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Is Reverse ATX Better for Temperatures?

X

XacTactX

Supreme [H]ardness
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Dec 13, 2010
Messages
4,137
As the title says. If I could have a case in either ATX, or dismantle it and reassemble it in rATX, which would be better for cooling?
 
reverse ATX?

you mean BTX? as in the mobo is upside down?
hardly any mobo manufacturers use BTX as it's meant.

If you mean an ATX mobo flipped 90° such as in the Silverstone Raven. It's a good idea b/c heat rises but I don't think theres any imperical evidence that it makes a significant difference.
 
Highly doubt he means BTX. And "reverse ATX" is often used to refer to ATX cases that would have the window/side panel on the right side (looking at it head on) of the machine. But rotating the mobo 90* would put the ports at the top (like what you said: the Raven). I doubt either offer any better cooling than the other or standard ATX mounting. If it does offer better cooling, it's negligible. :D
 
XacTactX said:
As the title says. If I could have a case in either ATX, or dismantle it and reassemble it in rATX, which would be better for cooling?
Click to expand...

Knowing only the orientation of the motherboard alone is too amorphous to properly answer this question. About the only thing you'd never want to do would be to flip the motherboard backside up, otherwise, all other layouts have potential and are highly dependent upon component layout/heat. One of the main reasons for the traditional ATX layout is that in the old days prior to Voodoo and toasty chipsets, the CPU was, by far, the hottest component in a case. As a result, engineers loosely envisioned the CPU socket being placed at upper corner of the mobo to keep the heat away from other components.

DisrupTer911 said:
If you mean an ATX mobo flipped 90° such as in the Silverstone Raven. It's a good idea b/c heat rises but I don't think theres any imperical evidence that it makes a significant difference.
Click to expand...

Heat rising in a computer case is a myth that most of us have all bought into at one time or another. Then back in the late 90s/early 2k, a lot of computer enthusiasts who spent their days in other technical fields hit the forums and showed us proof that, in fact, heat doesn't rise. What happens is that hot air moves towards the nearest source of colder air, and vice versa. This flew in the face of the empirical evidence every person sitting around a campfire believes to be truth. But in a computer case, the coldest air isn't typically at the top of the chassis, it's outside the case. The difficultly is too much restriction for the trapped air to easily flow (the case itself being the main problem).

All of this is why we need computer fans. Without them, the Silverstone rv02/ft02 designs wouldn't perform nearly as well and also explains why an open-air test bench can offer such high performance w/ zero case fans (although the heatsinks often do benefit greatly from fans moving larger volumes of air across them).
 
coconutboy said:
Heat rising in a computer case is a myth that most of us have all bought into at one time or another.
Click to expand...

Roger that. But in a general frame of reference heat does still rise. Just to clarify and keep this thread from turning into a physics debate. :D You made a point of a saying "in a computer case" so I know you know this as well. :cool:
 
cmadki4 said:
Highly doubt he means BTX. And "reverse ATX" is often used to refer to ATX cases that would have the window/side panel on the right side (looking at it head on) of the machine. But rotating the mobo 90* would put the ports at the top (like what you said: the Raven). I doubt either offer any better cooling than the other or standard ATX mounting. If it does offer better cooling, it's negligible. :D
Click to expand...

a true BTX board would put the ram slots above the CPU socket and in a horizontal configuration.

reverse ATX would just be an upside atx board IMO.

When a case such a TJ05 or a CM Stacker w/ a mobo tray that works on both sides, they usually call that BTX.
 
It really depends on the design of the case, and where the fans and vents are positioned. Reverse ATX isn't necessarily better; it's the airflow that makes the real difference.
coconutboy said:
Heat rising in a computer case is a myth that most of us have all bought into at one time or another.
Click to expand...
It's not a myth. Hot air is less dense than cold air; in a region without any airflow, the cold air will naturally fall downwards and the warmer air will be pushed up. However, in a computer case with fans pushing air all over the place, this effect is basically negligible since the pressures at play are much lower than those produced by the fans.
 
DisrupTer911 said:
a true BTX board would put the ram slots above the CPU socket and in a horizontal configuration.

reverse ATX would just be an upside atx board IMO.

When a case such a TJ05 or a CM Stacker w/ a mobo tray that works on both sides, they usually call that BTX.
Click to expand...

You are lost.


He isnt talking about BTX. he is talking about REVERSE ATX.
 
Lots of OEM machines i've seen inside use the CPU at the bottom arrangment of ATX (hp elite series all do, lots of HP). I have a frankensteined one of them with a 260 as a rendering node/backup. It doesn't really have outstanding temps, but it also doesn't have any case fans other than a cutout above the CPU socket and a single 100mm outtake fan, and then the ones on the GPU and PSU. Has never overheated or gone above around 70 in that tiny case.

One thing that does kind of make sense with it is that the GPU labels (most have pictures on the tops) are visible because the top is at the top, rather than a row of circuit boards. Kind of makes you wonder which way up it's supposed to go when the GPUs are upsidedown :p Not sure which orentation would be cooler for a GPU, would probably be negliable either way.

Having the CPU at the bottom would be harder for WC setups however (though much easier for phase change?).
 
Inverted ATX cases like the Lian Li A05 benefit from good CPU cooling- the air comes straight in from the back then out through the front, so the CPU cooler has cool air. The video cards on the other hand often run hotter than a standard setup because they get air warmed by the CPU and airflow on the top of the case isn't as good. This can be easily overcome by different mods, but the reverse is also true. You can easily mod a standard case to increase airflow to either CPU or GPUs.

To sum it up, there isn't a significant advantage to either setup as far as temperatures are concerned. Personally I love the A05 so the inverted setup is fine for some builds. I dont buy that case FOR the inverted design though. And its fun to play with something a little different, so if you like the design, buy one!
 
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