TEC n00b

[cyberspyder]

I've read the stickies, but I still have a couple of questions. One, I've seen some of you guys cool your TEC with an air cooler. Some of you said that it is terribly inefficient. I was thinking maybe a 80W TEC with a Scythe Ninja (47 CFM fan, with another 47CFM fan behind it {case exhaust}) on an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300. Can I do this? (I'm not interested in getting negative temperatures, just a improvement over stock) Two, I'm currently thinking of getting a system consisting of:

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
-Abit AW9D-MAX
-eVGA 8800GTS
-2X Samsung 500GB SATA HD
-2GB Corsair ram
-SATA Samsung DVD burner
-Corsair HX620W
-Antec SOLO
-Accoustipack Sound Insulation

Can the Corsair handle the added current of the TEC? I really don't want to get another PSU since the Mean Wells are all loud, and I'm very anal-rententive about noise. Lastly, can I still OC my proc?

Thanks, Brendan

[ncc-1709]

if you could get a 110w one it would be a bit more worth trying. because once you start overclocking, your cpu would exceed 80w.

[Cupcake]

80w is definetly not enough

my 7950 @ stock speeds broke 100c with an 80w

[littleowl]

I've read the stickies, but I still have a couple of questions. One, I've seen some of you guys cool your TEC with an air cooler. Some of you said that it is terribly inefficient. I was thinking maybe a 80W TEC with a Scythe Ninja (47 CFM fan, with another 47CFM fan behind it {case exhaust}) on an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300. Can I do this? (I'm not interested in getting negative temperatures, just a improvement over stock) Two, I'm currently thinking of getting a system consisting of:

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
-Abit AW9D-MAX
-eVGA 8800GTS
-2X Samsung 500GB SATA HD
-2GB Corsair ram
-SATA Samsung DVD burner
-Corsair HX620W
-Antec SOLO
-Accoustipack Sound Insulation

Can the Corsair handle the added current of the TEC? I really don't want to get another PSU since the Mean Wells are all loud, and I'm very anal-rententive about noise. Lastly, can I still OC my proc?

Thanks, Brendan

bad idea! I would just go with water and not even do a tec. as for the meanwell being loud your way wrong. I have a 320w and I cant here it at all unless I stick my ear right up too it. you should never run a tec on a pc psu because the wires are not rated of that amount of current and you will not get enough Amps off of the 12v line.

an 80 will not cool an e6300 you would need a 110 and if you plan on overclocking it (and you said you was) then you need to move up to a 170 or 226. IT IS NOT RECOMENDED THAT ANYONE USE AIR TO COOL A TEC DO TO THE RISK OF THEM CATCHING ON FIRE!!!

[Mr. Peanut]

bad idea! I would just go with water and not even do a tec. as for the meanwell being loud your way wrong. I have a 320w and I cant here it at all unless I stick my ear right up too it. you should never run a tec on a pc psu because the wires are not rated of that amount of current and you will not get enough Amps off of the 12v line.

an 80 will not cool an e6300 you would need a 110 and if you plan on overclocking it (and you said you was) then you need to move up to a 170 or 226. IT IS NOT RECOMENDED THAT ANYONE USE AIR TO COOL A TEC DO TO THE RISK OF THEM CATCHING ON FIRE!!!

I agree with all that is posted above. Not only are most ATX PSUs not capable of running TECs powerful enough for CPU cooling for reasons of current, but they also don't come with the nice voltage knob that Meanwells do that allows you to get optimum temps and efficiency. Also, as far as noise is concerned, you are very mistaken. The fan on a meanwell is very small. Most modern PSUs use one or two 80mm fans or a single 120mm or something inbetween the two. Finally, I want to emphasize what LittleOwl said about you not going TEC. It doesn't sound like TECs meet your criteria very well. To do a TEC well (as in better than water or air) is very expensive...you need a water setup with a waterblock that has good surface area plus an auxillary PSU, a coldplate, a TEC, possibly a relay switch, and other miscellaneous mounting, retention, insulation and electrical materials that you shouldn't normally need for water or air. In short, a TEC project is a huge investment of time and money.

[littleowl]

more time then anything! you have to baby sit it a lot more then any other setup...

[serialk11r]

How about using a small one to slightly chill your watercooling loop? that way the TEC cannot be overloaded, and can achieve high efficiency.

[n00b 0f l337]

Well a TEC chiller with rad will just improve the efficiency but not bring you subambient and thus has been ignored by many. Most afterall want sub ambient temps when they go thru with TEC's and these are not the original uses of many TEC's they buy.

[serialk11r]

What I was thinking of was after the water passes the rad, it goes into a secondary cooling stage powered by the TEC, to bring temps ever so slightly down below ambient. Condensation should not happen, because in the SF Bay area here, humidity is really low. I can't believe today temperatures outside dropped to 20F, because it like never does that here. Its getting chilly with the window open, but its good for my PC I'm stupid I know. I was thinking putting the TEC there could help earn a few degrees. Just like 2 pretty weak ones sandwiching a block that will have water go through. I was thinking maybe I could do that when I finish my waterblocks, to use the leftover copper that won't get used anyways. Besides, weak TECs are like 40mmX40mm, so a block to cool them won't have to be too big. And a 120.1 rad should handle them.

[cyberspyder]

I forgot all about this thread, sorry guys. Posted an identical one at overclock.net, and came up with faster replies. Yes, I did change my mind about the 80W Pelt. It's now an undervolted 226W Pelt, with an aux. 200W (or 320W, depends if the 200W is enough) Meanwell PSU powering it. I'm still going for the air-cooled method, since the Ninja is rated to about 220W of cooling power, so it I undervolt it to about 9-10V, it should add about 114W to the 65W TDP of the C2D. Other thread here: http://www.overclock.net/peltiers-te...-tec-n00b.html

Brendan

[cyberspyder]

maybe an undervolted 320W

[cyberspyder]

Screw the air-cooling, better to get WC. Will the single Thermochill handle the heat from the TEC?

-Thermochill PA120.1 with shroud
-Petra/Laing DDCT-01
-D-Tek FuZion
OR
-Swiftech Apogee GT
-Swiftech Micro Res
-maybe an EK block for the GTS
-some Tygon tubing

Brendan

[Bergo]

I'd say that would not be the best setup, get a dual rad, remember, you're not only cooling the heat generated by the tec, but also the heat from the CPU. so, for example, when the scyth says it's rated for 220w, that'd be half of what you need to cool a loaded down 226w tec.

[serialk11r]

A PA120.3 would be more like it.

[ziddey]

...you should never run a tec on a pc psu because the wires are not rated of that amount of current...

haha I know it's definitely not a good idea to run a tec off the normal psu, but most tec wires I've seen are pretty high gauge. Could be different quality insulation, but looks similar. Copper is copper, eh?

What I was thinking of was after the water passes the rad, it goes into a secondary cooling stage powered by the TEC, to bring temps ever so slightly down below ambient. Condensation should not happen, because in the SF Bay area here, humidity is really low. I can't believe today temperatures outside dropped to 20F, because it like never does that here. Its getting chilly with the window open, but its good for my PC I'm stupid I know. I was thinking putting the TEC there could help earn a few degrees. Just like 2 pretty weak ones sandwiching a block that will have water go through. I was thinking maybe I could do that when I finish my waterblocks, to use the leftover copper that won't get used anyways. Besides, weak TECs are like 40mmX40mm, so a block to cool them won't have to be too big. And a 120.1 rad should handle them.

Hmm I was just thinking about your idea. I wonder if there'd be a difference if say you made a copper reservoir and slapped a TEC on that. There'd be more water there, and could be cooled a bit better. Maybe a larger body would be able to cool more noticably than a single block where there's a constant flow is what I'm trying to wonder. But then again, the whole system is a closed loop anyway, so there'd always be water flowing through a block as well, so both would probably be the same? Eitherway, TEC-on-res might streamline things a bit and kill two birds with one stone

[cyberspyder]

I really don't have room in my case for a duallie, so will two single Thermochill PA120.1 work?

Brendan

[littleowl]

haha I know it's definitely not a good idea to run a tec off the normal psu, but most tec wires I've seen are pretty high gauge. Could be different quality insulation, but looks similar. Copper is copper, eh?

If that was the case then there wouldn't be different guages of wire.

I really don't have room in my case for a duallie, so will two single Thermochill PA120.1 work?

Brendan

yes but why not just get a 1977 bonneville heatercore. it is the same as the pa120.2

[ziddey]

If that was the case then there wouldn't be different guages of wire.



yes but why not just get a 1977 bonneville heatercore. it is the same as the pa120.2

Ah, I misunderstood you. I did know that tec wires are usually really high gauge (thin), and usually from what I've seen in life (was back in p2 days and I believe 65w pelts), thinner than psu wires. So with that said, I was thinking you meant the psu wires weren't low enough gauge (thick. or am i getting the words high and low reversed? I know lower number is thicker..). But then I searched and saw your thread, where you found that thick psu wires caused tec's thin wires to get too hot. I was thinking you meant load from tec will make psu's wires too hot. Guess that's what happens when an idiot like me goes off only seeing two or three tec setups (computer shows) and tried to interpret the situation. I can definitely see it as being an issue now. However, at the same time, if the wire would be acting as the resistance it needed (so say 14ga and longer length), wouldn't a safe route anyway be to employ a resistor in line anyway? Again, just arriving at that conclusion based off my extremely limited knowledge on the topic. I did take a look into this thread based on the title (tec noob <-- hey that's me!) and figured it might be worthwhile to poke my head into here since I hope to get into them someday. Definitely learned a bit already

[cyberspyder]

Instead of the two PA120.1's, I've decided (for the last time) that I will mount a tri PA120.3, shrouded, on the bottom of my case, which I will dremel out and replace with some meshx.

Brendan

EDIT: Will the Thermochill shrouds fit on the PAXXX.X series? Or will they only work on the HEXXX.X? Also, will this 200W Meanwell power an undervolted 320W Pelt?

[littleowl]

Ah, I misunderstood you. I did know that tec wires are usually really high gauge (thin), and usually from what I've seen in life (was back in p2 days and I believe 65w pelts), thinner than psu wires. So with that said, I was thinking you meant the psu wires weren't low enough gauge (thick. or am i getting the words high and low reversed? I know lower number is thicker..). But then I searched and saw your thread, where you found that thick psu wires caused tec's thin wires to get too hot. I was thinking you meant load from tec will make psu's wires too hot. Guess that's what happens when an idiot like me goes off only seeing two or three tec setups (computer shows) and tried to interpret the situation. I can definitely see it as being an issue now. However, at the same time, if the wire would be acting as the resistance it needed (so say 14ga and longer length), wouldn't a safe route anyway be to employ a resistor in line anyway? Again, just arriving at that conclusion based off my extremely limited knowledge on the topic. I did take a look into this thread based on the title (tec noob <-- hey that's me!) and figured it might be worthwhile to poke my head into here since I hope to get into them someday. Definitely learned a bit already

um ok you got me lost!
gauge in electric wire goes smaller the # bigger the wire. gauge for say earings are bigger the # shaller the sized.

[littleowl]

Instead of the two PA120.1's, I've decided (for the last time) that I will mount a tri PA120.3, shrouded, on the bottom of my case, which I will dremel out and replace with some meshx.

Brendan

EDIT: Will the Thermochill shrouds fit on the PAXXX.X series? Or will they only work on the HEXXX.X? Also, will this 200W Meanwell power an undervolted 320W Pelt?

hey Brendan I don't recomend getting a psu that is only 200w when you going to get a tec that can draw 320w. I would get a more powerfull psu and then undervolt if. I think you will end up burning up your new meanwell if you try that.

[ziddey]

I think I'm having a little trouble communicating. I know that a smaller number gauge corresponds to a thicker wire. I think my usage of words high/low small/big might be confusing. I apologize

[littleowl]

I think I'm having a little trouble communicating. I know that a smaller number gauge corresponds to a thicker wire. I think my usage of words high/low small/big might be confusing. I apologize

or maybe it is I am just that stupid (beleave me I am)

[STEvil]

Depends what voltage range the PSU is capable of operating at.

To run at 200w you would probably end up around 8-10v.

[cyberspyder]

hey Brendan I don't recomend getting a psu that is only 200w when you going to get a tec that can draw 320w. I would get a more powerfull psu and then undervolt if. I think you will end up burning up your new meanwell if you try that.

K, gotcha. BTW I relaize that I have to change the specs a bit. I can't fit the tri-rad on the bottom, since I won't have space for a soundcard, so I'll change to plan to a PA120.2 on the bottom, and a PA120.1 on the rear 120mm fan. Will the PA-series shrouds fit the PA120.X?

Brendan