CPU TEC waterloop

[alphastryk]

I'm just trying to figure some stuff out here - I've never done a WC rig before, but my current planned system for Steel Promise has very little space for a standard HSF setup, and its gonna be a quad core, so I cant get a low profile cooler... my next plan is this: a homemade CPU TEC watercooling loop. I can a a peltier device easily and I've been considering wc anyways... the pelier seemes easier, b/c I can basically just move the CPU HSF to cooler the TEC (i think) anyways, enough rambling - heres the plan:

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4373/watertecloopls2.png
(thats right I use mspaint... on my tablet... xD)

the second waterblock (the one w/o the TEC and HSF) would be on the CPU ( Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600)

... would that work? any idea how powerful a peltier device I would need? (the cpu creates ~150W heat at max load, and I'm gonna OC it some)

also - what would I have to do to prevent condensation? insulate all the waterblocks and tubing? just waterblocks?...

[Spawn-Inc]

wow, thats a interesting idea. if the old hsf will draw enough heat away i would think it would work. i love paint too. if you look at my posts i use it alot. so you would have it like this then.

the grey stuff in between the peltier is Artic Silver 5. you would have to build some kind of braket to bolt the 3 things together.

http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/4860/2924847340100511463S600x600Q85.jpg

[alphastryk]

yeah, thats the idea - basically move the CPU HSF away from th CPU itself, and if I'm doing that anyways, it might as well be a better cooler. I figured I could just get a waterblock and HSF for a matching socket near in size to the Peltier device I get and bolt straight through both and sandwich the TEC between them. I still have no idea how powerful a TEC I need though - equal to the processor's heat output? less? does it make sense to have more than one? and I figure I probably should insulate everything just to make sure it doesn't condensate - just grab a bunch of foam tape and foam pipe insulation... this really wouldn't be an overly expensive setup either - just about half a WC setup and some other parts (Peltier, HSF)... and a few fans to cool mobo chipsets and vreg...:think:

hmm... I could control the power on the TEC with a fan controller, becasue its just voltage scaling right? if so, I could even probabaly slow it down some if the water gets below ambient temp...

{off topic}
woohoo mspaint for the win!!
{/off topic}

[Spawn-Inc]

i've never done anything with it but i would think that either the same wattage or higher than cpu would be best. and you could test the system outside of the computer and see if there is any condensate and where. also that fan controller idea sounds good to me.

[alphastryk]

ok - I think I'll grab 2 peltiers and make sure they total way over the heat output... and if its too much, i can lower the voltage on em. I like the idea of testing externally to check condensation, and I'll already have to do that for leaks b/c it is a water loop...

heres my current revision of the plan:

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/6015/cputecloop2km8.jpg

anyone who has done watercooling or TEC setups before...will that work?

[Spawn-Inc]

i would as a res also so you have a good chuck of cold water on hand.

[alphastryk]

i would as a res also so you have a good chuck of cold water on hand.

oops...thought I was missing something.... would it make sense to have a small heatsink on the cold part of one peltier with fins reaching into the resivoir and the other peltier with the waterblock, so that the res would already be cold, then it would be extra-chilled before it reaches the cpu...

[NightrainSrt4]

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, because Ive never tried this kind of setup before, but I dont think it is going to work all that well to be honest.

With a traditional tec setup you have the tec on the cpu, with you water cooling setup on top of that. In this situation, the tec is cooling the cpu. The heat the cpu is generating is getting sucked up and the heat is being put through to the other side. So your cpu is ice cold, and the water loop is acting as it normally would: Taking heat from the hot side of the tec.

The way your doing it, which looking at it should be extremely inefficient, at least cost of electricity wise. I dont see how it would cool all that well either.

Lets look at it as if the tec's arent going to do their job that well. As far as I understood, they were more efficient the hotter the object they were on got. They cooled better the hotter the cold side got. Thus making your cpu really cold and the heat going to the other side of the tec. You having the tec suck heat from the water block side. Water isnt going to get all that hot, not like the cpu would. So the tec shouldn't work all that effectively. On this premise the second water block tec in your loop would be essentially just a big energy drainer. Hope you understand what I am trying to point out in that circumstance...


Now, lets look at it as if it "could" work the way your thinking it will. The tec is cooling the waterblock side. The side with water running through it.... ... ...

If you even approach temperatures that are near or below ambient temperatures, all those water cooling tubes are going to have condensation everywhere on them. Your going to create a rainforest inside your pc. And thats if the tec's work the way your thinking they would.


It is a really good idea in concept. And +rep for thinking outside of the box. But I dont think it will really work all that well. You will either get substandard cooling with a superhigh electricity bill...(which is the most likely thing to happen from what I see), or you will get condensation everywhere in your pc.
Take a glass of ice water on a really hot day and look at what happens. You didnt spill water all over the outside of the glass, and your cups not leaking...your tubes will do that all over the inside of your pc. One of those two things will happen, atleast the way im thinking about it. Correct me if im wrong, that is just the way i see it.

Just dont want to see you put a lot of money on extra blocks and tec's when I dont really think it has much chance of success. Sorry, hope I didnt seem rude or anything, just the way i saw it. Like I said though, +rep for an interesting idea, but I just dont see it working that well.

Hell you made me think alot about how it would work...Ive been sick and with surgery coming up, not many things are triggering my thoughts that much lol.

[Spawn-Inc]

As far as I understood, they were more efficient the hotter the object they were on got. They cooled better the hotter the cold side got.

hmmm i don't know much about pielters either but i think i've heard that before


as for cooling your res you could get a peilter and strap 2 heatsinks to it then put the cold side in the res and the hot out. but like all the stuff said above i'm not sure if it would work well.

[alphastryk]

thanks a lot guys!

+rep for both...

I really basically have no idea on water or TEC cooling... in fact, I'll probably end up with just a low profile air cooler of some sort, just because I'm poor...

but I wanted to at least try to figure out how the concept would work... as of now, this idea is canceled due to lack of funds...

[Spawn-Inc]

i might get into that too but i'm gonna stick with air until i can afford the 400-500 for a water cooling setup i built. then once i've reached the limits or near i might look into TEC cooling.

[NightrainSrt4]

thanks a lot guys!

+rep for both...

I really basically have no idea on water or TEC cooling... in fact, I'll probably end up with just a low profile air cooler of some sort, just because I'm poor...

but I wanted to at least try to figure out how the concept would work... as of now, this idea is canceled due to lack of funds...


No problem man, like I said, Im no expert on it...just my understanding. Just didnt want to see you spend a whole lotta money on something just to see it not work they way you thought it may. Good luck for you project though!

[alphastryk]

I was wandering around the web, and look what I found -

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/03/25/9487.aspx

dell uses a version of my idea... kinda a hybrid of TEC and radiator water cooling...hmm....

I still can't afford it, but it is interesting at least to know that its a viable solution.

[Jim Beam]

there is something like that in the reviews on Tom's Hardware guide
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/06/28/radical_cpu_coolers_from_coolit/index.html

or you could just get a big air cooler , cut a hole in the side of your case and put a big scoop there like ram air for cars.