Can i crossfire in a Fractal Design core 1000 even though one of the rows on the GPU output will be covered by the case?

[TheMacMan01]

Question is exactly as stated. i have a ASRock 970M Pro3 AM3+/AM3 AMD 970 + AMD SB950 6 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard and want to crossfire on it, but my Core 1000 only has 4 expansion slots, but i need 5, will i still be OK to crossfire or will i need a new case?

 

[basroil]

You're going to need a new case, it doesn't sound like you'll be able to fit everything without clearance issues.

If you have a dremil you can try making a hole in the case for the outputs of the second card, but without a holding bracket you might see things bending a bit later down the road

 

[Gam3r01]

Though your board *technically* support Xfire, the second PCIe slot runs in X4 mode, so your secondary card would be heavily bottlenecked.
If you ever wish to run multiple cards, look for the SLI certification, as it allows for at least X8 on all lanes.

 

[synphul]

I don't see it working out. The back slot openings on a case are slightly recessed and the card slides into place to fit into the pcie slot. There's no place for the second tab on the bottom of a dual height gpu to fit and nowhere for it to slide into with only half the openings available meaning it will put pressure on the card trying to shove it forward just a bit to the front of the case. That strain would be placed on the pcie slot on the motherboard and you'd have to jam it in to make it fit. Something tells me you'd end up with a damage pcie slot trying to make it fit. Best to get a compatible case if looking to crossfire if it won't fit your current card placements.

Or like basroil suggested, try your hand at a power tool and hack the back of the case out enough to make it fit. I wouldn't attempt it with any components installed in the case though, metal grindings/shavings could cause any number of shorts and problems if it gets into slots, bridges contacts on the board or drop onto/into any other parts like the psu or other things. Give it a good rinsing with water (with everything removed of course) if you go that route and let it thoroughly dry out to remove any metal particles from cutting it.