internal temps...

[wol-va-rine]

ever since I switched to my Antec true Power Trio 650w my cpu temps seem to be higher, is this because the psu fan is blowing hot air directly at the cpu HSF...? if so, could I power the rig in my sig with an Antec Earthwatts 500w psu (the fan blows out the back of my case)...?

I used to run it in my rig but didn't want to for too long once I got my 4850 so I picked up the 650w for cheap, now I have added a Q6600 instead of the E6600 that used to run in it when the 500w was installed, would a 500w psu be enough or should I just stick with the 650w and tolerate the higher temps (39°C idle, low to mid 60s load)...?

 

[[Spectre]]

your power supply exhausts out the rear of the case.

 

[wol-va-rine]

your power supply exhausts out the rear of the case.

ahhh, so the big fan facing my HSF is an intake fan...? I always assumed (yeah, I know, I know) that it was blowing air, not sucking it in, though there doesn't seem to be any air blowing out from the back grill of the psu by the power switch...

 

[Zero82z]

The EA500 is enough for your PC, but it really doesn't make a difference which one you use. Like Paul said, the PSU exhausts out the back, so your CPU temps won't be affected by the PSU.

 

[Nenu]

The very earliest ATX case spec did have the PSU fan blowing onto a fanless CPU heatsink but that was soon changed.

All PSUs exhaust out of the back, but some more than others.
If your PSU has airholes all over it, some air will feed back into the case.
My PSU does this quite a lot as the rear plate is half solid with no holes on that half (Hiper 630W PSU) but it seems to matter little to my overclocks. Maybe cos I use an Antec 900 case.

 

[wol-va-rine]

your power supply exhausts out the rear of the case.

I just checked this out last night, as I swapped mobos and the big fan blows air right onto the heatsink, a lot of air too, didn't feel any coming out the back at the same time, the air was pretty cool though, not hot at all...

 

[Zero82z]

I just checked this out last night, as I swapped mobos and the big fan blows air right onto the heatsink, a lot of air too, didn't feel any coming out the back at the same time, the air was pretty cool though, not hot at all...

You're mistaken. The PSU does blow air out the back. Literally all modern PSUs are built that way.

 

[[Spectre]]

I just checked this out last night, as I swapped mobos and the big fan blows air right onto the heatsink, a lot of air too, didn't feel any coming out the back at the same time, the air was pretty cool though, not hot at all...

Air exhausts out the rear. Any air you feel coming from the fan is turbulence or being reflected off of the heatsinks, it is not its true flow pattern.

 

[MrF]

The PSU fan intakes air from the case and exhausts it out the back.
Most PSUs have a very low-speed fan.
So, it is possible to make a malfunctioning air flow by installing many exhaust fans and no intake fan on the case. Then, it may be possible for all the exhaust fans to overcome the low-pressure PSU fan.
But, that is very unusual. You have to go out of your way to accomplish that.

Do not put your hand close to a fan and expect to tell the flow. As pointed out, you could be mistaken by the turbulence.
Put a Kleenex close to the back of the case/PSU to see the air coming out.

 

[wol-va-rine]

You're mistaken. The PSU does blow air out the back. Literally all modern PSUs are built that way.

kudos to all the psu gurus, I was indeed wrong, the airflow was so great I thought it was definitely blowing out, but using the paper/kleenex test (thanks mrF) it was sucking in...