Graphics amplifier and cards that fit?

I am looking to enhance the 4k on my 17r3 laptop and the 980 is good but I am interested in looking to play games at ultra settings. So the graphics amplifier seems a good option And am thinking about one with a nvidia 1080 or similar but have been reading that some graphics cards are too big so you can't close it properly, is that the case?

If so what cards should I be looking at to have it fit properly? Is this so much more powerful than the current 980 I have that it would be worth considering?

Thanks

 

All cards fit which are 2 slots wide and around the same height as the reference boards.

Howevet if you are adventurousyou can mod the case from the inside. Cut out 5 small plastic pieces and use low profile cables. I fit a 1070 ftw edition from evga like that which is 2.5cm higher than the reference boards.

 

I don't think I would like to cut anything
But stupid question, what do you mean by a reference board?

 

Reference boards are the standard nvidia designed ones such as the geforce 1080 founders ecition. The height of the pcb is about the same lenght as the metal bracket on those. The problem cards are where the pcb is much higher than the metal bracket of the card.

 

Thanks for the answer
So, it seems any of the founders editions are basically the same so buying the cheapest should work. Is it really that simple?

 

Yeah thats pretty much it

 

Having had a read up it appears that the GIGABYTE GTX 1080 G1 Gaming should also fit so I think I'll go for that one. Unless I talk myself out of it again!

It looks like I can expect some performance drop by using the laptop screen and the aga though and appears bios versions are important too. Also bit concerned with the complaints I have read about noise. Is it that bad?

It seems more complex than I expected

 

The 1070 and 1080 G1 Gaming editions will fit without issues.


Roughly 10% performance drop when using the built in screen in the laptop. It's recommended to use an external monitor.

You'll hear the fans going but it's not too loud. I wear headphones while gaming, so it's never been an issue and I use Open Mic on Overwatch chat with friends and no one has complained about the noise (AT2020 mic). I don't think it's any louder than the laptop GPU and CPU fan going. Keep in mind the GPU fan won't run in the laptop, or it'll be very very quiet so it offsets the noise. I'm on BIOS 1.3.6 on my 15R2, no issues.

The noise should be the least of your concern.

 

The fan noise is audible from the AGA itself. Reminds me of the noise that my PS4 makes.

But you can always swap out the fan for a more quiet model. 92mm fans arent that expensive. Apart from that the laptop stays very silent in AGA mode since it only uses the CPU and has an overkill in cooling available then. I yet have to see my temps reach 70c with the lid closed.

 

Well I don't have an external monitor so will just have to take the 10% performance but even so I expect it should be quite the jump from a 980m to a 1080 g1. Monitor will be a future upgrade

I have got used to the laptop sounding like a jet engine so am sure I'll not have an issue with the AGA