Putting Antec 1200 sideways OK?

zenzen.ii · 08-21-2008, 04:57 AM

Hi, a first-time builder here

I've just finished building my first rig (and still in awe of myself every time Windows Vista actually starts

)

But I got this a bad feeling about the way my new Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 sits in its PCIe slot. The card bracket is screwed tight, and the latch is engaged but the card sags a bit at the end. Moreover, I keep getting BSODs almost every time I switch the PC on after several hours of shutdown. The problem usually go away if I log into safe mode and then restart into normal Windows. Someone on another board used to have the same problem and solved it by replugging his card.

Since I have already tried pushing my card as far as it will go into the slot, I am thinking that the best solution is to lay the cabinet sideway so that the card would be upright. This brings me to my real question, by doing this, will I be affecting the air/heat circulation in a bad way?

My current specs:

Case: Antec 1200
PSU: Corsair VX550W
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850
Sony Nec Optiarc Optiarc AS-7200S
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T166 320GB
KINGSTON Memory/ 2GB 1333MHz DDR3

**magnethead** · 08-21-2008, 06:08 AM

what is the bsod message?

zenzen.ii · 08-21-2008, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magnethead

what is the bsod message?

BSOD message runs by too fast. for me to get all of it. The only thing I was able to catch was "display driver" something or other. And then it's memory dump

When I log into Windows in safe mode w/ networking and it checks for "solution to your problem", it always comes back blaming the display drivers. Yesterday, I ran the DriverCleaner once again and removed everything ATI-related. After the reboot, Windows installed the ATI driver and I finally got my 1900x1200 resolution back. Hellgate runs OK, attempts to install CCC crashed and burned. The PC is off atm, and I plan to switch it on when I'm back home and see what happens then (as noted, once it's up, the system is pretty stable, the trick is to make it to the normal login screen).

**kodi** · 08-21-2008, 12:59 PM

Your blue screen problem is driver related and not the card.
I have an Antec 900 and it came with a bracket to support the Video card, did you get one with the 1200?

**wrench97** · 08-21-2008, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenzen.ii

Hi, a first-time builder here

I've just finished building my first rig (and still in awe of myself every time Windows Vista actually starts

)

But I got this a bad feeling about the way my new Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 sits in its PCIe slot. The card bracket is screwed tight, and the latch is engaged but the card sags a bit at the end. Moreover, I keep getting BSODs almost every time I switch the PC on after several hours of shutdown. The problem usually go away if I log into safe mode and then restart into normal Windows. Someone on another board used to have the same problem and solved it by replugging his card.

Since I have already tried pushing my card as far as it will go into the slot, I am thinking that the best solution is to lay the cabinet sideway so that the card would be upright. This brings me to my real question, by doing this, will I be affecting the air/heat circulation in a bad way?

My current specs:

Case: Antec 1200
PSU: Corsair VX550W
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850
Sony Nec Optiarc Optiarc AS-7200S
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T166 320GB
KINGSTON Memory/ 2GB 1333MHz DDR3

Hopping this is a typo because the GA EP45 DS3 doesn't support DDR3 Ram.

zenzen.ii · 08-22-2008, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

[/b]

Hopping this is a typo because the GA EP45 DS3 doesn't support DDR3 Ram.

Yep, a typo, the mobo is GA-EP45"T"-DS3.

And it's looks like it wasn't the connection after all. I finally decided my BSOD problem warranted a BIOS flash (Gigabyte's site does say that version f2 "Fix VGA compatibility issues"). So far, I took the PC down 4 times, including overnight to cool everything down. Windows gets to login screen every time

Thanks to everyone for helping me out.

kodi, how does the Antec bracket look like, chances are, I haven't recognized it for what it is.

For some strange reasons, it screwed up my Netgear wireless adaptor - DLink router setup, but I guess that's a problem for another thread.

Still, it doesn't answer my original question: if one decides to go for "the small form factor" look using the Antec black behemoth, will circulation suffer to any degree?

**kodi** · 08-22-2008, 01:30 AM

No it shouldn't effect cooling.
Have attached a picture of the bracket

zenzen.ii · 08-22-2008, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kodi

No it shouldn't effect cooling.
Have attached a picture of the bracket

Antec store doesn't seem to have this card holder atm, but will try to look for it on ebay, thanks.

On second thoughts and after comparing 900 and 1200 manuals, the one for 1200 doesn't mention any add-in card holders, the 900 has it between "3.5” Hard Drive Installation" and "External 3.5” Drive Installation". Could be, the case is too long for the bracket to reach the drive bay?

08-21-2008, 04:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
zenzen.ii Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows Vista sp1	Putting Antec 1200 sideways OK? Hi, a first-time builder here I've just finished building my first rig (and still in awe of myself every time Windows Vista actually starts ) But I got this a bad feeling about the way my new Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 sits in its PCIe slot. The card bracket is screwed tight, and the latch is engaged but the card sags a bit at the end. Moreover, I keep getting BSODs almost every time I switch the PC on after several hours of shutdown. The problem usually go away if I log into safe mode and then restart into normal Windows. Someone on another board used to have the same problem and solved it by replugging his card. Since I have already tried pushing my card as far as it will go into the slot, I am thinking that the best solution is to lay the cabinet sideway so that the card would be upright. This brings me to my real question, by doing this, will I be affecting the air/heat circulation in a bad way? My current specs: Case: Antec 1200 PSU: Corsair VX550W Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 Sony Nec Optiarc Optiarc AS-7200S SAMSUNG SpinPoint T166 320GB KINGSTON Memory/ 2GB 1333MHz DDR3

08-21-2008, 06:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
magnethead Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 3,570 OS: Vista ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Putting Antec 1200 sideways OK? what is the bsod message? __________________ For proper support: what are you running? graphics, cpu, m/board, ram, PSU brand wattage PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W PSU. Power Supply Info and Selection . Info on thermal compounds & application . TEST PSU USING MULTI-METER . Bench Testing Your System

08-21-2008, 12:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 7,396 OS: Windows 7-Ultimate 64 Bit My System	Re: Putting Antec 1200 sideways OK? Your blue screen problem is driver related and not the card. I have an Antec 900 and it came with a bracket to support the Video card, did you get one with the 1200? __________________ Brian