PSU location

[upsidedown]

how hard is it to change the location where the psu is mounted?
i have a old case that look exactly the same as this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147010
and i want to mount the psu on the bottom rather than at the top.

any suggestions?

[l33t p1mp]

You can only do that on some cases without modding it. If you are willing to bust out the dremel and a drill, then go for it.

[roofsniper]

yes its possible but it will take a lot of modding because you have to move the motherboard tray up, drill new holes, and make new pci slots, etc.

[upsidedown]

yes its possible but it will take a lot of modding because you have to move the motherboard tray up, drill new holes, and make new pci slots, etc.

what if I cut the mb tray and the whole back plate off and just rotate it upsidedown? would that work?

anyone else with psu location modding experience can share some insights?

[grasskicker509]

what if I cut the mb tray and the whole back plate off and just rotate it upsidedown? would that work?

anyone else with psu location modding experience can share some insights?

that sounds like a whole lot of work...all that cutting and putting back together...how about you just flip the whole case upside down and change the front?

[upsidedown]

that sounds like a whole lot of work...all that cutting and putting back together...how about you just flip the whole case upside down and change the front?

that would be kind of the same thing as what im suggesting, since i would have to swap the base and the top. Then i would have to flip the front...

[roofsniper]

really if you ask me if you are going to go that far just get a new case. why do you want the psu on the bottom anyway?

[l33t p1mp]

He wants to be cool like all the antec 900 owners. :p: :D

[upsidedown]

He wants to be cool like all the antec 900 owners. :p: :D

dam u got me :rofl:

yah i think the bottom mounted psu looks good and i already have the tools for cutting up the case so i wanted to see how much trouble it would be for me to make the changes. And after some recent home reno, i dont really want to spend much money on a new case :up:

[SpazBoy357]

Or you could get creative and do something like Ken C did on his Lian Li PC-V600.

PSU mounted vertically and used as a support for the HDD cage. It actually vents out the bottom of the case and helps cool the drives. Original thread here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=209413).

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e369/Ken_Cook/side-1.jpg

[upsidedown]

^^^ yah, i saw that build. While the idea is good, I'm not really tight for space and i thought it would be easier to flip the back plate than drill a new hole.

[cloned]

I tried to do this on a cheap case a year back and it was such a pain in the rear. It looks like one of the sides of the 5.25" bays are part of the mobo tray, that brings in more possible complications. You are better off buying a new case that is more mod friendly..

[roofsniper]

Or you could get creative and do something like Ken C did on his Lian Li PC-V600.

PSU mounted vertically and used as a support for the HDD cage. It actually vents out the bottom of the case and helps cool the drives.

pretty nice idea but its a lot of work.

[masxerofkartis]

Well you can always replace top with bottom and flip front and drive bays. Easily by replacing some rivets but it is time consuming

[Moonraker™]

My friend once did a build where the PSU was in the bottom of the HDD cage in his old generic case. no idea why he did it, I think he just messed up the screws to keep the PSU in place, so he locked it in place elsewhere.

Las time I saw that case it had some weird fan mod there to let air out. I doubt I can find it out for pics if he still have it.

I love my P182 anyways!!

[moiraesfate]

Its never made much sense to me why the psu is on the top anyway. You'd think the heavy stuff would be on the bottom or the verticle idea that was shown above. It would make more sense. Though I suppose since heat rises it makes a weird kind of sense.

[upsidedown]

I tried to do this on a cheap case a year back and it was such a pain in the rear. It looks like one of the sides of the 5.25" bays are part of the mobo tray, that brings in more possible complications. You are better off buying a new case that is more mod friendly..

thats a good point... since im at work now and wont be home till monday :shocked: .... ill have to wait till then to have a better look at it. I just wana get all the planing done now and get working on the case when i get home


Well you can always replace top with bottom and flip front and drive bays. Easily by replacing some rivets but it is time consuming

i dont mind time consuming... as long as its doable~ hopefully it will be that easy to mod the case.


My friend once did a build where the PSU was in the bottom of the HDD cage in his old generic case. no idea why he did it, I think he just messed up the screws to keep the PSU in place, so he locked it in place elsewhere.

Las time I saw that case it had some weird fan mod there to let air out. I doubt I can find it out for pics if he still have it.

I love my P182 anyways!!

lol, sounds like your friend just made a mess out of the case, and it somehow works~ maybe that is what will happen to mine :eek:

[upsidedown]

Its never made much sense to me why the psu is on the top anyway. You'd think the heavy stuff would be on the bottom or the verticle idea that was shown above. It would make more sense. Though I suppose since heat rises it makes a weird kind of sense.

now that you mentioned it.. it doesn't make much sense to top mount a PSU. I dont think the whole hot air rises thing makes a big difference as most people have at least one fan in the back taking air out of the case.

[upsidedown]

i just want to add that the reason im not getting a new case is that i have a few old cases at home (most of them have the top+sides all connected in one peice) and this one that i chose to mod is the 'newest' one and seems to me like the most modable one. Also i just did some home renovations.. so i dont really wana spend money on a new case :p:

[roofsniper]

now that you mentioned it.. it doesn't make much sense to top mount a PSU. I dont think the whole hot air rises thing makes a big difference as most people have at least one fan in the back taking air out of the case.

the hot air rises rule works for heat build up. heat can typically build up in the top of a case if there is not top exhaust fans. i don't know why psus were mounted in the top in the first place. maybe it helped with cable routing but im sure they just followed a trend over time.