Air cooled peltier

[ytoledano]

I want to explore exotic cooling buy H2O seems like too much work and I already have a cramped case so I figured a peltier might be a good idea if I can use air cooling on it. But I'm gonna need a guide for doing it (I hear of condensation and stuff) and I would probably have to mod an existing HS so it's fit (how thick are peltiers?). I remember reading a review of a cooler which used a peltier and an HSF on top of it but it wasn't very successful because it made sure that temps were above ambient (prevent condensation) and the HS was cheap aluminum with few fins.
So, is this the way to go, and where can I find a guide about the subject (could be about similar things and I will put things together).

[kayl]

for a tec to work well you really need to water cool the hot side
i would recomment h2o first, then later add a tec, and you need a really good h20 system to handle it or the temps will perform worse that just h20

[Iron Hawk]

Air cooling a peltier on a CPU is generaly not the best way to go, but if you feel the urge, then check out the SwiftTech (http://www.swiftnets.com/) MCX4000-T heatsink.

Peltier cooling a graphics card is far more effective, take a look:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=270183
This might help you get ideas on how to build a pelt setup for a cpu.

Peltiers are about 3.5 mm thick, and the cold plate should be about 25mm thick.


Yes, watercooling is alot of work, and if you swap computer parts in and out, or transport your case around frequently, watter cooling can be a bit of a hassel, but ultimatly watercooled computers are the best. They tend to be quieter, overclock higher, and are just cool and extreme. Maybe invest in a larger case?

Well, I wish you the best of luck,
-Greg