• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Corsair Unveils its First Inverted-ATX Cases, the Carbide 600Q and Carbide 600C

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,390 (7.67/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Corsair, a world leader in enthusiast PC hardware and components, today announced the release of the new Corsair Carbide 600Q and Carbide 600C high-performance PC cases. With iconic minimalist styling, a wealth of sound-deadening features (600Q), a huge clear side-panel window (600C) and distinctive inverted-ATX interior design, the 600Q and 600C continue the Corsair tradition of innovation and excellence in modern PC case design to deliver a no-compromise approach to PC cooling.

Unlike many PC cases which demand enthusiasts choose between noisy, high-airflow ventilation or low-noise, restricted airflow designs, the 600Q and 600C are able to deliver the best of both. The distinctive inverted-ATX internal design places the heat producing components in the direct airflow pathway of the two AF140L 140mm intake fans and single AF140L 140 mm exhaust fan, providing powerful and efficient cooling, with extra wide vents ensuring unimpeded airflow.



Specially tuned for low-noise operation, the 600Q and 600C's three included fans have been redesigned for excellent airflow at lower noise levels, with an integrated external 3-speed fan controller allowing users to reduce the fan RPM, further lowering noise with a minimal impact on cooling performance. The result is a no-compromise approach to cooling that delivers fantastic system temperatures at extremely low noise levels.

The 600Q dedication to low-noise continues well beyond fan speeds. High density sound deadening material fitted in the front panel, side panels, and roof works to further mute system noise and ensure that the 600Q is as quiet as it is beautiful.

Clean and minimalist styling that's both eye-catching yet reserved combines with solid steel exterior paneling and a premium finish. The distinctive curved front panel houses two 5.25in drive bays secreted behind a hinged flap, offering full functionality without compromising on looks. Inside you'll find two tool-free 3.5in drive bays and three tool-free 2.5in drive bays integrated into a stylish PSU and drive bay cover. A plethora of cable routing holes, tie-downs and cable grommets make building in the 600Q and 600C easy, so your system can look as good on the inside as it does on the outside.

Available in December from Corsair's world-wide network of retailers and distributors, the Carbide 600Q and Carbide 600C are backed by a comprehensive two year warranty and Corsair's world-wide customer support network.

Specifications
  • Inverse-ATX Layout: With this new layout, airflow is easily directed at the hottest devices in your system; the GPU and CPU, and not wasted on drive cages.
  • Sound Damping Throughout (600Q only): Keep your system quiet and cool with high-density sound damping material on side panels, front panel, and top panels. It's so quiet, you'll find yourself wondering if your PC is even powered on.
  • Hinged and Latched Full Side Panel Window (600C only): Easily access your components with a single touch - and when closed, enjoy viewing every part of your build through the full size side panel window.
  • Steel Exterior: Get rid of those plastic cases - the 600Q and 600C have full steel exterior panels for extra durability and gorgeous good looks.
  • Three Included AF140L fans: Great airflow doesn't have to be noisy - the three AF140L fans can push large amounts of air across your hottest devices without that annoying fan hum, and the three-speed fan controller lets you decide exactly how fast they run.
  • PSU and 5.25" Bay Cover: Clean up the inside of your case by tucking all those cables and less-attractive drives behind a clean, refined PSU and 5.25" bay cover. Or remove them for assembly - it's up to you.
  • Watercooling Ready: Fit up to a 280mm radiator up front and up to a 360mm radiator on the bottom - along with a 140mm rear fan mount.
  • Easy to Clean: Easily access dust filters on front and bottom meaning you'll never spend more than a minute getting dust out of your system.
  • Easy to Build: Tool-free drive installation, tool-free side panel access, and tons of cable routing options and tie downs means you can spend less time building your PC and more time using it.
  • MSRP: $149.99 exc. Tax
For more information, visit the product pages of the 600Q and the 600C.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,380 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
I don't see the point of this.

The point is to make your PSU ingest a lot of heat from your graphics card(s) while maintaining silky smooth low CPU temps should you be running an 280mm AIO at the bottom of your case.

Because heat rises.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
3,934 (0.82/day)
that interior is very similar to Silverstone Raven, and from early reviews its seems to suffer from higher than usual GPU temps.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
8,253 (1.23/day)
System Name money pit..
Processor Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory 32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s) Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage 150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s) 27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s) onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech K270
Software Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..
The point is to make your PSU ingest a lot of heat from your graphics card(s) while maintaining silky smooth low CPU temps should you be running an 280mm AIO at the bottom of your case.

Because heat rises.

it would make sense to have my cpu cooler below the graphics cards rather than directly above them.. my cards generate more heat than the cpu and would be better off near the top of the case.. not so sure of the psu being up there as well mind you.. :)

win some lose some..

trog
 

peche

Thermaltake fanboy
Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
6,709 (1.94/day)
Location
San Jose, Costa Rica
System Name Athenna
Processor intel i7 3770 *Dellided*
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory 16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s) GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s) 22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s) On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?
why corsair?
getting back to 90's & top loading PSU for heat ingestion?

...
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,380 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
it would make sense to have my cpu cooler below the graphics cards rather than directly above them.. my cards generate more heat than the cpu and would be better off near the top of the case.. not so sure of the psu being up there as well mind you.. :)

win some lose some..

trog

if youre on traditional air cooling - it doesnt apply because the interior of your case gets warm/hot anyway regardless of positioning. IMO you might shave an extra 2-3c off??? 4-5'c at most Because dont forgot your mobo has VRMs and those VRMS generate a fair amount of heat too if youre overclocked. If they decided to go down the same route as the Silverstone Raven cases and have everything kind of mounted vertically then that would by far be a better idea as far as cooling goes.

Then again, a case like this corsair one fills a rather niche market. Not everyone is going to buy one.
 
Joined
Apr 17, 2014
Messages
228 (0.06/day)
System Name GSYNC
Processor i9-10920X
Motherboard EVGA X299-FTW
Cooling Custom water loop: D5
Memory G.Skill RipJawsZ 16GB 2133mhz 9-11-10-28
Video Card(s) (RTX2080)
Storage OCZ vector, samsung evo 950, Intel M.2 1TB SSD's
Display(s) ROG Swift PG278Q, Acer Z35 and Acer XB270H (NVIDIA G-SYNC)
Case 2x Corsair 450D, Corsair 540
Audio Device(s) sound blaster Z
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 Power
Mouse Logitech proteus G502
Keyboard Corsair K70R cherry red
Software WIN10 Pro (UEFI)
Benchmark Scores bench score are for people who don't game.
I don't understand this? I mean yah I'm sure someone would want to try this but why?
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,875 (3.07/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
Is a shame they did not put the PSU sideways to take air from out side or even make it top vented but can understand on the later why not as some people have terrible habits.

Be nice to see a taller one with 120mm fan above the graphics card and reverse the air flow.
 
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
8,118 (2.27/day)
Location
SE Michigan
System Name Dumbass
Processor AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF gaming B650
Cooling Artic Liquid Freezer 2 - 420mm
Memory G.Skill Sniper 32gb DDR5 6000
Video Card(s) GreenTeam 4070 ti super 16gb
Storage Samsung EVO 500gb & 1Tb, 2tb HDD, 500gb WD Black
Display(s) 1x Nixeus NX_EDG27, 2x Dell S2440L (16:9)
Case Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/8 140mm SP Fans
Audio Device(s) onboard (realtek?) - SPKRS:Logitech Z623 200w 2.1
Power Supply Corsair HX1000i
Mouse Steeseries Esports Wireless
Keyboard Corsair K100
Software windows 10 H
Benchmark Scores https://i.imgur.com/aoz3vWY.jpg?2
The point is to make your PSU ingest a lot of heat from your graphics card(s) while maintaining silky smooth low CPU temps should you be running an 280mm AIO at the bottom of your case.

Because heat rises.

using 4 fans on that 280mm AIO could push the heat out the bottom, more effectively than just 2, leaving behind no more heat than most bottom mounted PS do. just a guess.
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
Not too sure about the reason for WANTING the PSU to ingest hot air from inside the tower, unless they want you to get a new PSU every year instead of every 4.

It's not like it would have been hard for them to put a grill on top for PSU to suck fresh air in from there.
 

Corsair George

Corsair Rep
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
47 (0.01/day)
Not too sure about the reason for WANTING the PSU to ingest hot air from inside the tower, unless they want you to get a new PSU every year instead of every 4.

It's not like it would have been hard for them to put a grill on top for PSU to suck fresh air in from there.


You guys know that the PSU is designed to intake hot air from the rest of the case, right? That's the original intent of the ATX specifications? And with almost every Corsair PSU being able to perform their rated output at 50C, even without the fan running at idle on a lot of them, and the PSU having multiple Over-Temperature protection settings and safeties, that this config, in fact, will not stress your PSU any more than it was originally intended?

In this config we see a few advantages:

1) Direct airflow path from the front fans to GPU/CPU without having to get rid of the 5.25" bays completely.
2) Better GPU cooling on GPUs that feature complex heatpipe/vapor chamber designs as they are orientation dependent and work better in this layout typically.
3) Better CPU and CPU VRM cooling if you use the bottom fan as an intake and blow cold air directly across the CPU/VRM area. Yes, there is a dust filter for this.
4) You can see the sexy cool part of your graphics card instead of the boring PCB. :)

It's not for everyone, of course. But I highly recommend you guys keep your eyes peeled. There are real advantages to the Inverse ATX layout. Some people won't dig it, that's cool.

But the cooling/noise ratio of this layout is simply awesome.

Also I happen to like the looks, but I understand some people don't. That's why we have ~20 other cases. :)
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
8,069 (1.40/day)
Location
Hillsboro, OR
System Name Main/DC
Processor i7-3770K/i7-2600K
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD55/GA-P67A-UD4-B3
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14CS/H80
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) LP /4GB Kingston DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 660 Ti/MSI HD7770
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB/120GB Samsung 830 & Seagate 2TB(died)
Display(s) Asus 24' LED/Samsung SyncMaster B1940
Case P100/Antec P280 It's huge!
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply SeaSonic SS-660XP2/Seasonic SS-760XP2
Software Win 7 Home Premiun 64 Bit
(Corsair George posted while I was finishing this post)
:shadedshu: I feel like the marketing department didn't consult with the people who designed this case. In order for this case to work correctly, the amount of air coming in has to be greater than the amount of air taken out - there must be "excess" air to move across the GPU's and out the back (notice the vented area behind the GPU's) as well as air for the PSU. As pictured in the 2 GPU setup above, there are more fans blowing out than in, so the PSU fan ends up fighting for air, as well as the GPU's sitting in a dead air area.
As for "heating up the PSU", quality PSU's are made to run in 40-50°C ambient temps, so this shouldn't be a problem.
Now if a person added to the 140L intake fans by putting 2 x 140L or 3 x 120L fans on the bottom blowing in, then I could see this case performing wonderfully and quietly. (see below)
IMHO, this case should be limited to about 400 watts of CPU and GPU, such as a mainstream i7 with a pair of GTX 980's.
Why the solid top? Simple answer - noise. Also, I have some friends who have birds roaming free :rolleyes: in their house. Solid top is a very good idea for them.
......, and from early reviews its seems to suffer from higher than usual GPU temps.
I'm not finding that??????
From kitguru.net: (The PSU is a Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W!!!!)
Corsair Carbide 600C with the addition of a 280mm liquid cooler {blowing in} is epic. This chassis had no problem keeping our Core i7-4820K running at a low temperature. Our GTX 980 graphics card ran at its usual 78 degrees under full load. Cooling in this chassis is top notch.

@Corsair George , why are you guys marketing this case in a way that users are bound to have a poor experience with it?
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
8,069 (1.40/day)
Location
Hillsboro, OR
System Name Main/DC
Processor i7-3770K/i7-2600K
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD55/GA-P67A-UD4-B3
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14CS/H80
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) LP /4GB Kingston DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 660 Ti/MSI HD7770
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB/120GB Samsung 830 & Seagate 2TB(died)
Display(s) Asus 24' LED/Samsung SyncMaster B1940
Case P100/Antec P280 It's huge!
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply SeaSonic SS-660XP2/Seasonic SS-760XP2
Software Win 7 Home Premiun 64 Bit

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
You guys know that the PSU is designed to intake hot air from the rest of the case, right?

Well, you guys have fun informing the rest of the case industry about that.

I'll keep my PSU sucking cool air in through the filtered bottom until you personally run your own PSU in 50C temperatures 24/7 until it breaks...which will be before mine does.
 

peche

Thermaltake fanboy
Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
6,709 (1.94/day)
Location
San Jose, Costa Rica
System Name Athenna
Processor intel i7 3770 *Dellided*
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory 16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s) GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s) 22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s) On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?
You guys know that the PSU is designed to intake hot air from the rest of the case, right? That's the original intent of the ATX specifications? And with almost every Corsair PSU being able to perform their rated output at 50C, even without the fan running at idle on a lot of them, and the PSU having multiple Over-Temperature protection settings and safeties, that this config, in fact, will not stress your PSU any more than it was originally intended?

In this config we see a few advantages:

1) Direct airflow path from the front fans to GPU/CPU without having to get rid of the 5.25" bays completely.
2) Better GPU cooling on GPUs that feature complex heatpipe/vapor chamber designs as they are orientation dependent and work better in this layout typically.
3) Better CPU and CPU VRM cooling if you use the bottom fan as an intake and blow cold air directly across the CPU/VRM area. Yes, there is a dust filter for this.
4) You can see the sexy cool part of your graphics card instead of the boring PCB. :)

It's not for everyone, of course. But I highly recommend you guys keep your eyes peeled. There are real advantages to the Inverse ATX layout. Some people won't dig it, that's cool.

But the cooling/noise ratio of this layout is simply awesome.

Also I happen to like the looks, but I understand some people don't. That's why we have ~20 other cases. :)
want to get rig of some bays and also better airflow?
on some cases you can take advantage of full desing for better airflow for motherboard and other hardware...
 

Corsair George

Corsair Rep
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
47 (0.01/day)
Well, you guys have fun informing the rest of the case industry about that.

I'll keep my PSU sucking cool air in through the filtered bottom until you personally run your own PSU in 50C temperatures 24/7 until it breaks...which will be before mine does.


There's no informing anybody - everyone knows. The Antec 900 was one of the first cases to move the PSU to the bottom, but it wasn't for better PSU cooling - it was so they could put a 200mm fan over the CPU. Ever since then, people have used the top as a better location for fan mounting and moved the PSU to the bottom for enthusiast chassis. The reason has NOTHING to do with PSU longevity - barring some tragic component failure, the PSU is probably the functional component that will last the longest in your chassis. Modern PSUs like our RMx/RMi, HX, AX, etc, are so ridiculously overbuilt that they can run @ 100% @ 50C for 5 years straight. And since nobody ever does that, they can last significantly longer.

The PSU is almost an entirely self-contained system. It has its own cooling, its own temperature and fan control, and its own OCP, OTP, OVP, etc. It is one of the most durable parts of your system and can handle tons of different things.

By flipping the whole thing upside down you end up increasing the temperature of incoming air from ambient (external) to ambient (internal). So, say your room is 25C, and the internal of your case is 35C, then you just raised the ambient 10C. But if your PSU is designed to operate at 50C, that has almost no relevance.

You are right about one thing - the lifespan will decrease shortly based on that temp. If it lasts, say, 70,000 hours @ 50C, then it might last 100,000 hours at 25C, and 85,000 hours at 35C. I honestly don't know the derating curve off the top of my head, but you have the theory correct - it's just that in practice it will make nearly no difference.

And like I've said other places - we do sell a ton of regular layout ATX cases if you'd rather have a 750D or something. :)
 

Corsair George

Corsair Rep
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
47 (0.01/day)

Because in our tests, the only time bottom intake made a performance difference is when you were using radial style GPU fans (Asus Direct CU style). The reference blower-style exhausts enough air by itself that bottom exhaust and front intake works just a bit better, even in SLI.
 

peche

Thermaltake fanboy
Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
6,709 (1.94/day)
Location
San Jose, Costa Rica
System Name Athenna
Processor intel i7 3770 *Dellided*
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory 16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s) GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s) 22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s) On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?
t
There's no informing anybody - everyone knows. The Antec 900 was one of the first cases to move the PSU to the bottom, but it wasn't for better PSU cooling - it was so they could put a 200mm fan over the CPU. Ever since then, people have used the top as a better location for fan mounting and moved the PSU to the bottom for enthusiast chassis. The reason has NOTHING to do with PSU longevity - barring some tragic component failure, the PSU is probably the functional component that will last the longest in your chassis. Modern PSUs like our RMx/RMi, HX, AX, etc, are so ridiculously overbuilt that they can run @ 100% @ 50C for 5 years straight. And since nobody ever does that, they can last significantly longer.
here is not so much to investigate lad... use your brain first...
is better for a PSU to breath fresh air than hot air from CPU cooler...

regards...
 

cdawall

where the hell are my stars
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
27,680 (4.27/day)
Location
Houston
System Name All the cores
Processor 2990WX
Motherboard Asrock X399M
Cooling CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s) (2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage 2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s) Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s) Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard Keychron K8
Software W10P
Well, you guys have fun informing the rest of the case industry about that.

I'll keep my PSU sucking cool air in through the filtered bottom until you personally run your own PSU in 50C temperatures 24/7 until it breaks...which will be before mine does.

Want to be really specific? This is the original ATX specification booklet. The PSU is supposed to be used to cool the processor. So no it was never designed to be at the bottom of the case per ATX specification it was supposed to be placed near the CPU drawing air off of the passive CPU cooler.



source
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
Want to be really specific? This is the original ATX specification booklet. The PSU is supposed to be used to cool the processor. So no it was never designed to be at the bottom of the case per ATX specification it was supposed to be placed near the CPU drawing air off of the passive CPU cooler.



source

Remember way back when, when it did that? PSU's were not all that long-lasting or reliable. But do notice it says "if the power supply is expected to cool the processor.." Which means it isn't REQUIRED to. That's there for those lazy computer manufacturers in early 2000's who couldn't be bothered to provide enough airflow.

I'll keep my PSU with fresh air. But I can't argue with choice. Choices are good for those that want them.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2013
Messages
954 (0.24/day)
Location
Cumberland Plateau
System Name EVGA-FX | Lenny (Lenovo Y480)
Processor AMD FX-8320 @ 4.5GHz 1.416v | i7 3610qm
Motherboard Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Memory 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance @ 1600 | 8gb DDR3 @ 1600
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX780 Classified @ 1228MHz 1.615v | GT640m LE
Storage Crucial M500 480GB, WD Caviar Blue 500GB, WD Scorpio Blue 750GB | Samsung 250GB 840
Display(s) Qnix QX2710 1440p | 42" Vizio 3D LCD TV 1080p
Case CoolerMaster HAF XB Evo
Power Supply Seasonic G-650
Software Windows 6.3.9600
Remember way back when, when it did that? PSU's were not all that long-lasting or reliable. But do notice it says "if the power supply is expected to cool the processor.." Which means it isn't REQUIRED to. That's there for those lazy computer manufacturers in early 2000's who couldn't be bothered to provide enough airflow.

I'll keep my PSU with fresh air. But I can't argue with choice. Choices are good for those that want them.

I'd say this has more to do with the design of modern PSUs than a small temperature change.
 

cdawall

where the hell are my stars
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
27,680 (4.27/day)
Location
Houston
System Name All the cores
Processor 2990WX
Motherboard Asrock X399M
Cooling CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s) (2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage 2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s) Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s) Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard Keychron K8
Software W10P
Remember way back when, when it did that? PSU's were not all that long-lasting or reliable. But do notice it says "if the power supply is expected to cool the processor.." Which means it isn't REQUIRED to. That's there for those lazy computer manufacturers in early 2000's who couldn't be bothered to provide enough airflow.

I'll keep my PSU with fresh air. But I can't argue with choice. Choices are good for those that want them.

I still have an original ATX power supply that works on a slot A machine. Grey box special, no UL listing. I have had multiple under 5 year old good brand/good UL powersupplies die when being used under 80% of their rated spec. Provide all the fresh air you want, they are still designed to exhaust heat from the case. Corsair, Antec, EVGA etc all rate their units at 100% load and 50C intake temps for a reason.
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
There's no informing anybody - everyone knows.

Actually they don't all know what you profess they do, or there would not be a (filtered) intake on the bottom on nearly all cases. There would be nothing there but metal, and instructions with case telling people to make sure the intake fan is pointed up to help suck out hot air from the case. The hundred or so case manufacturers are all doing it the same way (except for the cheap ones who don't provide a filter).
 
Top