- May 31, 2012
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I am assembling my old spare parts into an HTPC gaming PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme with 3930k (socket LGA 2011), evga GTX 1080 TI, Corsair 4000D Airflow. I junked my old Corsair H80i AIO and replaced it with a Noctua NH-D15, but like a dummy I assumed it would work being LGA2011 compatible but didn't check the motherboard compatibility list. For my board, this cooler overhangs the first PCI-E slot. (The Rampage IV is a quad SLI board).
Sooo, I have a few options and I need some help:
1. Should I just run the GTX 1080 TI in the 2nd PCI-E slot and call it good? I checked articles and it appears for most things I would only see a 3% performance loss, and that's fine, this rig will mostly play older games like Mass Effect & Portal 2, or indie games like Hades, Ori, Firewatch, etc. on the HTPC setup. So I can handle a couple FPS loss... If this route is recommended, I tried to boot with the card in the 2nd PCI-e 3.0 8x slot, but my motherboard gets "Code 34" which means it is sitting in the BIOS and I have no display (I transplanted my old rig and boot HDD, same hardware and everything - just into a new case with a new cooler - so old settings are all retained). Do I need to clear the CMOS to get it to see the card in slot 2, or will that just do nothing? The mobo might still be expecting the GPU in slot 1, or, this model just might not even allow me to run off of slot 2 at 8x? I just do NOT want to clear the CMOS if it won't work and then end up putting the card back in PCI-e slot 1, because I had all BIOS settings dialed in how I wanted, hence why I hesitate to just hit the clear button.
2. Rather, should I just bite the bullet and drop another $100 on the NH-D15s (the high compatibility asymmetrical offset model) which *will* work with my mobo? I am out of return for the NH-D15 because I waited months to do this build (oops), and I already confidently tossed all the packaging like a boss. So I guess I could save this cooler for another build and swallow the extra $$ to "do it right". Besides the cash though, it also means remounting the new Noctua cooler and re-applying thermal paste... which is fine... just a minor PIA. But if it's worth it for the inconvenience and $$ I'll go this route.
Thanks for the help!
Sooo, I have a few options and I need some help:
1. Should I just run the GTX 1080 TI in the 2nd PCI-E slot and call it good? I checked articles and it appears for most things I would only see a 3% performance loss, and that's fine, this rig will mostly play older games like Mass Effect & Portal 2, or indie games like Hades, Ori, Firewatch, etc. on the HTPC setup. So I can handle a couple FPS loss... If this route is recommended, I tried to boot with the card in the 2nd PCI-e 3.0 8x slot, but my motherboard gets "Code 34" which means it is sitting in the BIOS and I have no display (I transplanted my old rig and boot HDD, same hardware and everything - just into a new case with a new cooler - so old settings are all retained). Do I need to clear the CMOS to get it to see the card in slot 2, or will that just do nothing? The mobo might still be expecting the GPU in slot 1, or, this model just might not even allow me to run off of slot 2 at 8x? I just do NOT want to clear the CMOS if it won't work and then end up putting the card back in PCI-e slot 1, because I had all BIOS settings dialed in how I wanted, hence why I hesitate to just hit the clear button.
2. Rather, should I just bite the bullet and drop another $100 on the NH-D15s (the high compatibility asymmetrical offset model) which *will* work with my mobo? I am out of return for the NH-D15 because I waited months to do this build (oops), and I already confidently tossed all the packaging like a boss. So I guess I could save this cooler for another build and swallow the extra $$ to "do it right". Besides the cash though, it also means remounting the new Noctua cooler and re-applying thermal paste... which is fine... just a minor PIA. But if it's worth it for the inconvenience and $$ I'll go this route.
Thanks for the help!