PCI Extension Project

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KrisCase

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Hello,

I had an idea the other day, I hope I can gain some more insight here about it.

Alright lets get right into it.

I'm looking to extend my PCI components far enough so that I can isolate the video card with a self contain, cooled compartment.

The measurements of the video card in question is about:
12" Length
3.5" Width
2.5" Height

I'm looking to completely extend the PCI slot about 12" from the motherboard.

If anyone can provide their take on a solution (theory) to this experiment, I would greatly appreciate the comments. :)

Thanks,
Kris
 
It has extension cables to do that BUT don't think you would get it in that length. It's far shorter. Can you find a link to the card online that you're in query about to give us a better picture, seems a bit huge to me.
 
The Card in question is fictitious. But if I'd have to reference anything I would say:

ATI Radeon HD 5970 Graphics Card

I overshot the sizes just so that the separate cooling compartment I would be building around the card would clear the area I'm working with.

Sean W, thanks for the links, I'll probably try those out :)
 
Was just making sure, as the first measurement seemed waaay of the scale to me. As for the experiment, using those extensions, not sure if you would get far out the case to actually make it isolated for a cooling department. You might actually need a bigger case in theory and use the furthest spacing between PCI ports for effective cooling. Might not come in hand if you're going to SLI/Crossfire though since the cards may be to far apart.

My theory can be wrong, but that's what I got in my head as of this moment, just thought I would share the info.
 
You're sure you're not confusing PCI and PCI Express? PCI has been all but phased out for video cards as it is old and slow, my new PC only has one PCI slot, the rest are the newer PCI Express (PCIe) slots, that's what new video cards like the ATI Radeon HD 5xxx and nVidia GeForce GTX cards are using and it has been in use for several years now (it actually replaced the AGP slot which had taken over PCI for graphics).

You'll probably be looking for a PCI Express x16 extension cable. If your video card is old enough that it's still using PCI, it probably isn't going to make much heat and it probably isn't worth building a custom cooling unit for (put the money into a new motherboard/graphics based around PCI Express).

Also, some of the newer interfaces run so fast that connection length matters. Extending the PCI Express connector too far may cause signal problems.
 
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