I just got my All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500DV a couple days ago, and like any true enthusiast, I yanked out my old card, and installed my new one. Well, I attempted to install it. The problem was, the Lian Li PCI openings are tapered. Really, this wasn't an issue with any video card we've tried up until now. The problem is the TV-Out won't fit! I'm not sure who to blame here, ATI or Lian Li, but by default, the card will not fit into any Lian Li PC6x enclosure (I tried with the PC60 as well). This problem may exist with other ATX cases, so you better take a look at yours if the AIW Radeon 8500DV is in your future.
I suppose you're all wondering what I'm talking about, so I'll show you...
Above is the picture of the TV-Out. It's located on the top of the other connections, making it the last thing to fit through the PCI opening.
Above is the opening. Notice how it's thinner on top. I tried fitting the card by going down, then up, but the motherboard interferes with this method.
This is the problem I'm talking about. Notice how the TV-Out is too thick to fit. I'm not about to chop it off, since the features of the All-In-Wonder is why we have the card in the labs. I tried sanding it, but it wasn't really going anywhere. I didn't have a metal file handy, so it's time to turn on the ole dremel.
The problem I was having was the aluminum melting. I turned the dremel on to "high" and did short bursts to slowly grind the opening down. The goal here is to expand the opening so that I can fit the TV-Out through. There wasn't any need to grind the whole opening down, just the tapered part.
Here is a clearer picture of the problem we had, and after a little shave...
... we've widened the opening. Now, I did some measurements beforehand, as to not grind off too much, so some preparation is in order. So, did it work?
Yessiry! The card slid in like a charm, and I was off to the review bench. Well, I snuck about 1 or 20 games of Return to Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer in first, but now I got the card installed.
Now, I know that this guide is a little rushed. I'm assuming most of you know how to operate a dremel. If not, just use a file. To be honest, there's no mention of this "issue" in the manual or on the website. I didn't hear about this from anyone, and it came at me out of left field. I'm sure you guys would have been able to figure this out without me, but I felt this information was important to pass along. Good luck. If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
