Few beginners questions about TEC

[Spawne32]

Just getting some information for down the road, im gona be a beginner water cooler in a few months and right now the rig i am building is setup so that i can use a value series dual core now and then later next year when quad cores become mainstream i plan to upgrade. But by then i may be so addicted i may want to take the next step in cooling to TEC. So heres my questions...

1) tec coolers seem to come in various wattages, it is my understanding that the more watts you blast thru the tec the cooler it gets on the cold side and the hotter it gets on the hot side, which particular watts cool to what degree?

2) If i go sub ambient how hard is it to prep the motherboard for TEC cooling and does it render it crap if i ever go to sell it used later on down the road.

3) Is it absolutely necessary to run a TEC on a dedicated PSU?

4)Is there any dangers or maintenance required with TEC, as far as dangers i mean fire hazard and such.


Thanks for any input you have :D

[serialk11r]

There is a problem with the amount of heat you have to get rid of due to the inefficiency, and that stopped me and some others from going TEC or doing something involving TECs.

[m0da]

i wont be sure on a lot of these
1. im not sure on this. each processor has a different heat output, so temps will vary.
2. you need dielectric grease, neoprene, some other stuff/etc. i havent done it yet, but will be doing it soon. I'm not sure about the resell value
3. 80w and less TECs I guess you don't HAVE to, but above 80w, for example 226w and 437w it is HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended that you do, especially for prolonged use.
4. yes, if you do not cool it and let it run, it can burn your house down. maintenance i guess, just make sure your insulation is holding up.

double check with pros.