I have noticed that some computer case manufacturers have moved the PSU from the top of the case to the bottom, surely the PSU is better at the top with any kind of heat rising to the top, I know the PSU has its own extractor fan but surely it will not take all the heat away from the PSU.
My Lad wants a PC knocking up and the case he likes has the power supply at the bottom.
Comments more than welcome.
I'm not getting your logic here. I'm not quite sure what this means:
"surely the PSU is better at the top with any kind of heat rising to the top, I know the PSU has its own extractor fan but surely it will not take all the heat away from the PSU"
For what it's worth, both of my last cases have had a PSU at the bottom and I can't say I've had any issues.
Geoff I (02-11-2012)
I think he's worried about the PSU heating up other components.
IMHO it's better to keep the PSU cool, and as they have their own extraction the heat isn't going to affect other components that much (it's mostly radiated heat, which isn't as great in a PC as convected heat in airflows), so PSU at bottom is favourable.
jim (02-11-2012)
Ok Jim sorry if it sounded a little over the top but you have answered my question I shall pick him the case up with the power supply in the bottom.
It depends on the case really as most cases have ventilation at the bottom and power supplies dont produce as much heat as they once did.Originally Posted by Geoff I
Ah, yeah I see now.
Agreed on everything.
No, not at all, I just couldn't quite grasp what you thought the problem might be. As Kalniel says, it's fine.
The quality of the PSU is going to dwarf any installation location consideration.
The case companies know what they are doing. I believe it is supposed to help overall airflow in the case, PSU placement within the case will be influenced by where other components are fitted and what fans are used.
If you are worried about temps then check out reviews of cases. Both top and bottom mounted designs can be good or bad depending on overall design and quality.
Bottom mounted PSUs are usually orientated so that they draw cool air into the unit from the outside via air vents. The problem with top mounted PSUs is that they tend to draw warmer air from inside the case, & usually right next to the CPU heatsink, which results in higher temps, lower efficiency, more noise, etc. It's also argued that the centre of gravity in a tower case is lower when a PSU is bottom mounted, so the unit is more stable.
My only worry with it is when you're watercooling gravity tends to take leaks to... the PSU *gulp*
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I've never gone down the water-cooling route myself, but yes, that's definitely a consideration. Mind you, any quality PSU should have safety systems which shut the unit down in the event of a short. I wouldn't want to test it out though!
Can you use non-conducting fluid?
If the fan on the PSU is facing down then water dripping on to it shouldnt enter thorugh the enclosed casing in the event of a leak. If your worried you could always use some bathroom sealant on the PSU case joins!
I wouldn't say it would make any noticeable difference to the heat if you have enough fans.
There's multiple reasons why the psu has moved to the bottom, most have been mentioned However one major one hasn't been mentioned.
Case cooling and air flow.
Moving the psu to the bottom makes a major change to the air flow dynamics, because of the possible fan layout.
There are 3 main fan rolls; intake, extraction and spot-cooling. There is a 4th roll which is forced flow, but that's rarely on it's own, normally it's combined with the other rolls.
The repositioning of the psu to the bottom of the case allows for the placement of extraction fans&vents above the motherboard&cpu area, without that change you need to greatly increase the pressure inside the case to force the hot air out the back as a single rear extraction fan is generally not enough.
This has occurred with a shift to larger slower moving fans, which can move the air with less noise than smaller fans, however the shift to larger fans does limit the places they can be put.
Granted, this is also one of these areas where I think most of us get overly concerned about, heat, unless you're pushing high end cpu&gpu and overclocking then you're not making as much heat as you might think, the general heat production of mid range cpu's has been going down slightly, not up.
graphics cards are the main heat production growth area atm, but that already seems to be levelling off in the mid range.
But combined with larger fans it does mean you can get a lot of power now without sacrificing low noise.
The main down side of bottom mounted psu designs is cabling, you greatly increase the distance the cables have to runas you're not only moving the psu farther away from the main connection points, but also making a longer route the cables have to go (esp graphics card, as that forms a major obstacle that has to be cabled around)
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I think the PSU was only mounted at the top because early ATX computers relied on the PSU fan to remove hot air from the case. Now every case has case fans it is a little redundent to leave the PSU, with its normally very slow fan, at the top.
Cabling can be a pain, however a decent case should have cable routing that will allow you to take cables behind the motherboard tray so you can avoid obstacles like the graphics card. My case has a bottom mounted PSU and no cable routing, but it also puts the motherboard "upside down" so the motherboard power connectors are still near the PSU.
The only downside I can think of with the bottom mounting is that you need to keep the bottom of the case clear of the ground, which normally means big feet so the case stands taller. And be careful if you intend to stand the PC on thick carpet.
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