Well, I've used this case twice so far, and I rather like it. I will say that cables are difficult, however, and this is why I post here tonight. Until recently, I hadn't bothered with bottom fan power supplies, but I find myself in the position of being forced to use one.
I've got a Corsair TX850 power supply that I intend to use with the case. This power supply is fitted with a 140mm bottom mounted fan.
Now, as we all know, the Antec 900 is setup to mount the power supply on the bottom, with only about 1mm of room under the supply for airflow. Now, some of you have simply mounted it upside down, but I'll come out and say that I would rather explore another option. There are several reasons why, but none of them are relevant to my question beyond being the reason it was posed.
I am tossing around the idea of simply cutting a hole in the bottom of the case and mounting a seal there so the fan can intake air from the outside environment, and exhaust it out the back of the case, without the airflow interacting with the internal environment of the case itself.
I believe the case already has sufficient exhaust flow all on it's own to manage heat, and I doubt losing the power supply flow will amount to any real increase thereof. In fact, in relation to the alternative (mounting it upside down), the loss of this interaction may increase cooling efficiency. Still, that is largely irrelevant.
I wonder if this is a largely stupid idea. That is really my question. Just how stupid is this? I'm pulling it apart, cutting holes, fitting things, and painting anyway, so why not?
As for my reasons, I'll detail them anyway, because some just won't rest until they know why.
First, mounting the power supply the proper side up will place the side where the cables exit it's housing a few inches closer to the motherboard mounting plate. This serves two purposes. First, it cleans up the appearance by keeping the cables laid against the back wall until they route to their destination. Second, this gives me a few more inches of length to run a few of them behind the motherboard mounting plate, and those few inches are the few I need to avoid using an extension on the 8 pin 12V cable.
Second, mounting it this way avoids the intake facing upward in the case, which can cause several problems, in my opinion. First, when mounted upside down, the intake is interacting with the same air mass as the GPU fan intake. Likewise, the Antec 900 is plainly designed to exhaust it's airflow UP. A fan sucking the air back down does little to increase this efficiency. One could argue that the GPU fan already pulls airflow down a bit, but that is a necessary evil.
Basically, it cleans up the airflow and keeps me from using extensions or modifying the power supply or it's cabling.
I am mainly curious if there is some plainly good reason not to cause the power supply to derive it's intake flow from the outside environment. Will it become too dusty, for example? Is there some other thing to worry about? Just think about it, and see if anyone has any good ideas.
I've got a Corsair TX850 power supply that I intend to use with the case. This power supply is fitted with a 140mm bottom mounted fan.
Now, as we all know, the Antec 900 is setup to mount the power supply on the bottom, with only about 1mm of room under the supply for airflow. Now, some of you have simply mounted it upside down, but I'll come out and say that I would rather explore another option. There are several reasons why, but none of them are relevant to my question beyond being the reason it was posed.
I am tossing around the idea of simply cutting a hole in the bottom of the case and mounting a seal there so the fan can intake air from the outside environment, and exhaust it out the back of the case, without the airflow interacting with the internal environment of the case itself.
I believe the case already has sufficient exhaust flow all on it's own to manage heat, and I doubt losing the power supply flow will amount to any real increase thereof. In fact, in relation to the alternative (mounting it upside down), the loss of this interaction may increase cooling efficiency. Still, that is largely irrelevant.
I wonder if this is a largely stupid idea. That is really my question. Just how stupid is this? I'm pulling it apart, cutting holes, fitting things, and painting anyway, so why not?
As for my reasons, I'll detail them anyway, because some just won't rest until they know why.
First, mounting the power supply the proper side up will place the side where the cables exit it's housing a few inches closer to the motherboard mounting plate. This serves two purposes. First, it cleans up the appearance by keeping the cables laid against the back wall until they route to their destination. Second, this gives me a few more inches of length to run a few of them behind the motherboard mounting plate, and those few inches are the few I need to avoid using an extension on the 8 pin 12V cable.
Second, mounting it this way avoids the intake facing upward in the case, which can cause several problems, in my opinion. First, when mounted upside down, the intake is interacting with the same air mass as the GPU fan intake. Likewise, the Antec 900 is plainly designed to exhaust it's airflow UP. A fan sucking the air back down does little to increase this efficiency. One could argue that the GPU fan already pulls airflow down a bit, but that is a necessary evil.
Basically, it cleans up the airflow and keeps me from using extensions or modifying the power supply or it's cabling.
I am mainly curious if there is some plainly good reason not to cause the power supply to derive it's intake flow from the outside environment. Will it become too dusty, for example? Is there some other thing to worry about? Just think about it, and see if anyone has any good ideas.
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