SPCR

Hi all,

I recently bought a Inwin Chopin mini-itx case : https://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/i ... -review/1/

The case has a very small form factor and I'm using it with an i5-8400 cooled by a Noctua NH-L9i which is inaudible.

However, the PSU 40mm fan is noisy even at idle. The system power consumption is 17W when idling, which is only 11% of the max PSU load.

I would like to replace the PSU fan with a noctua NF-A4x10 FLX (40mm).

The PSU is this one :


Bottom side :


When mounted in case :


The PSU original fan is exhausting air and is mounted at the bottom right of the PSU. So it's exhausting air to the bottom direction which seems weird to me as air is cooler at the bottom. I would have expected it to intake air at the bottom and have it flowing through the PSU and going out at the back next to the main socket.

The reason for this might be that exhausting is less noisy (as there are no obstacles in the front of the fan) than intake. Am I right ?

So I'me wondering in which direction to place the Noctua 40mm. Are the following assumptions right ?
- Exhaust = less noise, average cooling
- Intake = higher noise, better cooling

Thanks !

I'm sorry I don't have any particular feeling in regards the fan direction, but I'm curious if you have tried replacing the stock fan yet.