Purchasing a GPU that’s worth its salt nowadays will also bring a backplate with it. If you’re wondering what these things are and if they’re worth it, you’re come to the right place.
If you bought a graphics card within the last five years, you’ve likely been met with a backplate, but thought nothing of it. The reason for this is likely that its function simply hasn’t been explained properly.
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So, what is a backplate?
In short, it’s a plate (duh) that goes to the back of your graphics card. Its purpose is mostly to keep the graphics card in shape, as modern GPUs tend to come with large PCBs and even larger coolers. It’s worth pointing out that medium-range and budget cards still aren’t at the level of massive 3-fan enthusiast-grade cards in terms of the size of their coolers.
Even for those cards that don’t exactly need a backplate, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have it. Of course, if your graphics card didn’t come with it, then there isn’t actually a need to get one. Your GPU will function just fine without it.
Related:What Is A Discrete Graphics Card?
Backplates For Cabinet Knobs
However, this isn’t the only function of a backplate. The most obvious use and probably the most important one is its ability to display RGB lighting. This is picture-perfect for people who like to tinker with these things and color the inside of their PC case.
In fact, one might argue that the RGB lighting is the biggest selling point of a backplate and we certainly couldn’t agree more. It’s fair to say that, if you’re an RGB enthusiast, then a GPU backplate is certainly worth it. Its large surface will definitely allow you to light the inside of your PC case exactly the way you want it.
There is another key point in the debate on whether GPU backplates are actually worth it: the supposed cooling benefit.
Ever since backplates first appeared, many wondered if they would help cool the graphics card or only heat it up. The answer is sort of murky, but basically it largely depends on what material the backplate is made out of.
As you could’ve assumed, some plastic backplates aren’t really that good at heat dissipation. On the other side of the spectrum, we have metal backplates. Now, common sense might make you think that this is a good cooling solution, but you’d be surprised to know that it actually isn’t.
There are also backplates made out of other materials like graphene, but they all generally produce the same results.
As this is a highly debated topic, there have been numerous tests over the years and, unfortunately, we have to report that they have been rather inconclusive. Despite some backplates coming with large contact areas and thermal pads that function as heat spreaders, the answer is still neither here nor there.
Finally, and this is very important to point out, both cooling and heating brought on by the backplate will only lead to a decrease or an increase of the temperature by a few fractions of a degree. Basically, what this means is that, whether for better or for worse, the backplate won’t be much of a factor in your GPU’s temperature.
So, is a GPU backplate worth it?
Yes, you’ve guessed it: much like with anything else, this comes down to personal preference. You won’t be able to avoid it anyway if you have a modern graphics card; unless you’re planing on removing it manually, which is pretty meaningless.
If you’re an RGB enthusiast then you will likely find the backplate worth the money and will be able to customize it to your heart’s content. Also, if you’re buying a high-end graphics card, then the backplate is highly recommended.
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The metal backplate has become the standard for many technical divers over the past few decades. Even though many new divers are told that diving with a metal backplate is the only way to dive by their instructors and friends, many are unaware of the history surrounding this piece of dive equipment.
Backplates For Knobs
Modern day backplates can be attributed to Greg Flanagan. Flanagan went through his cave training in the first NSS/CDS sanctioned cave course taught by Sheck Exley in the late 1970s. During this time, the preferred buoyancy compensator of North Florida cave divers was a Belly Bag, a chest mounted BC without an inflated collar behind the neck. Belly Bags necessitated using tank bands with a harness systems to carry the tanks. The bands and harnesses of the day did not allow the harness to be removed from the tanks and air fills meant the harness went into the fill tank with the cylinders only to drip water afterwards in the dive shop and in the diver’s vehicle, etc.
Phil Puleo using a gas can for buoyancy in Eagle's Nest
While wearing the Belly Bag, the diver was forced to balance himself on the bubble of air inside the bag. This technique made it very difficult to maneuver or make quick movements while maintaining trim in the water column. Even though the Belly Bag had many drawbacks, it was a huge improvement over using Clorox jugs filled with air for buoyancy that generations before had used. Although other jacket style BC’s were available that could be used with doubles they lacked adequate attachment points to carry primary light battery canisters, back-up lights, reels, etc. Throughout his dives, Flanagan continued to be frustrated with the Belly Bag and jacket style BC’s. During discussions with some of his good friends and dive buddies, Dr. John Zumrick and Bill Main, he realized that they also shared the same frustration with the Belly Bag.
Zumrick was a naval medical officer and traveled often to the west coast for work. During one of his trips to California, he saw an early back inflation system. This back inflation system was the WaterGill At-Pac. The At-Pac was designed for single tanks only and was widely rejected by most of the open water diving community because it was thought of as dangerous. Like Zumrick, Flanagan had seen the At-Pac and had actually used the similar Scubapro BCP, but the injection molded back packs used in both models made doubles ride too high on a diver’s back and were not conducive to mounting large double cylinders. Clearly a back mounted wing could solve many of the frustrations they had with the Belly Bag.
Backplate Bc
After much thought, Flanagan came up with the idea of sandwiching the wing between the double tanks with bands only and a detachable metal backplate to which the harness was attached. This kept the harness out of the fill tank at the dive shop, afforded unlimited attachment points for equipment, lowered the divers profile while swimming horizontally or passing through restrictions, and most importantly, placed the center of buoyancy around the diver’s center of gravity, instead of under it, achieving much greater balance and stability. Using a discarded road sign as the metal backplate, he built the first prototype back plate and used it for the remainder of his cave training and thereafter. The concept worked and once other divers saw and tried it within a short amount of time, Greg was making metal backplates for all his cave diving friends.
Original Backplate made for Bill Main
It is worth noting that Bill Main initially came up with the idea of placing D-rings on the shoulder straps and carrying a back-up light on each strap.
Backplates For Cabinet Knobs
In the Spring of 1984, when Dive Rite was established, one of the first products that we offered was the aluminum backplate. Divers were making their own backplates, but there was no standardization. Seeing the demand, Dive Rite engineered a design based off Flanagan’s original and standardized the mounting holes at 11” on center. Over the years the design has only had a few changes, such as adding slots for cam straps or multiple mounting holes. When Flanagan made that first backplate in his garage, he could not have foreseen the impact he would have on the diving community for decades to come.