Reddit mentions of upHere Graphics Card GPU Brace Support Video Card Sag Holder/Holster Bracket, Anodized Aerospace Aluminum, Single or Dual Slot Cards (Black),GL05

Most modern cards do. Especially custom cards (ones with triple fans that are extra long, for example) sag a lot. Even out of the box, there is a slight but noticeable droop of the card. It only gets worse the longer you let it happen, I have an old, 2-pound GPU from 2015 with a solid steel backplate, and even that one has noticeable sag after years of sitting in my case without additional support.

It's not too surprising, these cards can weigh upwards of 3 pounds and the only thing holding them in place is a piece of the motherboard and some screws on the back of the case.

Fortunately there are good ways to solve this problem, and, at least relative to the price of cards, they're a cheap and worthy investment:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079HSVSLR/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GYL25H/

IMO it's just a matter of time before GPU manufacturers catch onto this problem and start shipping cards with support brackets to prevent sag of their cards. Hasn't happened yet though.

Looks good, only advice is invest a little more and buy a GPU support to remove the sag.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Cards%EF%BC%88black%EF%BC%89/dp/B076GYL25H

If you want something slightly nicer looking, you can grab this thing

Some GPUs these days are fairly heavy - so much so that they sell support brackets to help prevent GPUs from sagging and warping the motherboard. Mounting the GPU like that can help prevent that issue.

it's worth is for $7

Honestly if you're going to spend $600 on a card you may as well spend $10 on a brace to protect it and the PCIe slot:

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525039870&sr=1-4&keywords=gpu+brace

I got this in the mail today and installed it for me it works 100% upHere GPU

Optional: a video card support bracket like this one: https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/

this

However I’ve seen people be creative and used a funko pop or even 3D printed their own support bracket

I think at this point, it's almost assumed that you need support braces for the beefy aib cards. Most even come with one if you get the primo, high end models. They even sell them fairly cheaply on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=LHG27VAW6VMS&keywords=gpu+support+bracket&qid=1556162811&s=gateway&sprefix=gpu+s&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

My sapphire Vega 64 and the MSI 2070 I recently installed for someone both had something like that in the box.

I think a GPU stabilizer may be better than removing the GPU every time.


https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H


Just because removing the GPU over and over could possibly wear out the PCIe slot.

Your current PC is still pretty good. Since gpus are very expensive right now many people would be very happy to find such a GTX 980. And your cpu is still fine, 4 cores plus hyperthreading with a high clock. I would change nothing on your current build. You can of course get new parts, but you'd look at the high end then: Something like a i5-8600K plus a GTX 1080 Ti, to target 1440p@144Hz.

For your gf I'd recommend this:

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-8400 | $179.00 @ Amazon.com
Motherboard | ASRock Z370M ITX/ac | $134.99 @ Amazon.com
Memory | Team Group T-Force Dark grey, DDR4-3000, CL16 - 16 GB Kit (16 GB) | $164.99 @ newegg
Storage | WD Blue WD20EZRZ (2 TB) | $58.99 @ Amazon.com
SSD | SanDisk Ultra II 480GB TLC (480 GB) | $125.01 @ Amazon.com
Video Card | ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini | $329.99 @ Amazon.com
Case | Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini-ITX Gehäuse - black Window | $66.99 @ superbiiz
Power Supply | Seasonic FOCUS 550 GOLD (550 W) | $61.99 @ superbiiz
Operating System | WIN10 64 HOME EN - Windows 10 Home, 64 Bit, englisch (COEM) | $92.99 @ Amazon.com
| Total | $1214.94
| Generated by pc-kombo 29.03.2018 |

The i5-8400 is a hex-core, the GTX 1060 a bit faster than your GTX 980. 16GB of fast ram are enough for gaming, she'd have an SSD and a 2TB HDD. The case has a window, but no RGB LEDs. A purple theme was not possible so I kept it pretty neutral. But it is small and has a window. I could list some alternatives if this one is not to her liking, but it is a very good case, so I hope it works for her.

For you, to have a real upgrade one would look at something like this:

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-8600K | $237.99 @ superbiiz
Motherboard | Asus PRIME Z370-P | $139.99 @ Amazon.com
Memory | Team Group T-Force Dark grey, DDR4-3000, CL16 - 16 GB Kit (16 GB) | $164.99 @ newegg
SSD | SanDisk Ultra II 480GB TLC (480 GB) | $125.01 @ Amazon.com
Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming 8G | $599.99 @ newegg
| Total | $1272.96
| Generated by pc-kombo 29.03.2018 |

The cpu could be replaced with an i7-8700K (but in games pretty much useless upgrade right now), the gpu with a GTX 1080 (but the 1070 Ti overclocks to the same level) or with a GTX 1080 Ti, but that is very expensive right now. Really, I'd just stick with what you have.

> Is there a proper way to secure my video card to prevent it from sagging due to its weight?

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/ looks like the correct solution to me, but I never used this myself.

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H

Especially for it’s overbuilt stature. It’s using a gpu bracket by upHere.

Not OP, but here you go. Comes in black, blue, and red. I have the same blue one, but my GPU doesn't sag so I don't have any use for it other than aesthetics.

Mostly it's visually displeasing. Unless the card is way too heavy for the PCB, or the PCIe slot is poorly attached to the motherboard, odds are very good that it'll just sag as much as the board will flex and then be stopped by the screws holding the back plate in place, more or less indefinitely.

Still probably worth picking up one of these since they're cheap and easy to install.

Bought this not long ago. Holds my 980ti quite well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eFs1AbT939P69

There's a few on Amazon for $10-15 USD. I use one for my red dragon Vega 56 and it helps a ton.

Edit. This is the one I'm using. . Hardly notice it.

I just have one of these on mine:

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H

Reversed so the ugly 'uphere' is hidden. Fits my case and gpu just about perfectly, like it was designed for it

Thanks for the feed back! Ordering a puck soon! Here’s the link to the one I got. Super easy installation and holds the gpu no problem. upHere Graphics Card GPU Brace Support Video Card Sag Holder/Holster Bracket, Anodized Aerospace Aluminum, Single or Dual Slot Cards (Black),GL05 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tnI1CbPEXRXC6

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia?crid=ZGC0PLAI1TF0&keywords=gpu+support+bracket&pd_rd_i=B076GYL25H&pd_rd_r=f1101ab6-d725-49d2-9d74-9383029c3a68&pd_rd_w=zFiZC&pd_rd_wg=AubeI&pf_rd_p=f0479f98-a32d-45cd-9c12-7aaced42b1ec&pf_rd_r=6YX22HFB1DY24HFQ4MV1&qid=1558449768&s=electronics&sprefix=gpu+suppo%2Celectronics%2C134 even cheaper...

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539716849&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gpu+bracket&psc=1

Its a GPU bracket. Flip through those pics. It will show you how it goes. I hope you measured your card.

That is one robust graphics card! You may want to invest in an anti-sag brace. I personally got this $13 vertical one on Amazon and it works perfectly. Avoid thin horizontal ones though they don’t work so great.

Got it, thank you! Well if I were to want to remove it (cause it’s kindof an eyesore) would I be able to just put in a gpu brace like this to continue the support?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GYL25H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_m1qpDbNCHW9K5

Thanks for the help btw.

Depends on how bad. It can sag a decent amount without any issue though.

If you are worried about it, you can get something like this assuming how it mounts will work with your case: https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H/

There are different types as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Cards%EF%BC%88black%EF%BC%89/dp/B076GYL25H

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This is what ya need.

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Graphics-Anodized-Aerospace-Aluminum/dp/B076GYL25H

Buy something like this. GPU sage does put extra tension on the pci-e slots. They are cheap so worth buying.

I'm using this brace w the same card, same case. It works great

I had THIS gpu support bracket not being used. I zip-tied a 120mm fan to it to help cool my card and the chipset. It's worked well so far.