Confusion over GPU and Case sizes

y3llowduk

Honorable
Jun 22, 2013
10
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10,510
Hi, I currently have a basic midi case which houses my PC I am planning to upgrade. I am thinking of getting a GTX 770 to replace my HD6850. According to measurements of the GTX 770, it will not fit in my case. The card is around 30cm. Looking at other MIDI cases, most of them despite being "gaming cases" won't fit anything bigger than 25cm. Does this mean I need a full size case? Surely not.
 
Solution
I specialize more in mini-ITX cases, so I'm just "shooting from the hip" but the Fractal Arc MIDI should work. It will do 29cm cards with the top HDD cage installed and 43cm cards (if there were such a thing) with the top HDD cage removed. I assume that means you can leave in the bottom HDD cage. Anyway, here's the link to Fractal's site: http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=113
And here's the link to Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/FRACTAL-DESIGN-FD-CA-ARC-R2-BL-W-Tower-Black/dp/B00AWZQ4FI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371937346&sr=8-1&keywords=Arc+Midi+R2

larkspur

Distinguished
The reference 770 is 10.5 inches or about 27cm. However, most of the 770s use 3rd party designs and are usually around 11.5 inches. So y3llowduk's concerns are valid with regard to card length. Not sure what form factor your motherboard is, but there are mini-ITX cases that accomodate 32cm cards (Bitfenix Prodigy comes to mind). There should therefore be plenty of mATX cases to fit your needs. A lot of times, removing the hard drive cage is necessary to fit the longer cards.
 

y3llowduk

Honorable
Jun 22, 2013
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10,510


Ok. Maybe my case is smaller than MIDI. My motherboard is rather small at around 20x25cm. What form factor is this? There is not a lot of space between where motherboard ends and hard drive bays begin.

 

larkspur

Distinguished

That's a mATX (Micro ATX). mATX maximum size is 244mm x 244mm but they can be slightly smaller (like yours). It's easier if you just state your motherboard make/model and case so I have some idea as to what size you are looking for - "MIDI" size cases are supposed to be in between a "mid-tower' and a "mini-tower" and usually use mATX.
 

y3llowduk

Honorable
Jun 22, 2013
10
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10,510


Ahhh ok that makes some sense now. Motherboard is an ASUS M5A78L-LX V2. The case is unknown and its pretty terrible so all in all I need a bigger new case for the upgrade. Would you recommend a good case to house the 770? preferably less than £70.
 

larkspur

Distinguished
I specialize more in mini-ITX cases, so I'm just "shooting from the hip" but the Fractal Arc MIDI should work. It will do 29cm cards with the top HDD cage installed and 43cm cards (if there were such a thing) with the top HDD cage removed. I assume that means you can leave in the bottom HDD cage. Anyway, here's the link to Fractal's site: http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=113
And here's the link to Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/FRACTAL-DESIGN-FD-CA-ARC-R2-BL-W-Tower-Black/dp/B00AWZQ4FI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371937346&sr=8-1&keywords=Arc+Midi+R2
 
Solution