TEC help and advice

[D_o_S]

Hi guys,

first, I have an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Newcastle. What type of TEC would I need to cool it? Would a Tec with Qmax 89W be enough? I can also get a 226W tec, but it is 6x as expensive as the 89W one. I do not want any extreme cooling, and I do not want to have to insulate the CPU, so just a drop in temps, I would be 100% satisfied if load temps were in the 30s, and idle in the high 20ies, is this possible?

Secondly, can I use the IHS of my CPU as the cold plate?

Thirdly, can I use my Swiftech MCX-6400V (with fan of course) to cool the tec?

I have a separate PSU (550W) to power the TEC (normal PC PSU). Also, is it possible to make a circuit that would monitor case temps and regulate the TEC voltage so the temp does not go below case temp (dew point)?

Thanks in advance.

[Holst]

You cant aircool a TEC on A64, the wattage is just too much.
Maybe on a dothan...

You cant use a 89watt TEC on an A64, your temps will be WORSE with the TEC than without it. 226watt is what I recomend using for an A64.

You cant do TEC cooling on the cheap, TEC must be watercooled and should have its own dedicated PSU. This is all fairly expensive, but you cant run a TEC without watercooling it.

People often think that TEC is an easy way to get lower temps, its not!!
Expensive and hard to set up, the only "good" TEC systems are the ones where the user has put in time and money to get an effective system.

I think your best move will be to look into watercoling.
You will need to read quite a bit more about TEC before you seriously consider it.

[D_o_S]

Well Prometheus didn't seem to have many problems runing an air-cooled TEC:

http://www.vrforums.com/showpost.php?p=405478&postcount=6

By watercooling, I supposed you mean something unlike a Aquagate mini, or would that do?

Sorry for being such a n00b.

[n00b 0f l337]

That was in late 2003. Then it may have been possible. Send me a PM with AIM or MSN and I can give you a hand with the concepts and requirements if you like.

[Holst]

Some people have used aircooled TEC, but your temps will be average at best, even with major airflow.
In most cases I think you could get very similar temps aircooled, and very similar overclock as well.
As a side note ... those 2.8c would often clock to 3.6gig on AIRCOOLING alone ... so this overclock acheived with the pelt is not any better than other guys got on just air.

IMO, if your going to spend the money on pelt + PSU there is little point skimping on the cooling system.

To be frank, I dont understand WHY you are even looking at TEC cooling.
TEC is "extreme" and there is no point in using one if you only want 30-35*c load temps.
TEC is only worth the bother if you want to go sub ambient.

You can get close to 30*c load temp with high end water (with low ambient and not too much CPU voltage)

[Holst]

Well Prometheus didn't seem to have many problems runing an air-cooled TEC:

http://www.vrforums.com/showpost.php?p=405478&postcount=6

By watercooling, I supposed you mean something unlike a Aquagate mini, or would that do?

Sorry for being such a n00b.

I doubt that an aquagate mini would be all that good, they are not desined for the high wattage a TEC puts out. Plus mounting the TEC would be hard, as there is no coldplate on the aquagate, so you would have to modify it.
It would be better than aircooled probably, but not an ideal by a long way.

[mdzcpa]

Some people have used aircooled TEC

I have and it never worked that well. Noisy and mediocre temps at best. I couldn't recommend going air cooled TEC no matter the circumstance. Just my 2 cents.

[n00b 0f l337]

And I'm even starting to say that about watercooling tec's. Bong cooling though, the amount of heat you can remove. Thats were its at.

[Holst]

And I'm even starting to say that about watercooling tec's. Bong cooling though, the amount of heat you can remove. Thats were its at.

Absolutely.

A propperly set up bong will get your water below ambient.

Keeping water temp low ia absolutely essential for TEC usage.

only disadvantage with a bong is that its noisy, and you have to refill the water.

I did make a sort of bong where the water only fell about one inch.
I had a big plastic box with a lid. Cut the lid so it sat down into the box (about 2 inches down) then poked loads of small holes into the lid section and sealed around the edge with epoxy.
Ran the water return onto the lid the water fell through the holes into the res below, about a one inch drop.
I cut some holes just above the water line and ducted some fans to blow air through.
It was semi successfull as it wasnt as noisy as a bong, but kept my water at ambient even with a TEC running.

In the end I gave up on the TEC and scrapped the box bong res.

The initial version used a steel tray, this was more effective but went rusty and made a bit of a mess.

Sorry this is totaly off topic, but never mind :D

[n00b 0f l337]

Loud bong? Add some open-celled foam at the bottom. I'm working on Rev2 of my old Titan bong. 5-6 feet of awesomeness. And silent. If you build a regulator bottle you really dont have to refill that much.

[Holst]

Loud bong? Add some open-celled foam at the bottom. I'm working on Rev2 of my old Titan bong. 5-6 feet of awesomeness. And silent. If you build a regulator bottle you really dont have to refill that much.

When I built my bong it was a bit of a botch job to be honest.

Only made it to see if it would work, and it did to an extent but it wasnt perfect.

I did put some foam in the bottom but the water seemed to splash coming out of the shower head... i think that part needed allot more work on it.

Went from that straight to the box bong, then gave up and went back to plain watercooling with no pelts.

[n00b 0f l337]

Heh, I'll be posting up a guide to bongs soon. maybe youll do another shot at it? I'm rebuiling mine and its only like $20.

[Holst]

Im still thinking about making this chiller.

Im trying to get hold of some more TEC without spending too mcuh (well, without spending anything if I can help it)

Im tempted to redesign the box bong and see if I can make it into a workable high wattage cooler thats quiet.

[n00b 0f l337]

Hop on msn and we can bounce ideas. I have a good idea for a working tec chiller. And if you watercool the hot side with a bong setup there may be a cheap ass way to work around the humidity problem.