PSU orientation

davidc100 · 01-17-2013, 10:34 AM

Can anyone tell me please what the correct orientation of my psu in my case should be? Fan up or fan down? I am fitting a new Corsair AX860 in an Obsdian 550D case. Neither the screw holes on the psu, nor the tiny manual, nor the text and labels on the psu itself, make this clear.

I have tried to get an answer from Corsair Tech support but with no success.

Thanks.

dma0991 · 01-17-2013, 11:20 AM

Based on the pictures on Corsair's website, the Corsair 550D will support either way depending on your preference. You could go with the usual fan down method which sucks filtered air from below or the less common fan up method which does make the PSU fan act like an exhaust but I'd prefer to isolate the PSU from air inside the case.

One way is not better than the other but for me, the obvious choice would be to make it face down as the cables are the closest to the grommet below. Mounting it other way around doesn't make sense and I need every single inch of the cable length. You're using a modular PSU, doesn't really matter much.

Face2Face · 01-17-2013, 11:20 AM

Most people would recommend you facing your PSU fan down. It will draw air from the bottom of your case and keep the PSU cooling separate from the rest of your components. Usually the PSU wiring is easier to route behind your mobo tray with the fan facing down as well.

If you did want to install the fan facing up, it's not gonna hurt anything - but may cause your PSU to run a little hotter depending on how your GPU expels hot air.

davidc100 · 01-17-2013, 11:50 AM

Thanks. Going with fan down seems to be the answer. But it's a little unsettling to find that the psu modular cable connectors are then upside down - along with their text labels.

Eureka · 01-17-2013, 12:34 PM

That's odd, most PSUs that I've used orient the labels to work with fan down. Fan down is the preferred way if you have the grill on the bottom so it sucks in clean air from outside the case. Otherwise fan up if you don't have such a grill.

ericloewe · 01-17-2013, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eureka

That's odd, most PSUs that I've used orient the labels to work with fan down. Fan down is the preferred way if you have the grill on the bottom so it sucks in clean air from outside the case. Otherwise fan up if you don't have such a grill.

At least the Corsairs I've seen all had the label on the far side (fan facing down) upside-down, so that it'd be in the correct orientation if you turn it around.