Can cpu air coolers be used for freezing temperature? Would the heat pipes still work or freeze?

[Coolmanesque]

I plan to use cpu air cooler on cold side of a powerful peltier (200w) which can cool to sub zero temperatures. So that the fan outputs cold air. But I am not sure if vapours inside heat pipes would freeze. Is a cpu cooler even good for this purpose i.e heat sink attached to peltier, cooling the radiator and hence outputting cold air?

 

[magellan]

@PsycoStea I read some guy was trying to plumb the water cooling for his rig into his water heater to help heat the water there, but I don't remember how his experiment worked out or if it ever worked out at all.

 

[Mr.Scott]

I could put that coil into a reservoir of cool water, pump it through a radiator with a fan, and insulate the pipes. It will work better and be cheaper to run. I have a big fan; I will just need thick enough pipes, a water pump, insulation, and an old car radiator.

Pointless. As soon as your cool water hits the rad it will be warmed, thus negating anything you hoped to achieve. No rads if you plan on sub ambient temps.

 

[Blaylock]

Your best option to go sub-ambient without going sub-zero is with an evaporative "Bong" cooler. HOWEVER, there are may caveats to this type of cooling and requires frequent routine maintenance. IF you're able to create the right conditions and keep it running smoothly, then you'll be hard pressed to find a better solution for that "above zero - below ambient" sweet spot.

 

[Woomack]

Nowadays it looks like:
- low wattage CPUs/GPUs - peltier is pointless as you can cool it enough with a simple air cooler
- high wattage CPUs/GPUs - Peltier is pointless/inefficient or simply impossible, looking at CPU die size and the Peltier size/W limitations. You need 2x higher wattage unit than your CPU/GPU heat translated into wattage output, to be efficient ... in short, 250W CPU (typical TDP of modern i7/i9 Intel) needs 500W peltier. Now you have to take that 500W in heat and transfer it somewhere fast enough. This is why peltiers have recently been used almost only for water chillers and similar things. A larger surface and multiple peltiers make it possible to keep the cooling/power balance, and lower the coolant's temperature much below ambient.
Considering the cost and everything else ... just buy a water chiller as some brands sell 1200W+ units at still reasonable prices. More compact and uses less power.