Your Take on Vid Card Backplate?

AddRAM said:

I totally agree LF, but that`s not what they are designed for, it`s just an added bonus if they do.

Which they rarely do because they don`t even touch the chip.

It`s not even something to consider when buying a backplate.

Once again, look at the MSI card I posted, it`s beautiful.

MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti DirectX 12 GTX 980TI GAMING 6G 6GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ATX Video Card - Newegg.com

Yes it is!

Layback Bear said:

Well like most things, the opinions on cooling are all over the place.
I haven't done any tests to prove one way or the other.
I would think that it depends on the video card and the air circulation path through the case.
Just looking good is enough reason for me to have backing plates.

Some examples. I haven't found and definite answer.

Benefits of metal backplate on graphics card? - Super User

Does the backplate really do anything? - EVGA Forums

GPU backplate?

The common agreement seems to be: looks, rigidity, and protection.

Thanks for all the posts and the education!

Update: I finally got around to putting in the video card in the new build today, and yes I used the back plate :)

Again, thanks Everyone!

i would argue against any impact on heat dissipation, because even if the back plate were aluminum or copper it would not help dissipate heat since the heat source is coming from the gpu on the other side of the pcb. there is no path of conduction for heat to travel along metal on to the metal back plate to then dissipate.

all the graphics card cooling is happening on the front side of the card above the gpu thanks to the cover and the fans there, along with any heat sinks or heat pipes mounted onto the gpu.... just like how a cpu cooler works.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

TDKMate said:

Update: I finally got around to putting in the video card in the new build today, and yes I used the back plate :)

Again, thanks Everyone!

It didn't happen unless you post pictures (not to mention we are all nosy curious).

That's a good one! OK, photo of the back plate attached. I guess for aesthetics, I should have removed that red SATA cable going to my optical drive first...
.

ThrashZone said:

Dang anyone tell you to back up a little
Those wires do look close :)

LOL - Well... I didn't know how else to get a shot of the back plate

It doesn't look like it, now that you mention it, but that cable is well away from the heat sink fan, and I have it tied up so it doesn't move around any.