate wont really help to cool the card, front heatsink and thermal pads are what is doing the cooling.
Ofcourse some people might consider just the aesthetic side of it, backplated card often looks better in windowed tower case.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Just go on Ebay, they cheap; just ensure it is a branded one so it fits; like if EVGA GTX 980, get one from EVGA.

I grabbed up some GTX 970 FALLOUT4 backplates, just for the heck of it, they are nice looking. I removed the GTX 970 logo and it fits on other cards.

MSI AERO are cheap reference junk; dont buy those.

Get a good one, like EVGA 1080 FTW3

[carl]

Thanks.

I find that a backplated GPU is easier to clean off dust than with an exposed PCB though.

Yes I'd rather not get the Aero but it happens to suit my situation. I've read that custom blower cards like MSI Aero and Asus Turbo are basically reference cards made with cheaper materials. I've not found information to back up the marketing blurb about having better thermal performance than reference designs. I'll rethink my options.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Open case? Like a Mid/Full Tower with fairly open room inside... get a 2-3 fanned GPU.

Blowers are better suited for tight space cases (like say Alienware X51) that dont have good airflow, so the blower helps with front to back airflow. They are loud as hell and should be avoided for most setups.

Backplates are a good thing, they help keep the PCB completely straight, no sagging. Helps cool the VRAM chips on the back of PCB; since most GPUs have alot of VRAM, they tend to have VRAM on the rear side of gpu card as well, which should never be opening exposed with nothing on it.

Whats your budget range for a GPU?

[carl]

I'm trying to fit card the into a Silverstone GD09 case using an ATX board.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2014/10/13/silverstone-grandia-gd09-review/1

http://www.overclock.net/t/1395186/silverstone-grandia-gd0x-owners-club/390

While it's probably not as compact as the X51 case any GPU over 270mm long wouldn't leave much room for the power cables from the motherboard to connect to the PSU. There's space for a single 120mm fan close to the GPU fans to extract hot air if I use an open air cooled GPU. I'm thinking of fitting a spare MSI GTX 980 I have and run it to check the operating temperatures.

Budget is not too much an issue. £600-800. As I said size is the constraint. I suppose its my problem in the making and to solve.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

That Case is not small; its basically just a mid tower, laying flat is all.

NVIDIA GPUs are much shorter, so yea I'd stick to those.

GPU should be fine whatever you get, shouldn't overheat.

[carl]

OK thanks.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If you like MSI, I'd go with the larger GPUs models they offer; the Black & Red models.
While those are 2 fans, those fans are physically larger and wont be noisy; versus say Gigabyte or EVGA; or the MSI Black & White models.

[carl]

I have MSI and Asus which both have been good for me.

What do you think of Zotac, PNY and Inno3D brands?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Originally posted by carl borsuk:

What do you think of Zotac, PNY and Inno3D brands?

Never worth looking at...

ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA... that's basically all that are good. Those brands offer the most models usually too; and great warranty.

PNY is ok, if all you need is the cheapest model perhaps. Thats what OEMs like Dell/HP/Lenovo tend to use.

[Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism]

No I don't think it's an issue.