Very Good Peltier Article/How-To!

[David14259]

First of all I want to say this isn't a good idea for beginners to try, so with that in mind....

The ModFathers: http://www.themodfathers.com/modfatha/articles/pelts.php

"A Peltier is a device which allows you to reach some insanely low CPU temperatures, even well below what the nicest water cooling setup can get you."

"Peltier coolers are the next step up in advanced computer cooling; above and beyond the cooling capacity of a lone water cooling setup and only to be dwarfed by the undisputed (yet impractical) powers of liquid nitrogen."

"Ok so pelts have some unbelievable benefits; like the fact that you can insanely cool your processor to temperatures well below zero..."

[Cricket]

Peltier's have been around a long time, but they've never really caught on...there's a good reason for that. They use a lot of power...so much power that some people will put a separate power supply in the case just for the peltier. And they aren't the magic super cooling bullet. If they were, they'd be way more popular than they are now. Plus, if you put the peltier on upside down, you'll fry your CPU in a second or two. And I understand there's a problem with condensation on the cooling side (the side that makes contact with the CPU die).

:) Cricket

[Trent Steel]

The problems with peltiers are multiple. They produce heat, they act as an insulator if not turned on, they consume large amounts of electricity, condensation can be a problem on the cold side. While they can cool the processor to sub zero temperatures you still need to remove the heat from the hot side and that is either done by conventual air cooling or water cooling and with the additional heat created by the peltier water cooling becomes more warrented. With the advent of self contained refridgeration units peltiers are not nearly as popular as they use to be. Like Cricket said, if they were the magic super cooling bullet everyone and there dogs would be running them.
The acticle seams very complete, if you already are using a water cooling setup there is not so much additional work to do. But if I absolutely had to have sub-zero cooling I would go for a refridgeration unit not a peltier/air or peltier/water cooling combo.

[mattg2k4]

A Peltier will cool your processor to sub-zero levels for significantly less money than a refrigerator unit. The type of fridge required for that has to run typically nonstop, as oppposed to the intermittent use most refridgerators see. They also have to be quite powerful to reach the temperature the cold side of a TEC reaches. And even if they did reach that temperature, to reach comparable CPU temps, the CPU would probably have to be water cooled, air cooling would not be able to absorb the heat produced as quickly, even with very low ambient case temps.

A TEC with a dedicated power supply canl run less than $100, then you have to spend an hour or so securing your motherboard and processor from condensation with foam and a dielectric grease (I think some people use varnish for this). Then you install a heatsink with a high power fan or a watercooled setup. You will need the heatsink or watercooling in both scenarios.

Tec's are more difficult to use than other setups, but they are extremely good at what they do and they don't cost very much money. You just have to be a bit more careful when installing and running it. They are ideal for people who are doing major overclocking, or simply want an extremely cool running processor.

[Cricket]

That's what I understood...Peltier's work great if you know how to set it up and understand what you're doing. It really isn't for a novice to try.

Years ago when I was into the ultra cooling mania I looked into Peltier's but saw that my skill level and knowledge at the time wasn't far along enough to try Peltier's. The idea intriqued me, but I didn't want to end up with a dead system.

Nice to see that it's still around and some dedicated people are keeping it going.

:) Cricket

[Joeberg]

Good article, seems a little to risky for me though....