Case orientation

[blbec]

Is there any disadvantage to running a tower laying on its side? I've been tinkering with mine for the past while with the case open facing up with a dust cover over it so I can get inside really quick, and realized it is actually a lot more convienent to put it where i want it like that. My case has 2 rear fans, one front bottom fan, and a can on the case side, but non are running at the moment because its not really set up. I also have removed and lost all the front bay covers over the past few years, as well as the slot covers in the back. I dont have a temp monitoring utility (im not even sure it has sensors, its a pretty old setup) so i dont know what its running at but I havent had any problems yet with it.

I've already ordered some new stuff to gut it and reuse the case, and I'm thinking about placing it all on the side again with the side fan blowing out (or even just a cloth cover stretched over it) and the other fans blowing in. I'll try it both ways and see what the temps are. Before I do that though, does anyone know if there is any reason not to? Something that would damage any of the components? The only thing I can think of is the cd drive, but I use an external usb drive anyway so that dosnt bother me.

 

[will_chellam]

it shouldnt be a problem, just check that non of the connectors dangle into anything important and that you have enough standoffs so the motherboard doesnt sag in the middle.

Apart from that, the most annoying thing is having to use the little clippy disc holder things on the cd tray, but it sounds like youve got that covered....

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

The only problem I can think of is if you have sleeve bearing fans, then they might not work or work as well in that orientation. Other than that you should be ok.

 

[blbec]

Cool. I honestly cant remember what the fans are anymore. I've had the case and fans for a long time and probably need to get new fans some time soon anyway.
Thx for the replies.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

A long long time ago before THG, before the Web, when Bill Gates said 640k of memory was all we would ever need, an overwhelming majority of users had real desktop computers. For all practical purposes they were tower cases laying on their sides. People put heavy 12 inch monochrome monitors on top of the computers to save desk space.

 

[blbec]

/shudder

That sounds like the beginning of a scary bedtime story i would tell my kids if i had any.