[Amarkarian]

i understand that they main reason not to use pelters is the cost of elecricity per month. But what is that cost?

[exhausted mule]

figure out how much power you'll be adding by adding that tec. (psu with inefficiencies + tec and possibly added stress on watercooling setup) and times that by whatever it costs you per kw/h.

^i think that's right.

you should have a rough estimate of how much it'll cost.

[infinitevalence]

figure from $10 to $20 more per mth if you leave your computer on 24/7

[Strida]

A properly built phase setup uses slightly less than this, correct?

[GigaForce310]

For a given temperature for both setups, definitely. The problem comes when you can get a much lower temperature with phase than is possible with a peltier. While you get more for your buck with phase, you will likely spend more getting colder temperatures.

For mild extreme cooling, a peltier has an overall significantly lower installation cost. If you fit it that catagory then while phase costs less to operate, it will take a long time to match the initial price difference. Maybe OCZ's system will help close that gap for mild extreme cooling.

[petteyg359]

I'm going to threadjack for a second

Is there any point at all the running peltier/phase on air?

[ls7corvete]

Originally Posted by petteyg359

I'm going to threadjack for a second

Is there any point at all the running peltier/phase on air?

Can be done if you plan carefully but the results are generaly not what users are looking for when they go TEC.

Stay low voltage on the TEC and have reasonable expectations.

[Strida]

I was thinking if the TEC wasn't rated for the heatload the processor puts out it doesn't lower temps but raises them. Is this correct? I know air TECs won't get you much cooler than plain air, which is why most people don't use them.

[exhausted mule]

air tec's dont get used much because air cooler's aren't powerfull enough to displace both the heatload from the cp AND the tec.

its a combination of having to use a powerfull enough tec to cool the processor and the fact that the cold side of the tec is in direct connection with the hot side.

meaning. the colder the hot side. the colder the cold side. after awhile if the cold side gets hot enough the hot side will heat up in turn and that's not a good thing.

to avoid this. watercoolling is generally uses.

you could use air but you'd have to use a small tec on a small processor.

[T'wolves]

With recent cpus the size tec's needed are too big to be air cooled and work properly, so that is out the question. As far as cost goes, if you need to figure out if you can afford your electricity bill, then I don't think super cooling is your biggest problem.

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

Originally Posted by T'wolves

With recent cpus the size tec's needed are too big to be air cooled and work properly, so that is out the question. As far as cost goes, if you need to figure out if you can afford your electricity bill, then I don't think super cooling is your biggest problem.

Oh, psssshaaw.

1/5 of the people here probably lived off of Mr. Noodles for a month to buy the latest video card.

[HardwareFreak]

Originally Posted by infinitevalence

figure from $10 to $20 more per mth if you leave your computer on 24/7

I can't believe people spread this myth about TECs...

I have the following systems/devices running 24/7 in my home den/office:

Athlon XP 2500 @ 2.2Ghz, 512MB DDR DIMMs -- 350W PSU
Dual PII 333, 288MB SDR DIMMs -- 350W PSU
Dual Celery 366 @ 506 (Abit BP6), 192MB SDR DIMMs -- 300W PSU
Dual Pentium 100, 80MB FPM SIMMs -- *dual* 400W hot swap load sharing PSUs, AMI RAID card, 5 old 9GB Seagate Barracude SCSI hard drives, Big server--big elec HOG
APC RM1400 NET (rackmount UPS)
MinuteMan Pro 650 UPS

1800W total max. I'm probably using about 1200W of that, considering load, duty cycle, and PSU efficiency.

Coincidentally, I just got my electric bill today. It is $46.43. This is for a 1000 ft^2 apartment, and includes the refridgerator, microwave, HVAC, lighting, ceiling fan, entertainment center with a 300W quad 8" subwoofer enclosure I designed and built, which gets excercised on a regular basis

A TEC drawing even 500W isn't going to increase my electric bill by anywhere near $10, let alone $20 per month.

To really put this electric bill myth to rest, I give you this:

If you have an electic water heater, which many people do, taking one 5 minute shower a day will cost you far far more than it will to run a TEC.

I rest my case.

[Moto7451]

For running at ambient/above due point (i.e. a chilled water cooling setup), peltiers are generally the best option. For near-zero/subzero temps, phase change is generally the best way to go.

[PoX Freak]

In my recent pelt experiences, I have this to add:
Pelts require a complicated process of heat load testing and re-testing to calculate the most efficient setup you can get with what you have.
I have done some extensive heat load testing with a 127 watt tec on my 2500xp-m, and from my calculations, I didn't make any progress in the cooling department.
My expected cpu temps went way higher than expected with every bump in MHz.
Phase change will get you far better temps with less power being used. Just think of a mini fridge for your cpu, and thats what you get for power usage.

[speed bump]

to do some calculations for you on how much you are looking at spending per month.

if your 226 watt/hour tec is run 24/7 and your rate is $0.08 per KWH then

.226*.08*24*31=$13.45 per month

a 3/8 HP SS phase change will cost you

746 watts/HP*.375hp= .279.75Kw*.08*24*31=$16.65 per month

so yes it will make your power bill go up $10-$20 if you run it 24/7 but if you only run it an 5 hours per day seven days a week then it looks like this

.226kw*.08*5*31=$2.80 per month so its not quite as bad as it looks.