How much clearance does the HSF need?

[Demonghast]

I just picked up an old P3 ATX tower today and finished painting the chasis and all that good stuff. Now that I've started putting in the hardware I noticed that the power supply sits in front of the CPU socket. The PSU sits sideways against the outside of the case with the mobo behind it.

I had planning to put a decent sized heatsink on there that I had kicking around. However the fan would be right up against the bottom of the PSU. So I tried putting the stock heatsink and fan on, and that only gave me about 1cm of clearance at the most.

The mobo is a gigabyte GA-7VM400AMF micro ATX board with a VIA chipset, so at most I could have overclocked the 2500+ I'm putting on it up to 180mhz. With a stock fan though I'm not sure how far I can push it. As well the issue of the HSF clearance could be a problem. What do you guys think?

 

[Albuquerque]

A lot of those mini P3 cases used the powersupply fan to also cool the CPU. I don't know if this is one-such device, but the HP Vectra VL400 and VL420 models both used the same setup -- a large aluminum sink on the processor and the powersupply fan cooled it.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're suggesting tho?

 

[Demonghast]

Interesting. That very well may have been what was intended for this case. It didn't have a PSU in it though when I picked it up. So I've put a decent 300w PSU in there but it only has one fan at the back pushing out. The side that faces the CPU isn't a vented side.

Maybe I'll need to put up a zalman heat sink with the orb shape and low profile? Like this one: http://mirror.memoryexpress.net/ProductDetail.php?DisplayProductID=3365 Though that seems a bit pricey for air cooling when I won't even be overclocking much..

I could take the cover off of the PSU. I had it open earlier and it wastes about 2 inches of space and then another inch above the caps is the sky scraper like aluminum heat sinks.

 

[magick_man]

just an idea, but, make a plexi box for the psu that is just big enough to hold it and mount it on the case some where else...
just an idea
*although not a very good one*

~Magick_Man~

 

[clocker2]

I just picked up an old P3 ATX tower today and finished painting the chasis and all that good stuff. Now that I've started putting in the hardware I noticed that the power supply sits in front of the CPU socket.

You just got the case today ( yesterday by now, I guess) and it's already painted?
You work fast.
Too fast, maybe.
It would have been a good idea to pre-assemble the components so little ooopsies! like the PSU/HSF interference issue could have been solved before painting.
Is there any other spot in the case you could relocate the PSU into?
Have you considered running the PSU externally?

 

[Demonghast]

Well it is a microATX board and believe it or not even in this small case the PSU could sit clear under the mobo. I'd have to run the power cord out through a slot though and there wouldn't be a really good way to fasten the PSU in there. As well I'd have to open the cover up to switch the psu off.

However on the plus side I could cut an old PSU apart and mount the back plate with the fan in it (it has a 3 pin 80mm fan inside) where the psu would normally go and get some more airflow. Right now I have an 80mm mounted in the front with a slot blower reversed to pull air down and out. I could switch that around to catch the hot air that would be rising from the PSU

Guess I'll give it a go and if it works I'll post a picture along with my thanks for the suggestions

 

[clocker2]

Unfortunately, opening up the PSU and mounting in it's stock location means that the air available to the HSF is going to be preheated, isn't it?

 

[Demonghast]

[WARNING! FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY! MISUNDERSTANDING IMMINENT!]

If I mount the PSU below the motherboard with the exhaust fan pushing the hot air out just below my output slot blower it should all be sucked in and exited before rising up to the HSF. What I want to mount into the stock PSU spot is an old PSU cut down so just the back of it is left with the fan mounted. That way I get an exhaust fan that doesn't leave a huge gaping hole where the PSU would be. This would leave the socket well clear of anything.

Might have to use some velcro tape to secure the PSU to the bottom of the case. Might even help to dampen some of the noise.

 

[clocker2]

Ah, I see now.

Sounds like a plan.