Mounting a PSU upside down. Bad idea?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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peterson
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Mounting a PSU upside down. Bad idea?

Post by peterson » Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:40 am

I'm continuing my unexperienced experiments. :)

I've been thinking a lot about quieting PCs lately. I'm almost obsessed with it. :? And i've come think about the airflow around the CPU with often rear fan and PSU close to it. So i came up with an idea that i need some response to.

What about mounting a PSU, with a 120mm bottom fan only, upside down and cutting a hole in the case for the fan. And of course some damping duct of some kind. Maybe a chimney. ;) No seriously, would it be very bad for noice? The air should be cooler if i tried not to get it from the rear fan exhaust. I've seen aLian-Li case (PC6277) with such a solution. But it's optimised for watercooling so maybe noice wasn't such a big issue.

What do you think? Am i nuts? :P

DyJohnnY
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Post by DyJohnnY » Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:02 pm

i'm more worried about the PCB heating up...the radiators beeing ineffective, cuz heat will come out from them only to rise back to the components that generated it...this sort of solution might work but with very well thought airflows

aston
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Post by aston » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:41 pm

You're not nuts; I've already done it. :P I got tired of the PSU fan ramping up all the time.

I have a Seasonic 120mm PSU flipped upside-down. I cut a hole in the top of my case for air to get through.

I haven't opened the PSU yet, but what I'd like to do is cut out the stamped grill and put a Papst fan in there. I'd also reverse the airflow so that the fan would blow up and away from the PSU instead of towards the PSU innards. Hot air rises, after all. Plus, the rest of my fans are already blowing air this way (intake from the back, exhaust from another 120mm hole at the top of the case).

I keep meaning to finish this project and take some pictures, but it's been months and I've kind of lost interest. My computer's already cool and quiet enough for my liking. :)

Elixer
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Post by Elixer » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:43 pm

If your psu is the loudest thing in your case because of the fan ramping up and you aren't dependant on your psu for most of your case cooling, then doing that will probably help drop the noise level. If these two are the case than that will probably work really well.

peterson
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Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Post by peterson » Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:45 am

Thanks for your replies. :)
Maybe it's not such a good idea after all.
I'm just about to go crazy over these PSU issues. To me, it's the most complex problem to sole in a case.

Tibors
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Post by Tibors » Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:45 pm

DyJohnnY wrote:i'm more worried about the PCB heating up...the radiators beeing ineffective, cuz heat will come out from them only to rise back to the components that generated it...this sort of solution might work but with very well thought airflows
Sorry, but this is plain wrong. In a normal mounted PSU the PCB is on the top. If you flip it over the PCB will be below the hot components. The second reason this doesn't cut wood is the big 120mm fan in the PSU. The airflow inside a PSU is dominated by this fan, convection no longer plays any role.

The main reason I wouldn't use a PSU with the hole to the top is the danger of somebody (accidentally) dropping a paperclip into the PSU.

StarfishChris
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Post by StarfishChris » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:29 pm

You could always make a large pipe that curves towards the back of the case. I'd go for rusted metal for that classic industrial look ;) but seriously, if you can do that at the back, why not do it at the top too?

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