Question Taking RTX 3060Ti Vertical on B450M board? (Completed!)

[MalVeauX]

Hi all,

I have an older Asrock B450M Pro4 motherboard that has been my steam box for a long time now. It currently has a 1660 Super. I have an Asus RTX 3060Ti V2 OC 8Gb GPU that I'm thinking of finally putting in that box. But, I think I would like to mount it vertically since its so big and just give more breathing room to the CPU and RAM and stuff it's near. The Asrock B450M Pro4 is a mico-ATX board so its not large and I don't need the extra expansion slots, but the 3060Ti is a huge heavy card so I would like to mount it so its not just relying on the small motherboard. I realize this board is PCI 3.0 max regardless of the CPU, etc, due to the chipset. But this plays into the question of which cable to use for the vertical mounting of the 3060Ti. Note, I already have all of these components and have had them since mid-COVID. I'm just thinking of adding the 3060Ti to my current steam box and using a vertical riser cable--this part is totally new to me, I've never mounted a big GPU vertically.

Given lots of options now, any suggestions for a cable that would be suitable for the above combination? Asrock B450M Pro4 board with an Asus RTX 3060Ti knowing its only going to be PCI 3.0 at best.

The case is a Lian Li Lancool 215 X. Any thoughts on hardware needed with this case to mount the 3060Ti vertically also appreciated!

Very best,

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Lian Li sells the adapter kit. You will have to confirm with them that it fits your model. I think it does.
https://lian-li.com/product/lancool-ii-1x/ It says it isn't compatible with PCIe 4.0 but that probably just means the link speed isn't supported.

This gen 4 on Amazon should also work. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091Q95ZXM?th=1

 

[MalVeauX]

Lian Li sells the adapter kit. You will have to confirm with them that it fits your model. I think it does.
https://lian-li.com/product/lancool-ii-1x/ It says it isn't compatible with PCIe 4.0 but that probably just means the link speed isn't supported.

This gen 4 on Amazon should also work. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091Q95ZXM?th=1

Hi,

Thanks; interesting. Hrm, can't tell if that Lian Li option would work. It doesn't specify my case. Maybe my case is told and discontinued now?

I'll poke around my case to see if I can find more. That LINKUP you linked looks like a good potential option. I suppose I just set the motherboard in BIOS to PCIe 3.0 and it should be backwards compatible?

Weird how hard it is to find a specific example of the Lancool 215 X and a vertical GPU... even on image search.

Very best,

 

[DAPUNISHER]

PCIe speed will auto set. I use gen 3 and gen 4 GPUs in my CoolerMaster NR200 with a gen 4 riser. No real performance loss between the 2 gens, outside of a couple of outlier games among the 50K+ games on Steam alone. 😁

I would contact their customer service and see what they say.

 

[MalVeauX]

PCIe speed will auto set. I use gen 3 and gen 4 GPUs in my CoolerMaster NR200 with a gen 4 riser. No real performance loss between the 2 gens, outside of a couple of outlier games among the 50K+ games on Steam alone. 😁

I would contact their customer service and see what they say.

Thanks; I will try that out. I sent them a support ticket, hopefully will get an actual reply.

Would love a simple single purchase drop in solution like that Linkup option. Definitely don't want to have to install the card on the motherboard with a stand under the GPU to keep it from sagging and then ever having to try to get it back out of that slot. Nightmare for knuckles.

Very best,

 

[MalVeauX]

Update,

Found buried in the Lancool 215 entry on their website (was not in the product list, found it searching...) and that its updated to show that the Lancool II-1X kit works for the 215. So I think I'll go forward on that if I can find one. So if that's the case, the LINKUP versions will probably work. I suppose I could try one and it's returnable if it doesn't fit close enough. Worth a shot.

Very best,

 

[VirtualLarry]

I just set the motherboard in BIOS to PCIe 3.0 and it should be backwards compatible?

Your mobo doesn't support PCI-E 4.0, so 3.0 should be default.

 

[MalVeauX]

Your mobo doesn't support PCI-E 4.0, so 3.0 should be default.

That's a great point of course, thanks!

Very best,

 

[Insert_Nickname]

If everything else fails, Coolermaster makes a universal vertical mounting bracket. Your case looks more then large enough to accommodate it. It comes complete with PCIe 4.0 riser:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/accessories/universal-vertical-gpu-holder-kit-v2-pcie-40/

 

[MalVeauX]

If everything else fails, Coolermaster makes a universal vertical mounting bracket. Your case looks more then large enough to accommodate it. It comes complete with PCIe 4.0 riser:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/accessories/universal-vertical-gpu-holder-kit-v2-pcie-40/

Thanks,

I just ordered the Linkup one linked previously above (4.0 but will run 3.0). Will try it first. If it doesn't work out, I'll see about trying this Coolmaster.

Very best,

 

[MalVeauX]

Update,

I got a response from Lian Li and they gave me a part number that would fit.

baron@mail.lian-li.com​

Mon, May 29, 5:51 AM (2 days ago)

to me

Hi

We will have model # vg4-gx available in the middle of June on Newegg .

This is the kit for your case .

I looked up the VG4-GX and it's already out there. I didn't buy this one though.

Prices are basically the same (I don't care about a $10 difference, etc).

However, I really liked the feedback and other users input regarding the Linkup riser. So I ordered that one and figured, if it works, I'll do that and if it doesn't I'll return it and try the Lian Li that they suggested.

I got the aforementioned LINKUP EZ Vertical GPU Riser Ultra PCIe 4.0 X16 Gen4 kit that was suggested above. Namely just because of user feedback whereas I couldn't find hardly anything solid on the VG4-GX.

Anyhow, it installed into my Lian Li Lancool 215 X case without any special effort. And I was able to seat the GTX 3060 Ti also without any special effort, no "modifications" or "work arounds." Totally just went together like legos on the first try. What a relief. Despite having been assembling and fooling with PC hardware since the mid 90's, it's still annoying to have to fiddle with things and get the pins right or find things that don't fit perfectly, etc. But I'm happy to report this stuff fit together like it was purpose made and it was not a knuckle buster to assemble it. It worked on the first boot and everything was fine with no extra effort. Thank goodness.

Thanks all for the info and help!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kit installed into the case & cable on the board:



And here's the GTX 3060 Ti installed into the riser and secured to the chassis:



Feels good man.

Very best,

 

[MalVeauX]

And now of course, I discover that this absolutely obliterates any other PCI slot use, including my small PCIe X1 slot that I normally use for a wifi NIC. Right now I'm not even using it, so it's no biggie to lose that and I'm hard wired via ethernet. But, I guess I didn't realize that it would block all the other card slots, no matter what. The only way for me to solve this would be to lower the vertical riser another full 3 slots down (based on screw holes aligning). I can't do that here, obviously, as the case would need to be full size ATX with another 4 inches or so of space before hitting the lower chambers where the PSU is. So basically not with this case. I'm good without it for now, can always just use a different wifi NIC via USB or something if I need it. But will probably just stay hard wired anyways. Just a closing thought that I didn't anticipate until it was fully installed.

Very best,