Peltier's, anyone here use them?

djmarkus

Hi, im thinking of getting a peltier to cool my p4 2.8, in conjunction with water cooling, any of you guys have any experience with them? i understand that i'll need a seperate dedicated power supply for the peltier and that i could have problems with condensation.

Anyone any experiences? are they worth the hassle?

daywalker

i have read a few articles in magazines, like PC Extreme, about peltiers the main problem with these coolers is that they themselves produce heat, the basis being that it heats up one side of the pad and draws the heat away from the other side, so the heat produced by the pad itself is quite substantial, which needs to be drawn away, combine that with the heat produced by the cpu and you will need a very hefty cooling setup to deal with this heat, condensation occurs because peltier can cool down below 4C, so the area around the peltier collects with condensation and so you need to use some form of grease that protects your components from water.

tnv

I've installed a peltier on my wife's computer...it's fantastic...if you're into serious overclocking, or have a clear window on the side of your case and want to show it off. Yes, you should have a second psu (or a REALLY good psu that can handle large current loads with minimal sag!), and that's just the start. Condensate is a much bigger problem...if you have high humidity (like in the summer?), and a peltier isn't a good place to start if you haven't already worked with a water cooled system. With a p4/2.8 and good aire cooling (XP90 or XP120 for example), you can easily run in the mid-3.5 range. With water, you can run in the upper 3's and be safe. With a peltier you're in the high 3's to low 4's...but only with a lot of work. Make sure you're comfortable with overclocking, not only your cpu, but also your ram. Heat spreaders on the ram are also a MUST! Get very familiar with your bios...you'll be going there a lot. A mother board base that is removable makes thing a lot easier, since you be seeing a lot of the back side. A cpu heater on the rear of the mobo will be a good thing to invest in...it keeps moisture to a minimum with the peltier.
Peltier systems are a lot of fun, and the benifits of running high overclock speeds are most desirable...but this isn't a beginners project. If you haven't already watercooled your system...try that first. Anything you buy to watercool your computer can be reused when you move up to the peltier. And who knows...maybe that's all you really need.
Of course...as we all know...need and desire are two very different things. If you "want" a peltier system...get it. But make sure YOU install it...that way you'll be able to maintain it as well. As lastly...buy quality parts...a failed psu or leaking watercooled system will also cost you another CPU, maybe more RAM, a mobo and a lot of frustration. I've learned this the HARD way!!! But it looks fantastic...! tnv

djmarkus

I'm currently on a p4 2.8 watercooled at 3.56ghz, so god knows how much i could get out of it (the magic 4ghz??). but i do need better ram(twinmos isnt the best), but it seems like alot of work trying to seal everything from condensation but it would be worth it, what kind of temperatures to peltiers ordinarily get to and at what stage do they burn out and what wattage peltier do you reccomend for this setup?
cheers

tnv

I've installed several in friend's comps. and one (twice) in the wife's comp. For all of them I've found the following has given me the least problems:

172W DRIFT 0.8 Potted!!

* Imax = 11.3 Amps
* Qmax = 172 Watts
* Vmax = 24.6 Volts
* Delta Tmax = 69 (C)
* Size = 40mm X 40mm X 3.2mm

If I'm allowed to suggest a site for a lot of good info, try:
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:EEeE2OVkoucJ:www.ocworkbench.c

One thing you quickly find out is the advantage of using two power supplies. With only one, when you first power up the computer, it takes a few minutes for the peliter and cool down and the watercooling sysytem to effectively pull the heat away to allow for good peltier cooling. And THAT'S when you can burn out a cpu. With two psu's, you start the first one that is dedicated to the peltier and the water cooling. Then, a few minutes later, start the main one and everything runs nice and cool. The condensate problem can be minimized by using a good heatsink paste that doesn't conduct (that means using Ceramique), quality neoprene, a rear cpu heater, good liquid insulation and a lot of care.
Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll share what little knowledge I have.

djmarkus

Hmm.... has anything ever went wrong with any of your experiences with peltiers?

tnv

The only problems I've EVER had were due to me doing stupid things without thinking them thru! Go slow...know WHY you're doing something...and double cheque your work BEFORE you power things up. And always remember "...it's not the destination that's important...it's the journey, and the people you meet along the way." Even when you make a mistake, you learn something. tnv