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Bottom mount PSU or no?

T

Torn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
433
I've never used one and I've heard very mixed reviews of them, but I was wondering what people here think of the bottom mount PSU style cases. Does it help/hinder cooling in a real world setting or is it about the same?
 
I don't know if it helps, or not but I like my p180 a TON. I have the old body style so I had to cut a million lbs of metal out of the case, but it's over all a good case.

You should get one with wheels, or a place for the casters
 
Hot air rises. Therefore, it makes sense to have components like the PSU and CPU near the bottom of the case!

Yes, I think it helps drastically if you plan your airflow properly.
 
Arcygenical said:
Hot air rises. Therefore, it makes sense to have components like the PSU and CPU near the bottom of the case!

Yes, I think it helps drastically if you plan your airflow properly.
Click to expand...

So the CPU and the PSU are the coolest running parts in your system? Or do you just like sending hot air to all your other components?

Different story for the P180 since it's purposely compartmentalized, but for all the other ones... :confused:
 
PhantomFelix said:
So the CPU and the PSU are the coolest running parts in your system? Or do you just like sending hot air to all your other components?
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure I understand what you mean by that...?

Yes, in a Reverse ATX style case, the PSU draws in air through a bottom vent, and exhausts it diretly outside, cooling it down considerably. This lets you stretch your PSU to the limit of it's operating conditions. PSU wattage ratings are generally taken at 20c. Therefore, running that new 600w PSU at 40c will decrease it's output by *1/4*. I think it should be cooled with top priority.

Also, the CPU is cooler by a tiny margin, which is good because it's often the most heat sensitive component. But, positionned correctly, the rear fan can draw out all of the CPU's heat.
 
ive got a v1200 case witch is reversed atx and let me tell u its awesome case. my temps have lowered so much even with the gpu at the top. the exhaust fan next to my 8800 makes it so that no hot air gathers at top.
 
Arcygenical said:
Well, it felt like a jab, which was totally unwarranted in that situation.
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I think he was referring to the fact that since hot air rises, it would not make much sense to have "hotter" components near the bottom. The PSU does have a lot of heat output, most of which IMO is absorbed through conduction, meaning that it transfers heat to the case with physical contact, and creates a hot-spot over a long period of time.

This hot-spot therefore creates heat which rises, and in the case of a bottom mounted PSU, this heat would transfer slowly to any components over it. I will not own a bottom mounted PSU unless it has it's own chamber to push heat directly out the back of the case.

Perhaps that is what he meant, he just wasn't very tactful when stating it.
 
baleedit said:
I think he was referring to the fact that since hot air rises, it would not make much sense to have "hotter" components near the bottom. The PSU does have a lot of heat output, most of which IMO is absorbed through conduction, meaning that it transfers heat to the case with physical contact, and creates a hot-spot over a long period of time.
Click to expand...

But that's the beauty of the rATX case style. Since it's reversed, and totally isolated from any heat, it stays very cool.
 
Yes, my power supply runs a lot cooler than it used to in my old normal ATX case.

I have the Antec 900. Another nice thing is having that giantic fan pulling any and all hot air off of my XP-90 and 3.4 GHz OC'ed Pentium4.
 
I think having the psu in its own compartment is really key, but in all truth having good cooling in your case should really make it a non issue.

 
Originally Posted by Susquehannock View Post
Made perfect sense to me.
Click to expand...

same here. granted, it was a bit of a jab, but hey, i would have said exactly the same thing...

on topic, i currently have cases with psu's on the top and on the bottom, and i'll be honest, it doesn't really bother me either way. for die hard computer warriors, i would say that having it on the bottom is better, as most cases designed this way have isolated compartments for the psu (resulting in cooler temps all round).

and yes, the case i have is the antec 900. awesome cooling, but gee it gets dusty...

hope this helps!
 
Top is best as previously said hot air rises so with the power supply on the top it doesn't let as much hot air into an already warm system from video cards, memory, and the north/south bridge.
 
Bottom is best because the hotter (and now less efficient b/c of the heat) a PSU runs, the shorter its lifespan is. So if a PSU is at the top it gets all of the hot air from the rest of the components and it heats up. The hot air from the PSU will be pushed out the back of the case if you have a fan there otherwise some of the hot air will go out of the PC and some will stay in unless you have great air flow then most of the hot air will go out of the case. BTW I also have an Antec 900 with 2 fans on my PSU (push pull w/air going out of the case). FYI the PSU is the 2nd most common component to fail in a PC with the floppy drive as the most common.
 
firebane said:
Top is best as previously said hot air rises so with the power supply on the top it doesn't let as much hot air into an already warm system from video cards, memory, and the north/south bridge.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point - the purpose of having the PSU mounted on the bottom of the case is that it might intake air from where it would be the coldest (through a vent at the bottom of the case or simply at the lowest point of the case) and then exhaust heated air immediately, out the back of the case. I've never seen a case which exhausts air heated by the PSU into the case.

I agree with other posters - bottoms are best.
 
Ubermouser said:
I think you're missing the point - the purpose of having the PSU mounted on the bottom of the case is that it might intake air from where it would be the coldest (through a vent at the bottom of the case or simply at the lowest point of the case) and then exhaust heated air immediately, out the back of the case. I've never seen a case which exhausts air heated by the PSU into the case.

I agree with other posters - bottoms are best.
Click to expand...

Power supply on the bottom also draws in a lot more dirt, dust, and crap from the floor that it sits on unless you have it on your desk or up higher then thats fine, but the general normal is a lot of people have their computers on a floor and I know in my place with hardwood floors my computer stays up high to prevent intake of dust.
 
firebane said:
Power supply on the bottom also draws in a lot more dirt, dust, and crap from the floor that it sits on unless you have it on your desk or up higher then thats fine, but the general normal is a lot of people have their computers on a floor and I know in my place with hardwood floors my computer stays up high to prevent intake of dust.
Click to expand...

Don't put it on the floor then. A simple 10$ Wood Ottoman is plenty to eliminate dust.
 
In my TJ09 the PSU is at the bottom, and when I was air cooling it never seemed to cause a problem, but then again IMO the TJ09 is a great stock air cooling case. I think that this is an issue that everyone can argue back and forth with until the end of time. Every case is different and everyones set up is different, so the fact of the matter is, if its a quality case, and you set up your fans properly, it shouldn't create that big of a problem, no matter where the PSU resides.
 
I've got one of those cube style server cases where the hard drives and PSU are on one side while the Mobo and cards are on the other side.
PSU is at the bottom and I have 2 80mm fans above the PSU and behind 4 of the hard drives sucking air out of the back of the case..


8-drives-3.jpg
 
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