Warning re. Lian Li PC-A10 Case and PSUs with top mounted fans

[Woofmeister]

An interesting thread here for those of you considering the new Lian Li PC-A10. Apparently the dual PSU backplate requires you to mount the PSU with the top fan oriented almost flush against the side of the case. That means you're blocking the primary method of exhausting your hot PSU air. The thread is discussing the Seasonic S12 but, as you can see here the Seasonic S12 does not differ from many other PSUs with respect to the design of its top fan.

That's a pretty big flaw in a case where airflow on the bottom is separated from the rest of the case and is apparently intended to be exhausted by the PSU.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

I have this case and a Seasonic M12... same design as the S12 except modular. There is absolutely no cooling problem here.

First off, the fan is not flush against the side of the case, there is a good 1-2 cm gap (i will measure tonight to confirm), allowing for plenty of airflow through the PSU. The case is designed to aim the PSUs 120mm fans to the sides so that when 2 PSUs are installed, they draw air from opposite sides and dont interfere with each other. (Also, there's only about a 0.5cm or less gap in between the PSUs when 2 are installed.)

Remember, PSUs installed in this case do not deal with any heat aside from what they produce themselves. In a standard ATX layout, the PSU is at the top of the case and draws hot air from the CPU/Mobo requiring more airflow to achieve the same cooling. By isolating the PSU below the mobo, this case minimizes the amount of cooling needed by the PSU.

Beyond that, these Seasonic PSU's are dual-fan with a 120mm primary fan on the "bottom" and 60mm secondary fan placed next to the power wires. The smaller fan kicks in when the PSU gets too warm. After two weeks of use, I have not noticed this fan turning on at all, and the exhaust from the rear of the PSU has been a steady, cool flow. This indicates to me that the airflow through the PSU from the 120mm fan is not restricted enough to cause any sort of problem, and I don't even have the optional 120mm fan installed between the HDD area and the PSU area.

 

[Old Hippie]

This line says it all,

while I admire your willingness and ability to craft a new back panel for your PC-A10 I must assure you that its completely unnecessary.

This will be my next case.

 

[Woofmeister]

Shockwave, are your running dual Seasonic M12s? Because the thread I linked to involved a single PSU installation. Your explanation that the design is deliberately meant to aim the 120mm fans to the sides with dual PSUs makes sense, but I'm wondering why Lian Li wouldn't have designed the PSU panel to accept a PSU oriented in the opposite direction with a single PSU installation.

I'm glad to hear that you're not having any problems, but to me, a 1 cm gap doesn't sound like a lot of room for exhausting the entire airflow from a 120mm fan. Particularly for non-Seasonic PSUs that frequently rely solely on the top fan to exhaust hot air and don't come close to matching the Seasonic's efficiency.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Originally posted by: Woofmeister
Shockwave, are your running dual Seasonic M12s? Because the thread I linked to involved a single PSU installation. Your explanation that the design is deliberately meant to aim the 120mm fans to the sides with dual PSUs makes sense, but I'm wondering why Lian Li wouldn't have designed the PSU panel to accept a PSU oriented in the opposite direction with a single PSU installation.
I'm glad to hear that you're not having any problems, but to me, a 1 cm gap doesn't sound like a lot of room for exhausting the entire airflow from a 120mm fan. Particularly for non-Seasonic PSUs that frequently rely solely on the top fan to exhaust hot air and don't come close to matching the Seasonic's efficiency.

I'm running a single M12-500.
The plate doesn't allow for reversing the PSU because it really is unnecessary. My guess is that Lian Li wanted to A) keep folks with dual PSU's from orienting the fans toward the center and B) save a few cents on the design of the mounting plate.

Keep in mind that the 120mm fan draws air from the case into the PSU and forces it out the back of the unit - its not blowing out of the PSU into the case. 1-2 cm is plenty clearance for an intake.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Something pointed out in the other thread is that more space in front of (and behind) a fan results in less noise (due to less turbulence). If you are only running a single PSU and have the capabilities, a custom mounting plate to reverse the PSU might be worthwhile to drop the noise level slightly.

 

[TBSN]

It looks like from the picures on that thread that there is plenty of space between the PSU fan and the case wall, at least in my opinion. The 120mm fan is only intaking air slowly through the PSU, and it's got at least an inch of clearance... Nothing to worry about IMO...