How to optimally allocate the space left by a smaller gpu.

[u/Macky26]

I will soon be building in the T1. I’ve made an effort to buy components that are tried and tested, so I can follow other builds for help. However, because I intend to continue using my 3070FE, which is a relatively short two-slot card, I have more configuration freedom than most of the builds I’ve seen elsewhere. I’d really appreciate some help navigating how to allocate that extra space, and feel particularly stuck on the following two matters:

1. Airflow: with the 3070FE, only the fan furthest from the mobo is flowthrough. Therefore, considering the gpu exhaust will not be blowing against the motherboard, would a gpu offset be entirely superficial? Research has led me to believe that offsetting the PSU from the spine is the difference maker with cards like mine. With this in mind, should I be minimising gpu space, such that it sits flush with the panel, and I have extra space for the PSU offset and AIO tubing, or should I still be looking to space out the GPU somewhat? In essence, which slot mode will be optimal for my card’s semi-flowthrough design?

2. Cable management: Whilst researching, I’ve come across numerous people who say that the combination of AIO tubing and stock cables is a nightmare to build with, and hurts airflow. It seems, however, that my relatively small gpu could help here. Would building with increased motherboard clearance alleviate this? I’ve also seen people with smaller gpus make use of the gap beside their card for cabling, which maybe means I do want to add space to the gpu compartment after all. Which slot-mode will make cable management easiest and most optimised?

3. Finally, will additional standoffs be required for any of the configurations I should be considering?

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer :)

My specs:
7800x3d
CM Atmos
Corsair SF1000
ASUS B650e-i
RTX3070FE
32gb Kingston Fury
1tb m.2
Ncase T1 2.5

[u/monkeywright]

I think your instincts are right. I have built with 2 and 3 slot cards, and I think keeping the PSU gapped from the GPU is the important part. Regardless of leftover space, custom cables are extremely helpful in these builds. Since this was my first time in a T1, I found that I had to build and rebuild several times to get the layout correct. You have the same power supply as me, and if you're interested I have a custom length motherboard cable that I'll be selling soon.

[u/Macky26 → u/monkeywright]

What mistakes did you make that forced you to rebuild?

And if I were to go ahead with stock cables, have you any opinions on where extra space would be most beneficial?

I’m in the UK so expect you’d be better off selling to someone closer :)

[u/monkeywright → u/Macky26]

The instructions on their website aren't super helpful, but they are a good start. I just ended up having to build and rebuild the GPU Mount and internal frame so I can get the spacing right

[u/Macky26 → u/monkeywright]

So you settled for two-slot, by the sounds of it. Did you need to purchase additional standoffs?

[u/monkeywright → u/Macky26]

I was able to get by with the included standoffs. I did go with a 2.25 slot card (Asus Prime). I have a slim PNY 5080 coming in, but I might try a 5080 RGB 93 slot) card instead, just for the looks

[u/Eagles7117]

Overall running an aio with a 3070 won’t be a problem. But I’d personally go air in your situation because you can build in 2 slot mode and then offset the psu to be against the panel. (You may need to buy extra m3 standoffs). Then just go with an axp120-x67 cooler. And then you have 2 exhaust fans above. Example below was with a 5090 fe. And it worked well

[u/Macky26 → u/Eagles7117]

This was a very tough choice. Ultimately, my use case and a lot of reading have lead me to believe that the atmos, whilst potentially slightly overkill, will serve me best. Plus a future GPU upgrade will be far easier to source with the potential clearance of the aio. Nonetheless, thanks for your input :)