Antec may have just found the last area of your gaming PC that still hasn’t been given a dose of RGB lighting, as it’s just released a new vertical GPU mount with a strip of customizable color across the bottom of it. Not only that, but the Antec Shift ARGB vertical graphics card adapter is designed to work with all standard ATX, E-ATX and mATX PC case designs, whether they’re made by Antec or not.
The idea of a universal vertical GPU mount isn’t new, and we’ve already seen similar designs from some of the best PC case manufacturers out there, including Cooler Master and Fractal Design. However, Antec has gone all out with the design of the Shift ARGB, producing it in both black and white versions, and with that aforementioned flash of RGB lighting.
The latter features addressable RGB (ARGB) LEDs that can be controlled via your motherboard software, hooking up to a 3-pin header. Alternatively, you can also connect it to an ARGB hub, if you have one.
Meanwhile, you can adjust the length and width of the bracket via thumbscrews, so it fits your case. Antec says that it will fit in all standard E-ATX and ATX PC cases, including designs that have a fully open expansion slot area in the back, as well as standard ones that have a small barrier between each slot’s blanking panel. Antec says the mount can handle graphics cards of any length up to three slots wide, and states that it’s even compatible with the mighty Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.
You can also fit the Antec Shift ARGB into an mATX case, as long as it has room for at least four expansion slots. However, Antec notes that you may need to remove your case’s exhaust fan to make room for it, and that fitting it could also reduce your CPU cooler clearance to 70mm.
A PCIe 4.0 riser is included, meaning you’ll be able to run any current GPU with full bandwidth.
Some older vertical GPU mounts only came with PCIe 3.0 risers, which caused problems if you connected them to a motherboard with PCIe 4.0 enabled, meaning you had to run them at PCIe 3.0 speeds. You may end up having to do the same with this bracket once the first PCIe 5.0 graphics cards start appearing.
This frill-laden vertical GPU mount isn’t cheap, though. The Antec Shift ARGB price is $102 (£77.29), so you’re going to have to really want to turn your graphics card on its side with a strip of lighting before you hand over your money. Also, while it might be tempting to show off your fancy graphics card on its side behind a tempered glass panel, doing so can severely restrict airflow, as there’s little room for cool air to get to the fans before it’s pushed through the heatsink.
You’ll be much better off using a mesh panel that will give your GPU room to breathe, or at least making sure your case leaves a decent-sized gap between your graphics card and a solid panel.
If you’re thinking of putting together a new RGB system, check out our guide on how to install RGB lighting, as well as our feature on how to build a gaming PC, where we guide you through every step of the process.