What determines the length of Graphic Cards?

[WhatMeWorry]

I like the mini-ITX SFF cases but I hate having to worry about the length of Card X fitting into Case Y. Is the GPU and memory the main determinate of card length? Maybe cooling? I don't suppose HD 7000 will be noticeably shorter?

[glacius555]

I cannot resist:

It depends on how arousing the games in question are/will be

On a more serious note, my guess is cooling, the hotter the chip, the longer, unless the future is liquid cooling?

[vargis14]

There are alot of factors involved,as in gpu chip size ,memory configuration and i think the biggest thing would have to be the voltage regulation circuits. I have seen that alone take up more then 1/3 of a card.

[derFunkenstein]

Generally speaking cards that require less power are smaller because you don't need the room for all the extra components - not to mention the traces for a second 6-pin or 8-pin PCI-express power connector.

[just brew it!]

Higher performance cards typically have more memory (and a wider data path to it), so there are additional memory chips and more PCB traces to connect them. Power-hungry GPUs also need beefier VRMs, and a more robust cooling solution. All of these factors drive up board size.

[Walkintarget]

Good question. I never did have a proper answer for that, so thanks to those who offered a reason. All I know is, I like 'em big !

[bthylafh]

There's a 1:1 ratio between card length and e-peen.

That's my excuse for keeping this full length 8-bit ISA serial card, anyway.

[Firestarter]

Power requirements and bus width. Big busses need many traces (more space) and hungry GPUs need a lot of amps at very specific voltages.