Which direction should a GPU fan face with an upside down motherboard?

[Probably an Army of Asians]

Hey guys, I am going to put a water cooler on my GPU using an NZXT Kraken G10. They advise that I point the exhaust of the fan downward to push air onto the VRAM and voltage regulators. That thing is, in my case the GPU is facing up, and since the hotter air rises, I was wondering if it would make more sense to face the exhaust away from the VRAM so that is pulls the hot air up. Currently my card blows downward, and that combined with the mediocre cooler results is a lot of fan noise just to keep the card cool. I do plan on putting heat sinks on the VRAM.

 

This is typically how the Kraken normally looks:

 

I was wondering about flipping the fan.

 

 

Here are some pictures of the GPU so you can see how the card is orientated.

 

Side View:

http://i.imgur.com/S2IWP3o.jpg

 

Top view:

http://i.imgur.com/G2hI4Ux.jpg

 

 

[Godlygamer23]

When it comes to a fan, it's going to force air in and around the area either way, so as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. The fan should be an intake.

[Jonathan W]

daggadfg

 

I mean, my main question is why the eff is your case upside down in the first place? lol

[Samfisher]

Hot air does rise but in a case environment, hot air is everywhere and moves very slowly.  You can ignore the Hot air rises advice when building a case.  Proper air pressure is much more important as well as direct airflow.

[Tagiau]

I mean, my main question is why the eff is your case upside down in the first place? lol

R-ATX

[Godlygamer23]

I mean, my main question is why the eff is your case upside down in the first place? lol

Some cases have motherboards that orient upside down.

[Jaybird]

You should follow the directions. You are working in just a small area with very little amount of over all heat that it does not matter the orientation of the card.

[Probably an Army of Asians]

I mean, my main question is why the eff is your case upside down in the first place? lol

 

It is a Bitfenix Prodigy M, I guess that's how they squeeze the motherboard into a small form factor. I like the case, but it does have its quirks.

[Altecice]

The PCB should always face up. If you have it facing the other way you will just be recirculating the hot air produced by the GPU back down to cool its self, so it will run warmer. (Heat rises).

[Godlygamer23]

The PCB should always face up. If you have it facing the other way you will just be recirculating the hot air produced by the GPU back down to cool its self, so it will run warmer. (Heat rises).

If the motherboard is upside down, the PCB cannot face up, can it?

[Jonathan W]

It is a Bitfenix Prodigy M, I guess that's how they squeeze the motherboard into a small form factor. I like the case, but it does have its quirks.

 

 

Some cases have motherboards that orient upside down.

 

 

R-ATX

 

 

This is really a thing? Sorry im used to the "luxury" of building ATX in a mid to full tower case.

 

Though i will say ive always hated that i can never see the cool fans and heat shroud on my GFX card and upside down building is a great idea to fix this lol

[ABUSIV3]

which way the card is facing and the orientation of the fan has nothing to do with heat rising etc, it has to do with cooling the caps on the pcb you need to cool them directly the are too close to each other and get too hot to dissipate heat on their own therefore you absolutely need to have a fan blowing ONTO THEM. flipping the fan will be removing the ambient air. the fan will only PULL ambient heat off them not actually cool them. HOWEVER i think if you were to use a radiator fan with static pressure blades you might be able to position the fan either way and have good results. 

honestly though BEFORE you rip the stock cooler off make sure you get some idea of what the card runs for temps idle and at load, and then when you put your new cooling system on you can compare temps with the fan both ways.

[Godlygamer23]

the fan has nothing to do with heat rising it has to do with cooling the caps on the pcb you need to cool them directly the are too close to each other and get too hot to dissipate heat on their own therefore you absolutely need to have a fan blowing ONTO THEM.  removing the air will only PULL ambient heat off them not actually cool them. HOWEVER i think if you were to use a radiator fan with static pressure blades you might be able to position the fan either way and have good results. 

honestly though BEFORE you rip the stock cooler off make sure you get some idea of what the card runs for temps idle and at load, and then when you put your new cooling system on you can compare temps with the fan both ways.

I find your logic to be flawed. You can cool something off by having fans pull heat away from it. You're looking at it as just pulling ambient heat off the hardware, but in reality you're pulling general heat off the hardware - which includes heat produced by the components. If your logic was completely true, my radiator should never be cool - it should be hot, but my radiator only ever becomes warm, and is usually pretty cool to the touch.

[ABUSIV3]

I find your logic to be flawed. You can cool something off by having fans pull heat away from it. You're looking at it as just pulling ambient heat off the hardware, but in reality you're pulling general heat off the hardware - which includes heat produced by the components. If your logic was completely true, my radiator should never be cool - it should be hot, but my radiator only ever becomes warm, and is usually pretty cool to the touch.

your missing the time it takes to cool something passively vs actively, which is what we are basically discussing. pulling heat off something without a static pressure fan is moot. it doesnt happen. or gpu manufacturers would position the fan either way. however, ALL direct airflow at the pcb.

[Probably an Army of Asians]

the fan has nothing to do with heat rising it has to do with cooling the caps on the pcb you need to cool them directly the are too close to each other and get too hot to dissipate heat on their own therefore you absolutely need to have a fan blowing ONTO THEM.  removing the air will only PULL ambient heat off them not actually cool them. HOWEVER i think if you were to use a radiator fan with static pressure blades you might be able to position the fan either way and have good results. 

honestly though BEFORE you rip the stock cooler off make sure you get some idea of what the card runs for temps idle and at load, and then when you put your new cooling system on you can compare temps with the fan both ways.

 

The temps max out at 76C if I really push it, so not within the danger zone, but the fan is really loud an annoying. Plus two of the screws on the heat sink broke off, so I just ghetto mounted on the PCB, not sure how secure it is but temps seem fine for right now. Those are the main reasons why I want to replace it.

 

Edit: Actually I think Powercolor makes a Card that does that.

 

[Godlygamer23]

your missing the time it takes to cool something passively vs actively, which is what we are basically discussing. pulling heat off something without a static pressure fan is moot. it doesnt happen. or gpu manufacturers would position the fan either way. however, ALL direct airflow at the pcb.

Fairly certain all fans have some sort of static pressure - maybe not IDEAL static pressure, but it's probably there.

[FatPenguin]

Some cases have motherboards that orient upside down.

Really??... where have I been all these years

[Godlygamer23]

Really??... where have I been all these years

Bitfenix Prodigy M is a popular choice for people that like that orientation.

[ABUSIV3]

It is a Bitfenix Prodigy M, I guess that's how they squeeze the motherboard into a small form factor. I like the case, but it does have its quirks.

bitfenix does this for style not accommodation they could simply have flipped the mobo and windowed the opposite door. i have the phenom. most sturdy case i have owned to date out of perhaps 30.

[ABUSIV3]

The temps max out at 76C if I really push it, so not within the danger zone, but the fan is really loud an annoying. Plus two of the screws on the heat sink broke off, so I just ghetto mounted on the PCB, not sure how secure it is but temps seem fine for right now. Those are the main reasons why I want to replace it.

what is your gpu?

there are usually indexes you can check for temps online, wont be as accurate as if you had the chance to benchmark before your screws snapped. the kraken will totally save your day. 

I recommend using the fan as a blowing fan or getting a corsair sp120mm pwm fan and letting that pull.

Good luck either way. youll learn to love your case =] shes a keeper for sure lol

 

[ABUSIV3]

Fairly certain all fans have some sort of static pressure - maybe not IDEAL static pressure, but it's probably there.

to not argue, or go to far off topic, the most simple reference i can make is the difference between the blades on a corsair af 120mm and a corsair SP 120

THERE ARE A MILLION FANS im just trying to say he should use a "static pressure fan" of course all fans have some degree of static pressure- i cant believe that was your response. this is a good thread i dont want to troll anymore can we please let this go.

[Probably an Army of Asians]

I'm still a little confused, there seems to be a few completely different answers. Honestly I'm just kind of temped to benchmark both set ups and see how hot the VRAM gets. Not sure if I can get the voltage regulator temp through software though.

[MourningSouls]

Point the fan at the VRM, you'll be good. Yes heat rises, but it does it slower than your fans will move it down.

 

Now if you have your Prodigy's airflow backwards, intake at the bottom and exhaust from the top, then I'm not sure what to recommend other than making it proper.

 

Also, since people seem completely flabberghasted by the idea of an upside down case, I have one too. Silverstone is quite fond of putting motherboards at unusual angles.