New 5870 arrives and it meant I had to rebuild 2 computers

[Antonio López de Santa Anna]

The 5870 was too big for my main computer case so had to swap all the
hardware with another Antec case I had my 2nd PC built into. Both
cases have the same depth front to back but it was the placement of
the HDDs in my main computer that caused the 5870 not being able to
fit. I forsee this issue being a problem for lots of people because
lots of cases use the same HDD placement design.

On my Antec tower the HDDs are placed *above* where the video card
goes so was not an issue and I could fit a card in there even if it
was 4 - 5" longer. Something to be very wary of if you are planning to
buy a 5870. Next gen better not get any bigger or ATI will have to
design cards that sit outside of the case with their own PSU like 3DFX
was planning to do.

 

[Antonio López de Santa Anna]

You may save yourself some grief if you make sure the next case you buy will
take an E-ATX sized motherboard.

OK, will do if I need a new case but I think this Antec I bought way
back in 2001 will do me a couple more gens at least. Only thing I
don't like about it is that it doesn't have any front panel USB ports
and uses 80mm fans only. It's built like a tank though and has very
good front ventilation. I also custom painted it some years back with
gun metal oxide paint because it was basic beige when I bought it.

 

[Antonio López de Santa Anna]

I was thinking the same thing. I had an Akasa Eclipse, and thought that was
a great case, had it for years, but I just replaced it with a Corsair 800D,
which is ginormous, and quieter than the Akasa.

One thing is certain, no Mac could fit a 5870 so they are SoL.