Upside down mobo?

[notquitedead]

Hi...

Yesterday I ordered a Cooler Master Cavalier 3 from newegg.com (was on sale, and after the rebate it will be just $35) but I read that opterons run hotter than athlon 64s. I had already planned to cut a hole in the top of the case and add a fan. Now I'm wondering about something a little more extreme.

Would it be possible to remove the back of the case, rotate it 180 degrees, and then mount the motherboard on the "wrong" side of the case, upside down? That way the heat from the video card could go straight up and out of the top fan. The cpu would also be on the bottom, which would open up the possibility of a p180-like lower chamber for the psu and hdd.

Is it possible? I haven't ever done anything with metal but I know someone who works with metal and fixes machines for a living so I could get all the help I would need.

Edit: Even if I can't do the whole upside-down mobo thing, I'm still adding a fan to the top. Would I be better off with a 92mm or 120mm fan? Can anyone recommend a cheapish one with good airflow that's not too loud?

Thanks.

[5|*42]

If it's not, a duct would probably work well too, in trapping the heat. Just wondering if you've thought about how your plugs would be, unless I'm missing something (which is entirely possible), wouldn't the be on the inside of the case? Unless you put the motherboard on the otherside of the case (like facing away).

[Quick69GTO]

If you leave the case alone the CPU/heatsink and fan will be right next to the 120mm exhaust fan (optimal for an ATX case).
I wouldn't waste my time cutting a hole in the top either. I would find a power supply that has a 120mm fan in it.
With a decent heatsink on the CPU, two 120mm exhaust fans, that case should keep the Opteron cool.

[notquitedead]

I'm not sure what you mean 5|*42. If you were standing in front of your pc looking at the front, the mobo would be on your right side. What I'm talking about is moving it to the left side and turning it upside down. The plugs would still be sticking out the back, just upside down.

Sorry if this isn't making much sense, if I had time I'd do a quick sketch and post it but I can't right now.

Quick69GTO, I think the heatsink would still be pretty close to the the exhaust fan. I'm just worried because the cavalier isn't supposed to be a very good case as far as cooling goes, and I'll have a dual core opteron (overclocked) and a 7800GT in it.

[Quick69GTO]

Yeah.....you will create alot of heat inside that case.
Add a 120mm blow hole to what I said earlier and I think the case temps will be fine.
I have a Silverstone case that is designed the way you are thinking concerning the MOBO tray.
It has two 120mm fans at the bottom of the case creating the wind tunnel effect.
The MOBO is upside down but the power supply and hard drive cage is at the top rear.
Here is a link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Showimage.asp?Mode=&Type=&Image=11-163-035-04.jpg%2C11-163-035-02.jpg%2C11-163-035-01.jpg%2C11-163-035-05.jpg%2C11-163-035-06.jpg&CurImage=11-163-035-05.jpg&Description=SILVERSTONE+TEMJIN+SST-TJ06B-W+Black+Aluminum%2FSteel+ATX+Full+Tower+Computer+C ase

[clocker2]

Hi...
Would it be possible to remove the back of the case, rotate it 180 degrees, and then mount the motherboard on the "wrong" side of the case, upside down?
Umm...probably.
Remember though, that orientation puts the PSU opening at the bottom of the case.
What you want to do would have been easier to achieve by simply buying a case set up like you want...the CM Stacker and Silverstone TJ-06 come to mind.

[tic01]

I believe he is talking about doing something like this

[notquitedead]

tic01 that's pretty much what I meant.

What you want to do would have been easier to achieve by simply buying a case set up like you want...the CM Stacker and Silverstone TJ-06 come to mind.
I'll keep those in mind when shopping for a new case later, but as I said the cavalier was only $35. Even after buying a new case for my new build, I'll still be using the cavalier for my current intel rig (I have to get a new mobo and psu for it before I can oc, so I want to get rid of my dell case too).

[WarriorII]

Just remove the face plate & turn the whole case upside down & remount the face plate....


for $35......

:attn:

[demortey]

uuh...one problem with that though...if you are just going to turn the case upside down...the powersupply will be at the bottom, which generates heat also. it would probably be way easier to turn everything upside down and mod the powersupply so its at the top, or put it in a compartment, like the lianli v-1000, so the heat stays away.

[notquitedead]

That what I was talking about when I said I could make a lower chamber for the psu and hdd, like in the p180. The psu I'm getting has a 120mm fan on top, so if I put it in upside down and cut a whole in the bottom I can put legs on the case and it should stay pretty cool.

[datura3]

Hi...

Yesterday I ordered a Cooler Master Cavalier 3 from newegg.com (was on sale, and after the rebate it will be just $35) but I read that opterons run hotter than athlon 64s. I had already planned to cut a hole in the top of the case and add a fan. Now I'm wondering about something a little more extreme.

Would it be possible to remove the back of the case, rotate it 180 degrees, and then mount the motherboard on the "wrong" side of the case, upside down? That way the heat from the video card could go straight up and out of the top fan. The cpu would also be on the bottom, which would open up the possibility of a p180-like lower chamber for the psu and hdd.

Is it possible? I haven't ever done anything with metal but I know someone who works with metal and fixes machines for a living so I could get all the help I would need.

Edit: Even if I can't do the whole upside-down mobo thing, I'm still adding a fan to the top. Would I be better off with a 92mm or 120mm fan? Can anyone recommend a cheapish one with good airflow that's not too loud?

Thanks.

I like the upside down design. I have designed two custom cases that were designed that way. One is just like the silverstone that has three 120 quiet fans on the bottom of the case (built before silverstone!). The second one just has blow holes on the top and bottom. This design rocks for water cooling because you can keep your cpu block and pump at the bottom of the case. If you spring a leak, you are less likely to drip water on your graphics card and the rest of the system. plus I'm only using about 8in of total tubing :).

For you, I don't think this will be too hard if you have a drill and a jig saw. Just drill out the rivets, cut the power supply part off to leave on top, and then rivet it back on. You can buy a riveter for 10 bucks. I wouldn't put the power supply on the bottom, since it will heat up your system that way. flow in from bottom coming in to the cpu and flow out to the power supply is a nice design.

[Maviryk]

It is possible to do, but it all depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put into it. This case used to be an AMS Genesis
http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/2574/staging7dl.th.jpg (http://img342.imageshack.us/my.php?image=staging7dl.jpg)
http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/1118/rearshot1wo.th.jpg (http://img342.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rearshot1wo.jpg)

From the the pictures I see on Newegg, it would be very easy to do on that case. Mounting the motherboard on the left side of the case would not interfere with any drives from the look of it. You would need to have a drill, a rivet gun, and possibly a dremel.

Side Note: Hey Tic01! I see you moved to a better forum, EOCF is so full of nubs. :santa2: