I learned a very valuble lesson when it comes to extreme cooling. You can never have enough precautions against condensation. I had sealed the socket with silicone conformal coating, had silicone and neoprene in the center slug, and foam around the cooler. I'm using a Alpha PAL 6035/Delta fan with an 85W peltier. I came home yesterday to find my screen locked up on the screen saver, and when I rebooted all I got was a blank screen and fans. On and off again a few times, same thing. Reseated the Radeon, got nothin. Now I'm gettin scared and tear the system apart. I carefully worked the clip loose and almost soiled myself when I found a puddle of water on the CPU!! I think, great, i just made a $200 keychain. There was the beginnings of corrosion on the pins, and what appeared to be minor scorch marks around the affected pins. I let everything sit for a few hours to dry out. I figured I had to see if it had actually survived. You can imagine my relief when it booted normally! I took the peltier off for now as it wasn't working at the correct voltage anyway (only works on 5V power but is rated 12V) and I haven't yet recieved the repacement.
Let this serve as a warning to all who go beyond simple HSF cooling, don't let this happen to you!
Let this serve as a warning to all who go beyond simple HSF cooling, don't let this happen to you!
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