Asus NVIDIA GTX 670 DC2T 2 GB

[namelessonez]

So that's the 670 I'm looking at getting in place of my MSI GTX470:

http://www.flipkart.com/asus-nvidia-gtx-670-dc2t-2-gb-gddr5-graphics-card/p/itmd9uqvx94qjdgc?pid=GRCD9UP5GH6XGFKH&ref=0646cdb2-88eb-40ec-920b-42758e41d5e0

Couple of questions:
1. Will my motherboard support it - whether on the PCIe version or the number of slots?
2. Since its an OC'd version, do I need to change my PSU?
3. Also, will the OC on the card require any voltage changing, etc?
4. Will it fit into my case?
My existing 470 has the following dims:
243 x 111 x 33mm

The Asus has:
271.78 x 137.16 x 43.18 mm

Basically, I'm keen on a 'quick swap' of sorts....pull out the 470 and put in the 670 without any hardware upgrade.

Also, on a side note: since I will be left with the 470 as a spare, can it - or should it - be used as a dedicated PhySx card?

All my specs are in my signature below. I'll give in more info if needed.

Thanks!

 

[skrendie]

1. Yes PCI-e 3 is not required to get the card working (it won't even bottleneck on a PCI-e 2 slot.
2. No, it by default uses not alot of power (even overclocked), and you have a 700 watt max. medium quality PSU which should be enough.
3. What voltage. On the card? No this is all built in.
4. You should meassure it your self, how wide a card must be to fit in your case.

 

[skrendie]

Using it as Physx will not do that much with most games (unless your a metro 2033 fan of the sort). But it takes the 100 watt power extra all the time. So you should consider.
the 670 is more than capable to work all the physx out for your machine, especially when you're only using a 22 inch probably 1900x1080x screen, in which the 670 will have no problem in game (at ultra and AAS on 4x/8x) what so ever.

 

[namelessonez]

Using it as Physx will not do that much with most games (unless your a metro 2033 fan of the sort). But it takes the 100 watt power extra all the time. So you should consider.
the 670 is more than capable to work all the physx out for your machine, especially when you're only using a 22 inch probably 1900x1080x screen, in which the 670 will have no problem in game (at ultra and AAS on 4x/8x) what so ever.

So barring the dimensions - which i'll check out - I'm good to go?? That's great to know! Also, will the Asus take up two slots or one will suffice?

I think I'll leave out the 470 then.

 

[skrendie]

Yep! It will take two slots (as most other cards these days),

But your PCI slot is on the third, am i right, so there is no problem for an PCI card.

 

[namelessonez]

I honestly don't know if its on the third. From what I could gather from the MSI website, its like:

Slots
• 1 PCI Express gen2 x16 slot
• 2 PCI Express gen1 x1 slots
• 1 PCI slot, supports 3.3V/ 5V PCI bus Interface

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H55M-P33.html#?div=Detail
(it has a pic of the mobo if that's of any help)

I dunno if even my current 470 is using 2 slots or not!

Also, this is my case if you need to have a look:
http://www.coolermaster.in/product.php?product_id=5239

Appreciate the help!

 

[skrendie]

Its better to measure the (Wide) dimension for yourself, i cant find that on the internet.
But as far as i can see on the pics, it is using 2 slots and your mobo has two pci-e 1x and as a fourth slot the normal PCI, so no worry.

I think even your 470 uses two slots.
(oh, and physx of your 470 wasn't even possible on your mobo, because you don't have a second PCI-e 16x slot )

 

[namelessonez]

Its better to measure the (Wide) dimension for yourself, i cant find that on the internet.
But as far as i can see on the pics, it is using 2 slots and your mobo has two pci-e 1x and as a fourth slot the normal PCI, so no worry.

I think even your 470 uses two slots.
(oh, and physx of your 470 wasn't even possible on your mobo, because you don't have a second PCI-e 16x slot )

LOL!!! Whatta noob, me!

I did some calculations on the dimensions and here's what I got:

GTX 670
L 271.78mm = 10.7 inches
W 137.16mm = 5.4 inches
H 43.18mm = 1.7 inches

GTX 470
L 243mm = 9.56 inches
W 111mm = 4.36 inches
H 33mm = 1.3 inches

The problem is that now I know the dimensions, but unless I get the 670, I wouldn't know if it'll fit in! Just trying to figure this out, at least theoretically, until I get home from work.

 

[namelessonez]

Alright, so I've ordered the card and can't wait to get it!! Also, I did the physical verification of the cabinet specs and the card should just about fit in. If it doesn't, I'll get another cabinet. Might as well, because the existing one doesn't do any wonders of any sort with the cooling. The temp's here are currently in the range of 44-46 deg celcius and my existing cabinet has these piddly li'l fans, which whir like crazy but offer little effectiveness! Might change the cabinet - should the card require.

Thanks for all your help mate!

 

[namelessonez]

Best answer selected by namelessonez.

 

[eturnal]

Name - As a heads up, I had a case that was barely able to fit the GTX 670. I went to the modding forums and asked if trimming a bit of the Chasis might be a possible solution. They said it shouldn't hurt the structural integrity too much if I took an inch out of a drive bay so that could be an option.

1) Figure out where on the case chasis you need to remove by lining the card up with the PCI-E Slot you intend to install to.
2) Mark the areas on the Chasis that need to be trimmed with a marker. Be sure to mark about 3/8" to 1/2" wider than the card to give yourself wiggle room.
3) Remove all components from the machine: Motherboard, PSU, fans, drives, wires, etc.
4) Take the sides and front panels off.
5) Using safety glasses and gloves, use some metal snips, a recip-saw with metal blade, metal grinder or some other way to cut the metal... cut along the lines.
6) When finished, file down the rough edges so you don't hurt yourself or damage wires.
7) Clean the case really good and make sure there are no metal clippings. Hit it with a vaccum, wet cloth, etc. Get it clean really good.
8) Install the Mobo, then the GPU to see if it fits. If it does, keep building.

This will void any case warranty (lolwat?) but it'll likely save you some cash.

 

[namelessonez]

Eturnal:
Thanks for those tips mate! But I'm happy to report that the card fit in just fine, well...a little snug though! But it's decently spaced from my other components. In fact, I'm also able to install a new CPU fan (cooler master hyper 212) as I'm gonna be OC'ing the CPU a bit. But again, thanks for taking the time out.

Skrendie:
Thanks to you too, for all the suggestions! Like I said to Eturnal, the card fit in rather decently. Ran a few games (AvP, Metro). AvP gave me an FPS in the 90's! Metro, well....that darn title will never be happy no matter what I throw at it......65-70 fps!

All in all, pretty happy for now. Although after I installed the drivers which came with the DVD (301.34), I downloaded the latest drivers from nVidia (301.42) and installed them. Gave me the BSOD every now and then, and that also when I wasn't gaming. Re-installed the previous version (301.34) and touchwood, so far no problems! If the problem persists, I'll see y'all in a new thread!

Cheers'!!