Peltiers w/ Watercooling .. opinions, comments, answers?

[Spidey329]

Yes, I checked the stickies, and since I haven't seen any of these come across the overclocking forum, I figured it'd be safe to ask. I've read up on this while at work and have seen many guides, now I'm intrigued.

Sooo, here we go, I have some questions regarding peltiers, not watercooling.

1. On a P4 2.8C outputting a 92W (I had it to 98W at one point) of heat. What would be a good peltier for overclocking (size, brand, watt, amp)? What type of overclock could one expect using a high-flow watercooling to cool the peltier?

2. If you completely seal off the socket adapter, reverse side of the board (opposite chip), and any other necessary parts. How dangerous is this?

3. For a Radeon 9800XT, also on watercooling, what'd be a good sized peltier?

I was thinking of having a system setup to run:
- Res to GPU to MOBO to Radiator (a 120mm one) to CPU to Radiator back to res. The mobo and GPU would get the peltiers.

Is it worth it? I'm at 3.35 on Air, I wouldn't mind either hitting 3.35 with subzero temperatures (it just feels cooler), or getting a 3.6/3.7. Anything higher is a blessing. I plan to eventually goto a 3.0/3.2 Prescott.

 

[Anarchy]

You can get Peltier Waterblocks from Swiftech - they have em for CPUs and VidCards ...

When sealed properly - then the risk is relatively low ...

I'd recommend a secondary PSU fpor the Peltier if you really waht one.

 

[CommanderFrank]

I ran W/C and a pelt unit for two years without as much as a hiccup due to a friend of mine who made the coldplate/pelt assembly and insulated it extremely well. If you take the proper steps to insulate everything that may condense, there will be no problems. I was running a 1.53 at 2.0 with temps at around 3*C and little noise. Doesn't get much better than that

 

[Spidey329]

Originally posted by Anarchy
You can get Peltier Waterblocks from Swiftech - they have em for CPUs and VidCards ...

When sealed properly - then the risk is relatively low ...

I'd recommend a secondary PSU fpor the Peltier if you really waht one.

Yeah. My only problem with Swiftech is their high prices. Their coolers are sweet. But the other stuff (pump, radiators, hosing, etc) is a tad over priced. Plus, I don't like kits, I wanna do it on my own. Customized

Are the Swiftech waterblocks compatible with all hosting? I noticed it has the QD on it, but I wasn't too sure if that included the attachment pieces (that plugs into the waterblock).

What's the word on DangerDen? They seem to have peltier-supported CPU blocks.

I was thinking something towards 226w on a seperate power supply, and then having an 80w (for the GPU) on the CPU power supply. I have a good 500w power supply (rated for 22amps on the 12v Rail), so I don't think it should be an issue as my system ran fine with a 300w (10amp 12v rail) generic (which was only rated for 260w, I don't know why it said 300w) until I added the 9800XT (which overloaded it, hehe).

 

[mtl_hed]

here is an article(not really a review) of DD maze4 CPU block + 226w pelt. I have this same setup, but haven't put the pelt+cold plate in yet cause my rooms circuit will trip a breaker.

DD sells the blocks, psu's and insulation for ya. I highly recommend a potted pelt. They will hold up to constant start/stops and extended use longer.

Depending on your video card, you might want to use a 127w or greater instead of a 80w to get a better OC.

 

[Spidey329]

Originally posted by mtl_hed


Depending on your video card, you might want to use a 127w or greater instead of a 226w to get a better OC.

I noticed that the 127w has a higher tDelta over the 226w. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't a higher delta better?

I was thinking of an 80w for the GPU block, and 228w (or 127w) for the CPU block.

 

[mtl_hed]

Originally posted by Spidey329
I noticed that the 127w has a higher tDelta over the 226w. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't a higher delta better?

I was thinking of an 80w for the GPU block, and 228w (or 127w) for the CPU block.

I edited my message, I meant the 127w GPU instead of the 80w GPU, not the CPU. Sorry.

 

[mtl_hed]

Originally posted by Spidey329
I noticed that the 127w has a higher tDelta over the 226w. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't a higher delta better?

I was thinking of an 80w for the GPU block, and 228w (or 127w) for the CPU block.

The lower the Qmax, lower the DTmax. As long as all other factors are the same(ie - density/height of tec elements, thickness of ceramic casing, etc) the DTmax will drop as the Qmax increases. This is due to lower efficency.

Example:
226w pelt @ DD's shop
Vmax = 15.2V
Imax = 24A
Total possible power consumtion(wattage drawn from psu)= 24 * 15.2 = 364.8W!

172w pelt @ DD's shop
Vmax = 24.6V
Imax = 11.3A
Total W drawn = 227.98W

If you subtract the Qmax from the total drawn power you get:
226w pelt = 138.8W
172w pelt = 55.98W

This is the "wasted" power, resulting in pelt's low efficencies. To further represent what I am talking about, here is a link to a 360Week peltier. If you do the same math on it, you get 600 total drawn watts, which means 240W of wasted power.

Make no mistake, pelts are horribly innefficent. If you want temps that cold, but want a lower electric bill, use a phase change setup. If you think about it, if( and only if) you run your PC 24/7/365 then it would be cheaper to pay the higher upfront cost of going phase change than paying more for electricity.