View Full Version : beginer question
sadcat
10-03-2003, 04:20 AM
Why do you need a coldplate btween the chip and the tec?
saaya
10-03-2003, 04:38 AM
the chip generates a lot of heat on a small spot. first of all most chips are very small, and second even on that small durfaces there are "hot spots" that get a lot hotter than other spots of the cpu.
the tecs in contrary cool and produce heat on their whole surface, so for efficiency you will wnat a cold plate that "bundles" the cooling power to cool the chip.
Well, a TEC measures from 40x40mm to 50x50mm (those are the two most common dimensions sold in ocing shops).
As saaya said, actual piece of CPU which produces all the heat is tiny. TEC's performance is rated for the WHOLE of it's area. Direct contact area between TEC and die is just a fraction of TEC's area and will be pumping (TECs are solid state heat pumps) only fraction of it's rated potential.
Adding 'cold plate' causes all TEC's power to be used for die cooling.