New PSU - Can it be mounted on the top of the case upside down?

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

Hey all,

Looking at buying a new PSU as mine is only 375 watts and am adding new components.

With a lot of the newer psu's the fan is on the top of the unit and not the back like mine. As I have no way to mount the psu at the top of the case (my case and board are both btx). I also have no vent holes at the top of the case.

So am I able to mount it at the top with the fan blowing down? Will this cause any heat or ventilation issues in the case itself?

ignatzatsonic · Jun 9, 2012

Burdus77 said:
I have no way to mount the psu at the top of the case....................So am I able to mount it at the top

Can you reword your post. The above is confusing.

Does your case provide for a top mounted PSU or not?

I have my PSU mounted upside down in a top mounted case. There is a vent immediately above the PSU (on the case top panel) through which the PSU fan can take in fresh air through that vent. The PSU fan is right up against this top panel vent.

It's my understanding that the purpose of PSU fans is to cool the PSU itself, not the case interior or other components. I'd be concerned with case temps generally and if they were OK, I'd assume the PSU was taking care of it's own cooling.

My PSU (Seasonic 560 KM) is semi-passive---the fan is designed not to spin at all unless heat reaches a certain level. That has never happened so I effectively have a fanless PSU. No noise.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

Sorry Ignatz,

Yes the psu is mounted at the top but my case doesn't have any vents on the top of my case. The fan is on the back of the psu not the top like some of the larger power supplies.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

That should have said I can't mount the psu at the bottom not the top!

ignatzatsonic · Jun 9, 2012

Burdus77 said:
Sorry Ignatz,

Yes the psu is mounted at the top but my case doesn't have any vents on the top of my case. The fan is on the back of the psu not the top like some of the larger power supplies.

School me on your CURRENT PSU in the current case.

It has one fan total? And that fan faces the rear exterior of the case, not up and not down?

So even if you inverted the current PSU, the one and only fan would still be facing to the rear, through a vent of some type?

With regard to a new PSU:

I assume you will be getting an ATX PSU? Are those known to at least fit and mount in your BTX case? I have no experience with BTX cases.

And if so, I assume your question is should it be mounted with its fan facing down into the case interior or up facing the unvented top panel?

TVeblen · Jun 9, 2012

The fan on power supplies draws air into the supply and it exhausts through the circular patterned grill in the rear.

In a standard computer case the PS fan is facing down into the case. It draws air from inside the case and exhausts it out the rear of the case. These standard cases rely on the PS fan as part of their air flow design.

In some gaming computer cases there is a grill (port) on the top of the case. This allows you to mount the PS with the fan facing up. It will then draw fresh air from outside of the case and exhaust it through the back. These cases are designed to NOT use the PS for airflow through the case.

So the proper orientation of the PS is determined by the case design, not the PS design.

pparks1 · Jun 9, 2012

With many of the bottom mounted PSU cases, they have a grill at the bottom. Thus, the fan pulls cool air in from the bottom of the case and exhausts it out the back. This way, the PSU doesn't have to use previously warmed case air to cool itself.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

Haha I've done a really poor Job of describing this haven't I?

Yes my PSU is mounted at the top and the fan faces the rear of my case. So the fan would still face the rear it mounted upside down. It's a dell supplied psu so I couldn't give you any makes or models, etc.

I've been looking into whether an ATX psu would fit into a btx case and it looks like it will.

Looking around a lot of psu's seem to have fans on top or bottom. Can't seem to find that many with fans at the rear.

ignatzatsonic · Jun 9, 2012

Well, if it must be mounted at the top and you have no vent on the case top panel, then you are pretty much forced to use the traditional method of mounting right side up, with the PSU fan face down into the case interior, from which it will pull warm air out through its exhaust vent at the case rear.

Leaving aside the ATX/BTX issue and whether a standard ATX PSU will fit properly.

It sounds like it would be a losing proposition to buy a PSU to fit your BTX case if that PSU will be unusable when you eventually switch to an ATX case.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

Well at the moment my first priority is the SSD (from your sound advice). Then it will be looking into switching to a new case and the rest.

I'm just wondering if my current psu can handle all the added components. SSD, wireless card I've added, blu-ray drive I have installed alongside a 2nd DVD-RW, and 2 spinners. It's working okay at the moment but going by these psu calculators they're saying I should have at least 500w.

ignatzatsonic · Jun 9, 2012

Not sure what graphics card you are going to use after your first rebuild, but generally I'd take those PSU calculators with a serious grain of salt.

I damn sure wouldn't buy a new PSU that would not also work when I switched from a BTX to ATX case at some later date. If I thought I was going to be forced into that, I'd just wait until I could upgrade to an ATX case and PSU at the same time.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

At the moment I just have a GEFORCE 8600 GTS.

To be honest I'm not much of a gamer really so I'm not looking at high end graphics card.

I've had the PC since 2007 and the only thing that failed me was the DVD drive which I replaced with a Sony one. Other than that it's been pretty reliable.

So if the psu still runs fine after adding the SSD then I won't bother getting a new one and just wait til I decide to build from scratch.

linnemeyerhere · Jun 9, 2012

Burdus77 +1 on the new case as it will be a vast improvement for future upgrading and will function much better with the new PSU. I would buy as much case and PSU as you can, look for a well designed mid tower and then a top flight high grade PSU from manufacturers we can suggest ala Corsair, Antec, Thermaltake, Seasonic......
When done wisely these core components will outlast many mobo and cpu's and the like. These are two suggestions among many:
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series™ 600T Mid-Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 4x Ext 5.25, 6x Int 3.5, 2x 200mm Fans, 1x 120mm Fan, 4x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, 1x IEEE 1395 Front Ports, CC600TWM-WHT at TigerDirect
Corsair CP-9020006-NA Professional Series Gold AX650 Modular Power Supply - 650W, 80 Plus Gold, 120mm Fan, Active PFC, Single +12V Rail at TigerDirect

ignatzatsonic · Jun 9, 2012

Nvidia says here that a 350 watt PSU is the recommended minimum:

GeForce 8600 FAQ

At this link, it says measured power consumption under a load is 198 watts for an entire system using an E6600 overclocked to 3.0.

XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX Review - Page 10 - Power Consumption and Final Thoughts

At link below, peak 3D power consumption for the card alone is shown as 47 watts:

GeForce 8 Streams to the Mainstream: Asus GeForce 8600 GTS Review. Page 7 - X-bit labs

Based on that, I'd say 380 is OK if it's a decent unit.

Brds7t7 · Jun 9, 2012

Thanks guys, that's given me a few things to read up on.

I've built a couple of pcs in the past but they were just very basic ones nothing high end.

I'll do some serious research into the right gear to buy before I do anything.

Back to the psu's, yeah the corsair and antec ones I've had a look at don't seem that expensive either. I think I'd be more picky about the case than psu.

New PSU - Can it be mounted on the top of the case upside down?

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Aspiring Gnome

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Aspiring Gnome

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Building Stuff

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Ubuntu/CentOS and Windows

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Aspiring Gnome

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Aspiring Gnome

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Limburger Cheese

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Aspiring Gnome

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Axlsior!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Similar threads

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer