Video Cards: Wrongly Designed or what?

[Mist]

Ok, a standard MB has PCI slots and an AGP slot. With most modern video cards, you install it but the cooling devices used usually means that the PCI slot immediately below can't be used because it's blocked by the video card fan.

So, why don't manufacturers put all the workings on the opposite side of the card than they are just now, so that everything sits on 'top', kind of like if you flipped a normal video card over. This would then free up the once blocked PCI slot.

Since warm air rises, they could then set any cooling fans to suck, rather than blow.

Makes sense to me, at least!

Michael.

 

[hjo3]

Sounds like a good idea to me. The only good reason I can think of for putting stuff on the underside of the card is that dust won't settle on it... I'm sure there must be a better rationale.

I forget, don't CNRs usually go above the AGP slot? If they do, that might be a reason...

 

[BoomAM]

I think that its because if the VPU/GPU was on the other side of the card, the heat from it would get sucked into the CPU HS by the CPU fan, which isnt very good for cooling. Or something like that. I read it somewhere ages ago.

 

[thorin]

It's both of those (dust collecting in fans is a bad thing.....it isn't on 100% of the time, and blowing hot air into a device you're trying to cool isn't exactly helpful either).

Thorin

 

[zephyrprime]

It's just because of AGP spec. It doesn't allow much space for the "empty" side so not much stuff can be put there without breaking spec. The specs are available for download if anyone cares. (I don't remember the site though)

 

[randumb]

They could also move that first pci slot down.

 

[Lord Evermore]

It's been discussed several times.

The AGP spec doesn't specify the size of the slot area. The ATX spec specifies the spacing of slots, the AGP spec determines the actual slot design. In order to help prevent people jamming PCI cards into AGP slots, or the other way around, the slots are in a different position front to back, but still in the same inverted design as a PCI card. Why the PCI specification called for them to be inverted relative to ISA cards, I have no idea. Given that desktop cases were still popular back then, it might have made sense, because with the cards mounted vertically it wouldn't matter which side the components were on.

Some boards with only 5 PCI slots leave a "blank" spot between PCI 1 and the AGP slot, leaving more room for a heatsink. Others leave the blank above the AGP slot, which makes it easier to avoid having the memory slot latches hit the video card. But until a new design is created for the video card interface, nobody can make the card go in in any other direction.

PCI Express might make it a little easier to design boards with enough space, since there won't be a separate AGP bus, and maybe the video card connector can go in any slot. But there still will only be a limited space available for each slot, unless the ATX spec changes and we all have to buy new cases as well.

It's not a good idea usually to use PCI slot 1 anyway, since it shares an IRQ with the AGP slot.