3D Printed PSU shroud

[zSynonym]

Hey guys,
I'm looking to design and print a PSU shroud. The parts relevant to the project are the case: fractal design r5, and PSU: EVGA supernova 750w.
This may be a ridiculous question but does PSU orientation matter? If I flip the PSU to blow beneath the case, it does increase noise, which is annoying. Is it harmful to have a shroud covering the fan?

 

[13thmonkey]

The PSU blows out the back and sucks from either inside the case or the floor depending on orientation. Personally I would suck from inside the case as you won't be sucking dust into the PSU (or the filter) especially as PSU's do not have temp monitoring, whereas if a CPU or GPU starts to overheat there would be a non-critical impact first.

There MUST be airflow through the PSU.

 

[boosted1g]

The R5 has a dust filter on the bottom of the case, and the PSU should be pointed down and sucking air from the bottom outside of the case.
Sucking air from inside the case, with the PSU at the bottom, disrupts the natural front-bottom to back-top airflow.

If the shroud is for airflow then there is absolutely no reason for the shroud, if the shroud is for decoration purposes then have the psu in the direction I stated, and you can design the shroud however you want around it because its airflow is isolated from the rest of the components.

 

[13thmonkey]

I'd still point the PSU up, it'll stop any dead spots in the bottom rear of the case (under the bottom card if it's fanless), and you'll never have the risk of the filter getting choked up with dust from the floor and starving the PSU of air.