Psu which side up

They are usually a preserve of budget cases, mini-tower cases, and some OEM cases. Generally, cases with a top-mounted PSU layout require you to install the fan facing down. The PSU fan will draw the warm air from inside the case and exhaust it. However, if the case you are working with has a top vent which is extremely rare , you can install the fan facing up. The top vent allows the fan to draw cool air from the outside, thereby providing better cooling and more efficient airflow, improving the durability of the PSU.

The only caution you should take is to ensure you have a 5 cm gap between the fan and the casing. PSU fans usually affect the overall airflow when they are installed facing upwards. This is because installing the fan facing upwards is akin to adding another exhaust fan, which interacts with the overall airflow in the case. When installed facing down, the PSU fan creates somewhat of a closed environment with its own airflow that does not interact with the rest of the airflow in the case.

If you opt to install the PSU fan facing up, it is critical that you balance the airflow to negate negative pressure from arising. This is especially important if you open up the air inlets or increase the inlet fan speed on account of an added PSU exhaust. Negative pressure arises when there is less air going in through the vents and into the case than coming out of the exhaust.

The negative pressure in the case allows air to be drawn in through crevasses and cracks, which allows dust to infiltrate your PC. Almost all these PC cases have vents at the bottom where the PSU fits and most of them have dust filters installed at the vents to prevent the dust from getting to the fan and PSU components. So, if you have such provision then the PSU fan should be positioned downwards. This allows PSU fan to suck air from the bottom and the air gets expelled out from the rear side.

You can clearly see this in the image given below. I strongly advise not to keep the PSU fan upwards if you have a case with a bottom vent with an air filter installed. This is because if you keep the fan up then the cooling performance of the PSU will get compromised because the fan will suck hot air that is inside the case, instead of cool air and blows it on the PSU components.

Also, the PSU will accumulate much more dust because of no fan filter , and there is also a risk of something dropping inside the PSU through fan grill, which may cause serious damage to your power supply. This is the only way to fit a PSU in these cases.

Some computer cases come with a PSU shroud or cover that acts as an extra protection for the power supply and also for the bottom-mounted drives. Generally, the PSU shroud is a solid metal cover with no vents mostly , so in such cases, the position of the fan should remain down only regardless of anything.

Some PSU shroud do come with top vents that may allow you to position your PSU fan up but if the bottom vents are given, then it is better that you should keep the fan in down position only, unless there are no vents given at the bottom for the PSU fan.

Also, if your computer case has short feet then you have to keep it elevated by providing some kind of packing or support beneath the bottom feet or stands so that the PSU can have a good amount of airflow. Never put your computer case on the carpet when you have a bottom-mounted PSU fan facing downwards. The carpet will block the airflow to the PSU and in worst cases if you have no PSU fan filter installed then the small fiber particles from the carpet can get deposited inside your PSU and may also clog up your PSU fan.

Also, these carpet fibers are very dry and are static in nature, and may catch fire inside your PSU, which can cause serious damage to your power supply, and also other computer components too if you are unlucky. So, to solve this issue you can either use a wooden plank or plywood cutout to place your computer case or mount the PSU with fan facing in upwards direction.

Computer Cases with top-mounted PSU are very rare these days but they do exist. Refer there for all PC installation steps. The first thing you want to do when installing a power supply is check for the presence of little rubber feet on the bottom of your computer case.

This is assuming you're installing a PSU in the bottom of your case, which is how every modern case is designed these days. Top-mounted power supplies is a thing too, but a thing of the past. Many cases have rubber feet to help reduce the effects of PSU vibration to lower noise. If your case does have rubber feet like our Cooler Master N does, they'll likely already be pre-installed, but if not then check if your case provided you with some and go ahead and install them as per your case manual instructions.

If your case doesn't have rubber feet, it's not the end of the world, but you could always buy some small self-adhesive rubber pads from your local stationary store if you wanted to and especially if your power supply vibrates loudly once your new battlestation is fully operational. If you are installing a modular power supply one where you can choose which power cables to attach and which to leave in that PSU box , it might help if you attach the power cables that you'll need to your PSU before you physically mount it into the case.

In some cases, it could be a little tricky for you to go in and attach the power cables later on after the PSU has been installed. But just ignore this if you can easily reach the power connectors on your modular PSU even after it's sitting in the bottom of your case.

In other words, you can choose between installing the power supply with the intake fan facing upwards towards the inside of your case, or facing downwards through the vents on the bottom of your case which most modern cases will have.

So, which is best? PSU intake fan up or down? It's a good question, and a topic of much debate as with most cases you have the choice of either orientation. Only slightly. Does the blockage really matter? Reactions: digitalgriffin. Last edited: Aug 27, You keep thinking that. Your ideas all depend on where the thermistor is. And uneven balance will create uneven flow under the covered sections. We do this intentionally with heat wheel heat exchangers to keep air from mixing on the two sides.

Or if the thermistor is running over them, the fan will run harder than it needs to. There will also be uneven bearing pressure causing the covered side to pull up. To get similar air flow you have to decrease pressure more. The pressure drop makes the fan work a lot harder. A lot of that drag energy get converted to heat and noise. The force of drag on the fans exponentially increases with velocity increases. That's a substantial increase in speed provided you do achieve even flow under the blades.

I'm telling you that inverting the PSU is the best option here. It will pull hot air in from the case and the psu will be hotter. Its better to run half fan with cold air rather than full fan with hot air. Digital griffin is a Aerospace engineer, one might say a 'rocket scientist', consequently he deals with pretty exacting measurements and very small tolerances, as noted by his formulae. But it's a psu, and while some aspects are involved that include the need for rocket scientists of several branches, for the most part psus are designed by electrical engineers, like me when I was much younger.

What it boils down to is preference. Your preference and the temps preference. There really is no absolute right or wrong way to install it, you can do either. If fan up affects gpu temps in a negative manner, turn the psu upside down.

If fan down gives erratic behavior such as super high speed fan for no real reason, turn it fan up. It's a CV. It's a budget unit, but Is designed quite well, and shouldn't have any issues lasting long beyond its warranty with your current components. You could definitely do far worse in choice. As Jon noted, your case is not a brilliant design, really could have used digitalgriffin's input since which ever engineer did actually design it has little concept of what's actually important, and spent far too long on just trying to make it look appealing.

Reactions: 3bec. One is Evolveo and second one is Be Quiet. I have one exhaust fan, also Evolveo. So there should be no problem?