To Drill Or Not To Drill?

W

Waynos

Member
just Bought a "Corsair CX500 ATX 500W Power supply" for $30
it fit in my case nice and snug lol
only drawback is the fan faces up or down,
it does not have the option to blow out the back panel.

Should I pull everything and custom drill some holes in the top of the case?
(so it can release the heat through the top of the case)

Right now it is running in my tower blowing air down towards my
CPU heatsync-Fan (no heat issues at all yet)

if i faced it up the fan would be flat against the top of the case
leaving no exhaust period (which seemed the worse of my 2 choices)

Now i know i was impatient;
But I had to install it and make sure it worked considering the low price.
they are $64.98 new in box (tigerdirect dot com)
and GOD blessed me with this for $30

Main Question (after my babbling was done)
So would you flip the PSU blowing up and drill some holes?
(not in that order of course lol)
 
blsimpson said:
Depends.. Are you planning on using this case with the new stuff?

If you are, I would cut out the whole thing, and install one of those case fan grills.. One of these:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=500&name=Case Fan Grills

That will give you more air flow out then just holes, and would look better (if you care about looks :) )
Click to expand...

Yes the new stuff will go in this case
Looks don't really matter just the safe temperature of my parts

the PSU has a grill mounted over the fan by 4 screws
same as the ones in the link you posted.

I suppose the only precise thing would be to measure and
make sure the grill/vent holes etc.. are lined up properly

That still leaves me with 4 places for case cooling fans

1. front plate bottom - blowing in
2. top panel - blowing out (7-8inches away from the PSU which will blow upwards also)
3. back panel - blowing out
4. side panel (see-thru) blowing in (towards CPU)
 
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the image below shows the style of PSU i have.
If this is correct;

facing my PSU fan downward from a top mount
will suck in the hot air and exhaust it out the back of the case
and I wont have to make holes in my case

I will be adding 3-4 Blue LED 80mm fans
for extra cooling.

Any thoughts?
is that an accurate detail of what a PSU
without a rear facing/back panel fan does?



02_airFlow.gif
 
Most PSUs that I have worked with has the air intake from inside the case and blows out the back, so I see no problem with just making sure you have it secure and not drill any holes, unless you need them for the screws to secure the PSU.
 
Dimederwin said:
Most PSUs that I have worked with has the air intake from inside the case and blows out the back, so I see no problem with just making sure you have it secure and not drill any holes, unless you need them for the screws to secure the PSU.
Click to expand...

Awesome..thanks so much
 
Nice find, Waynos! This should be a great psu for you. I agree with Dimderwin, psu air intake from inside the case is fine. They really only need airflow, not necessarily cool air. PSUs don't get as hot as a lot of other parts and they have a very good heat tolerance.
 
Dimederwin said:
Most PSUs that I have worked with has the air intake from inside the case and blows out the back, so I see no problem with just making sure you have it secure and not drill any holes, unless you need them for the screws to secure the PSU.
Click to expand...


my case is black with 1 side having a see-thru plexi glass side

im gonna add 4 (80mm)blue LED case cooling fans for airflow
and i think the blue will look nice with the black case

View attachment 1639

View attachment 1640

View attachment 1641
 
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