Does it make any difference which way a GPU is Mounted ?

chaparral · 24 Apr 2020 at 16:47

I own a Silverstone FT02 case where the GPU is mounted in a straight Upright position..

Could this effect how well the Heat pipes in the GPU cooler work ? :confused:

as this means most the Heat pipes go downwards (But Heat rises )

Best example I can think of is it be a bit like mounting a CPU tower cooler upside down

Quartz · 24 Apr 2020 at 16:55

You should see a considerable noise benefit as heat rises up and out, particularly if you use a blower cooler. The fans won't run so fast. But since you mention heatpipes, I'm guessing you have the other sort, and even then you benefit because the whole assembly is blasted by air from the GPU fans and the hot air that's blown away is blown up and out by the case fans.

chaparral · 24 Apr 2020 at 17:13

WOW I just put my PC case on it side to test this and the GPU temp gone from

About 76c with 100% fan speed
to
About 63c with 51% fan speed plus there was an increase in the gpu mhz

orbitalwalsh · 24 Apr 2020 at 17:13

Still one of the best case designs for component temps !

Mounting cards vertically in a standard design case is worse for temps

chaparral · 24 Apr 2020 at 18:10

orbitalwalsh said:
Still one of the best case designs for component temps !

Mounting cards vertically in a standard design case is worse for temps

Looks like it could be one the worst case designs now as GPU's coolers where never really designed to be mounted upwards in 99% of PC cases

It was great for GPU's with air blow coolers but there not many of them around these days on the top end cards

ttaskmaster · 24 Apr 2020 at 18:11

For the record - Heat does not rise. Hot air rises.
If you don't believe me, hold a spoon upright by the bottom end and put a blowtorch flame on the top.... then wait a few moments.
This is why your air-cooled heatsinks still work so well, despite being mounted sideways.

Nice case, though!

orbitalwalsh · 24 Apr 2020 at 20:01

chaparral said:
Looks like it could be one the worst case designs now as GPU's coolers where never really designed to be mounted upwards in 99% of PC cases

It was great for GPU's with air blow coolers but there not many of them around these days on the top end cards

It's more the airflow of their cases, specially one with dual 180mm that sit underneath the GPU, and exhaust heat shoots up the top due to negative pressure. Half the time though people have their cases set up with naf airflow and filters . Dynamic is a stunning case but filters are aweful. £80 order to South Africa and you drop 10c all around with better filters

Gerard · 24 Apr 2020 at 20:47

The actual manual of the ft02 recommends against using gpu's with axial fan coolers and instead they prefer a cooler that dumps heat out the back. Because of the way the case is designed with it basically being a bottom to top wind tunnel the axial coolers mess with the airflow by throwing hot air all over the place. My 7990 was like an inferno in that case, though to be fair it ran hot regardless of case. As for heatpipes, doesn't matter what way they're oriented.

Grim5 · 24 Apr 2020 at 21:30

orbitalwalsh said:
Still one of the best case designs for component temps !

Mounting cards vertically in a standard design case is worse for temps

depends on the space. The lian li o11 has no such issue in Ben though it's a standard mounting

chaparral · 24 Apr 2020 at 22:00

Gerard said:
The actual manual of the ft02 recommends against using gpu's with axial fan coolers and instead they prefer a cooler that dumps heat out the back. Because of the way the case is designed with it basically being a bottom to top wind tunnel the axial coolers mess with the airflow by throwing hot air all over the place. My 7990 was like an inferno in that case, though to be fair it ran hot regardless of case. As for heatpipes, doesn't matter what way they're oriented.

Take a look at these temps and the fan speeds,
These are both with the exact same settings and the PC case side panel removed

The only difference is one is with the case in it normal upright position and the other one is with the case on it side

Gerard · 24 Apr 2020 at 22:05

chaparral said:
Take a look at these temps and the fan speeds,
These are both with the exact same settings and the PC case side panel removed

The only difference is one is with the case in it normal upright position and the other one is with the case on it side

Must be able to dump the air better with the case on its side.

Wrinkly · 25 Apr 2020 at 12:04

The HAF XB (now EVO) is a great case, but does take a little more desk space.

chaparral · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:18

Gerard said:
Must be able to dump the air better with the case on its side.

No it is to do with the heatsinks not designed to be mounted vertical as when i put my hand over the heat sink there only hot air coming out the upper part of it and cold air coming out the lower part...
Looks like i need to buy a new PC case

As i can't see any other way of getting around this problem

Gerard · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:27

chaparral said:
No it is to do with the heatsinks not designed to be mounted vertical as when i put my hand over the heat sink there only hot air coming out the upper part of it and cold air coming out the lower part...

It's probably down to how that case works more than anything, it's pulling in cool air and firing it up, that heatsink is throwing the air around and probably recycling the heat. Would make sense the fan nearest the intake is cooler than the one furthest away. Same issue with my 7990 in that case and that heat sink made use of a vapor chamber but got the same results.

muon · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:37

chaparral said:
No it is to do with the heatsinks not designed to be mounted vertical as when i put my hand over the heat sink there only hot air coming out the upper part of it and cold air coming out the lower part...
Looks like i need to buy a new PC case As i can't see any other way of getting around this problem

Guess where the GPU is.

The only way orientation will really matter is by changing it's supply of air. Air in the case isn't all at the same temperature.

chaparral · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:41

Gerard said:
It's probably down to how that case works more than anything, it's pulling in cool air and firing it up, that heatsink is throwing the air around and probably recycling the heat. Would make sense the fan nearest the intake is cooler than the one furthest away. .

muon said:
The only way orientation will really matter is by changing it's supply of air. Air in the case isn't all at the same temperature.

The side panel removed so it not a build up of heat in the case

muon · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:48

chaparral said:
The side panel removed so it not a build up of heat in the case

The actual chip is where the hot air is coming out.

Heatpipes aren't perfect at redistributing heat.

chaparral · 25 Apr 2020 at 22:59

muon said:
The actual chip is where the hot air is coming out.

Heatpipes aren't perfect at redistributing heat.

But that don't explain why the GPU temp drops by about 30c just by leaning the case over

muon · 25 Apr 2020 at 23:01

chaparral said:
But that don't explain why the GPU temp drops by about 30c just by leaning the case over

If the temperature changes just by leaning the case over then I'd be amazed. Gravity should have no effect. Air (inside a confined system) isn't really affected by gravity, currents created by fans dominate.

chaparral · 25 Apr 2020 at 23:04

muon said:
If the temperature changes just by leaning the case over then I'd be amazed. Gravity should have no effect. Air isn't really affected by gravity, currents created by fans dominate.

Look at my post number 10

Temps went from 79c with 78% fan speed to 66c with 55% fan speed