OH MY GOD Video Card Size NIGHTMARE

Dieselroar

Distinguished
Mar 4, 2009
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Well, this is kind of absurd because I'm a VERY experienced computer builder and I ran into a ridiculous problem last night; I purchased a Cooler Master Elite 360 Mini-tower case and the long and short of it is that my 4850 doesn't fit by LESS THAN an 1/8 of an inch!!!! In this case, the power supply is pushed up against the front of the case
(almost like the Lian-Li Mini-towers) so my video card touches the front of the Power Supply and wont fit.

Here's the second part of the problem; even if I were able to make the video card fit, I would have to alter the position of the power connector so that it went "down" instead of out the back.

For reference, here are the three parts "involved" in my problem;

Cooler Master 360 case; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119195

OCZ 600w PSU;http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017&Tpk=ocz%20600w%20modlar

ATI 4850;http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272


Here is my question;

Is it safe to sand off the last quarter inch of the video card to make it shorter and resolder the connector so it faces downward? I have a friend who literally builds racecars for a living so the MECHANICAL part of that isn't the problem I'm just wondering if there's something I'm not realizing as to why that's not safe.

2nd part of my question, what are your reccomendations for switching video cards? It has to be 8inches or under and I think that means no 4770 :(. I'm considering going to dual 4670, because it looks like that's the exact same power as one 4850.

Final question; My Power Supply seems to be a half inch longer than "standerd" ATX dimensions. Does anybody have any suggestions for "smaller" PSU's 450w and above? Doesn't need to be fancy just a good brand with reliability.


Thank you so much for all your help in advance. Can't believe I did this in the first place...
 

nvchad2

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May 14, 2009
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Can you sand the PSU? The metal casing of the PSU is just for protection, so If you can shave off that much of the PSU you should be good. I dont know anything about Graphics cards, but I would imagine the PSU is safer to alter.

If you really want to make it better, you could buy a metal case the size you need and literally transfer whats in the power supply into the new case. As long as you can fit everything inside it and dont alter the inner workings of the power supply in any way, everything should be fine, its just a dimensional problem. DEFINITELY make sure the computer is unplugged and be VERY careful inside the power supply. Just poke around, you can figure something out.

Good luck!