SFF GTX 750 ti, low profile, single (ish) slot mod

Associate
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
It's been many years since I messed about with a desktop PC. I just thought I'd get a thread started for a little project I'm embarking on.

I have a Dell Optiplex 3020 SFF which has a low profile, single slot PCIe slot. It mainly an office computer and I like the smart subtle appearance and size. It has an i5-4590 so it's no slouch, perfect for gaming, it just needs a little boost to GPU power. The only issue is, its very tight in there, tighter than it looks in images.

http://www.digitalwish.com/prod_images/3020_s3_full.jpg

** Do Not Hotlinkimages **


I currently have a low profile AMD 8570 1gb, it handles all my games, but it's FPS is dipping to undesirable levels in Battlefield 4 at 1080p (2.1MP), and its just acceptable enough to play online at 1680x1050 (1.8MP, about 85% of the pixels), but your not going to top the leader board!

The card is identical to an AMD R7 250 once MSI Afterburner has clocked it up 400mhz, it is very stable at these clocks and it makes almost no difference to temperatures, even after I've added 10degress to the set points on the fan profile

As the title suggests, I'm going to take a low profile GTX 750 ti and make it single slot-ish and I say ish, because I have a little extra room, so naturally, I want to maximise on it. I see no reason why things couldn't be larger or smaller if your wanting to do something similar but with a different space.

I found Gigabyte, KFA² and MSI cards readily available in the UK. I chose the MSI for 2 main and important reasons.

- Firstly, gigabyte were ruled out for fitting a dual slot backplate and stacking the DVI over the top. Lots of display ports, but no good to me!
- Secondly, I looked at the KFA² and MSI coolers, The MSI has a flat top, with 2 fans sitting on top, the KFA opts to sit a single fan in a machined recess giving it more fin area, but this doesn't suit the sort of mods I want to do, its not a problem, it would just be more work, and entail serious, no going back to standard modification. If I remove the fans from the MSI, I'll have a much lower profile, and just from looking at the images, it might just be enough to slot in place, without giving the cooler a hair cut.

Going fanless is clearly not going to work. So I plan to convert the MSI in to a mini blower style cooler. I'll 3D print a cover to totally enclose the stock fins which run front to back already. I'll try to direct the back end towards some vents in the back of the case so we're actually removing the heat, I'll even consider a side exhaust and slot the case if need be.

I'll have a dig around my junk box and see if I can find a centrifugal fan. I think I have a few dual slot 3850/70's, a single slot 3650 and a 4870x2 + a spare air cooler for a 4870x2 (which has 2 nice purecopper skieved fin blocks!!). I'll mount this fan anywhere it will fit, it might be at 90 degrees, it might be at 180degrees running along the back of the card, ducting round to the enlosed cooler on the front. It might be remote, and I'll try and use some standard flexi hose to connect it remotely (seem a bit far fetched, I should have room for a direct mount and theres probably more room right next to it)

So, we'll be combining a bit a of 3D printing and some good old scavenging to find a solution. If the cooler with the fans removed is still too tall, I have my own private machine shop in my garden which includes a CNC package, who doesn't?

I carefully cut the back out of the PCIe 1x slot that is above the 16x slot, and installed a 50w TDP card but it didn't work, it probably wasn't getting the power it needed. Why Dell didn't place the x16 slot on top I'll never know, there are 2 slots, it would have opened doors to dual slot cards if the user didnt want the PCIe 1x slot!!! :mad: - but no, they put it right next to the bloody PSU.....

On the side, I have a spare brand new 10w DDC and I've bought a cheap but low profile GPU waterblock with 43mm spacing (none of the big names make blocks this small that are low profile). I'm aiming to have the CPU and GPU watercooled, but its bloody tight in that case so take it with a pinch of salt. If I remove the CPU cooler, fit the lowest profile block I can find (GPU block so it has side port), that leaves me just enough room for a half thickness 120/140 fan and a radiator up to 35mm thick - this will leave me, 1mm clearance between the fan/radiator and the CPU block (depending on if I push or pull the fan).

It's all good fun.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
Have you already tried the 750ti in there? I would be surprised if the slot actually provides the power needed, as in SFF OEM PCs they are normally limited to 35w or thereabouts.

:eek:

No it should be here next week!

If that is the case, perhaps I'll be able to hard wire a bit of extra juice in to it - totally uncharted territory for me but I would guess looking online at a quick pinnout, add 12v to 1B, 2A&B, and 3A :confused:
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
I just found a single slot Sapphire 3650 (11127-02) which has a good size cooler (65TDP, vs the 750ti's 60w if my google search is correct)

It has 43mm hole spacing although I think TomsHardware has covered these, you have to drill out the mount holes which I'd rather not as I think I can do better with the stock cooler.

Worth knowing though for anyone else looking in to it. I'll offer up the cooler and see how it might look in terms of clearance etc.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
I'm just googling, the 8570 (standard Dell option) is 66w TDP if the first random source I've found is correct?

I've looked on AMD's site and they just list basic specs and features
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
Not something I'd attempt. Whilst the i5 is a great chip, gaming isn't what pc was designed for.

I can't disagree with that comment but this is "Overclockers" - I would have thought this is all about taking things beyond what they were designed for, and this is what I have, and I like it, the case is good and solid and knocks a lot of the fans whining noise out, everything is quick release, I can strip it down to the case with mobo and cpu+cooler without PSU, HDD, DVD, etc all by removing only 1 screw(to release the PSU)

I would love to see the real world FPS performance difference on something like battlefield 4 between something like an i5-4590 on a H81 chipset and a high end intel extreme machine of the same generation with the same RAM and GPU, I would guess, its only 5 to 10%? I could be very wrong, but I doubt it.

If the system is capable of running my games at just 1080, the project will have been a great success - exactly what I designed it for ;) If I can make it as quiet at possible, bonus - I'll be chuffed to bits.

I've got a big liquid cooled lianli PC60 (Vintage I know) in the loft if I want to get something a bit more lively going!
 
Last edited:
Don
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
46,744
Location
Parts Unknown
You can put a Ferrari engine in a Vauxhall Corsa, doesn't mean that you should..

I'm not trying to shoot you down here, but you'd be better off with a different starting base.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
We'll agree to disagree since this case is what I want :p

The only constraint I see is the PSU, and in today's low TDP market, that's no longer an issue, a 66w CPU flat out, combined in the same rail with a 65w GPU flat out isn't even close to half the total PSU Max, and only 2/3rd's of that rial (there are 2 14amp rails) - I've had significantly more power running through many of my laptops in the last 5 years, so from my perspective, this is going to be cool and quiet with a reasonably well balanced CPU/GPU combo.

The case also has excellent cooling characteristics and a strong well thought out flow, given its tiny volume the number of complete air changes per time period will be higher than that of a different case even though it only runs a small fan, I know this because I've watched it on my FLIR and I can continue to monitor and record temps and look for any potential air flow dead zones/hot spots

I feel technologies and TDP's have move on significantly in the last 6 or 7 years and running this setup, in this case, is a walk in the park, worst case scenario, I may have to get a new mobo which isn't a big drama as this thing is almost standard matx, I may just have to add/remove some mounts (they have likely secured the CPU cooler directly to threaded holes in the case from my experience of similar machines)

It's not like I'm trying to run a 120w CPU with a 200w GPU, this should be a well rounded build (he says as he jinx's the whole thing :( )
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Apr 2015
Posts
4,050
Location
Hungerford, UK, Earth
could you swap out the mobo for itx, remove the psu and put an sfx psu at the front where the fan is, with a power extention running to the back, maybe a pcie riser cable and side mount an itx sized gtx1060. would mean modifying the back of the case. links below , I have no idea if an sfx psu would fit or the GPU.. then you add vent in the side and add an ultra slim fan...

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £282.89
(includes shipping: £0.00)


 
Soldato
Joined
12 Dec 2006
Posts
5,129
I use a Radeon Hd 7750 in OEM Dell and HP boxes as cheap gaming rig and I need to have a PSU of at least 300w otherwise I have problems with it. So for me that meant using the Towers Chassis rather than the SFF or such.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
I have a sff 790 which I was wondering wether a LP 750 I have would work.

May have a play and see :)

Edit, someone has a 790 SFF and theyve got a 750ti in it, and have been running it for some time by the sounds of it!! http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19657233

edit again, it looks like your x16 slot is first in line so you can fit a fit a standard cooler too, lucky bugger!!! I can't understand why the hell they but the x16 slot on mine right next to the bleeding PSU!



It could be well worth a look! Do you have any writing near the PCIe slot (some say MAX 30w TDP or something to that effect!)

In which case, the 750ti might not work, although you could try a hillbilly mod and solder some extra 12v wires to the appropriate 4 pins on the PCIe slot - totally untested, I don't know if this would work or know of anyone daft enough to have tried it, but this is what I'll be doing if I can't get it to work from stock!)

The top graphics option on the 790 is an R7 240 which is only a 30w TDP card. Mine has the previous gen 8570 in, which is a 60w board (apparently anyway! sources are few and far between for this odd model)
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
My low profile GTX 750ti finally arrived:D

As I suspected, it doesn't fit with the dual slot cooler, as my magical laser scanning eyes predicted, with the fans removed, its a dam near perfect fit!

Unfortunately, the fan mount holes are a bizzare shape, so the waterblock I've got won't fit, and I would guess, no off the shelf stuff is going to help me here. I wonder if the other brands have done the same to their LP 750ti's :confused:

My 4870x2 blower fan is much larger than I remembered, I'm going to leave it. The dual slot 3870 is even larger, and the single slot 3650 is as large in diameter. So I've got a 40x40x20 fan, which I presume is 12v (its out of a 12vdc-240vac inverter that died prematurely) It's a good size, and should provide good flow - I'm not sure about the noise but Scythe do some 40mm and 50mm fans so there's probably room for improvement/dual fans further down line.

Right, time to get the drawing board out and start designing this cooler :p

DsXwjzo-ixfFdeNvrwZ1INSTFIoFpn63ZH6UMGc69Hm80adY5MAiWGjowiKkZ8G_MaHlthOQfWPiSaffQvoWI7Bb97kkytGs2SHSUkLbiaGRADvIFKiz6-K7gowQtz3VVm47vlVSPtXzHPutuU-xeuVyEbShdTDzDMqRjvgNmDxGt2IhkEpriByYH8R3Jiv1Q-1wGg4KsW6jGxocxp4NzgmC9Ve5_eqVP4GpyNvCxy0tYi0V01grY8UXBsob9GguAe_qtccV1nk4iHGe_QXVOI8enTB_IUvagZqWHg0NydQsvcrZSIgFU8swmW-WISEeT4JzMNSy_rGaq4s9z5gt5j5HE3TEoFppjh7AuxasxAsqxh4iXFC3s2bfi3U3k1zZ3jn1LMKIOvOAhXTOb2QKxzIc8g1zMxbwfSwJIiOHFbnGvEzQ8bfFyRUsYp3DOpCXijV7syoWqTw7kjKc38x-L_v-8DIIkbSO2Z7ebezkEUrQsDFeoUMCbcQlupSCEDrmflOsMfmpMJR6JoyKGDnMJu0rSkPc47wluKzth3qHx2_ZG-RXjV87hNaIrWbn_0d6mEILOX-7A5461iBCZQgyKpAmPgmh1CSOIueUv2zrPhcWPII=w640-h480-no


Nlz5XytyLtSq-5C-YY8eFU34DEneNgN33r304y3ylDbqod77sgVPIPk5_ch_C9DgmQL-ZL1kaKLM40xtN4zZWRliuzRoc-wj-55b3ptwh_Ka3G8Z2DbCEvzIZcOGlZX_0sRGf73-J2QE5Qbir60UNHtrUcaDCOZzMYsjuBpidJ8yefccyjNRxJrrjK1H3OQlqViHfJhrvYU-ugHkQOynZweVonYXBWL17Kcv00ZXcRZBq3eDnQH3R5PIQ9MkouAc1qgYJaGOhfM3BDGwJz41UZJOEdI3wMdScJsp64Io8Zdgyus3MzJjRCj-NQsS-oo5DtD0_SjPBcRMejT0RPd7XuSnAxd_A9hdRUJcX-E7jh28b1pFIF7cpWZi5M6TMv2CYzMAkASz4FzReuPY7GOPGL1s2XZVOWec565rFoP-FEHSQ9tp2TOoRXCr5YrVgOa0lzE92c_YZEBG-KV1KKtkJujHHqRLkrkVT96owMpNDsb6SYMQXh8w7d07j4_WOsjSVAd3iVy35TtLJY8XEkIh37T0yOf2GNLuJe82Jh2DWAe3SygCv7xKZvDeYTCsos-t1TIZIZoRg9Ajz9i2estJyAqBKW52Wbw8PXlIne7uCu1WVo8=w640-h480-no


O4j-M3tIirzViQDUz6izhWspKH9ArFr5SKjEoIY1o37HC-2yWDM4j8NkbdlEA21ej0K9FQZEslh97D1qh2jF3lj7u-RsJUmNADzKtXUFqrr2563hOE31vZdBYn-wMkXMeR2rBETg_sUdKxTSfcsav3KdhNij62_kk4-JVG38Kt7uIXJPw1I6jyzIvVoWsuFNyXhMM_Grr4VNB6fCbBUV6jeWeKqmG0RRkhV2TWp-YAQ9TqJhwr7PPLjXjIMBvgZvBN-P2uf419MpCpHzkVaLnjgvl-9SOC0MQV9lHVwecbGNwMVi49_aHPbSsdHTBfcWsr6AX_qybVX4JLta3x1WGjt38T-jAasPkmGKlpCWEyNl6pacGPG2xOwiQ7IsUclJhKHpA7qoDbb6APhM2e6Bl2Qh_wYXWsnliSY9a5PCROACpw5hqN7cNHLnsO6yFheUlfb-OslXE29pG0NpiXi1M9PJyr-3EvSbglftax9ebhzFUrVUHzjoVT0Xqql8FXOKKCQJ4OvWalE_G6oVLm_Nt8kbpMo5IvC1ZYZf7hHcHizIZU6P8pSy8tF4tN6PtUjagTi-MsbyK4nW2tv8CcgCGtb82AhUB8G5_e8khVZAwYf46Ok=w640-h480-no


qHeuFwnqVcSapF_qlGR56pYKuLYdAiFvsn9Y86A84AjmerpqvPEzI5G5FzdjShxtvbNovyGJMIZq5vUxmo5Mun_-4PRx7LMdAWLHur7sTChgW2rASTqwFBkYk-MzYSd9sB2YZpIG_Qf8r6rIlDQNvpxtr2UxpMsSbYrKtP83YREBf4ygD6dlceWwfLfiM0KdyCFcgp36NZyPn-rWYPH0e0IFW-cX245tJDscYGggbeZe3FoCGWwJcmEU8DIfhqh5aWGS8OLhrCVcbz3wCyira8NcCTLlN-WyVdQsCEPPTuEJRtVWZ5ED8LpLGqYc1VLOhYhRY56YSMfxsibUlpeaJS2gwyViq0LDEFxBsd9qrtkLaCVmdEyrc323z3HMXm5hNL3LW0MvxDKlOFYtagyj-9n2hvYkJwxJmz__N1F1t4Zf9rTp5074ERIPNn7s4_9OLJskfc-0ArPkfjuzRh80a8XL6kKs5HW6-Lt9zmLpO716cw9925ed_m3wsbk26YxvSGAgLX2iOGWu9v-V3UPtHdQVPXuMrabPM_blOp35S_YJ0UV_V16xemXUuLDn6TjafziqOvXOxkqUdbnOnzg8ZCv7td5DdziN63fV3u7UHreKwls=w640-h480-no


JI-rAE5XabhuidPcTDyICg85mmL-nXY_4yPt-7Z1M3i5ws8NX8j5yMhSHT_VNG7oZ2EBBg5CK8nh8fPNQc72LuHEjrHlEGimeDnxeOv8Kr8T90S9ngIae-UjrmMm7ZoU6nfLZfWqS49x1iHwz6XYQQDDQpNOTwi1TsAk_viiNLdTdPGEyWQK3gZS3g1b4OzKOTz6PshBP9MkiG-B4_vgnTgtcCBnMgFBrN04UN827fz8OK6sl2u0pf5ttFWC3OFqGycPphxrV-Vdlj6OIEUcS8qJXIyy8Hw6tioI8LhkcjtLko9E_KxXNR0c_6dnsOZ1fswPX891H_3-y1yuGcaBIrqpX11iDLfOIqM4LIpuGJrxfRKp1BPBUdq6KTqx14GhFoQOTEwTJmp6hzYopAQDWO4zZNXEK4PM7ZN03zRzXMoal__s1iwBgyAUoLAKREtqvoEvINcIcQECBJ7LLam2Onh1NPpT--H9XlA4fepnAeUCDDmbPO-AR1yHfulIDv8L-swItWdbad7co7xgt6YI-CSrdachDJM1DSuuDRSLyRWg0At9e8u1Lri2cRPc-vPVKLrjikEk0AkgAcNLHJKi6ZRrYetGftWP6YvuWM1lw35e6CM=w640-h480-no


ylyUGdqLNSg8cQArF-VJ60b-kiXxJCG0XEqGiswpHBJIFr_5i5Qc49XltDVKNI_ac9iEuJMpottDtWH2BiqMdlFxC9Z8TUVPIEAFCzioMcx7eOO1YA0WcuCc1fxcHSPgz9vDSc8pDy-b5BPFqbuShaXF9BQAAUwVfvkiB1ATOKBK-PYq8BlqzNNf1XKIwrqsbo0ly39l19NXkg9hXaPo4YlM0XKmi4prz5efGFHKoW0Dg-gwgkbKYYXzXNrnJeg2fNTBnaPnTTKRAK5I-VcEfE7Ud99HfIevd7pyWcPkbKk0YZi7FLkXUGb7jfzfJGFUxMVfRNKZwvQks2QD5aSRakjvA_HpN1aQOIW96pONvEgS8SeBfqans2PF1vwkd2PwpDGi2SykEaCKvQK-TNOQykuWOoQvYnWmEf0jOH5--zZvyVj7JBg_L1SrsbGZOhPiXNPp0R1arbRGmZOmap3ynqLG6rXd6blYny1nCZ5qgH9Gl_sZt3iW-OxrwMI_87_ceQC1TuH3wOHQEWD33wutVlu8iUCSlov06sUsihYyI00_wvcxwLhPY8uZLwcQK_dYCZhrZzaRxcE4jfBIInKPJqRXypE7NJQA8aSSUhSM5kpjflU=w640-h480-no
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
I'll obviously have to work on those images!

Preliminary testing went well, I sellotaped - yes, sellotaped the 40mm fan to the back of the cooler and all went well, temps were 85c ish during benchmarks but that's not what I was looking at, I just wanted to check it would work and the slot would provide enough power etc.

I've knocked up a rough 3D model to duct the 40mm fan to the cooler and enclose the fins. There's a slight obstruction so I couldn't get a great smooth transition from 40mm round to the approx 52x15mm rectangle cooler, it's just a mock up for now, I'll set my machine going tomorrow morning and it should be ready for testing by lunch time :D
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
21 May 2013
Posts
1,970
The images don't work because at the moment you're trying to embed Google's "viewer" page. You can fix them by opening the viewer page (right-click broken image in your post, then "Open image in new tab"), left-clicking the image to view it in the lightbox, then right-clicking the image and choosing "Copy image address" to get the proper image URL.

Example:
8vjXKdnK95JDRyLMG7MRKdavNKd746yzWPZwYzB5VL6YFS-lhwc-TwA4T1Kv_UUQrxSgqCeeQ5u3GRKVHVSDVDyYJMga_LI43v0isrwQDPHtMxZkutE7jYs6RCtfZCaQj2TZgn7DydjDkMZun5Brh-TdlwLswffaAiEUQleGAtdWpwHKXTCoMndfYUg-EpaNUU2zrqSCXV_-kUqHcm-6HPPbgjhvQQp_RWwFsFwtj3H5I634fX97MNpzdMdcnBFsF2BGkJGFLc5SHlyUL4PDy4EhX78WbPmTUid79O0TOuy73dIJlJC13KX1BXZVuVM9iO85pCykcrYlNh9F6wIipjSECBOIhmmtn98-ZrcPg17EGfoCZJlkVfoMyR2L-yrJ5Az1d-8bjatqddpHb3mEdS3YYQjW5b-dgR7JDdl6f_G9rZwARtuyyUO-gTrfZEzOpm3ppjKk9-v7xQPTcAbMSARhsIIEcEIu3WJ_R_cRtoaOwmstRw8XDak39DHd1SD3nIhSXMkeYRgFD3vPUylteTSMqV8524TN9zDtcGtkouvFBVp9gZ3Pf1iWkKmSw-9R8GISWu9i1OhwHePh6Ff81cxqqXwPoRiBQhXjEgGaLEwdzwQ=w640-h480-no
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
kaku, your a legend thanks!

I'll get some more images prepped now - so ppl can see the sellotape :p

So, sellotape aside, the first prototype of the fan shroud is completed, assembled and installed! I've been running it for the last hour - its spot and fits beautifully, I just need to tweak a few dims (its currently touching the PSU and some holes I added for access are missing (I must have accidentally pressed Cntl+Z while modelling!) :confused:

Temps are spot on, it gets up to 80deg and the fan stays at 60% - the fan is silent if I recall upwards of 70 so I'll tweak the fan profile to see if I can get a better balance (it was 85-90% with temps around 88 with the sellotape cooler)

I'm also printing the second half of the shroud for those who've noticed its not as long as it should be..... I printed the first bit stood vertically on the 40mm fans mount face and as my new miniature machine can only print 100mm high I had to chop the end off. - I doubt this extra bit will make much difference to temps, the GPU is enclosed and the heat spreading base ends exactly where the current shroud ends so there won't be much heat getting carried to the remaining 45mm of cooling fins!!! (bits of surface mounted components are in the way, it would have been to much cost to machine holes and clearances for them all - I would if I made one from scratch but that's just me)

So, check back in an hour for an photo update and Unigine Valley 1.0 benchmark results, temps and fan speeds!
 
Associate
OP
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
35
SO, V1 1/2 refers to Version 1 (half cooler, ie within the 100mm height of my printer)

Unigine Valley Benchmark 1.0 Extreme (windowed, 1600x900, Ultra, 8xAA, D3D11) i5-4590 3292MHz x4

FPS Score MIN MAX temp fan
V1 1/2 run1 27.3 1144 16.1 48.6 80 60
V1 1/2 run2 26.7 1119 16.3 47.7 80 60 Case Closed
V1 1/2 run3 26.6 1112 16.1 47.5 80 60 Case Closed

So, pretty consistent. Before I started the 1st run I left it looping for 5 minutes or more to get the temps up. From cold GPUz was reporting 115-120% TDP, and the boost clocks were flying, as the temps got up to 80, the boost diminished and it settled down to about +50mhz over stock and about 85% TDP - still, much better than throttling!

Pics..... (I will upload one to test size, then roll more out, these have been uploaded from the Google ios app, so its full res, I reduced the others but I can't seem to do that directly through the app or online afterwards)

raXiSW7.jpg

NUL3PJT.jpg

uFkrH79.jpg

c1fi8Ww.jpg

9t33MLn.jpg

and PING, the cooler extension is done, its currently cooling and I'll fit it in 5 minutes once I can handle it! I don't think it will help temperatures much, it may even make it slightly worse, so its a balancing act between cooling the GPU and kicking the heat out the back. If i leave it as is, it may build up heat over time and get hotter and hotter, but I could suffer a degree or 2 loss up front, if it means long term, its kicking enough out the back of the case to maintain stable temps inside.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom