[SOLVED] What if I put PSU's Exhaust's Direction to the CPU Cooler's Intake?

[IDProG]

I'm designing a PC case from scratch.

I'm designing a Mini ITX case that's as small as possible, while still capable of housing an extreme amounts of hardware.

So, I ran into a bit of a problem. I initially put PSU at the bottom of the case, face-down, to intake air from the bottom and exhaust it to the back of the case. Then, I noticed that I can make the case a bit smaller if I put the PSU intake to the front and exhaust to the CPU cooler intake direction.

My question is, is it dangerous to do that?
The PSU doesn't cover the entire CPU cooler, just a part of the side.
I heard that efficient PSUs do not get very hot (my PSU will be 80+ Gold or Platinum one), but I still need to ask this question here.

Any answer is appreciated.

 

[LordVile]

I'm designing a PC case from scratch.

I'm designing a Mini ITX case that's as small as possible, while still capable of housing an extreme amounts of hardware.

So, I ran into a bit of a problem. I initially put PSU at the bottom of the case, face-down, to intake air from the bottom and exhaust it to the back of the case. Then, I noticed that I can make the case a bit smaller if I put the PSU intake to the front and exhaust to the CPU cooler intake direction.

My question is, is it dangerous to do that?
The PSU doesn't cover the entire CPU cooler, just a part of the side.
I heard that efficient PSUs do not get very hot (my PSU will be 80+ Gold or Platinum one), but I still need to ask this question here.

Any answer is appreciated.

Well you want a smooth airflow from front bottom to rear top ideally. Adding a PSU to the Mix could cause turbulence inside the case and mess the airflow up.

 

[IDProG]

Well you want a smooth airflow from front bottom to rear top ideally. Adding a PSU to the Mix could cause turbulence inside the case and mess the airflow up.

I mean the PSU's exhaust faces the CPU Cooler intake. So, yes, part of airflow from the bottom that is sent by a 200mm fan is blocked (by the PSU), but the flow is still the same direction (upwards).

 

[Karadjgne]

Heat is heat. Efficiency is the difference in what's pulled from the wall. So even with the better psus, you'll still get plenty of heat exhaust, depending on the load. 500w from an 80% or 500w from a 90%, very little heat output difference, it's still 500w and that'll still get transfered to heatsinking.

What you might want to look into is shrouds. Dell has been using them for years to channel excess cpu heat, but can be just as useful to redirect either psu intake or exhaust.

 

[LordVile]

I mean the PSU's exhaust faces the CPU Cooler intake. So, yes, part of airflow from the bottom that is sent by a 200mm fan is blocked (by the PSU), but the flow is still the same direction (upwards).

The PSU sucks air in and exhausts from the back, where are you putting this PSU?

 

[IDProG]

The PSU sucks air in and exhausts from the back, where are you putting this PSU?

My case will be a "trash can" form factor that utilizes convection physics.

So, my power supply would be almost directly below my motherboard (the motherboard's I/O faces the exhaust direction at the top). It would pull air from the outside (the intake faces outside) and exhaust to the intake of the CPU Cooler.

 

[_Cosmin_]

Power supplies are generally about 70–80% efficient. For a 75% efficient power supply to produce 75 W of DC output it would require 100 W of AC input and dissipate the remaining 25 W in heat. Higher-quality power supplies can be over 80% efficient; as a result, energy-efficient PSUs waste less energy in heat and require less airflow to cool, resulting in quieter operation. At 500W you will loss ~ 125W in heat (trough hot air moved by PSU fan)! A power supply that is rated to put out 550W at 25°C or 30°C (room temperature) may only be able to put out 75% of that at 40°C or 50°C (actual operating temperature). This difference is called the "de-rating curve". A normal operating temperature for a power supply is 40°C. Some power supply units are rated for continuous output while others are rated at peak. "Continuous" means that the power supply is rated to run at it's maximum capability for no pre-determined period of time . There are internal thermal sensors to start/stop PSU fan to keep this temperature range... so, your PSU will dump ~40C (or more) hot air to mobo/GPU/CPU...

 

[LordVile]

My case will be a "trash can" form factor that utilizes convection physics.

So, my power supply would be almost directly below my motherboard (the motherboard's I/O faces the exhaust direction at the top). It would pull air from the outside (the intake faces outside) and exhaust to the intake of the CPU Cooler.

You mean just convection “convection physics” isn’t real terminology, and I wouldn’t do that you’re just pushing warm air through a CPU cooler which means your CPU will run hot