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Changing from Water to Peltier .....need advice

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aaroncat

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Hey guys,

I currently have a Thermaltake Aquarius2 water cooling setup which is with the below specs in my sig running from 30C to 47C idle to load respectively.
THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!!!
I want more out of my processor and I'll be damned if temperature is gonna stop me!!!

Thing is I don't know where to start. I love my case and want to keep it. I seen the Vapochill case and that was exactly what I am looking for, except I don't want ot switch cases.

My knowledge isn't too great with peltier and phase change cooling. This is what I figure. Correct me if I'm wrong please:

I need a peltier running off a seperate PSU (about 300W). I need a high flow water cooling system to cool the hot side of the peltier(Unlike the pathetically weak pump I have with the Aquarius system). The rest I am not sure, so first question would be is there a peltier or phase change "kit" that you can buy so you don't have to go searching for the parts seperately?

I also want to go well below 0C so I will need insulation I am sure so as not to get condensation forming on my hardware. I really liked the way the Vapochill insulated the area around the socket and was hoping to get a system setup like that.

What temperatures could I achieve with what? At the middle to high end of the price scale.

If there are no complete "kits" for peltier or phase change cooling can you guys help me to get the right parts and explain the process simply?

With these peltier jobs can the be used to cool NB, GPU and RAM on Videocard??????

Im ready to rock :attn:
 
Some pictures, diagrams or written explanation of parts and what order they are in would be great.

Does the peltier sit right on top of the cpu die? then there is a seperate water block that cools the hot side of the peltier? then it goes to a pump? I have heard people talk about all different parts that I dont understand. Why would you need a radiator if you already have a peltier? doesn't the peltier provide sufficient cooling ?
 
Basically its as follows
Water
Pelt
Coldplate
CPU
sandwhiched! It dotn eed sperate power, but u should get it.....The problem for me is that i need to figure out hwo to turn the thing on and off without reaching behind my computer.... Etc.... thast the only problem!
 
I know everyone recommends the Meanwell SP320-12 but I dont like the idea of having to hardwire AC. IS there an alternative?? Can I use an ATX power supply and jumb the mobo connector???
 
There must not be many people who use peltier cooling. I'm thinking about using the Swiftech MCW5002-PT for my CPU and the Swiftech MCW50-T for my video card. I would like to hear more from those who have used peltiers because there are some questions that I would like answered. Swiftech recommends using the Meanwell SP320-12 to power their peltiers so I'd probably go with that auxiliary power supply.

One question that I have is how much temperature decrease can I expect out of a peltier like the ones Swiftech offers compared to a Vapochill or another type of condenser? I’m looking to crack 4000mhz with my current P4 3.0E Which generates a lot of heat without an overclock. Is it realistic to think that I can do it with a Swiftech peltier? Is there a better or easier one to install than the Swiftech? The condensers are way to pricey for me. The MCW5002-PT and MCW50-T are $170 combined. Though they are just water blocks which require a system when the condenser peltiers are usually complete systems.

Another question that I have is how much heat does the peltier place into the circulating water. Is it more than the CPU, NB ,and GPU? I ask because I'm thinking about placing two peltiers along with my current NB water block in the same circuit.
 
jenkx:

Dont use a peltier with any other waterblocks unless you are using a compressor or water chiller. The heat that will be transferred into the circuling water from the hot side of the peltier will be too much to cool the NB or GPU. I would think this would be possible if you left the NB out and just used 2 peltiers: 1 for cpu and 1 for gpu.

Most people I have talked to say they use a peltier for the cpu and alternative cooling (possibly a seperate inline water system) for other components (gpu, NB, vga ram)
 
Most of these Questions are answered on these forums if you take the time to look.

To start with, you need a radiator with a pelt. In fact you need a bigger radiator. A pelt or TEC, actually generates heat. When you put current through a pelt, it transfers heat from one side to the other, making one side get hot, and the other get cold. Unfortunatly they are not %100 effecient, so they generate heat as well as pumping heat. If a pelt pumps 100 W of heat from the cold side to the hot, more than 100 W of heat will need to be removed from the hot side. If you do not properly cool the hot side of the pelt, the entire pelt will heat up, and will not work effectivly.

To power the pelt, you don't actually need a seperate PSU, but it is generally a good idea. There are a few powersupplies around than can handle 35 amps or so on the 12V line, leaving enough power for your computer to run after the pelt sucks 22 amps or whatever it needs.

There are several ways to connect a secondary pc powersupply so that it will run when the computer is turned on, so it can power a pelt. My favorite way is to use a transistor. I won't go through the details of how to do this, but it is VERY easy to do (involves 2 small parts and 3 connections). When your computer powers on, the transistor turns on the secondary powersupply. When your computer turns of, the secondary one turns of. If anyone want's to know exactly how to rig this up, PM me and I will send you some instructions.

As far as wiring AC, if you are carefull it's really not something to worry about. I wouldn't recomend that someone with no knowledge about it at all goes messing with it, but there is really nothing to it at all. Just be absolutly sure to unplug everything, and when you plug it back in and test it, don't do it with your computer components attached incase something is wrong.

About that aquarious 2, I have one as well, and they can be supprisingly good. I have lapped the waterblock to 2000 grit, and have put 2 80mm fans on the radiator, one blowing, one sucking, and both using ducts about 5cm long. I can't say for sure as I am always raising my Vcore and speed, but I Would estimate these mods droped my load temp by at least 5-10 degrees.
 
matttheniceguy said:
To power the pelt, you don't actually need a seperate PSU, but it is generally a good idea. There are a few powersupplies around than can handle 35 amps or so on the 12V line, leaving enough power for your computer to run after the pelt sucks 22 amps or whatever it needs.

SO when you say on a 12V line and I am reading my PSU's specs I would look under +12V. Would my PSU work for a 226W peltier????

Here are the specs from the side

It's an Antec 400W trupower

+5V = 38A max
+12V = 18A max
+3.3 = 28A max
 
yea, the 12volt line is just the +12, with those specks.

You *might* be able to run that pelt of of that supply, but I wouldn't recommend it. You deffinatly can't run the pelt and the computer from it. A 226 watt pelt will draw ~19 amps (if it is 226 watts at 12V). Most powersupplies can't actually handle running near thair maximum for very long, but the Antec might. I would say to use the antec to run your computer and find another supply for the pelt.

You can make your own for super cheap. A supply good enough for a pelt is easy to build, it will be pretty heavy though (huge transformer).
 
Thanks for the info.. might just stick to hardwiring the Meanwell's AC.
 
I have a few questions to throw in if I may.

First, do you think that to solve the problem of multiple blocks and a 226w pelt in a single series could be solved by using the loop order pump>rad>rad>res>gpu>nb>pelt>pump where both rads are the dual 120mm heatercores with shrouds from DDen?

Second, hypotheticly a chip puts of 86w of heat. What temp should using an 86w pelt on it bring it down to? zero degrees? Ambient?

Third, offhand so I don't have to search for it again, anyone know how many watts the barton core 3200+ puts off?

And finally matttheniceguy, would you pm or email me those instructions on the wiring the two psu together you mentioned? Thanks.
 
I'll get on that when I get back from work.

The 3200+ barton puts out 76.8 watts at stock settings I believe, but this can quickly get to over 100W with good overclocking.

An 86W pelt on an 86W cpu will result in one toasted CPU. A 86 watt pelt can't actually pump 86 watts of heat. A good rule of thumb is to use a pelt roughly double the wattage of your cpu.
 
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why not use a peltier on a water cooling radiator? litterly cool the radiator with the peltier and antifreeze to prevent freezing water cooling system? just a thought I had any comments??
 
yea, what your getting at is a pelt water chiller. It won't work quite like you say there. You can't just strap a pelt to something and cool it. You have to remember that a pelt is a heater as much as it is a heat pump. You still need something to cool down the pelt. To make a pelt water chiller you basically run water throgh a waterblock cooled by a pelt. You then need something to cool the pelt.
 
matttheniceguy said:
It won't work quite like you say there.
Ahh but I didnt say how I would cool the pelt. Has any one tried using an after market transcooler or heater core for this mod? got pics??
 
aaroncat said:
SO when you say on a 12V line and I am reading my PSU's specs I would look under +12V. Would my PSU work for a 226W peltier????

Here are the specs from the side

It's an Antec 400W trupower

+5V = 38A max
+12V = 18A max
+3.3 = 28A max

That is not going to work. At least not into -0 degrees. That PSU only has 18A on +12V. You need at least 35. Check out the FSP550 PSU, it has 36A on the +12V line and should work. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-478&depa=0
 
SatanSkin said:
First, do you think that to solve the problem of multiple blocks and a 226w pelt in a single series could be solved by using the loop order pump>rad>rad>res>gpu>nb>pelt>pump where both rads are the dual 120mm heatercores with shrouds from DDen?

yes that should work just fine. but it would be even better (in my opinion) to fo pump>res(let the water cool a bit on its own, prolly wont be much but a degree or two is a degree or two)> rad>rad>gpu>nb>pelt>pump
 
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