Which way to orient the PSU fan in an Antec P182 case?

[Len]

Hello guys and gals. I would like to get your take on what is the prefered orientation of the power supply fan. I have an Antec P182 case and a SesonicSonic S12 650W PSU. The PSU has one 120mm fan facing the bottom, if oriented "right-side-up". I realize that most PSUs are designed with more conventional case configurations in mind, where the fan of the PSU configured in the way of this SeaSonic S12 would be drawing air from the CPU. However, since this is not a case with a conventional layout, but rather one with separated compartments for the MB and PSU, I end up with the dilemma.

Basically, the question is should I mount the PSU with the fan facing up toward the top of the case where there seems to be more of an open space to draw air from, or should I mount it "right-side-up" with the fan facing the bottom of the case?

 

[saunders]

I personally opted to orient the PSU with the fan pointing upward. I have the lower drive cage fully populated, and since heat rises my assumption is that I am better off pulling air from the top of the lower compartment that from the bottom.

Another point that I have heard made in another forum is that if you orient the fan downward, it will end up sucking dust that accumulates on the interior floor of the case into the PSU.

 

[Len]

Thanks for the reply saunders and welcome to the forum. The problem with inverting the PSU for me would be that I'd need to get extension cables for some of the power connectors, since they're coming out of one side of the PSU. So I'm trying to figure out if it is worth the bother or is the cooling in the bottom chamber would be sufficient as-is.

 

[DarkRogue]

I have the P182 and the lower HD cage fully populated with a Raptor 150 and 3x 500GB Drives, and I have my Seasonic S12II PSU facing the "correct" way with the fan facing down. I have absolutely no problems with it, I even threw in a 5v Nexus 120mm fan down there to help cool the HD's, although I think it was unnecessary. My HD's are at a chilly 35C and the air put out the back of the PSU is barely moderately warm.

The P182 (and P180) was designed so that the bottom area was sectioned off from the top of the case, and it revolved around the idea of using the PSU fan to cool the HD's down there, so there's nothing detrimental about orienting it fan-side down as it was factored into the case design. Others have of course done it with the fan-side up and no problems either. Do what you will, but it's easier just to leave it oriented correctly IMO.

Edit:
One thing I did do though, at the suggestion of SPCR, was to do the front intake grill mod. Basically, I used a box cutter (substitute for an xacto or a dremel if you prefer) and cut out the "extra" strips of plastic that impeded airflow.

 

[DaQuteness]

You should never point it upwards anyway, it's going to draw all the heat from the hdd's and even though PSU's might not have temp problems, it needs cooling.

I've studied the P182 from every side since i really wanted to buy one. Putting the PSU up-side-down will handicap your cable management, the power supply cord becomming shorter than needed. I think you should leave it the way it's supposed to be.

The P182 is one of the best-thought cases i've ever seen and that's what makes it worth it's money. I say you leave it the way it should be, the ones that built it weren't dumb, you know...

However, if you have the heart to do this, you can cut out the bottom case grid beneath the PSU, that will make intake very easy.

 

[Syzygies]

For what it's worth, here's what Antec has to say about this (no supporting argument):

Performance One P180 FAQ

3. My power supply has a fan on the bottom. How should I mount it in the case?

The bottom-mounted fan should be pointed towards the top of the enclosure.

I have a Corsair 620HX supply, which has a decent reach in this postion, but "righting" it would buy me a bit more cable slack, e.g. to rig a duct to couple my TRUE cooler pull fan with the rear case fan. Right now a power cable is in the way, with not enough slack to move. Thermochill recommends "pull pull" over "push pull" for their discontinued, more constricted WC radiators, so a better pull on my TRUE might also help.

Despite Antec's advice, "righting" my supply might do more good than harm, looking at this big picture. Only my overclocked Q6600 is near critical on cooling.

 

[Len]

Alrighty guys and gals. I'll leave it in fan side down for now, since I can't run it any other way without buying some extension power cables. I'll see how it goes, but all of your advice is very much appreciated and is taken into account.

On a related note, after being mostly away from PC building for a few years due to work/move/starting grad school/engagement I'd like to say that P182 is a pleasure to work with. The last non work-related PC I built for myself had a P4 1.5 and I can say I surely enjoyed the build today.

Now let's load the sucker up with the new Ubuntu and see what they have to offer.