Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 too close???

[tedzbear]

I'm building my first rig.

I have a microATX mobo and my double slot video card is right next to my sound card so that the fan is buried behind the sound card.
I have the Azza Helios 910 case with 4 fans. A big 230mm fan is on the side facing the two cards and 140mm fans in front and top and 120mm in the rear.

Should I buy an ATX mobo so that there's more space between the two cards, or should I wing it as is? I don't overclock.

I don't want to fry my video card.

Thanks for your help.

 

[rockyjohn]

How much of a gap is there between the video card and the sound card?

I am guessing there should be enough room for it to pull air and the case fan facing it will help, even if it does not achieve maximum airflow.

It sounds like you have already installed the video card - yes? If installed you should be monitoring the video card temperatures. If so, what are they?

If you are concerned or have an issue, you might tempororily remove the sound card for safety and to get baseline readings. I assume you also have integrated audio.
Then reinstall it and continue to watch the video card temps.

Do you have any other available for slots that could be used for the sound card? If you have slots but not the ones your existing sound card uses, you might consider getting a new card that works in the other slot(s). It might be cheaper - and certainly less work - then getting another mobo.

 

[timma]

you can look for the Gigabyte 6850 OC dual fans and only two slots.

 

[kmmatney]

We had a PCI wireless card next to a GTX 460 video card in one of our computers, and it did effect airflow and temps. I ended up removing the wireless card, and going with a USB dongle instead. My recommendation would be to not have a card right next to the video card fan. I removed the sound card out of my machine for that reason as well. I can't say I miss having a sound card - onboard sound seems to do the job.