Is Pelteir/Tec cooling dead?

UNhooked

Golden Member
Jan 21, 2004
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I don't see a lot of sellers selling TEC plates etc. Is it a dead art? Or just too expensive?
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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Both...

its too expensive... too inefficient... and too difficult to pull off successfully.
Most required hybrid water setups to handle the hot side on the TEC.

Also too dangerous.. as if u pair the tec wrong and undershoot, you can fry your CPU.
If you dont condensate proof your socket and board.. you can fry your CPU.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
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Pelteir cooling / heating isn't dead in other industries. I believe stove tops have adopted this technology and USB drink coolers are still around.

As for CPU cooling though, yes dead.
 

BrightCandle

Diamond Member
Mar 15, 2007
4,762
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It died when the CPUs went very high in TDP. Peltiers capable of shifting 40W in that size of area were doable but once you got to 125W CPUs peltiers couldn't do the job. I heard recently that you can get one capable of cooling a modern CPU, but I don't know how practical it would be or how much power it would consume. They are far from efficient ways to cool a CPU, your water loop needs to cope with double the heat that the CPU is putting out due to the peltier effect.

So with a 220W overclocked CPU you would need to be cooling 440W with a waterloop, and that is a lot of heat from such a small space to be cooling.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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So with a 220W overclocked CPU you would need to be cooling 440W with a waterloop, and that is a lot of heat from such a small space to be cooling.

that was one way of doing it...

the other way was to cool the water itself...

My experimental TEC setup:
ntc23ag5.jpg


ntc22ss7-1.jpg


However its too expensive power wise.... required a radiator this size as well..
IMG_0119.jpg


not something easy as u can see... hence why it kinda died out...