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Joshj23
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Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Sun May 14, 2017 9:57 pm

Hi there,
just wanting to know if anyone has had any success running a gtx 980 on a 9020 sff motherboard.
im planning to modifiy the case to accept the card sideways and run two external dell da-2 220w bricks to power both the motherboard and graphics card using.
thanks
 
NTMBK
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 3:12 am

This seems like a terrible idea... Even if you can hacksaw apart the case and cram in a 980, the cooling performance will be terrible. And rigging two inadequate power supplies together sounds like a recipe for a house fire. Why not just transplant the motherboard into a new case? It looks like a standard Mini-ITX board. Transfer it to a Bitfenix Prodigy, and get a proper power supply.
 
Joshj23
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 3:32 am

I know it seems like a terrible idea and it probably is, but I want to try something new.
Thanks anyway though
 
Kretschmer
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 5:03 am

Won't work, sorry. Transplant the mobo to a new case/PSU.
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 5:47 am

In theory it would work if it was a generic motherboard that fully complied with the ATX and PCIe specifications, Though you may require a BIOS update to get a 2016 card to work in a motherboard that old; If that's the case it's pretty unlikely Dell will have written a BIOS update for graphics cards that the SFF isn't designed to ship with :(

The board may also be unable to provide 75W to the PCIe slot; Quite often those SFF motherboards aren't designed for a 75W card because that form factor will never be able to fit one. Half-height cards are limited by spec to draw only 25W from the board. Whether that's the case with your board is unknown, and even if that is true, the GTX980 might be intelligent enough to draw power from the PCIe slots instead of shorting out the motherboard. It's a gamble that could fry both the board and the 980.

Even if you get it working, it will be awful for cooling and a cabling mess. I assume you are determined to do this crazy project though, otherwise you could pick up literally any mITX case and an adequate ATX or SFX power supply to make it work. How come you want to make this particular case work with a GTX980? Something similar in this form factor would be the FTZ01:

Image
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Joshj23
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 6:08 am

I have other cards I can test on the board, but the main reason I want to put a gtx 980 in there is because I am already running one in my main desktop and need an upgrade, I thought I'll try my hand at stuffing it into a tiny case, as I don't like big bulky cases much. As for cooling, I think a reference style cooler might be fine.
 
Kretschmer
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 7:39 am

If you're determined to do this, please update us on the outcome.
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Dedicated Graphics Card

Mon May 15, 2017 8:13 am

Reference-style cooler will be fine if you also cut a hole to provide unrestricted airflow to the intake.

One thing to remember is that you will need adequate cooling for the rest of the case. Based on temperature changes in a traditional ATX tower case with a reference 1080, I'd estimate that around half the heat is still dumped into the case. About a quarter of the total heat output is airflow from the front end of the card, and another quarter will be the radiated heat from the rest of the card.

There are a lot of "if" clauses in this project, but technically you might be able to make it work. Whether it'll still be an SFF at the end of it is another question! ;)
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