I always wondered about the actual difference in PC component temperatures between inverted and standard vertical motherboard case orientation. I already experimented with front to back case air flow with the Sliger S610 case at: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/sliger-s610-air-cooling-case-options.17844/
I noted then that there is exactly enough space for a 120mm fan to be placed underneath the PSU blowing air directly front-to-back back through the case. In earlier testing I used long bolts with spacers for securing the case fan, but in this instance I used zip ties placing the fan even farther from the interior vented front panel and closer to the GPU and CPU. A case fan mounted in this position does not generate any additional intake noise from being mounted directly against the vented interior front panel.
I installed the Thermalright IS-100 CPU Cooler with a BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 fan. The cooler is an excellent fit with 23mm of space between the top of the fan and the side case panel thereby eliminating any added intake noise from a lack of space to the side panel. Using the Aorus B550 with its high CPU placement on the motherboard, there is no space for even a slim 15mm top case fan. The downdraft CPU cooler airflow with vertical cooler fins forces half the air up and the other half down. There is a channel with 35mm of space between the bottom of the CPU cooler and the back of the GPU where air from the front mounted case fan is blowing directly both over and under the GPU, directly over the NVMe drive cooler, and lower portion of the TR IS-100 cooler’s output.
The Thermalright IS-100 was mounted over the Ram. The cooler would also fit when reversed over the rear IO heatsink, but the fan will not clear the case power plug. It might fit in this direction if the pigtail power connection was used. This cooler and fan should fit over the rear IO on the wider Sliger 620 case.
The top and bottom case panels have completely different percentages of panel opening for airflow as you can see in the attached photo.
With only the one case fan, only the front panel power button / USB input assembly was moved and the top and bottom panels swapped for testing between the normal and inverted orientations.
Initially I used the Scythe Kaze Flex Black case fan, but decided to repeat the tests using the Phanteks T30 with its stronger and more directed air flow. The case fan was set to read the CPU temperature sensor.
Noise readings between the two case orientations are not directly comparable as the sound level meter was placed 30 cm from the right front corner of the case, 19cm high, and the CPU cooler side of the case faced away from the meter when in normal mode, and towards the meter when inverted.
Summary: CPU temperature 1-2 degrees C lower in normal orientation. GPU temperature 3 degrees C higher in normal orientation with typical case fan, no difference in temperature with stronger, directed airflow.
Sliger S610 PC Case with fully vented panels on both sides
Aorus B550 ITX MB; Ryzen 7 5750G; 32 GB Corsair LPX 3200 RAM; Metal block over NVMe drive not installed;
PNY 3060 Graphics Card – Self Regulated
Thermalright IS-100 CPU Cooler with BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 fan
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste
All fans (CPU, GPU & Case) auto regulated, T30 set to performance mode
CPU-Z Stress Test & Unigine Valley Ultra Settings for 10 minutes
Room Temp 21C;
CPUID HWMonitor Readings:
I noted then that there is exactly enough space for a 120mm fan to be placed underneath the PSU blowing air directly front-to-back back through the case. In earlier testing I used long bolts with spacers for securing the case fan, but in this instance I used zip ties placing the fan even farther from the interior vented front panel and closer to the GPU and CPU. A case fan mounted in this position does not generate any additional intake noise from being mounted directly against the vented interior front panel.
I installed the Thermalright IS-100 CPU Cooler with a BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 fan. The cooler is an excellent fit with 23mm of space between the top of the fan and the side case panel thereby eliminating any added intake noise from a lack of space to the side panel. Using the Aorus B550 with its high CPU placement on the motherboard, there is no space for even a slim 15mm top case fan. The downdraft CPU cooler airflow with vertical cooler fins forces half the air up and the other half down. There is a channel with 35mm of space between the bottom of the CPU cooler and the back of the GPU where air from the front mounted case fan is blowing directly both over and under the GPU, directly over the NVMe drive cooler, and lower portion of the TR IS-100 cooler’s output.
The Thermalright IS-100 was mounted over the Ram. The cooler would also fit when reversed over the rear IO heatsink, but the fan will not clear the case power plug. It might fit in this direction if the pigtail power connection was used. This cooler and fan should fit over the rear IO on the wider Sliger 620 case.
The top and bottom case panels have completely different percentages of panel opening for airflow as you can see in the attached photo.
With only the one case fan, only the front panel power button / USB input assembly was moved and the top and bottom panels swapped for testing between the normal and inverted orientations.
Initially I used the Scythe Kaze Flex Black case fan, but decided to repeat the tests using the Phanteks T30 with its stronger and more directed air flow. The case fan was set to read the CPU temperature sensor.
Noise readings between the two case orientations are not directly comparable as the sound level meter was placed 30 cm from the right front corner of the case, 19cm high, and the CPU cooler side of the case faced away from the meter when in normal mode, and towards the meter when inverted.
Summary: CPU temperature 1-2 degrees C lower in normal orientation. GPU temperature 3 degrees C higher in normal orientation with typical case fan, no difference in temperature with stronger, directed airflow.
Sliger S610 PC Case with fully vented panels on both sides
Aorus B550 ITX MB; Ryzen 7 5750G; 32 GB Corsair LPX 3200 RAM; Metal block over NVMe drive not installed;
PNY 3060 Graphics Card – Self Regulated
Thermalright IS-100 CPU Cooler with BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 fan
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste
All fans (CPU, GPU & Case) auto regulated, T30 set to performance mode
CPU-Z Stress Test & Unigine Valley Ultra Settings for 10 minutes
Room Temp 21C;
CPUID HWMonitor Readings:
Case Fan | Scythe KFB | Scythe KFB | Phanteks T30 | Phanteks T30 |
| Inverted Case | Normal | Inverted Case | Normal |
TZ10 | 16.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
TMPIN0 | 50 | 49 | 49 | 47 |
TMPIN1 | 47 | 46 | 48 | 45 |
TMPIN2 CPU | 75 | 74 | 75 | 73 |
TMPIN3 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
TMPIN4 | 48 | 47 | 48 | 46 |
TMPIN5 | 49 | 48 | 48 | 46 |
CPU Fan | 2755 | 2755 | 2755 | 2743 |
Case Fan | 1654 | 1577 | 1979 | 1973 |
Pkg Temp | 75.4 | 74 | 75.4 | 73 |
Pkg Watt | 60.49 | 59.13 | 58.85 | 59.23 |
NVMe Temp | 49 | 49 | 48 | 47 |
GPU Temp | 78 | 81 | 76 | 76 |
GPU Hotspot | 88.8 | 91.8 | 88 | 87.8 |
GPU Fan RPM | 2151 | 2333 | 2014 | 2039 |
30 CM dba | 53.4 | 50.4 | 52.2 | 50.1 |
