PSU, which way up?

Spyke_UK

Spyke_UK

Spyke_UK

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8 Dec 2008
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After reading contradictory info in the search for an answer, i have decided to ask the OcUK guru's for their thoughts, I have an Antec 900 case which mounts the PSU on the bottom of the case, both my previous PSU (Corsair TX650) and my current PSU (Coolermaster GX750) seem to sit upside down, ie, the labels/ stickers are upside down, and the fan on the PSU is facing upwards towards the mobo, I have carried out a few mods to my case this week, mostly to improve cable management, but i have also put a nice big hole in the bottom so i can "flip" the PSU and have it blow the hot air out of the case by the quickest route and without it having to pass my GPU's and CPU on it's way, i will be fitting adjustable feet to the case so i can increase ground clearance, is my theory sound or am i missing something?

Any help/ advice greatly appreciated as always.
 
PSU's are designed to get their air from inside the PC case and vent it out the back. No matter which way up it is it will either draw air through the bottom where you put the big hole (Cold air into the PSU instead of hot), or the inside of the case if it is mounted upside down.

Up to you!
 
Whichever way it is up it will blow air out of the case as it exhausts out the rear of the psu. A bottom mounted psu is'nt going to make any difference to case temperatures as heat rises and the only heat it will be exhausting is it's own. If you have vents in the bottom of your case mount the psu with the fan facing down. Both my pc's have the psu sucking in air through the bottom of the cases and have been running with no problems.
 
Sucking air through a hole in the base could increase dust flow into the PSU, especially if it's sited on the floor. Filters may alleviate this problem.

In my P183 I have the fan facing up as the clearance is much greater between case and PSU this way around, and provides me with less vibration and noise.

In a non compartmentalised case such as the Antec 900 the downward airflow caused by the PSU could actually have a slightly determintal effect on your overall airflow within your case.

Still I don't think there's any right or wrong way to do this, try it one way and if you don't like it because of any reason switch it around.
 
Thanks for the replies, I will stick to my original plan and flip the psu, if for no other reason than asthetics.
 
I have mine with the fan facing the bottom.

IMG_1510.jpg


It sits about an inch of the floor of the case which has grooves cut in it, also at the rear of the case theres a vent to aid airflow, prefer this as it keeps the main atx power cable on the mobo side, which makes cable tidying a bit easier.
 
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