Need advice on wire or material to hold GPU corner up

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xxxlun4icexxx

xxxlun4icexxx

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Jun 13, 2013
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Hi all,

I removed some back-plates off my GPUs to give them more breathing room in my case. Because the back-plates gave them support, the right side of the GPUs will now sag when heated. A guy on another forum recommended using a piece of fishing line to help support them, which I did.

It works and all, but fishing line isn't necessarily the most heat-resistant/strong material.

Can anyone else recommend a wire or material which is comparable and thin that I could pick up to use for the same application? I just threaded the wire through a plastic hook attached to the heat sink, and tie it to the top end of a drive cage at the top of the case.

Thanks,
 
Solution
synphul
Fishing line should be pretty strong, unless it's in direct contact with high heat (against a component) I'd think it would last a good long time. Best bet would be to avoid metal to prevent any kind of shorting. In the off chance the wire were to fall even if it's insulated from the gpu itself, it could still land on various things and be a potential short waiting to happen. If looks aren't too big of a deal, another possible material might be 550 paracord. No thicker than a mouse cable and quite strong (plus any knots made in it come out easily when you want them to and hold snug when you don't).
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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Fishing line should be pretty strong, unless it's in direct contact with high heat (against a component) I'd think it would last a good long time. Best bet would be to avoid metal to prevent any kind of shorting. In the off chance the wire were to fall even if it's insulated from the gpu itself, it could still land on various things and be a potential short waiting to happen. If looks aren't too big of a deal, another possible material might be 550 paracord. No thicker than a mouse cable and quite strong (plus any knots made in it come out easily when you want them to and hold snug when you don't).
 
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Solution
xxxlun4icexxx

xxxlun4icexxx

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Jun 13, 2013
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Thanks,

maybe I'll just throw 1 or two strings on. Um, it could be in contact with direct heat. I'm not sure what you call them but the GPU has 4-5 gold metal pipes running laterally through the middle of the heatsink. Some of the pieces of line hit the very end of the pipe, some don't. Not sure if those pipes are supposed to get super hot or remain cool.

 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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I don't know what card or cooler it is, some do use heatpipes like cpu air coolers do. Just be careful hoisting it up by the cooler in case it puts uneven pressure on the cooler (and it turn rocks it and puts pressure on your gpu). It might not look the best, but what about using the barrel from a ball point pen (soft bic style, not the hard clear plastic ones). Would it be long enough to support it? Might be too long in which case you could easily cut it (a hair longer than you need so the card actually rests level on it). Obviously with the guts removed from the pen barrel. Thick plastic shouldn't melt and won't be conductive.

I really don't know, it's venturing into experimental fixes and sort of an "at your own risk". I'm not sure how much hotter your gpu was running with the back plate on it but it might be better than your card hanging/flexing and potentially damaging the card or your pcie slot. Not telling you not to support the end of the card somehow, just suggesting to be careful. A slightly warmer card beats a broken one.
 
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xxxlun4icexxx

xxxlun4icexxx

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Jun 13, 2013
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This is what it looks like now:

20150216_165823_zpsbd178dd4.jpeg


20150216_165832_zps264d2dec.jpeg


I know it's hard to see where the line attaches to but it just forms a loop going through the empty side slots where you'd slide a disc drive into. The cards look pretty straight. My main concern is just the line snapping. I used 3 strands of 10lb test each but it's hard to judge how hot those pipes or that area gets. I guess I could just add a few more pieces maybe for the mean time until I can get something more robust.
 
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