eVGA 260GTX OC ($230) but way too big

[Cr0nJ0b]

I'm putting together my new rig and I've run into some unexpected issues.

First, the length of the 260 as mentioned in other posts is way too big. I have a P5Q-E and in all of ASUS wisdom, they put a SATA connector in line with the PCI-E connector. So I literally had to SMASH it down to fit. It pused in most of the way, but not completely. It also blocks one of my hard drive slots (Antec P180 Case) so I have to give that up as well.

Then after all of that, my system wouldn't load with this card. It kept going to black screen. I'm hoping that this is just a power issue. I have an Ultra600, but I think it's marginal on the amount of power I need (based on Antec power page).

I'll likely get a new 1000Watt Corsair next week, but...I'm still thinking I should have gotten the AMD 4850 or 4870. Are these cards any shorter, cooler, quieter etc?

With this rig I will be gaming mostly, and some internet.

I'm torn, because I feel like I got a good card at the right price, but I'm also wondering if I should have gone AMD.

here's what I have.

Antec P180
6 x SATA II (500GB 7200 rpm)
DVD-RW
CD-RW
Ultra600 PSU
4 x 2GB (Dominator 1066 DDR2)
E8400
Stock cooler for now.
eVGA 260GTX OC

thanks

 

[ss284]

Honestly, I don't really know what you want us to tell you. You should have measured your clearance before buying the card. You can check pretty much any review, such as the one on anandtech for power consumption and noise figures. Yes, you bought the wrong card, because it doesn't fit your case, but you could have easily avoided that by doing this research before buying it.

 

[thilanliyan]

Try not to bend anything out of place. I think the 4870 is about 1 inch shorter so if that frees up some room then just go with that. Otherwise, if you can make everything fit decently well then you got a good deal.

 

[BassBomb]

you don't need 1000w but you will need a better psu (corsair 650 would be fine)

 

[shangshang]

uhg oh, did you say that the 260 didn't go down all the way and you had to smash it down? and now you're getting a blank screen?! I'm suddenly having the urge to roll my eyes on you!

 

[smackguy]

Don't they make SATA cables with a 90 degree connector? Looks like an L shape, that goes in flush. My ASUS Mobo came with one. Luckily I didn't have to move anything around for my gtx260 to fit. Went in sweet and smooth, like a real video card should.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

My 4850's are smaller as compared to a GTX 280 which is kept side by side. The extra space allowed me to add a fan near the edge of the card's which i could not do with the 280!!

 

[AmberClad]

HX1000 is really overdoing it.

I'm surprised you couldn't get the card to fit on the E. I have the Pro, so I don't have this issue myself, but I've studied the layout of the E a fair amount, and I figured that long video cards would fit above the SATA ports ok (although you might lose the ability to use some of them). You're saying that the card is sitting askew because it won't fit?

 

[chizow]

SATA 6 on this board would be the only problematic port. Use one of the three included right-angle connectors and you should be fine. 600W for a single GTX 260 should be plenty, there's people running GTX 280s on quality 520W PSUs. If your system isn't booting it could be because its not properly seated due to that SATA connector.

 

[idiotekniQues]

i have a 4870 in my p180 and with 2 hard drives in the middle hard drive cage and it just fits. been workin fine for a few weeks.

it actually WONT fit with a right angle sata connector on the hard drive, it has to be a straight in one, because it is thinner so it lays on top of the back of the 4870 card,

a right angle one is thicker, and thus blocks the 4870.

also i have a corsair 620 with 5 hard drives, 2 burners, an oc'd quad, 4 sticks of ram and this runs like a charm.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

That's great input.

The only reason I got the 260 is that people were saying it uses less power and runs cooler and quieter than the AMD 4850 or 4870. any thoughts?

 

[gramboh]

My friend has a 260 in a P182 with a P5Q Deluxe mobo. He lost one of the upper HDD's and it covers one of the SATA slots but he just uses the other ones. If you absolutely need all the SATA ports I think you could get the connector in but it would be a hassle. He has a Corsair TX650 PSU no issues.

I have a GTX 280 in my P182 with a P5B-D mobo (SATA slots in a more logical place). I did lose one of the upper bay HDD's but that's fine since I only have 3 HDDs in my case currently and they are in the lower bay. I'm running it off a Corsair 520HX PSU no issues.

Did you use a molex to 6 pin adapter for the PCI-e power cables? That could be why its not powering on. You'd get the same issue with a 4870. I'd get a better PSU with real 6/8-pin connectors.

 

[idiotekniQues]

Originally posted by: Cr0nJ0b
That's great input.

The only reason I got the 260 is that people were saying it uses less power and runs cooler and quieter than the AMD 4850 or 4870. any thoughts?

it definitely runs cooler i think than the 4870 but if it doesnt fit it doesnt fit.

performance wise these cards run neck and neck.

a few mm longer and id have to lose a hard drive in my middle bay though. eventually ill have to get a bigger case for a vid card upgrade in a year or so but it wasnt in the cards for me now.

 

[Synomenon]

I'll probably have the same problem when I get my 9800GX2. Get some left angle or right angle SATA cables from Perfromance-PCs.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Cr0nJ0b
Then after all of that, my system wouldn't load with this card. It kept going to black screen. I'm hoping that this is just a power issue. I have an Ultra600, but I think it's marginal on the amount of power I need (based on Antec power page).

Uh, which model Ultra 600W do you have? They are NOT all equal, and there are good ones, and bad ones. For instance the V-Series and XVS-series aren't that great (not complete crap, but more like a mediocre 400W instead of a good 600W - pulling numbers from some orifice ). Ultra X3 600W had a lackluster review with the reviewer stating that the 600W-rated unit would be a stellar 480W unit. Also, the Ultra X-Pro was incapable of putting out 100% power as specified on the label.

Seeing that your SIG lists a Raidmax PSU... :roll:

 

[adlep]

So I literally had to SMASH it down to fit. It pused in most of the way, but not completely.

OP,
You HAVE to be able to push it down, so that it is secured all the way in the PCI-E slot.
Use some force but not a lot. Bring it back up and seat it again.

P.S. I have the same card and the same PSU. No issues whatsoever even with the PCI-E 1.0 slot.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

Well I put in an angles SATA cable to save the port and "gently" pused the card down. It fits...barely. As for the PSU, I had the Ultra, then the RAIDmax, and I just got a Corsair 750, which I think will be my final choice for the build. I just have to wait for some time to open her up again and swap cables.

The 260 is in and running, and if it's cooler than the AMD, I'll keep it. Cool, quiet and low power are at the top of my list for important considerations.

I did end up losing a bay, but when I think about it, I have an eSATA port on my board, which I will likely use along with a drive dock, so no loss there and I'm still maxed out.

tanks

 

[RanDum72]

Same issue here. I had to swap cases just to make the eVGA GTX 260 fit. Main setup was in a Thermaltake Tsunami and video card bumps into the harddrive cage. I swapped it into a Lian Li case and porblem solved..but barely. It just cleared above the drive cage. If I had to do SLI, the second card won't fit.