Gigabyte GTX 670 and Antec Sonata III

[nico53laval]

I wanted to buy a Gigabyte GTX 670 since it is, apart from the Asus one, the best custom GTX 670 on the market (but the Asus cost 40 to 50 bucks more so...). The problem is, I've got an Antec Sonata III (a not-so-big ATX) and I couldn't find any precise measurements of the Gigabyte GTX 670 or indications to whether it would fit into my case or not. I also only have a 500W 80+ power supply (Earthwatts 500W).
So I wanted to ask owners of the card if :
-it fits into my case
-my PSU is powerful enough to handle it without me applying any extra overclock

If not, what should I do about it? Can I change something in my case so that it fits? If not what case is a best-for-the-money in your opinion (I haven't got much money ATM)? Which PSU is a best-for-the-money?

Thanks in advance

 

[Rustyy117]

Hi

If your referring to the Gigabyte windforce x3 670 then your out of luck, your case can support graphics cards upto 10.5 inches, the Gigabyte GTX670 is 10.6 inches.

You could take a dremel to the HDD cage to make more room.

Your power supply should be enough, but I wouldn't recommend doing any overclocking

 

[nico53laval]

Hi

If your referring to the Gigabyte windforce x3 670 then your out of luck, your case can support graphics cards upto 10.5 inches, the Gigabyte GTX670 is 10.6 inches.

You could take a dremel to the HDD cage to make more room.

Your power supply should be enough, but I wouldn't recommend doing any overclocking

Do the measurements include the metal frame used to screw the graphics card in or not?

 

[Rustyy117]

Do the measurements include the metal frame used to screw the graphics card in or not?

I would assume so, its pretty important.

 

[nico53laval]

What would you recommend for a good-for-the-money case which could contain the Gigabyte Gtx 670?

 

[Rustyy117]

How about something like the Corsair Carbide 300R

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-063-CS&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1489

Plenty of room for any graphics card on the market, black interior and cheap

Or maybe the slightly cheaper Antec 302

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-174-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=160

Room for 12.5 inch graphics cards

Lovely.

 

[nico53laval]

Antec's measurements weren't quite correct as, from the mounting plate of the graphics card to the hdd case, there's about 28 cm. Would you still recommend going for another case or is changing my CPU+motherboard from my Phenom II *4 965 BE to an Ivy Bridge motherboard+CPU more worth it? (I play Skyrim and following the benchmarks, with my CPU and the GTX 670 it should run at 50 FPS but I don't know if the heavy mods I use need more CPU power or just more GPU power)

 

[Rustyy117]

Well that's good news, if you're happy with your case then I don't see a reason to buy a new one.

Have a look at these results: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-21.html

They are using a GTX680 and various CPU's, Intel really seems to do well in Skyrim so you should see a large improvement going to ivy bridge from your current system.

 

[nico53laval]

Well the thing I'm worried about is that the mods could use more CPU. Because without mods (only official HD texture pack), Skyrim runs very well. But I decided to change from an HD5850 to a GTX 670 because with 2K textures, better shaders etc.. it's really bad outdoors. But I'm worried that the CPU might be the bottleneck here and not the GPU since I don't know if the mods use more GPU power or more CPU power.

 

[nico53laval]

And I really don't have much money right now so new MoBo + new CPU is way above the budget I have right now.

 

[Rustyy117]

Any mod will use more CPU and GPU power... How much more? I couldn't tell you, why not try out the mods and see how your PC copes, if it gets laggy then just remove them.

 

[nico53laval]

It gets laggy. What I don't know is if it's the CPU or the GPU.

 

[Vanaheim]

Nico53laval,

Which brand GTX 670 did you end up installing (model# if you have it) in your Antec Sonata III case and exactly how long was it (both the company specs and what you actually measured from the card's mounting plate to the back edge)?

As for the Antec Sonata III's 10.5" maximum card length spec, my guess is that that Antec assumed at the time that a card's power connector would be on the back edge of the card, so one would need at least 1/2" to clear the connecting wires. However, the Gigabyte and ASUS GTX 670 cards have their power connectors on the side, so a 10.5"<=card<=11" should, theoretically, fit into the ~11in clearance from the mounting plate of the graphics card to the HDD case that you measured.

I also have an Antec Sonata III case and am seriously considering the ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 (10.7" x 5.4" x 1.7"). I measured ~10.93" of clearance from the mounting plate of the graphics card to the HDD case, the difference being 10.93"-10.7"= 0.23". Given that 1/16"=0.0625" and that 0.23"/0.0625"=3.68, this means that I have (3/16"<= wiggle room < 1/4") to work with to seat this particular card. The question is, is that enough room to seat this card?

 

[nico53laval]

Nico53laval,

Which brand GTX 670 did you end up installing (model# if you have it) in your Antec Sonata III case and exactly how long was it (both the company specs and what you actually measured from the card's mounting plate to the back edge)?

As for the Antec Sonata III's 10.5" maximum card length spec, my guess is that that Antec assumed at the time that a card's power connector would be on the back edge of the card, so one would need at least 1/2" to clear the connecting wires. However, the Gigabyte and ASUS GTX 670 cards have their power connectors on the side, so a 10.5"<=card<=11" should, theoretically, fit into the ~11in clearance from the mounting plate of the graphics card to the HDD case that you measured.

I also have an Antec Sonata III case and am seriously considering the ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 (10.7" x 5.4" x 1.7"). I measured ~10.93" of clearance from the mounting plate of the graphics card to the HDD case, the difference being 10.93"-10.7"= 0.23". Given that 1/16"=0.0625" and that 0.23"/0.0625"=3.68, this means that I have (3/16"<= wiggle room < 1/4") to work with to seat this particular card. The question is, is that enough room to seat this card?

Yes, the Asus 670 will fit just fine (it's as good as the Gigabyte maybe even a little more silent but it was lot more expensive at the time). As for the Gugabyte, IDK since I also bought a corsair 400r to have a bigger and better cooled case.

 

[Nukemaniac]

Hi there,

Looking at doing a similar upgrade.
I have an antique Antec Sonata (First Gen)
With a 650w PSU I am fairly happy to hang on to the case.
Due to space limitations the case can be a max of 450mm

Initially wanted 7950 but the length is 299mm (11.8')
So I might have to go with AMD - Asus GTX670-DC2T-2GD5

Does anyone know if the internal dimensions are the same as the Sonata III?