Top Mounted PSU on Fractal Torrent - Is it dangerous?

[TFPN]

The Fractal Torrent and Torrent Compact have been really well received but one thing I haven't seen anyone talk about is the top mounted PSU.

Given the PSU's fan would be sucking in the heat from inside the case produced by the GPU and CPU, wouldn't it run the risk of getting damaged or operate at higher RPMs and hence be noisier too?

Or is the case built in a way where this is not a concern? I'm wondering because this was the very reason why PSUs started being mounted on the bottom, as more modern CPUs and GPUs started producing a lot more heat than in the past.

What are your thoughts?

[Guest]

Umm.. No... it's fine.

 

[Donut417]

13 minutes ago, TFPN said:

What are your thoughts?

I remember old computers from back in the day all having too mounted PSUs. If it was fine then, it’s fine now. 

[BobVonBob]

Definitely not going to cause damage to the PSU, and probably not going to increase the noise level. With quality components the loudest fans in your computer will generally be the smallest and fastest, which on a modern PC usually means the GPU fans. Unless you're running right up against the maximum output of your PSU the fan on it won't need to get going very fast, and it won't be a big contributor to noise, or at least not big enough to drown out your GPU.

[TFPN]

12 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Umm.. No... it's fine.

 

9 minutes ago, BobVonBob said:

Definitely not going to cause damage to the PSU, and probably not going to increase the noise level. With quality components the loudest fans in your computer will generally be the smallest and fastest, which on a modern PC usually means the GPU fans. Unless you're running right up against the maximum output of your PSU the fan on it won't need to get going very fast, and it won't be a big contributor to noise, or at least not big enough to drown out your GPU.

Well, that's really good to know then because I've been eyeing the Torrent cases for a while but I was told the top mounted PSU would be problematic for the reasons I wrote in the original post. Thank you for your responses!

 

9 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

I remember old computers from back in the day all having too mounted PSUs. If it was fine then, it’s fine now. 

The argument I read was that back then, CPUs and GPUs didn't produce nearly as much heat back then as they do now, which was why companies started moving PSUs down to the bottom. I heard takes from both sides of the coin so I wanted to hear more opinions on this.

Thank you for your response!

[TrigrH]

Top mounted PSUs often suck in less dust which makes cleaning easier.

Depending on the PSU used you may have trouble reaching the power connectors for your graphics card.

 

If the PSU gets hot it will simply spin its fan faster.

If this fan gets really loud (unlikely) then considering adjusting the airflow situation of your case. (Increase rear exhaust fan speed as an example.)

[Sleepycat3]

It's fine. I have the Torrent. The air inside the case is not that warm, given the large 2x 180mm intake fans. The components used in a PSU are rated for temperatures that it is unlikely to reach, especially for a well designed PSU, even if operated at 80-100% of the power rating.

 

For those who are worried about it being top heavy, my 6kg cat frequently jumps up on top of the case too, but is not able to topple the case.