Can I fit a passive GPU cooler in my SFF machine?

[petha]

Hi, I have a trusted fujitsu siemens E5615 that I want to equip with a new graphics card. I have found some Radeon HD 5440 that seem to qualify (half-height, DMS 59 connector). However all available cards seem to be actively cooled. I have been looking into buying one and then refitting it with an after market passive cooler. However, the ones I have seen so far seem to be gigantic and that makes me wonder if there is any hope of fitting such a cooler in this chassis. I realize I might have to underclock the card to get it to work.
Has anyone tried this?

[Dr. Jim Pomatter]

Hi, I have a trusted fujitsu siemens E5615 that I want to equip with a new graphics card. I have found some Radeon HD 5440 that seem to qualify (half-height, DMS 59 connector). However all available cards seem to be actively cooled.

Why do you need a "DMS 59 connector" rather then a dual-link DVI and a HDMI/DP?

SFF cases often have poor airflow around the cards. This leads to most low-profile cards having active cooling, so that they work with SFF cases. Most passive coolers require two full-height slots and a few centimeters above/behind the card.

I realize I might have to underclock the card to get it to work. Has anyone tried this?

Under-clocking the video card might get the video card fan to run at a lower speed, but I doubt that it is worth the lost performance. The AMD HD 5440 is a slow card. You It might make more sense to cut a small (3 cm or 1 inch square) breathing hole in the case above the GPU cooler so that air flows in/out/over the area.

I have been looking into buying one and then refitting it with an after market passive cooler. However, the ones I have seen so far seem to be gigantic and that makes me wonder if there is any hope of fitting such a cooler in this chassis.

Many low-profile cards will not work with after-market coolers. This is due to custom layouts and sometimes a non-square mounting screw patter.

Both the Sapphire AMD HD 5550 and the HIS AMD HD 6570 are passively-cooled low profile cards that use a much faster GPU, the 5550 & 6570 cards. They use DDR3 to keep the heat/power lower then GDDR5 (40watts vs 70 watts).