FSP700 PSU in a P180B?

[GhostX]

So here I sit excited to get home.. my parts are all arriving.. And I am looking over the juicy pictures and realize that this PSU has a FAN facing down.. which on the P180B .. probally is bad..

Am I wrong in thinking I am screwed? Anyone shed some light?

 

[Rugger]

I'm pretty sure that the PSU is not flush to the bottom of the case. Check out the pics on the Antec site (click the picture for more views). You should be good to go with a bottom facing fan.

 

[Guest]

Wont it fit upside down?(fan facing upward?)

 

[13thmonkey]

Most of them have fans facing up or down, and yes you can turn it around, they wil advise against because this would typically reduce case venting (but not on a P180) and mean the fan stuck against a surface (not on the P180)

You'll be fine.

Have fun.

 

[GhostX]

Well take a look at this PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104015

It states its a dual fan PSU.. but I only see the one on top.. and there isnt one blowing out the back? If it sits in the bottem of the case. .and I turn it upside down. Wont it blow hot air on my crossfired X1950XTX's? That aint good is it?

 

[13thmonkey]

Not sure I understand your problem.

You do realise that the PSU and the main body of the P180 are sealed from each other?

And that PSU fans always blow from the inside to the outside, even if they are dual fan, they just have two fans blowing in the same direction to increase airflow with a minimal increase in noise. So hot air will be exiting the case, and cool air will be being sucked along the bottom section of the case towards the PSU.

I've got a P180, with a PSU with 120mm fan on top. If you have any more questions, or want piccies let me know.

 

[GhostX]

Doh..

Yes I have a P180B in the mail today.. when I get home.

Will it mount upside down to the back grill? Or are the holes for the screws in specific locations that will cause me to have to alter it? Basically is the thing cut for the PSU to be in it a specific way?

Pictures would be sweet

 

[Rugger]

Pictures would be sweet

The link to the Antec site has pictures of the rear grill and of the interior area surrounding the PSU. If you look at the bottom left of the interior picture, then you will see the bottom support for the PSU is above the bottom of th case. There is an open space from which the bottom-mounted fan can draw air.

Wont it blow hot air on my crossfired X1950XTX's?

No. As 13th stated, the section where the PSU is mounted is isolated from the section in which the vid card is located. Furthermore, the PSU won't be discharging air into the case, it will actually be exhausting air from the interior of the case. Therefore, even if the areas weren't isolated, the PSU still wouldn't be blowing air into the vicinity of the vid cards.

I can't hit the Newegg site right now - what model PSU will you be using?

 

[GhostX]

Man I love Tom's.. great helpful gearheads all over the place.

Fortron Force FX700 PSU. I heard somewhere that the X1950XTX takes 30amps.. so 2 of them take 60amps.. which is what the PSU has on the 12volts. But it looks like there are four rails on the back screen of the PSU.. and they list 15A each.. How does that work?

Does each cable have 15amps? I was always curious abotu that. The PSU is Crossfire and SLI certified.

 

[Rugger]

*slaps forehead*
DOH! Should have reread the title before I asked which PSU...

What size monitor are you gaming on to need (2) X1950s?

On to your questions.
1. I'm not up to speed on the power requirements of the newest vid cards, but I can tell you that these reqs are almost always very exagerrated and for absolutely worst case scenarios.
2. Read this SPCR Dual 12V rail FAQ. Even though this particular link refers to a dual vice 4 rail PSU, the basic concept is the same. You can basically add up the amperage from the four separate rails for ~60A total. You should only be capable of drawing 15A from any single rail. Depending on FSPs implementation of the ATX12V V2.XX, you could have issues. With the high amperage draw possible from the X1950XTX I would contact FSP and the vid card mfr to see if the 15A rails can handle the possible power draw from those cards.

 

[13thmonkey]

Doh..

Yes I have a P180B in the mail today.. when I get home.

Will it mount upside down to the back grill? Or are the holes for the screws in specific locations that will cause me to have to alter it? Basically is the thing cut for the PSU to be in it a specific way?

Pictures would be sweet

Std SPU with fan on upper/lower surface, in this case a seasonic S12-600. You can see the location for the HDD in the bottom right of the picture, it is unidirectional. I have blcoked off the openings around that as I want all of the air to come through the HDD bay in front of the PSU and the lower chamber fan.

PSU installed, note that there is a significant gap above the PSU to allow air into it, there is a similar gap below where I have stuffed the cables to hide some of them. You can feed the SATA/molex leads for the lower HDD bay through a gap near the lower fan. The Silicone mounts are very nice and make the HDD a nice snug fit, I suggest it is the first thing that you fit as you need to have access from front and back, and it is easier to manouvre when light(ish) and empty.

Here you can see the seperation of the upper and lower chambers. My PSU is always cool to the touch. So I don't see anything being a problem with this setup.

I'm not going to paste an open finished picture as it is a right mess.

With regards to what I said about blanking off some of the grills, you'll notice that the back is like swiss cheese, I tried covering most of these up, to force the flow of air, and this raised temps. In fact Having the back fan on pulling air out of the case raises my CPU temps 3-4C. I suspect that it is using cold air being pulled from the back to the top. Be prepared to play around with the fan settings. Sig below, all fans on slow, and maxing out at load at 45-48 by TAT, idle 33-34.

 

[Guest]

30 amps is for full systems. Generally a 50 amps will be fine for crossfire.
That would be a ~700W most of the time.

From FSP:
+5V & +3.3V & +12V1 & +12V2 & +12V3 & +12V4 total output not exceed 680W. : roughly 57 amps...

 

[Prada0007]

The PSU is mounted about an inch about the bottom of the case. You can mount it upside down, but that wouldn't be good for airflow. Here is a pic of my Rosewill T550 mounted upside down in my P180B.

I actually mounted it upside down without even realizing it. Here is a pic of it mounted right side up.

PSU's with Fans on bottom are ideal for this case. Since the PSU and motherboard are in separate compartments and hot air rises. That way your PSU will suck in cool air from the bottom of the case and send it out the back of the case through the PSU's rear grill.

 

[avarice]

First - let me congratulate you on your fine taste, excellent eye for quality and ever increasing good looks and intelegence.

I too have the P180B and a FSP power supply - although I only needed the 600W version.

I have the PS mounted with the fan down, it still stays nice and cool.

Enjoy the rest of your build and know that these two components are top notch.


Cheers.