Graphics card bending

[ViperXTR]

My sister's Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 (the non reference cooler design) also have this issue, there's a minute bending and the PCB is somewhat thin as well, maybe because the fan shroud was not supported by the display output plate, was expecting it to be thicker (PCB) for a good brand such as Sapphire.

 

[Darkleoco]

I saw in another thread that someone had solved that problem by simply using a stack of lego blocks to support it so why not give that a try?

 

[Norton]

My sister's Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 (the non reference cooler design) also have this issue, there's a minute bending and the PCB is somewhat thin as well, maybe because the fan shroud was not supported by the display output plate, was expecting it to be thicker (PCB) for a good brand such as Sapphire.

I have an ASUS 4870 Dark Knight- this card has a thick brace on the edge



Even this one bends a little at the end- adjusting Mobo slightly has improved it but this is a heavy card.

 

[m1dg3t]

O/P had a look at you system spec's and noticed you're running a Saphire "flex" guess you got more than you bargained for? Seriously though; if the card/HSF/MOBO/case are all aligned properly and still having this problem i would be looking at getting a replacement, if you can't get a replacement you're gonna have to make something up to add support. Lego would work awesome! I've seen entire PC's built out of Lego's

 

[ViperXTR]

@Norton: thing is, the sapphire hd 6850 is not that heavy, my palit gtx 460 se with a slapped DeepCool V4000 cooler is much heavier but it remains sturdy, maybe because its shorter.

 

[Norton]

@Norton: thing is, the sapphire hd 6850 is not that heavy, my palit gtx 460 se with a slapped DeepCool V4000 cooler is much heavier but it remains sturdy, maybe because its shorter.

I believe the Op was talking about a 6870, which is a little longer than a 6850 so it may bend a little more. Your sisters 6850 may be an issue of the case/mobo connector being slightly off of 90 degrees.

The 460 SE is shorter so that may help- is the GPU closer to the backplate as compared to the 6850/6870?

 

[ViperXTR]

@Norton: Yeah, i knew OP was talkin about the HD 6870 from Sapphire as well, i just had a similar experience with the 6850 variant. The board and chassis is align fine. From day 1 when it was purchased more than a year ago, i already noticed how thin the PCB is and i already suspect it to bend a little when it gets older (its slightly thinner than the 460se i have).

My GTX 460SE is indeed short, even shorter than the original 460SE reference.

Spoiler

The display output plate and the PCI-E slot seems to help make it sturdier.

 

[Norton]

@Norton: Yeah, i knew OP was talkin about the HD 6870 from Sapphire as well, i just had a similar experience with the 6850 variant. The board and chassis is align fine. From day 1 when it was purchased more than a year ago, i already noticed how thin the PCB is and i already suspect it to bend a little when it gets older (its slightly thinner than the 460se i have).

My GTX 460SE is indeed short, even shorter than the original 460SE reference.

Spoiler

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a338/ViperXtreme/pics/DSC00523.jpg

The display output plate and the PCI-E slot seems to help make it sturdier.

Wow that thing is big on that card. A couple of things I can think of on that 460 being more bend resistant than a 6850/6870:

- GTX 460 GPU package is larger than 6850/6870 so bolt spacing is wider for the cooler. The wider span allows the cooler to support PCB somewhat
- Outputs on the 460 are side by side while 6850/6870 are stacked on 1 side... allowing more support from backplate/PCB
- card is smaller so overhang past the PCIE slot is smaller

You are right about the age affecting the PCB... my card has sagged more with age and a thinner PCB won't make it sturdier.

I guess the consensus solution is a stack of Lego's to hold up the back of the card.

 

[spixel]

Wow that thing is big on that card. A couple of things I can think of on that 460 being more bend resistant than a 6850/6870:

- GTX 460 GPU package is larger than 6850/6870 so bolt spacing is wider for the cooler. The wider span allows the cooler to support PCB somewhat
- Outputs on the 460 are side by side while 6850/6870 are stacked on 1 side... allowing more support from backplate/PCB
- card is smaller so overhang past the PCIE slot is smaller

You are right about the age affecting the PCB... my card has sagged more with age and a thinner PCB won't make it sturdier.

I guess the consensus solution is a stack of Lego's to hold up the back of the card.

I don't think its to do with the length. I took my reference cooler off my 8800 ultra and fitted a custom one without any support and the card still does not bend and its longer than my 6870. The pcb is stronger and has no give in it whatsoever.

It's simply down to the thinner pcb used in addition to the type of cooler.