I'm planning to install an XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT into a Montech AIR 100 case. Although the case has 4 expansion slots and the GPU is only supposed to take 2 slots, PCPartPicker is giving me a warning: "There is insufficient space available past the last case expansion slot to fit the XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT." I'm not sure if I'm missing something important. Can anyone help me figure this out?
4 Answers
It sounds like there are a couple of factors at play here. First, the Montech AIR 100 is an mATX case, which means its GPU slot is aligned with the second case slot. Also, you might need to remove a fan if space becomes tight. I suspect your GPU could end up too close to the PSU shroud, which might be something to consider when deciding on your build.
Have you checked the length of the GPU? Sometimes the issue is that the card is just longer than the case can accommodate. Make sure it doesn't exceed your case's length limit!
This warning from PCPartPicker might be more about potential alignment issues rather than an outright rejection. It's likely that the card is too wide to fit into a lower slot if your motherboard's PCIe lane is towards the bottom. It’s a good heads-up, but as long as the specs match, you might still be in the clear. Just check the actual positioning!
Just a heads-up: The GPU's I/O panel takes up two slots, but its cooler might need more space, listed as a 3.5-slot width. The PCIe slot on your motherboard aligns with the second slot on the case, leaving you with only three expansion slots worth of space. You might want to look for a different motherboard that lines up with the top case slot for a better fit.
That makes a lot of sense! I decided to go for a different case, the Montech X5M, which has more expansion slots, and it seems to be fitting better according to PCPartPicker.
I checked, the card is 325mm and the case supports 330mm, so that's not the issue.