A really basic power supply question.

[ArtBest]

Pardon my ignorance, but it's been a few years since I've built a pc. I am familiar with the traditional PSU layout with the fan on the back next to the power switch facing outward from the case such as this :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103940

But many of the power supplies now have a larger fan facing inwards on the bottom of the PSU like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104034

Is there a preference for one style over the other, and are there any problems with the second style (like the FSP Blue Storm II above) fitting in some cases or having a proper airflow in some ATX cases? Is there anything special I need to look for in a case if I use this type of PSU?

Also, does anyone have any particular comments or recommendations regarding either the FSP Blue Storm II or the AeroCool ZERODBA-S500?

Thanks very much.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by ArtBest Is there a preference for one style over the other,

Not really, but the PSUs with the larger fan may run a little more quietly because of the larger fan spinning at lower RPMs.

Originally Posted by ArtBest and are there any problems with the second style (like the FSP Blue Storm II above) fitting in some cases or having a proper airflow in some ATX cases?

I really haven't heard of any problems other than some people mistakenly thinking the fan blows into the case...it doesn't. It's a intake fan and the exhaust goes out the back through all those small holes.

Originally Posted by ArtBest Is there anything special I need to look for in a case if I use this type of PSU?

No, none that I'm aware of.

Originally Posted by ArtBest Also, does anyone have any particular comments or recommendations regarding either the FSP Blue Storm II or the AeroCool ZERODBA-S500?

I don't anything about the AeroCool power supplies but I've used Fortron Source (or Sparkle Power) power supplies for the past 10 years and have used the FSP Blue Storm PSUs in several builds without any problems. My wifes 4 year old computer has a 450 watt FSP Blue Storm PSU powering it...no power related problems at all. My other two computers have Fortron Source power supplies too...a 350 watt and a 400 watt (not sure which models though). The 350 watt has a 80mm fan blowing out the back. The 400 watt has a 120mm fan on the bottom. No problems with either power supply. All three computers have Antec cases and I didn't encounter any fit problems with any of them.

Cricket

[ArtBest]

Thank you. That was very helpful.

After I wrote my initial post it occured to me that the bottom mounted fans might not work in some of the cases that have seperate compartments for the power supply. It looks to me that in some of those the divider that seperates the power supply compartment from the CPU compartment might block the airflow to the fan. Don't know if anyone has experienced that or if I'm missing something here. I don't intend to get one of those cases, so that's purely an academic issue to me.

[andper10]

If you are buying a new PSU I would recommend this one:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w...203270716.html
It is only a little bit more expensive (actually less if you are into MIR's and you want to make a new google checkout account) and it has 3 12V rails, vs the 2 12V rails on the FSP Blue Storm. Not that there's anything wrong with the blue storm, but the Corsair PSU will give you more future upgradeablilty, especially in the video card deparement (video cards use primarily the 12V rails for power).

[freakitchen]

In cases where the power supply is mounted at the bottom, the power supply would be installed upside down (as they are shown in the vendor pictures where the fan is visible)

[piasabird]

Some cases may have obstructions or supports that hold the power supply up that may get in the way of a large fan.

Some other cases are starting to use a bottom mounted power supply and in a case like that a straight through design may be better. So it just depends on the case design.