[SOLVED] Does blocking PSU fan decreases PSU's performance?

[GurkiratSingh]

So first, the PSU fan is not fully blocked just partially like maybe 60-70%. The cabinet sits on a wooden plate.

I have drawn a rough diagram of the whole scenario. There may be some clearence betwen the fan and psu, psu bottom case bottom, pc back psu back etc. I don't know what is everything exactly or any exact measurements, so take this all with a grain of salt.

But what I wanna know is, Would this affect PSU's performace and if it would, then in what way? Like not being able to provide proper power to everything in system OR being able to provide proper power to key components but not others? etc etc.

Here's the diagram:

And if it won't affect it's performance, I had qnother question. How far a PSU can push itself? Let's say if it is 450W, Is providing 10 or 50Ws extra possible? OR It can't go over strictly 450W, not even a single watt?

 

[Dj0gany]

You are fine, as long as there is some clearance you are good.
After the psu has been pushed over its wattage limit, it will simply shut it self down, or you know, explode : )

 

[GurkiratSingh]

You are fine, as long as there is some clearance you are good.
After the psu has been pushed over its wattage limit, it will simply shut it self down, or you know, explode : )

Thanks man. I just don't like the explode part. That's not very yoda of you

 

[Dj0gany]

Thanks man. I just don't like the explode part. That's not very yoda of you

If its a quality unit then there is very small chance of it exploding.
But if its a 10$ '700W' unit then exploding might be on its side : )
What is the exact psu make/model you have?

 

[GurkiratSingh]

If its a quality unit then there is very small chance of it exploding.
But if its a 10$ '700W' unit then exploding might be on its side : )
What is the exact psu make/model you have?

It's not a 10$ 700W PSU, we don't do that around here. Neither a chinese one, nor the one that comes with the case, so I think we'd be fine in that department.
Thanks again Yoda(Djoza), may force be with you.

 

[--SID--]

It's not a 10$ 700W PSU

We don't want to know what it's not.

This is what we want to know because even non Chinese brands have crappy psu's.

What is the exact psu make/model you have?

 

[Archaic59]

So first, the PSU fan is not fully blocked just partially like maybe 60-70%. The cabinet sits on a wooden plate.

I have drawn a rough diagram of the whole scenario. There may be some clearence betwen the fan and psu, psu bottom case bottom, pc back psu back etc. I don't know what is everything exactly or any exact measurements, so take this all with a grain of salt.

But what I wanna know is, Would this affect PSU's performace and if it would, then in what way? Like not being able to provide proper power to everything in system OR being able to provide proper power to key components but not others? etc etc.

Here's the diagram:

And if it won't affect it's performance, I had qnother question. How far a PSU can push itself? Let's say if it is 450W, Is providing 10 or 50Ws extra possible? OR It can't go over strictly 450W, not even a single watt?

Turn the power supply over with fan facing up. Done. It can go either way no problem.

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Turn the power supply over with fan facing up. Done. It can go either way no problem.

Hmm iirc, the pattern for screws to fit the PSU is in a certain way. I can turn it upside down, but I don't think I'll be able to fit all the screws then. I guess I'll figure that out once I decide to dissasemble the pc.

 

[Archaic59]

Hmm iirc, the pattern for screws to fit the PSU is in a certain way. I can turn it upside down, but I don't think I'll be able to fit all the screws then. I guess I'll figure that out once I decide to dissasemble the pc.

The cutout in the back of your tower should be setup to mount the PSU either way.

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Also can someone please answer the second part of my question? (in detail I mean)

And if it won't affect it's performance, I had qnother question. How far a PSU can push itself? Let's say if it is 450W, Is providing 10 or 50Ws extra possible? OR It can't go over strictly 450W, not even a single watt?

 

[Dj0gany]

Also can someone please answer the second part of my question? (in detail I mean)

I did.
"After the psu has been pushed over its wattage limit, it will simply shut it self down, or you know, explode : ) "

 

[GurkiratSingh]

I did.
"After the psu has been pushed over its wattage limit, it will simply shut it self down, or you know, explode : ) "

So you can't go even a single watt over it's rating?

 

[Dj0gany]

So you can't go even a single watt over it's rating?

Noupe.

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Noupe.

Ok, thanks

 

[Zerk2012]

So first, the PSU fan is not fully blocked just partially like maybe 60-70%. The cabinet sits on a wooden plate.

I have drawn a rough diagram of the whole scenario. There may be some clearence betwen the fan and psu, psu bottom case bottom, pc back psu back etc. I don't know what is everything exactly or any exact measurements, so take this all with a grain of salt.

But what I wanna know is, Would this affect PSU's performace and if it would, then in what way? Like not being able to provide proper power to everything in system OR being able to provide proper power to key components but not others? etc etc.

Here's the diagram:

And if it won't affect it's performance, I had qnother question. How far a PSU can push itself? Let's say if it is 450W, Is providing 10 or 50Ws extra possible? OR It can't go over strictly 450W, not even a single watt?

Blocking the fan is a 100% NO.
Using a PSU that is not rated for the watts you need is a 100% NO. In general you would use about 75% of the PSU under full load (that could vary some depending on who you ask)

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Generally, in a quality psu, you can go above the PSUs rated maximum wattage by about 20% or so before the over power protection trips, but this depends a lot unit to unit. You generally should not do this for prolonged periods of time, as you can have overheating or other problems that could cause the lifespan of the PSU to be reduced.

If you are blocking the fan significantly, the PSU will not be able to provide the maximum wattage for prolonged amounts of time before it overheats.

If the PSU has working over temperature protection, it should simply shut off. If it doesn't, it could overheat and fail (potentially with a bang). Also, if you only block part of the fan, you could end up with part of the unit being cool in one area but excessively hot in another area.

Just don't block the fan.

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Update: So after disassembly I have further details. I think the fan is only getting covered upto 50%. There is like 2.5-3mm rubber pad in the cabinet to lift the PSU. Further more, the PSU fan is also 2-3mm away from the cage(bottom) of the psu. So it isn't flush tight blocked, if you catch my tokyo drift.

What I can do is remove the feet of the cabinet and then push the cabinet further to give the fan more area to work. But I'm not sure if I can do that yet, it's just an idea still. Further, even if I'm able to do this. I mean how far would I be able to push the cabinet before it tilts because all the stuff like psu, cpu fan, gpu, like mostly everything except hard drives, and another drive(which I haven't used in a long time and taking it out as well) are in the back. So I don't wanna go through the trouble only to gain minimalistic results.

And I want to make one thing clear. I'm not doing this by choice(i.e. blocking the psu fan). It is what it is.

Also I have already checked but there's no way to mount the psu other way. The holes are only available for one way both on psu and cabinet.

@Archaic59 @Zerk2012 @NightHawkRMX

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Still an awful idea.

 

[Zerk2012]

Update: So after disassembly I have further details. I think the fan is only getting covered upto 50%. There is like 2.5-3mm rubber pad in the cabinet to lift the PSU. Further more, the PSU fan is also 2-3mm away from the cage(bottom) of the psu. So it isn't flush tight blocked, if you catch my tokyo drift.

What I can do is remove the feet of the cabinet and then push the cabinet further to give the fan more area to work. But I'm not sure if I can do that yet, it's just an idea still. Further, even if I'm able to do this. I mean how far would I be able to push the cabinet before it tilts because all the stuff like psu, cpu fan, gpu, like mostly everything except hard drives, and another drive(which I haven't used in a long time and taking it out as well) are in the back. So I don't wanna go through the trouble only to gain minimalistic results.

And I want to make one thing clear. I'm not doing this by choice(i.e. blocking the psu fan). It is what it is.

Also I have already checked but there's no way to mount the psu other way. The holes are only available for one way both on psu and cabinet.

@Archaic59 @Zerk2012 @NightHawkRMX

Blocking airflow for the fan still very bad.

Your also reluctant to give any information on the power supply so to me it means it's junk.

.How about putting a board on the block and securing it that is big enough to just set the PC case on using the feet. I can't think of a single reason to have a PC case sitting on a block.

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Blocking airflow for the fan still very bad.

Your also reluctant to give any information on the power supply so to me it means it's junk.

.How about putting a board on the block and securing it that is big enough to just set the PC case on using the feet. I can't think of a single reason to have a PC case sitting on a block.

I wasn't reluctant. I just thought it wasn't necessary if you guys just believed me. Cause I'm not a new player as you can see through my trophies. You'd rather default to think that my psu its junk? It's Antec VP500PC, are you happy now?

Thank you for the idea, I'll see if I can find something to accomplish that.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The VP PC is the cheapest unit Antec makes and as such it is not very good. I would doubt it has protections for over temperature, but I'm not sure.

I would not risk this.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

For future reference, it is best to include your full system specs including make and model of power supply with your thread.

 

[Zerk2012]

I wasn't reluctant. I just thought it wasn't necessary if you guys just believed me. Cause I'm not a new player as you can see through my trophies. You'd rather default to think that my psu its junk? It's Antec VP500PC, are you happy now?

Thank you for the idea, I'll see if I can find something to accomplish that.

That power supply is not complete junk but very low on the list.
Only rated for 408 watts on the 12 volt rail.

https://linustechtips.com/uploads/monthly_11_2013/post-43702-0-36144500-1383755964.jpg

For sure something you would not push to it's rated watts.

 

[Archaic59]

Update: So after disassembly I have further details. I think the fan is only getting covered upto 50%. There is like 2.5-3mm rubber pad in the cabinet to lift the PSU. Further more, the PSU fan is also 2-3mm away from the cage(bottom) of the psu. So it isn't flush tight blocked, if you catch my tokyo drift.

What I can do is remove the feet of the cabinet and then push the cabinet further to give the fan more area to work. But I'm not sure if I can do that yet, it's just an idea still. Further, even if I'm able to do this. I mean how far would I be able to push the cabinet before it tilts because all the stuff like psu, cpu fan, gpu, like mostly everything except hard drives, and another drive(which I haven't used in a long time and taking it out as well) are in the back. So I don't wanna go through the trouble only to gain minimalistic results.

And I want to make one thing clear. I'm not doing this by choice(i.e. blocking the psu fan). It is what it is.

Also I have already checked but there's no way to mount the psu other way. The holes are only available for one way both on psu and cabinet.

@Archaic59 @Zerk2012 @NightHawkRMX

What is the brand and model of your cabinet?

 

[GurkiratSingh]

Update 2: So, after spending a few days cleaning my whole setup and arranging things, you'd be glad to know that I fixed the blocking issue. I removed some part from the place where my PC cabinet was situated so that I could place it hotizontally instead of vertical to fix the issue. After the measurements, I found that it already had a 1 cm clearence but now it has 2cm clearnence, I really didn't think it was a big deal, but I hope you guys are happy. I even cut some wood pieces with handsaw in case if I ever need to put the cabinet in vertical position to put some big speaker setup (like a bass or something), so it'd have more than enough breathing space.

I wasn't able to accomplish the endgoal with the cleaning but I still have other things to try. I could've shared some details with you guys but IDK. I don't want people writing opinion pieces about how the thing I have is bad or don't have the over temprature protection. It literally takes a 2 minute duckduckgo search to know about the specs of a pc part. These type of comments only make you look stupid. This is why I don't like sharing my specs if I can get the solution without it, because it's always the same story, for most. Person who stayed on topic was Master Djoza but liked comments from people who weren't helping, maybe he likes confusing people, so IDK, whatever.

While we're at it, let me tell you this, previously when I used to use those cheap silver looking chinese psu, I never had any problems either. As a matter of fact, the first time when I installed a GPU and tried to play a game or run a benchmark, it just shut off and never blew up my PC or turned it into a fire hazard. Also neither I was stupid enough to keep forcing it to run after a couple of tries and took the gpu out. After that I bought this one and have been using it since.

Actually I think I did made a post here during that time as well. My gut feeling said that it must be the psu but everyone keep saying have you checked the cpu, have you checked the ram? Maybe I was inexperienced back then and didn't knew how to word it properly, resulting in people giving me those solutions. But at least my gut feeling was right even back then.

So yeah, maybe I'll make a new thread about my adventure in motherboard section OR maybe not.