Question on Bottom Mounted PSU's

Status
Not open for further replies.

totalknowledge

Distinguished
Jul 8, 2011
540
0
19,010
I have been looking (not sure I am going to buy anything) at cases and have noticed that an awful lot of them have bottom mounted PSU's. People seem to like them, but I have a couple of questions about them.

Doesn't the bottom mounting make the ATX 12V connection problematic? I have seen some power supplies with an incredibly short connector, plus with that positioning it would seem the expansion cards are in between the PSU and the connector on many of the MB's I have messed around with.

The other question is isn't this just a little bit more unsafe for the people that pick water cooling? On the off change that something goes wrong and the cooling system leaks, its going to be leaking onto the PSU.
 
Solution
They can make the connection problematic yes, but it depends on the case and the specific PSU as well.

I have used the Antec Three Hundred in several different builds, and most of them have not been long enough to reach without an extender.

- OCZ Modxstream 700W, was litterally like 1cm of length just long enough
- Seasonic 350ET, required an extension cable to reach.

The expansion cards will be in between the PSU and the connector, yes you are correct. However, depending on your case that have built in cable management you can route it in behind the case and come up closer to the motherboard for a nicer look.

For your concern with watercooling... I'm pretty sure it's no more unsafe. If there is going to be a bit of leaking it can...

JordoR

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2010
320
0
18,810
They can make the connection problematic yes, but it depends on the case and the specific PSU as well.

I have used the Antec Three Hundred in several different builds, and most of them have not been long enough to reach without an extender.

- OCZ Modxstream 700W, was litterally like 1cm of length just long enough
- Seasonic 350ET, required an extension cable to reach.

The expansion cards will be in between the PSU and the connector, yes you are correct. However, depending on your case that have built in cable management you can route it in behind the case and come up closer to the motherboard for a nicer look.

For your concern with watercooling... I'm pretty sure it's no more unsafe. If there is going to be a bit of leaking it can affect all of your components and not just the PSU. I would be more concerned about my video cards... but thats just me.
 
Solution

Lobodomy

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
161
0
18,690
^This.

There are enough options out there for you to have a choice of whether you want it top or bottom mounted, so I think it's not really a big deal. And if there is a leak, it's not guaranteed to touch the PSU. If you're worried enough about a leak to want to mount it at the top and go as far as being forced to select a different case to do so, I think you shouldn't even be using liquid cooling. :p
 
Status
Not open for further replies.