Graphics card heat sink blocking PCI slot

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chrisino

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Hi,

I have a Radeon HD 4500 graphics card that's plugged into the PCI express slot on my motherboard.

The heat sink on the graphics card is huge and covers the next PCI slot down completely which I now need. I don't want to buy a new graphics card as the one I have works fine and I can't afford a new one.

I can take the heat sink off but I don't want the thing to overheat and blow.

I have looked for a heat sink but I can't find one this small enough to fit.

Can anyone offer a low cost solution to the problem?

The graphics card is a Radeon HD 4500.

Cheers
 

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It will self destruct in the blink of an eye with no heat sink on it. Also, the current heat sink is as big as it is for a reason. IMHO putting a smaller one on is probably not a good idea unless it specifically states its compatible with that video card. Water cooling might work but that will likely cost as much as finding a new video card.
 

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Last edited:

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chrisino said:
Hi,

Would this be a solution do you think?

PCI-Express PCI-E 16X Riser Card Flex Flexible Ribbon Extender Extension Cable | eBay

Also what is the difference between the item above and this?

PCI-Express PCI-E Extension Cable 1x To 16x Slot Extender Riser Card Adapter | eBay

It's got a smaller connector at the other end. Sorry a bit of novice at things like this.
Click to expand...

The second cable that you link as an adapter from a PCI-E X1 slot to a PCI-E X16. It would be of no use with an X16 graphics card.

For the first cable, I can't say that it won't work. However, how are you planning to mount the card? Allowing it to flop around on a ribbon cable strikes me as unreliable.

Mostly out of curiosity, what's your motherboard? I'm imagining some small microATX board.
 

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You could always drill holes somewhere and mount it.
 

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The full width extension cable may work. Assuming you have enough room to plug it in under the graphics cards heat sink, and that said heat sink doesn't get hot enough to melt it. What do you plan on plugging into the other end of it, and how are you going to mount it?
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
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80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
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Windows Defender
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Internet Explorer 11
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OK. I have 2 PCI's and 1 PCI E. The first slot is a PCI-E where my graphics card is. The 3rd slot has a SATA Raid PCI board connecting 2 SATA drives. Basically I have run out of SATA input on my motherboard hence the SATA PCI card.

The idea of the ribbon is that I can plug the ribbon in move the plugged in PC-E card up to the next level and put my intended PCI card below.

Like I say it's ad hoc but ive run out of SATA ports.

Also the PCI-E wont be flopping about as I will screw it into the back of the PC. It just needs a 1cm lift above the PCI-E port. I don't have a small PC just one that has run out of SATA ports hence the raid config.
 
Last edited:

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OK, it might work that way then. I'd test fit you video card in the slot above to make sure there aren't any obstructions, like capacitors etc before ordering the cable. what I would be worried about is your video card moving around now that it doesn't have a socket to support it and keep it straight..
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
chrisino said:
The idea of the ribbon is that I can plug the ribbon in move the plugged in PC-E card up to the next level and put my intended PCI card below.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you refer to fitting the card into a disused I/O slot, while jacking it up to clear whatever motherboard slot is already there?

Sounds like a nasty kludge, but if you're desperate to save a few £, maybe you can make it work.

Kludge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 7 Pro X64 SP1Intel Core I7-3930k16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133eVGA GTX680
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
homegrown
OS
Windows 7 Pro X64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core I7-3930k
Motherboard
Asus P9X79 Pro
Memory
16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133
Graphics Card(s)
eVGA GTX680
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium
Monitor(s) Displays
As PA246Q
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1200
Hard Drives
Corsair Force GT, 120 GB
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Case
Silverstone FT02
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
cheap Logitech USB
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Monsoon 5.1 speakers
bobkn said:
chrisino said:
The idea of the ribbon is that I can plug the ribbon in move the plugged in PC-E card up to the next level and put my intended PCI card below.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you refer to fitting the card into a disused I/O slot, while jacking it up to clear whatever motherboard slot is already there?

Sounds like a nasty kludge, but if you're desperate to save a few £, maybe you can make it work.

Kludge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

I think what he means is his case has more mounting points than the motherboard has connectors for. Mine is that way, I have slots where I can mount a card in my case but there is no motherboard card connector there to plug one into. The card would be mounted in the case but not plugged into the motherboard.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Yes alphanumeric you are spot on.

I decided to buy a PCI-E extender. It's not ideal but the graphics card has been fine and I don't want to get rid of it or mess with the heat sink. Fingers crossed that it works.

Thanks for helping me decide.
 

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Hopefully it works for you, even if it doesn't you won't be out of pocket for very much.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
alphanumeric said:
I think what he means is his case has more mounting points than the motherboard has connectors for. Mine is that way, I have slots where I can mount a card in my case but there is no motherboard card connector there to plug one into. The card would be mounted in the case but not plugged into the motherboard.
Click to expand...

I thought that it might be something like that. As chrisino hasn't shared the motherboard type with us, the likelihood of the card + cable clearing onboard components is impossible to guess. It looks like his/her financial exposure is limited. I hope that she/he has the wisdom to not force things beyond the breaking point.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Pro X64 SP1Intel Core I7-3930k16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133eVGA GTX680
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
homegrown
OS
Windows 7 Pro X64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core I7-3930k
Motherboard
Asus P9X79 Pro
Memory
16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133
Graphics Card(s)
eVGA GTX680
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium
Monitor(s) Displays
As PA246Q
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1200
Hard Drives
Corsair Force GT, 120 GB
WDC 1.5TB Caviar Black
PSU
PCP&C Silencer 750 Crossfire
Case
Silverstone FT02
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
cheap Logitech USB
Mouse
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (old optical) USB
Internet Speed
6Mb cable
Other Info
Pioneer BDR-205
Samsung SH-203B
Monsoon 5.1 speakers
@bobkn, thats why I suggested test fitting the card before hand to see if it hits a capacitor or if its blocked by the RAM modules, etc. I don't think that extension cable was very expensive so it won't be a big deal if it doesn't work.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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