Can my motherboard fit the 6870?

[edicspaz]

Hello all, I am the recent christmas recipient of an HPE-400f PC. I have always used a laptop for my pc needs and was really happy to get this as a present. However, upon playing my first couple of games it was immediately evident that I need a new graphics card to replace the Radeon HD 5450 which comes stock with the pc. I have done much research and decided to go with the radeon hd 6870. I have never installed a card this large in a motherboard before so I removed the side panel and found myself looking at this motherboard

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02560084&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=4300938#N103

...its the N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix). I have no other cards in the pci-e slots but I know the card is long. My question is can I get this thing in the pci-e x16 slot without hitting the ram inserts? It looks soo close to me. Also I have a 300w power supply, so I was going to go with a 500w certified, this should be enough to handle the load right? From the research I've been doing it sounds as though the 6xxx series is very energy efficient. Any suggestions under $75 would be greatly appreiated. Also, one last question lol. I wont be bottlenecking my pcu with this card will I? Im running an AMD Phenom II 945 Quad Core with 8GB DDR3 memory on Windows 7 home premium. I really appreciate any answers that could be given, I know this is my first post but once I discovered this site I know I'll be a regular (at least in terms of reading, I scour forums regularly for answers, dont do much posting.) Thank you!

 

[rolli59]

The card is going to overhang the PCIe x1 slot below it and should clear the ram slots just fine. A Quality 450-500watt PSU is enough for that card suggested brands are Antec, Corsair and Seasonic.
Seasonic 520 watt http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

 

[clarkjd]

There should be no problem with the motherboard, where you might have a problem is with the case, and hard drive cage. Check how much clearance you have between the I/O brackets for the expansion cards and the cage. Compare that to the length of the Video card you plan to buy. Also allow for any extra you might need for the PCIe power connectors

 

[edicspaz]

Ok I just looked up the dimensions and it looks like this should fit inside my case. Can I ask what you mean by "allow for any extra you might need for the PCIe power connectors"?

 

[clarkjd]

Some video cards have the power connectors oriented so that the power cords fit into them from the top of the card, while others have to plug in from the end, therefore adding to the length of the video card.
For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130563
if you follow this link, then look at the photos, you will see that this cards' PCIe power connectors plug in from the end, meaning that this card needs more clearance than just its length.

Whereas this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133370
has PCIe connectors on the top of the card, meaning it needs more clearance between it and the side panel of the case.