Is airflow bottom-to-top as effective as front-to-back?

[gigabyter]

I've ordered an ASUS PRIME AP201, but i didn't think about the PSU being located smack in the middle of the front of the case, so i can't do my usual setup with 2 inlets on the front and 1 outlet on the back for airflow.

 

Would it be as effective to cool the case with a setup of inlets on the bottom and outlets on the top, or is the airflow more restricted in the bottom than at the front in a case like this? I would guess that the bottom has perhaps 1-1½ inch clearance between the case and the desk.

 

Also, would it be enough to do bottom inlets and top outlets or should i have one at the back or front to optimize?

[filpo]

1 minute ago, gigabyter said:

I've ordered an ASUS PRIME AP201, but i didn't think about the PSU being located smack in the middle of the front of the case, so i can't do my usual setup with 2 inlets on the front and 1 outlet on the back for airflow.

 

Would it be as effective to cool the case with a setup of inlets on the bottom and outlets on the top, or is the airflow more restricted in the bottom than at the front in a case like this? I would guess that the bottom has perhaps 1-1½ inch clearance between the case and the desk.

use a fan intaking at the back. Turn your cooler around to have the intake from the back and exhausting out to the front of the case and use a top exhaust just after the CPU cooler exhaust

[Dedayog]

22 minutes ago, gigabyter said:

I've ordered an ASUS PRIME AP201, but i didn't think about the PSU being located smack in the middle of the front of the case, so i can't do my usual setup with 2 inlets on the front and 1 outlet on the back for airflow.

 

Would it be as effective to cool the case with a setup of inlets on the bottom and outlets on the top, or is the airflow more restricted in the bottom than at the front in a case like this? I would guess that the bottom has perhaps 1-1½ inch clearance between the case and the desk.

 

Also, would it be enough to do bottom inlets and top outlets or should i have one at the back or front to optimize?

There is also the flow path to think about.  Pushing air directly at a GPU may seem logical, but front to back doesn't have the obstructions so it can move hot air out of the case a little easier.

 

 

[Agall]

44 minutes ago, gigabyter said:

I've ordered an ASUS PRIME AP201, but i didn't think about the PSU being located smack in the middle of the front of the case, so i can't do my usual setup with 2 inlets on the front and 1 outlet on the back for airflow.

 

Would it be as effective to cool the case with a setup of inlets on the bottom and outlets on the top, or is the airflow more restricted in the bottom than at the front in a case like this? I would guess that the bottom has perhaps 1-1½ inch clearance between the case and the desk.

 

Also, would it be enough to do bottom inlets and top outlets or should i have one at the back or front to optimize?

General rule with SFF and/or cases with a low internal volume of air is negative pressure. That case design in general should intake from the bottom/side and exhaust everywhere else.

[TVwazhere]

Very weird that the overview shows 2 fan slots at the bottom of the case, but the Tech specs dont list any fan compatibility at the bottom.

 

 

Looking at this layout and PCPP, I think this would be the best layout.

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/VmZZxr (Watercooled)
https://pcpartpicker.com/b/KwfPxr (Air Cooled)

Typically, the key in this situation is making the bottom (intake) fans spin faster than the top/Rear fans (exhaust) Though this rule can be broken in this case specifically because this case is entirely dust filter-y mesh everywhere, so a small negative air pressure wouldn't be the worst thing. 

[Salted Spinach]

Bottom to top is the intended cooling setup for the AP201.

 

If watercooling, I propose having intake fans on both bottom and rear. This will create positive pressure and:

• Naturally aid in pushing air out through the radiator
• Prevents dust from entering through all the non-filtered holes of the case

You will just to need to get a 140mm magnetic filter for the rear.

[thrasher_565]

airflow from bottom to top is better for gpu and a top mounted aio but not so much a tower cooler.

front to back is best or front aio or tower cooler not as good for gpu temps

so a bit of both can be good.

bottom fans for gpu front fans for cooler and back/back top fan exhaust.

[minervx]

It seems like GPU's demand more wattage than CPU's nowadays, so does that mean its best to do whatever airflow setup is better for the GPU?

[thrasher_565]

1 hour ago, minervx said:

It seems like GPU's demand more wattage than CPU's nowadays, so does that mean its best to do whatever airflow setup is better for the GPU?

cpus are pulling like north of 252wat well like a 4070 pulls like 200w so... things are changing but most gpus pull more. imo the gpu is more importend but i guess you most likey upgrade the gpu first before anything els soalso depends on what you do with it.